10 Barrel Brewing Flight (Bend, OR)

10 Barrel Brewing, my last pub stop on my Bend trip, was located across the river and was the only bar I actually needed to drive to.  The pub was the first sports-centric place I visited in Bend, but the location and decor were well suited to the brewery vibe.  Surprisingly, their S1NIST0R Black Ale was unavailable.

10 Barrel Mike-Saw-A-Sasquatch Session Ale- This playfully named (one assumes) session ale managed an interesting balance of a grainy, semi-sweet start and a dry finish with a touch of corn.  This ale was almost Pilsner-like with its lemony, grassy hops and crisp malt.


10 Barrel India Session Ale- Starting with light lemon and a crisp, bright lead, this ale fell somewhere between a strong NW pale ale and a weak NW IPA.  There was a lot to like with this beer, and "session" is an apt name.


10 Barrel Nightmare on 12th St. Pumpkin Ale- Spice forward, this ale was pretty much defined by pumpkin pie spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger over a sweet malt bed of crystal and vegetal pumpkin.  A little heavy in sweetness and spice when compared to more delicate examples, Nightmare on 12th Street was still a very worthy beer.


10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA- Lemon and orange hop flavors opened the Apocalypse.  As they subsided, a slightly under-carbonated sweet malt shone through before ending on a slightly bitter, grapefruit rind note.  A good, if middle of the road, IPA.


10 Barrel Oregon Brown Ale- Not a regular offering, the Oregon Brown Ale was dry, toasty, and a pretty standard (read: unexceptional) English-style brown.


10 Barrel Stout- The stout was thick with sweet chocolate and coffee flavors, and extremely creamy considering it wasn't nitro.  A decedent, but two-dimensional, dessert.


10 Barrel Brewer's Select Faux Vino- I wasn't able to tease exactly what the target was for this ale, but I have to assume it is a very young farmhouse-style at its core.  The ale started with horse blanket and subdued barnyard funk, with white pepper biting through before mellowing into a lingering, mouth coating wave of apples, pears, and grapes.  I would have preferred to see the ale given more time to mature or have the yeast (in its current state) less aggressive, but this was still a standout for being different and (mostly) successful.


A couple of bonuses were brought out right as I was leaving:


10 Barrel Casked S1NIST0R Black Ale- I'm not a fan of most casked, hop heavy beers.  The S1NIST0R is already a little shy on hops for balance, and the casking only lessened that impact by increasing the creaminess, and therefore the perceived sweetness.


10 Barrel Poblano Ale- I believe this dark colored ale actually had the India Session Ale as a base (it was that or Mike-Saw-A-Sasquatch Ale).  The nose carried slight smokiness and a distinct twang of dried chilies.  Unlike many chile ales, this one didn't have the metallic twang or earthiness of chipotle... it led with a much fresher taste, and didn't really dry out or take on heat until the fade.  As the heat kicked in, though, there was an appreciable amount that lingered for a couple of minutes afterward.  Like all chile beers, I can't see drinking a full pint without being fatigued, but this was as excellent an offering of the style as I have tried.

10 Barrel Brewing S1NIST0R Black Ale

Sometimes a label is enough to catch my interest and make me try something new, and 10 Barrel Brewing out of Bend, OR clearly had that in mind with tonight's beer, 10 Barrel Brewing S1NIST0R Black Ale.

10 Barrel Brewing S1NIST0R Black Ale poured a dark, almost impenetrable brown into the glass with red highlights where the light passed through and was topped with a thin, sticky white head.  The nose was pure malt-forwardness, with toasted and dark notes of coffee and alfalfa.

10 Barrel Brewing S1NIST0R Black Ale had a crisp front, flat in carbonation but lively with a mineral water profile that settled too quickly into a roasted alfalfa body.  Sweet honey notes, backed by a funky, grassy body, held my palette for a while, and the ale ended on a long but mild fade of lingering alfalfa.  

Yes, I used the word alfalfa three times.  10 Barrel Brewing S1NIST0R Black Ale comes off as poorly integrated, smelling more of fresh rabbit pellets (the food) than complex malts.  

Rogue Distillery & Public House Tasting (Portland, OR)

Rogue Brewing’s downtown Portland Portland Rogue Distillery & Public House is a must visit every time I am in Portland, and this time was no expection.  The Kobe burgers alone are worth the price of admission, and bartending stalwart Corey always keeps things entertaining (and thankfully enforces the “No Cellphone Use at the Bar” policy.  In addition to a few Rogue rarities, they were featuring exotic offerings from their newest sister-brewery, Buckman Brewery.

Rogue John John Juniper Ale

The ale opened with an extremely creamy, smooth malt profile spiced by fruity hops.  A persistent but slight bitterness came through after the ale settled, and once the juniper came through it gained prominence and lingered in the fade.  The gin-barrel aging certainly added layers of dimension to the ale.

Rogue XS I2PA Imperial IPA

The Imperial IPA opened with a Pliny-like in fruitiness.  The sweet malt profile was somewhat marred by the taste of pine tar, ultimately keeping the beer from being more than “good”.

Buckman Black Saison

The flavor of this ale was rather light in the typical saison aspects (not much banana, pepper, clove, or horse blanket) but had a pleasant roasted malt core to it.  This ale was much more like a black lager with a dusty finish than a saison.

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

Huge milk chocolate flavor… that’s about all there is to say.  A little thick, semi-sweet.

Buckman Jasmine Mead

This mead was floral, perfumey, and big on honey.  It was also light, crisp, and dry in the fade.

Buckman Chamellow Pale Ale

This ale, a standard pale with chamomile added, exhibited a combination of bubblegum and barny yeast on the front and a dusty, slightly funky fade.

Rogue Brutal IPA

I believe this ale was originally called a “Bitter”, which is a more fitting description than IPA, but I suppose the hopping was just aggressive enough to turn off dedicated bitter drinkers. 

Rogue Mole

My bartended chose a beer cocktail for my last taster, the Rogue Mole.  The Rogue Mole is about 90% Rogue Chipotle Ale and 10% Rogue Chocolate Stout, and is amazing.  I enjoy both the beers used on their own, but they were SO much more when combined.  A highlight of the tasting.