Alameda Brewing Company - El Torero Organic IPA

Toro! Toro! Toro!

Memorial Day weekend and Alameda Brewing Company is offering $5.00 growler fills. Heck, that's about as much as you'd pay for a pint. I'm there! It's a UFC fight night, so I'm going to need some libations. Cheap, good beer. You can't go wrong there.

I bolted over to that brewpub as soon as they opened and got myself a  growler of El Torero Organic IPA. It was a tough choice and I was considering going home and dusting off another growler, but common sense prevailed and I just got the one.

The beer poured from growler into my Shaker pint a slightly hazy, golden orange color. The frothy white head came up to more than a finger and a half thick and had great retention. A healthy cap of lacing was left behind and the glass got a good coating of spiderweb suds.

Aroma delivered an immediate dose of sweet, earthy malt. Smell of citrus hops in the follow up: orange and tangerine. There's also hints of tropical and stone fruit in the background.

Taste is earthy malt and big, bitter hops. Really good balance. There's a spicy, herbal zing. The underlying sweetness and fruity flavor is prominent in the middle but gets eclipsed by the hops bitterness--which is how I like it. Sugary sweet IPA's are not my thing.

Medium mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Finish has some creaminess, but the bitter hops taste is the last thing on the palate.

This IPA has decent character and is highly drinkable. Not sure about the ABV but I'm guessing it's around 7%. I made a good choice. El Torero gets a BeerGuyPDX rating of 3 1/2 crushed cans out of 4.

GoodLife Brewing Company - Sweet As! Pacific Ale

Was praying they didn't
forget a letter...

It's Friday! It's Friday! It's Friday! Long weekend Friday! I don't care that it's raining like a motherflubber. I'm not working for three days! Well, okay, I have to work a little bit tomorrow...and Sunday, too...but other than that... Oh, crap, I probably have to squeeze in some work on Monday, too... Well, at least I have a fridge full of beer!

I pulled out a cold can of GoodLife Brewing Company's Sweet As! Pacific Ale and popped that sucker open as soon as I got home from the office. It's a wheat beer brewed with Pacifica and Galaxy hops and comes with an ABV of 6.0%.

The beer poured from 12 oz. can into my 12 oz. glass a hazy golden color with a bubbly, white head. The head rose up to about a 1/2 inch tall and quickly dissipated. A thin cap of lacing was left behind.

Aroma was big on citrus hops: grapefruit. There was also a heavy presence of sweet tropical fruit: pineapple and mango. A spicy, herbal smell lingered in the background.

Taste was tropical and stone fruit. Interesting that the citrus that was some prominent in the nose took a backseat in the flavor. Spicy, slightly bitter hops zing is left on the palate in the finish, which is particularly dry.

Medium mouthfeel with a good amount of carbonation.

Again, I find myself drinking a beer that would most absolutely be a very refreshing summer brew on a rainy Portland day. I must remember to have a few of these when the weather is more appropriate. Nevertheless, this is a tasty beer and I'm giving it a BeerGuyPDX rating of 3 crushed cans out of 4. No reaction from the Wonder Beagle noted.

Bison Brewing Company - Organic Chocolate Stout

Who doesn't love chocolate?

I've got plenty of beers in the fridge tonight, but nobody is interested in sharing them with me, except the Wonder Beagle, of course. She's not allowed to drink the stuff--only sniff it--so she's not much of a drinking buddy. Plus, the dog is farting up a storm, which isn't adding to the ambiance. Let's just say it's hard to drink with my t-shirt pulled up over my nose.

My second beer of the evening is Bison Brewing Company's Organic Chocolate Stout. The brew boasts that it is brewed with organic Peruvian cocoa and comes with an ABV of 5.0%.

The beer poured into my Shaker pint a solid, dark black color with a full finger of creamy, mocha head. The head dissipated quickly and left very little lacing behind.

Aroma was coffee, cocoa and toasted malt. Some light scents of over-ripe, dark fruit present in the background.

Taste is bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Roasted, earthy malt flavor. A nice chocolate malt flavor is left on the palate after every sip.

Medium mouthfeel and medium to low carbonation. Slightly dry finish.

