Dick's Pale Ale

The coolest mixed-12 pack I started off my year of beer with, Dick’s Brewing Co. Mixer, finally reaches it’s end today with the final pre-loaded beer from Dick’s Brewing Co.  I was excited to see how the collection ended, as the lineup varied from the sublime to forgettable, with more hits than misses.  It is with some nostalgia that I open Dick’s Pale Ale. 

Dick’s Pale Ale poured the hazy color of over-steeped green tea, with a medium amount of carbonation trailing to a lumpy white head.  The bottle gave off hints of pine and cedar, prompting the joke “lumber store in a bottle”.

Drank, Dick’s Pale Ale greeted my mouth with nice, subtle pine flavors without being pitchy or astringent that mellowed to a warm, pizza dough body.  The ale ended with a slightly nutty finish and none of the bitterness or sweetness I was expecting. 

Dick’s Pale Ale is a ridiculously drinkable and layered Pale Ale, hoppy enough for a hop head to get their fix but mellow enough to be approachable by fans of less assertive beers.  While Dick’s Pale Ale isn’t exactly pushing new ground, it is a great, non-flashy introduction to a Pale Ale done right.

Dick's Double Diamond Winter Ale

Dick's Brewing Co. is currently running one for two for my tastings, so it is with hope (but lowered expectations) that their Dick's Double Diamond Winter Ale pushes things to the positive for the brewery.

Dick's Double Diamond Winter Ale poured a slightly cloudy brown with tints of orange with a light, lacy head and a surprising amount of effervescence.  Big, floral hops led the scent with subtle hints of smoky malts.

Even more surprising was how astray the nose led me from what it tastes like.  Dick's Double Diamond is thick and creamy, with an almost cherry-like candied malt front that trailed into molasses covered figs and undertones of brown sugar.  The lingering taste was distinctly caramelized sugar.

Dick's take on the winter ale is bigger than any traditional winter ale I've tried... almost barley-wine like in profile. In fact, this may have tasted more like a barley wine than their Barley Wine.  It's a full bodied beer with a sweetness that works, but I couldn't imagine taking on more than one of these in a night.  I give it the edge though, and am still excited to try the rest of the Dick's brews I have waiting for me.

Dick's Cream Stout

There's not much more to say about this brewery (other than I probably need to visit it in the near future as I've had so much of their beer!), so... Dick's Cream Stout from Dick's Brewing.

Dick's Cream Stout poured pitch black in the glass with almost no head and some yellow lacing.  There was no discernible carbonation making it's way through the glass and it had rich aromas of licorice, cacao, and burnt  coffee.

Dick's Cream Stout opened with a carbonated front loaded with vanilla, coffee, and chicory (thanks for adding that to my palette, NoLa).  The aforementioned flavors seemed to fluctuate in dominance and the stout ended with a smooth, creamy mouth feel.  

Dick's Cream Stout is a true dessert for beer drinkers; it's not very sweet but so rich and decadent in flavors I could easily see dropping a scoop of ice cream in it and digging in.

Dick's Mountain Amber Ale

I'm down to the last couple of beers from the Dick's Brewing variety pack, so let's crack open Dick's Mountain Amber Ale.

Dick's Mountain Amber Ale poured amber with thin but active carb streams rising to a thin white head.  The nose was surprisingly flat, without much more than a mild bread smell.

Dick's Mountain Amber Ale had a surprisingly carbonated front, with notes of lemon fading to the core of the beer, a pizza dough flavor.  Mountain Amber Ale ended a little flat and watery, with little lasting flavor.

Dick's Mountain Amber Ale is a good beer, not a great beer.  It hits all the right notes for an Amber ale without being flashy or leaning too far from the balance of hops and malts.

Dick's Brewing Working Man's Brown Ale

In keeping things Washingtonian, I'm visiting another brew from Dick's Brewing today, this time their brown ale; Dick's Brewing Working Man's Brown Ale.  

Dick's Brewing Working Man's Brown Ale had a frothy, cream colored head several fingers thick propped up by vigorous walls of carbonation working through the tea colored brown ale.  The nose was certainly distinct, dominated by nuts, highlights of subtle citrus, and hints of chocolate.  

Dick's Brewing Working Man's Brown Ale  was big and bright on the tongue, with a mineral water flavor quickly fading to semi-sweet milk chocolate and almonds.  For such rich flavor, the body was a little watery, and the fade just added a little sweetness without a hint of hop bitterness.  

Dick's Brewing Working Man's Brown Ale tastes nothing like any brown ale I have tried, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  This brown ale shares more in common with a light, silky chocolate porter than Newcastle or Moose Drool, but isn't as dark, roasted, or heavy.  Working Man's Brown Ale was one of the bigger surprises I've had this year, completely deviating from what I think of as a classic brown ale but bringing something even more compelling to the table. 

