Snake River Brewing Co

I recently had the amazing opportunity to spend a long weekend in Jackson Hole Wyoming over the new years. While skiing the amazingly steep slopes that put you literally above the clouds:  

Top of the Tram at Sunrise

I worked up quite the thirst, and thought what better way to quench it than with some locally brewed suds. The place to go in the relatively small town of Jackson Wy has to be Snake River Brewing which features an amazing brewpub with some delicious food, as well as of course their award winning beers. To learn more about Snake River Brewing check out their website here: http://www.snakeriverbrewing.com/brewery/

                They had 8 beers on tap at the time of my visit and offered a convenient flight of 5oz tasters. So for $12 I got 8 -5oz tasters = 4O oz of mostly tasty beer. My overall impression was that this breweries beers are hit or miss. Some are such as the seasonal Pandamonium, and the Snake River Lager are very very good, while others such as the Powder 8 Porter and the OB-1 are in my opinion actually quite bad. Many of the beers are not overly flavorful, and just seem to lack a little something. Read on below to see Snake River Brewings description of each of the 8 beers they had on tap, as well as some of my own thoughts: 

The Brews 1-8

      1.  Hoback Hefeweizen: Hefe is the German word for yeast and weizen is wheat, making this beer style fairly self-explanatory. The classic banana and clove-like flavors are derived from a specific Bavarian yeast. Because the beer is unfiltered, these dynamic yeasty flavors come through strongly. There is merely a hint of hop flavor added so as not to compete with the yeast notes.

A good example of a Hefeweizen, named after the Hoback mountains in the region. Overwhelming notes of banana.

      2.  Snake River Pale Ale: Snake River Pale is an American pale brewed with domestic malt and plenty of Cascade hops. Golden in color, it has a citrusy hop flavor which is followed by a crisp, firmly bitter finish. Pale ale is a great foil to spicy ethnic foods and can also complement a salad well.  5.2% abv.

Not overly hoppy or flavorful, but very crisp, clean and easy to drink. Comparable to a nice crisp white wine. Does not taste like a 5+ percent beer.

  3.     Snake River Lager: Snake River Lager is our most popular beer. This is an amber colored Vienna style lager. The rich, caramel flavor is balanced with the use of several hop varieties for a subtle hop note. An authentic German lager yeast strain adds to the true flavor of this beer. The  malt forward profile of Snake River Lager makes it a fine complement to pizzas and red meat. The alcohol content is 4.8% abv.

They say this is their most popular beer, and it’s easy to see why; I could pound this one! Again not overly flavorful, but a nice mix of hops is apparent and it is a beer leaving you wanting to follow each mouthful with another.

     4.  Pako’s Eye PA:  Named for Pako (say “PACO”) the dog (No wait, Pako’s not a dog!) This full flavored, fully hop-evident IPA will have the hopheads rejoicing. 6.8% ABV and 60+ IBUs with explosive hop aroma from a pungent Simcoe/columbus blend.

I was a little disappointed with this one. They claim it is, “full flavored” and “hop-evident.” I have enjoyed my fare share of IPAs and this one does not make the top of my list. The hopiness was minimal, and the flavor wasn’t really there.

   5.    Pandomanium: PANDAMONIUM, our first ever Belgian Quad 8.2% Abv.

The Growler

This is Snake River Brewings winter seasonal beer, and damn is it good. I was fortunate enough to get a taste of it, as apparently early January is the last time it will be served on tap, ever… It was so good in fact, that after convincing the bar tender to sell it, I had to purchase a half gallon growler of it! At 8.2percent you have to be careful, it will sneak up on you, the alcohol content is hardly noticeable in the flavor. I can’t say I’ve had a Belgian style Quad before, but if others are as good as this, I will be looking for more in the future. 

 6.  OB-1 (Organic Beer Number 1) : is a USDA certified organic English style brown ale.  Snake River Brewing is proud to be the first and only brewery to be making certified organic beer in the state of Wyoming. Made from 100% organic malt and 100% organic hops. The only other ingredients are Teton mountain spring water and an imported strain of English ale yeast. The alcohol content is 4.9%

I thinks it’s cool that Snake River Brewing, along with other brewing companies are making organic beers, and this is SRBs first attempt at an organic beer. They definitely have a ways to go however. Organic shouldn’t mean a sacrifice on taste which this brew suffers from. Finishes with a very unpleasant after taste.

 7.      Powder 8 Porter: Porter was first brewed in London, England in the early 1700’s. At the time two basic beers existed: a light and a dark. The dark was more expensive and drinkers got into the habit of mixing the two to stretch out the premium brew. A wise brewer began making a medium dark beer to save the barkeeps from having to mix at the taps. The beer was named after its biggest fans: the porters handling baggage at the local train stations. This brown porter is deep ruby in color and transluscent. The alcohol content is 5%.

By far the worst beer of the batch, and perhaps the worst example of a porter I’ve ever had. Of the 4 people at the table, no one even wanted to finish the 5oz sampler. Unpleasant from start to finish.

   8.    Zonker Stout: A rich, well-balanced foreign style stout with a huge amount of roasted barley as well as chocolate, black, and caramel malts. The intense roast character is the main attribute of this black colored beer.  The alcohol content is 6.0%

A very dark beer, even for a Stout. The chocolate flavor comes through in spades. This beer would be great on a cold winter day in the Tetons, a good sipper, and full of flavor. 

