Oakshire Brewing - Henry the 12th

"I'm Henry the 12th, I am, I am..."

Roadtrip! Took a drive down to Eugene, OR yesterday to collect BeerGuyPDX Jr. from college. It was such a beautiful Spring day, I had to make the most of it, and for me, it wouldn't be "the  most" without some beer.

I visited some tasting rooms and had a couple of pints. One of the breweries I visited was Oakshire. It's a real brewery, located in an industrial area on the outskirts of town. The tasting room is in a loading dock but they have a number of brews on tap, including some single batch beers that you just won't find anywhere else. I like that. It makes the trip out to the middle of nowhere worth it.

My favorite brew of the day was Oakshire's Henry the 12th. It's a Northwest Red Ale with an ABV of 6% and 40 IBU's. I actually spilled this beer immediately after it was poured. I stupidly sat my 250 pounds on the far end of a picnic table and it flipped up like a catapult. That wasn't at all embarrassing. The kind folks at Oakshire gave me a replacement pint gratis. I think it was the sad "just spilled my beer" look on my face.

The beer was presented a deep reddish amber color with a lovely, foamy, white head. Really a beautiful looking beer. The head was a full finger thick and had good retention.

Smell was big on citrus hops and also very floral. There was a pleasant bready malt aroma in the background.

Taste comes right up front with bitter hops. Orange, grapefruit, pine. Lots of hops tastiness doing a happy dance in my mouth. Seemed way more than the 40 IBU's claimed. Tastes a lot like an IPA to me. Lot's of delicious malt flavor left on the palate. Really a superior hop and malt balance. Not too sweet. I like it. A lot.

Medium mouthfeel. Good carbonation. Finish is slightly dry with just a hint of earthiness there at the end.

I love this beer. It's very drinkable and if they sold it in stores, I'd buy it. Absolutely. I should have brought a growler home with me. I'm giving Henry the 12th a BeerGuyPDX rating of 4 crushed cans out of 4.