Archive for the tag “Pangea Bottle Shop”

03 Jul 2013

Cerasus – Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

cerasus_logsdon_btl

8.5% ABV
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shop ($20.49/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into globe glasses.

This barrel-aged Flanders Red Ale from Hood-River, Oregon-based Logsdon pours a rusty red with a cloudy body and a sizable pink champagne head.  The understated nose contains mostly the fresh Oregon cherries promised on the bottle, offset by breadiness and a grace note of caramelization. Marvelously restrained tart cherries greet you on the first swallow, backed by a refreshing sweetness, with a just little sourness remaining on the tongue.  Cerasus was brewed with two pounds of cherries per gallon, and although the cherry flavor is omnipresent, it is never sickly sweet.  Instead, the emphasis is on the sublime interplay between the rustic fruit flavors and the farmhouse yeast strains, with a neutral seltzer-y note keeping them all in perfect balance.

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Logsdon_Cerasus

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Posted in Barrel-Aged, Beer Review, Flanders, Red Ale and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
18 Jun 2013

Stone Ruin-Ten IPA

ruinten_bttl10.8% ABV 
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shoppe ($7.50/10 oz. serving) and poured into globe glasses.

This super-hopped, 10th-anniversary version of Stone’s popular Ruination Double IPA was intended as a one-off, but has now become part of their seasonal rotation.  Ruin-Ten pours a bruised peach with a tight, off-white head and a delicious nose of candied citrus, snowy pine, and butter crackers.  I’m not a big fan of the standard, diesel-hop iteration of Ruination, but this version tastes both stronger and cleaner, giving caramel and pine resin nuances to the crushing hoppiness.  Alcohol-soaked oranges and a moderated sweetness give way to the expected palate-smashing resin bitterness.  Slight hints of fresh peppermint, burnt caramel, and spicy hops come and go on the tongue, but there is a lasting and consistent impression of pine needles.

toasts-4   4 Toasts

StoneRuin10

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Anniversary, Beer Review, IPA and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
16 Apr 2013
1 Comment

Double Eye PA – Mikkeller

mikkeller-double-eye-bttl14% ABV
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shop ($6.99/11.2 oz. bottle) and poured into tasting glasses.

Legendary Danish brewer Mikkeller produces this eye-popping 14% ABV Imperial IPA, which pours an opaque cantaloupe orange with a tight white head, and a strong nose of orange, hard alcohol, and pine needles.  Double Eye PA is perfectly brutalizing upon first swallow, with alcoholic citrus and butterscotch candy taking the lead, and a palette-crusing pine bitterness bringing up the rear.  This remarkable brew goes big on every possible flavor profile of a Double IPA – sweet, bitter, pine-y, citrus-y, boozy, and with strong suggestions of butterscotch and caramel.  Each small sip packs a wallop of diverse flavors, making a monstrous impression on the taste buds, and yet the end result has a curious sort of balance.  Take your time and let this beer do its work.  One caveat: there is copious yeast sediment in the bottle that can dilute the flavors, so be careful not to overpour.

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Mikeller_DoubleEye

toasts-5-small   5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Double IPA and tagged , , , , , ,

Post Navigation