Cheers, Matt

Battle for Cold Springs, MN Best Black IPA

It is finally time to settle the question, what is the best Black IPA brewed in the small town of Cold Springs, Minnesota?  Cold Springs is a small rural town with a population less than 5,000 people.  Despite being such a small town, Cold Springs calls itself home to two large breweries, Cold Springs Brewing Company and 3rd Street Brewhouse.

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to the first review from the second round beer trade with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing.  I am pleased to introduce you to Double Barrel Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing Company out of Paso Robles, California.  This Amber Ale / English Style Bitter is fermented and conditioned in oak barrels, hence the name Double Barrel Ale.

 According to Firestone Walker, "Our patented Firestone Union uniquely incorporates 60-gallon American oak barrels into the fermentation process that yields beers of extraordinary character and complexity. This system improves the fullness of the palate, balances hop character and lends a clean briskness to the finish. The influence of the toasted oak also imparts unique hints of smokiness and vanilla, as well as a subtle fruitiness to the flavor profile."

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

Great Divide Titan IPA

In the liquor store tonight I was looking for a new local beer to try, when I stumbled on this 6 pack of Great Divide Brewing CO's Titan IPA. Great Divide Brewing CO [GDBC] is located just a few blocks down from Coors Field in the LoDo district of Denver, CO. GDBC is a fairly young brewery being established in 1994, but they have already established an impressive trophy case. Great Divide beers have earned twelve Great American Beer Festival medals and 4 World Beer Cup awards. Not bad for a young, small brewery out of Denver, CO. They are a brewery which describe themselves as, "brewing some of the globe's most balanced yet assertive and flavorful beers."

Titan IPA

Mendocino Imperial IPA Review

Mendocino Imperial IPA

In a recent drinking session with Flop and Adam, we tried out this California-born IPA. The Mendocino Brewery was founded in 1983. I found this beer on the specialty shelf at MGM in Mankato and bought it just to try something new. Mendocino Brewery describes this beer as such - Imperial IPA - This full bodied Imperial IPA is brewed with massive amounts of premium varieties of hops such as Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe and Crystal and paired with a rich blend of luscious Munich, caramel and 2-row pale malts. The result is a perfect balance of luxuriant malt and heady, exhilarating hop flavor. After primary fermentation is finished, we dry hop our Imperial IPA with copious quantities of the above mentioned hops. It is then cold conditioned for a few weeks. The result is an outstanding and unforgettable hop aroma. Starting with an original gravity of 20 Plato and finishing at 8.0% alcohol by volume, this Imperial India Pale is a hop tour de force!

Nice carbonation and head

Pliny the Elder Review

Pliny the Elder Bottle

In a recent beer trade conducted over HomeBrewTalk.com with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing out of Las Vegas, Nevada, I acquired myself a bottle of Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder!!!  This American Double IPA is considered to be the best of the best!  Take it for what it's worth, Pliny the Elder has a score of 100 out of 100 on BeerAdvocate.com with over 2,570 reviews.  I have wanted to try this beer ever since I first heard about it.  Three and half years later I finally have obtained myself a bottle of the highly sought after Pliny the Elder.  Again, thank you rlhvegas for contacting me.  First brewed in 1999 by Russian River Brewing Co. of Santa Rosa, California, Pliny the Elder is brewed in small batches and is supposed to be drank fresh.  Highly hoppy beers do not store well.  The hop aroma and flavor diminish over time, thus the reason for the small batches.  With supply low and demand high, an urban legend originated around this beer.  It was not until 2004 until Russian River starting brewing Pliny the Elder year round, and in 2012 I finally get to taste the legend! 

Hopslam Ale Review

During a recent brew session, I was able to sample a bottle of the coveted Hopslam Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc. located in Galesburg, Michigan. The reason Hopslam is such a sought-after beer is in part due to the fact that it's a winter seasonal only released once each year around the months of January or February and also because stores have a limited supply for customers. It can be found on draft or in bottles at select locations in select Midwest and Eastern states. Hopslam is classified as an Imperial IPA because of its relatively high ABV (10%) as well as its hoppy aromas and flavors.

Bell's Hopslam Ale

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Recently I participated in a beer trade conducted over HomeBrewTalk.com with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing out of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Over the exchange of numerous private messages and emails, we settled on a trade consisting of Russian River Brew Company's Pliny the Elder and Double Jack by Firestone Walker Brewing Company in exchange for a variety of Surly beers.  I want to thank rlhvegas for initially contacting me about a trade. Firestone Walker's Double Jack is a highly acclaimed Double India Pale Ale big brother to Union Jack.  Firestone Walker's Union Jack won gold medal in the category of IPA at the Great American Beer Festival two years in a row.  Double Jack is brewed with the same malt bill and hopping schedule as Union Jack but instead of collecting 50 barrels of wort, only 35 barrels are collected.  This condenses the sugar content in the pre-fermented beer (called wort) making it a Double IPA.  The Brewmaster at Firestone Walker is Matt Brynildson and he is known globally in the brewing industry.  His previous work at Goose Island Brewing Company located in Chicago, Illinois helped him gain his reputation.

Firestone Walker Double Jack