This is not an Imperial Stout, nor is it aged in any kind of barrel. Anybody expecting that kind of bang from this brew will be disappointed. That said, it is a very drinkable, tasty stout. I like that it isn't too sweet but still delivers the chocolate it promises on the label.

I enjoyed this stout and would definitely drink it again. I'm giving it a BeerGuyPDX rating of 3 crushed cans out of 4.

Elysian Brewing Company - Loser Pale Ale

Try it. What do you have to loose?

When I was junior in high school, a mean girl named Becky (a popular, blonde cheerleader) got her hot-pink manicured fingers on my yearbook and inscribed one simple word with her loopy, teenage penmanship: LOOSER. Punctuated with the obligatory smiley face at the end. Of course, I'm pretty sure the illiterate little witch meant LOSER. She was quite proud of her nasty defacement of my 1977 edition of "The Constellation". My spot-on retort of "at least I can spell" was completely lost on her. God, I hated high school. 

When I spotted a bottle of Elysian's Loser Pale Ale in the cold case at Whole Foods today, I have to admit that I felt a little wounded. Why would a bottle of my favorite beverage mock me so? Just like Becky Whatshername. Why? I had to buy it, of course. I'd show 'em who's a loser with my fearsome beer reviewing skills.

The beer poured into my Shaker pint a deep, golden orange color with a slightly off-white head. The head was almost an inch thick and dissipated at a moderate rate. A thin cap of lacing was left behind from rim to rim.

Aroma was citrus and herbal hops. Caramel malt smell in the background.

Taste followed the nose. Orange and lemon. Sweet caramel malt. There was a definite alcohol taste throughout the entire drink. The somewhat muted hops and malt flavors couldn't quite eclipse the 7.0% ABV.

Medium mouthfeel with good carbonation. Dry finish.

Not an awesome beer, but I certainly wouldn't turn one down. The Wonder Beagle wasn't interested enough to climb down from her perch on the top of the sofa back for this one. I'm giving Loser a BeerGuyPDX rating of 2 1/2 crushed cans out of 4.

10 Barrel Brewing Company - Swill Beer

Swill, or swell?

Beer Guy, stop taking yourself so serious, our Swill was designed to throw down!

That's what it says right there on the label of 10 Barrel Brewing Company's Swill Beer. Hey, you talkin' to me 10 Barrel? I said, you talkin' to me? Okay, I'm pretty sure that message wasn't meant for me. They're probably just referring to all generic beer guys...but...

I really didn't know what to expect from this beer. I had zero clue what was contained within that plain, black labeled bomber. I did note that the ABV is a modest 4.5%. 

What a curious name they gave this beer, too. "Swill" does not conjure up much of a pleasant mental image. My pops used to drink swill. I clearly remember him opening a bottle of Schlitz, declaring it "skunk", and drinking it anyway. "Ack! This crap is pure swill! BELCH!" Ah, pops, always the gentleman.

The beer poured from the bomber into my Shaker pint a cloudy, pale yellow color. The fizzy white head was a finger thick and disappeared quickly. No lacing was left behind, save a thin ring on top.

Aroma was full on grapefruit. There was also a prominent soda smell wafting up from the glass. Hey! It's a grapefruit radler! That's the last thing I expected.

Taste was straight up grapefruit--and I'm talking the natural citrus fruit. There were no hops detected by my nose. It's very much like a grapefruit soda, but not too sweet.

Thin to medium mouthfeel with a significant amount of carbonation. Very clean and refreshing.

This cool, rainy Wednesday evening was the wrong time to try this beer. I can imagine it would be an awesome summer BBQ beer. My wife took a taste and proclaimed it good. She only drinks Hefes, Belgian Wits and no-too-sour fruit beers. I've been wanting her to try Stiegl's Grapefruit Radler, so tonight's was quite a fortuitous beer selection. I think this brew is better than Stiegl's. Higher ABV, less soda and more beer. Interestingly, the Wonder Beagle continues to widen her beer sniffing preferences. This beer had her drooling up a storm.

I'm giving Swill Beer a BeerGuyPDX rating of 3 crushed cans out of 4 AND a Droolie.