Me in a can

I have been drinking Caldera IPA for a little bit now. I was always unsure about those beers in the cans. The last time I was in Fort Collins, Colorado I went on a New Belgium Brewery tour and they recently released their canned Ranger IPA. I spoke with the dude that was around about the benefits of canned beer and from what I can imagine and recall:

• Average aluminum cans are made from 44% recycled aluminum.

• Aluminum cans are the most recycled package worldwide.

• Cans use a fraction of energy used to produce, ship and recycle glass.

• Cans require less energy to cool down, so consumers can enjoy cold beer more quickly. On top of saving energy, resources and money, beer stays fresher for longer in cans, since there’s no light passing through, making a skunky mess of it all (think of those green or clear bottles here… ewww).

• AND not to mention easier to pack around!

I think this beer has a great amount of respect even without drinking. The price can be a bit intimidating with hard times these days, man...the area in which the beer comes from has substantial resources to obtain fresh ingredients and holds its own in a competitive micro brew vicinity. Also, the label is beautiful with sort of hippie feel and hops pics happily surround the label, it already looks like a good time.

Floral, balanced bitterness, hop on the stronger side yet well balanced malt. There are 3 different types of hops used:

• Simcoe - where that piney-ness comes from in taste and smell

• Centennial - which is more citrusy & where the bitter balance is

• Amarillo - floral scent, fruity taste and smell

I am in love with the fruity after taste which if you know me, I LOVE after tastes! It lingers oh so perfectly. I liked the description from Beer Advocate, “Lingering aftertaste of pineapple and a little aspirin bitterness. As it warms a soapy, skunky note emerges - skunk weed that is, not "skunked beer." I could not even think of better words to describe, this is right on. The nose has citrus notes with the pineapple and a little pine and caramel. My mouth waters when I smell this IPA; I feel the bitterness even before I sip.

I love the can design because it’s light and easier to throw in my backpack and not worry about the clanking around.

I feel like I can drink this beer like I can iced tea. It’s a great well balanced beer in a can with the right amount of hops and carbonation...even though iced tea doesn’t have any of these features I like iced tea because it is great cold and as it warms and just a go to beverage that balances with any meal or even without a meal but just to enjoy. It’s great cold and as it warms you get more caramel notes - a well rounded all around great go to beer. I feel that any beer lover can pick this up and enjoy just like anyone that likes iced tea can pick up any brand and enjoy.

6.1% Alcohol by volume

$9.99 for 6 12 oz. cans

Caldera Brewing Company, Ashland, Oregon

I hear a lot about how great Ashland is. I have never been but this beer and the stories I hear about this town definitely make me think I could make this part of the world my home. I love drinking this beer alone - I really feel it fits my personality; easy going, mobile, on the can reads: “ Go skiing, fishing, go snowboarding, go biking, go rafting, go cans, keep cool just like you.” I do all these things! HA! A great label, font, appealing for sure with the taste to back it up. A lot of talk that delivers, my friends, that is indeed me. Maybe I’m tooting my own horn but I think the beer speaks for it’s self, we’re kind of awesome. Ok thank you for reading my rant about myself, I mean the beer...

Hell or High Watermelon!

Last night on my beer run, Cohen, my beer analysis buddy and I decided we wanted to try something new. My first choice of beer purchasing is to always look for Oregon beer, however we went to Fred Meyer by our place on Burnside which we've already pretty much "experienced" all their Oregon craft beer, so we settled on 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat which began brewing in San Francisco's historic South Park neighborhood.

Upon first sip we couldn't tell much difference between this and PBR. It's rather light as a summer beer should. The Watermelon “burst” lasted only a second but the entire beer was just watered down mostly. After a while and wanting to experience SOMETHING there was a lot of loaded flavor at first but then just watery and no after taste and I'm ALL about after taste and lingering sensations. The beer is sold in a can and has no robust smell other than aluminum. I do like that it's not too fruity as I do not enjoy fruity beers it's definitely more on the wheat side but seems more like a lager. In small sips you get some mild flavor but the bigger the glup the more diulted it is. No strong flavor and it goes away instantly.

All in all a disappointment, will be used as a "later beer" - start off with your better mirco beer first then when you want to keep drinking move onto this one.

21st Amendment: cool Brewery name cause it represents the reappeal of prohibition but to repeal it with this?! Hmmm...

Today's Beer: Dogfish head 90 minute Imperial IPA

I recently took a trip to Colorado to visit my friend, Stewart. We love beer. We love hops. We would someday love to create our own hoppy beers. Now, living in Portland, OR I feel incredibly lucky to live in "Beervana," "Brewtopia," etc. where we quietly pride ourselves on many things (coffee, wine, art, food) and one of them, B.E.E.R. and Cascade hops. My eyes have opened and palette enlightened by the many varieties of the hoppy ales especially IPA's. I can respect a brew from Colorado, they have some great micros, we went to New Belgium and I feel fortunate to sip IPA's from Fort Collin's Brewing, Great Divide Brewing Co. and a variety of brews from Coopersmith's Brewing Co including an interesting Green Chili beer... So that being said, my beer review is from Milton, Delaware. HaHa! Now Stewart is one to appreciate the finer IPA's in life and ranted and raved about Dogfish Head Imperial IPA. He bragged about how it's the best IPA he's ever had, mmmk I'll try it:

(an insert from my Mac blog)

Dogfish Head - 90 minute Imperial IPA 9% Smooth, creamy, nice light(er) hop balance with alcohol. $10+ for 4 pack - not worth it if you live in Portland, recommended to drink on the slightly warmer side/don’t drink cold in a frosty glass you get a lot of aroma and more flavor, nice floral hop yet smooth cream scent; the best thing about this beer is the creaminess and after taste of citrus, not very at all bitter - maybe a pinch of bitterness in the aftertaste. Once it’s in your mouth you taste a hint of sweetness then after you swallow you finally get the bitter pinch, when I say sweet I mean not the annoying sweet I don’t like. Nice balance of malt and hop, more on the malty side, a cute big beer, high alcohol yet doesn't have the alcoholy flavor, sort of piney as well.

All in all a great balanced beer, I can see from the general public perspective that purchase a Blue Moon, Pyramid or Sierra Nevada for a "special" night of fancy beer this to be a Godsend, I say you people, come to Oregon, you'll find what real beer actually is you're heart will melt, your mouth will love you, your body will thank you, your taste in anything good will be broadened...ahh *sigh* Oregon brewers got it right. Sadly this beer can be "Totally Dominated" by any mirco brew here in the state. Here are a few that can compare according to another fellow blogger, Matt: Compare to Laurelwood, Bridgeport, Hair of the Dog, Burnside IPA, and Paulaner Wheat (German) per Cohen.