Etna Brewing Phoenix Red Amber

9/23 My friend Russel Baba, a taiko luminary with Shasta Taiko brought me a bottle of Phoenix Red Amber from Etna Brewery.

This beer is quite nice, with a very pleasant crispness and a mild, smooth finish. It mellows to a slightly spicy hoppiness in the finish.

None of the flavors are overpowering and overall this beer is quite subtle and very well balanced.

The nose is not strong, and the body is not very big, especially for an amber, but it has a good warmth and a delicate flavor. Overall the taste is nice and complex, with good repeat drinkability. The lack of body could be a good thing if you are looking for a beer that will not weigh you down.

WDTB? People in Etna. People in Mt. Shasta.

WSDTB? Anyone looking for a nice, drinkable amber with enough complexity to keep you coming back.

8.9/10

Bia 33

8/6 Having some Phô at Phô Van in Beaverton, which presents the opportunity to drink some Bia 33 (what, you thought they had a website?) from a bottle (what, you thought you could get that on tap?). Bia 33 is Vietnamese. It's called Bia. I had Beer Lao once, and it was good. I want more beer with "Beer" and a country name. Incidentally I think this is how you say "Please bring me a glass of Bia 33": Cho toâi moät coác Bia 33. That may be the masculine form, btw. But I don't know. I don't speak Vietnamese.

My reaction to the Bia 33 was thus: this is a pretty interesting lager. The nose is pretty fruity for a lager, almost banana like. It is also fairly yeasty, but in a very pleasant way. It is very crisp, and the finish has a champagne like quality.

WDTB? Vietnamese? Let's ask Saren. He said Bia 33 is "Fairly ubiquitous", sort of like water. But most tiny Vietnamese restaurants in Vietnam had their own "proprietary blend" of beer in a big vat that they would ladle out to you as you ordered it. For preservatives they used formaldehyde, or some other chemical that you were better off not contemplating as you ingested it.

WSDTB? Iconoclastic Asian-Fetishists? No, seriously, this is a pretty good lager. If you get the opportunity you really should try it. But not at this Phô Van. Go to the other Phô Vans, they are both way way better. Not to say this is a bad place to get phô, it is actually quite nice. It just isn't the best.

7.9/10

Widmer Hefeweizen

8/5 at 820

I'm normally not a huge hefeweizen fan, as they end up being much more floral than I like, sometimes with an off note to boot.

That being said Widmer's Hefeweizen is very popular in these parts, so I got a pint, with a lemon.

This Hefeweizen is nice. It is very cloudy, as it is unfiltered, with a nice crisp taste. The finish is a little nutty, hazelnut being the dominant note, and is reminiscent of bread.

Despite the interesting finish, which is very late in coming, overall this is not a very complex beer.

Rachel and I had an extensive discussion about the brewing philosophy behind this beer. We decided that the brewery chose a goal of making a refreshing beer only slightly more complex than your average light beer. This makes it a wonderful summer beer, but nearly worthless otherwise.

Even so, this hefeweizen is one of the heaviest around, and is still totally devoid of off flavors, something other hefeweizens have a hard time avoiding.

As a brief aside 820 is a pretty nice bar, but their beer selection is quite limited. However their sweet potato fries are awesome.

WDTB? During the summer, everyone. The rest of the time; fratboys and unoriginal people.

WSDTB? This is a very high quality hefeweisen. Drink accordingly.

Summer, and it is hot, and you have a barbecue: 9.1/10

Rest of the time: 7.1/10

Rogue Phred's Black Soba Ale

OK, I've been very selfish recently. I got a bottle of this beer before it was released to the public ('cause I'm cool like dat, cool like dat), then reviewed it on 8/3 but I was too lazy to put the review up on the site. Not so nice of me. This is Rogue's Phred's Black Soba Ale, made to commemorate their 15th anniversary, and is named after their Japan distributor. Rogue has developed a very interesting relationship with Japan, having co-created several beers with Iron Chef Morimoto and having several beers specially created for Japan, Hokkaido particularly.

This beer is deep in color, with a nice head. It has a deep, woody nose, is slightly sweet and is overall very nice. It is smooth, rich, full bodied, with a very smooth, mild finish.

The Soba (buckwheat) adds a nutty flavor, with an earthy, slightly malty note.

Although this is a fairly dark beer the finish has a brief note of bitterness, then smooths considerably, but is rather thin.

WDTB? I don't know. I believe distribution is fairly limited.

WSDTB? People who liked the Morimoto Soba Ale by Rogue (I will review that soon). Those who enjoy a dark, nutty, yet still smooth beer.

8.7/10

Butte Creek Organic IPA

7/26

I've enjoyed beer by Butte Creek for quite a while, so I shall now review their IPA.

It's pretty dark for an IPA, more amber in color. The start is fairly light, which then moves to a nice full body with heavy hop overtones. The hops add a wonderful robust bitterness. The bitterness holds to the finish, but is not overpowering.

Overall the beer is a little back heavy in the flavor profile, and is not as sweet as might be expected for its dark color. The malt flavor is quite nice, very mellow, and plays a nice second fiddle to the hops. Overall a good, robust IPA.

This beer is brewed in Chico, CA, home to Chico Sate, the top party school on the west coast. So you know they drink a lot of beer there. Plus Northern Californians + organic beer = Love.

I met one of the head brewers once. He was chill, and very down to earth. He obviously loves brewing and will share his knowledge.

WDTB? Hippies, environmentalists, hop heads and those who attend Chico State.

WSDTB? Anyone who likes an IPA, but wants a little more oomph to it. People who are, like, totally down with organic anything.

9.2/10

Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Another live one. Roasting coffee and drinking a Descutes Mirror Pond.

Smells like a pale ale, alright. Nice and floral nose, with a hint of hop bitterness at the end. There is a little warmth at the begining of the nose though, which coresponds well with the coppery color.

The body is a little thin, and the finish is a little flat, but the overall flavor is pretty good, and would be very well balanced, except for that flatness at the end. I would imagine that was a concious descision, as not everyone likes as much hops as I do. Still, this beer was close to greatness. In some ways I find it reminicent of a Carlsberg, but better, if that is a helpful reference for people. Repeat drinkablilty is high, and it is complex enough to keep them all interesting.

WDTB? Bend golfers. People all up and down the coast.

WSDTB? Anyone who likes pale ales, but prefers ones that aren't that hoppy.

Rating: 7.8/10

OK, this part has nothing to do with the rating of the beer, but it certainly affected my willingness to purchase this beer. There was a rumor floating around that Deschutes brewery was a major donor to the Republican party. So like any true American I didn't buy the beer. I certainly didn't want my money going to support the systematic dismantling of America. However, like any young fool I didn't do any research at all to back up this claim. Until now. A quick search of the FEC website (I highly recomend it, especially the corporate donation page) reveals that Gary Fish, the president of Deschutes Brewery has donated at least 8,227 dollars in donations over 200 bucks to various candidates within the past decade. 2,900 went to Sen. Ron Wyden (D OR), and the rest went to Sen. Gordon Smith (R OR) and Greg Walden, a House Republican, with the bulk to Gordie. So we know several things. First, Gary Fish seems to lean to the right, but that he keeps his bases covered, and that a perfunctory search didn't turn up any direct contributions from Deschutes Brewery itself. So I'm not too worried about the political contributions. However I did discover that the Republican party holds events at the Deschutes Brewery, so it is fairly clear that this particular brewery's culture tends to lean right, but keep in mind this is Bend we are talking about. So my advice is to buy this beer if you really want to, but if you have better options, as you usually will, go for them.