Beer Review

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Okay, here's the spring beer review, also known as "what I do after ten hours of work, not including time spent wandering around the garden to see what has sprouted or furminating Finn."

Seriously, before I moved to the pacific northwest, I thought that I understood beer.  I am now properly chastened.  Here are three (relatively) local ales that pretty much rock, limited to that number because after three bombers I am unable to know or care what I'm drinking:

Tricerahops, by Ninkasi.  I am a mad fanatic for the IPA, and this is far and away the most consistent and hoppy IPA around -- and FSM knows, I've tried A LOT.  Freshly tapped it's even better, but even in a bottle from the grocery store, it kicks ever-lovin' butt.  This is some good stuff, folks.  Oh sorry, if you're from a Blue Law state, there is no Ninkasi in the grocery store.  Time to move, I guess.

 Boundary Bay Brewing's Imperial IPA.  This is even better than Tricerahops, but unfortunately it doesn't age well at all.  As in, it loses a lot just a few days after they tap it.  So you pretty much have to know when it's being brewed, when the tap is going in, and get yer butt up there to drink it.  But trust me, it is so worth it if you make that window!  Even after the window, it's still really good... I mean, I'm not going to stop drinking it just because it's not absolutely perfect anymore!  I even have the Imperial IPA hoody from Boundary, even.  Jealous?  This beer just won an award at the beer festival, too -- and I bet that that was tapped, older stuff!

 Chuckanut Strong Ale.   On any given wednesday, you'll find me wandering down to the Boundary Bay Brewery with an empty growler to be filled with Imperial IPA, but you'll never see me doing that at the Chuckanut, because the bastards don't sell their Strong Ale in growlers, only in pints.  Probably because the Strong keeps even worse than the Imperial, I'm guessing.  But OMG is the Strong so good out of the tap!  Besides, one pint is enough to make me need to spend some time down on the waterfront, chilling out.


A brewery that I haven't mentioned that is also (relatively) local is the Standing Stone Brewery in Ashland, Oregon.  I stopped off there for dinner over New Year's and was out-and-out stunned by how good their beer was, so much so that I bought a growler for the trip home.  Even makes me want to go back south again.

All this being said, I will still always love New Belgium for their marvelous philosophy (no other company looks after their employees as well!), their fantastic beer, and the fact that they're a Colorado home-grown native.  But alas, I am no longer a Coloradan.