Dick's Barley Wine

I handed the decision of selecting the day's beer to one of the most knowledgeable beer enthusiasts I know... Madame Crystal (I have almost 50 beers in my cold garage to prime the pump for my 365 days of beer).  Surprisingly, she chose one of her least favorite styles... a barley wine.  Add to that my unfamiliarity with Dick's Brewing Company (Dick's had a fantastic mixed 12 pack at the local market promising at least 8 unique beers in each one) and day two with Dick's Barley Wine Ale represents my first tasting with no prior. experience.

Before wrecking our palates on spicy enchiladas, we opened the bottle, poured it into two snifters, and sat down in the living room for our first joint tasting. 

Served at about 60 degrees, Dick's Barley Wine poured smooth into the glass with a minimal amount of head that quickly dissipated.  Light for a barley wine style ale but still a bit heavier the average beer, it was surprisingly unclouded and had a color reminiscent of black tea with very little bubbles. 

The nose was subdued for a typical barley wine, carrying the sweet alcohol hoppiness of an imperial IPA with the molasses, brown sugar, and fig I typically expect from this style.  Upon tasting, a pleasingly non-bitter hops effervescence up front was quickly overwhelmed by slightly toasted dried figs and faded to a bitter-sweet finish that lingered. 

At 9.9%, this is a dangerously drinkable barley wine that avoids most of the things that turn people off (viscous body, burnt molasses, cloying sweetness) and has me excited to dip into the rest of the mixed 12 pack in the upcoming weeks.

ABV 9.9
OG 1.095
TG 1.018
IBU N/A

Dick's Danger Ale

It's time to break into the Dick's Brewing Co. mixed 12 pack again... this time tackling the ambiguously named Dick's Danger Ale.

Dick's Danger Ale poured into the glass with a very slight head that quickly dissipated and had a dark, murky look the color of root beer.  The nose was very hoppy with an earthy herb I can't quite put my finger on.  On the tongue, the hop greeting was present but a little flat and quickly faded to a thick feeling but watery tasting roasted malt, stout like flavor.  There was a lingering burnt taste to it. 

Looking at the description above, it wouldn't seem there is much recommend about this beer, but I can't say it was a bad beer... just a bit flat and not quite coming through as a distinct beer.  I cheated for this beer and actually read the description after the tasting... half pale ale and half stout is a good description for what I tasted, but one has to wonder why they even bothered.  It lacks the boldness of either.

ABV 5.2 (note the manufacturer's site was 4.5)
IBU N/A
OG 1.053
TG 1.01

Dick's Brewing Co. Golden Ale

Today marks what I believe to be a first for me... my first time opening what must have been one thoroughly skunked beer.  I planned to revisit Gordon Biersch Brewing, this time with their Czech Style Pilsner, and immediately noticed something slightly off in the nose.  It tasted acceptable for the first second, but an aspirin-like medicinal bitterness and metallic funkiness quickly dominated... truly horrible tasting.  As the beer was bottled mid-December of last year and has been well stored since I bought it, I checked the beer in the bottle to make sure it wasn't residue in the glass... it wasn't.  Given the pleasant surprise that was their Marzen, I have to assume this wasn't the way it was meant to be tasted.  The thought of choking down the glass wasn't bearable, so I (wisely) opened a different beer.

Back to Dick's Brewing Co., the Washington brewery that wisely sells true mixed-variety 12-packs for those looking to try a little bit of everything.

Dick's Golden Ale poured surprisingly flat, with a bronze-apple juice like color and the smallest head I've ever poured in an ale.  The nose was a sour malt... mostly yeasty.

The hops made up for the lack of effervescence in the front by bringing a crisp, mineral tingle.  The initial flavors dissolved into a body of honey-wheat somewhat floral with hints of floral notes that left a pleasant toasted flavor in my mouth.  The flavors of the beer had enough depth to engage, but had strangely worn out their welcome by the end of the glass.

For someone who isn't enthusiastic about golden ales, Dick's Golden Ale came across as very middle-of-the-road.  While I criticized one of their more adventurous attempts at pushing traditional styles, this beer seems like missed potential, and offered a pleasing-enough, but pedestrian, drinking experience. 

For the sake of posterity, here's the one that really missed the mark.

Dick's Brewing Lava Rock Porter

I think I found a method to the madness for the next couple of weeks (I have spent as much time hemming and hawing each day over what beer to drink as I have actually drinking them), but I'm keeping it loose for the rest of this week, so here comes another tasting from Dick's Brewing Company.  Porter is a style of beer I fall in and out of love with every couple of years, and after a year or two of neglect it's time to fall in love again.

Dick's Lava Rock Porter poured black into the glass; cloudy with suspended sediment (the film at the bottom of the bottle leads me to believe it may be bottle conditioned) and a frothy cream head.  The nose was predominantly mocha and espresso with accents of fruity hops.

Lava Rock Porter was a surprise on the tongue... leading with a sweet, cherry-flavored hops that slowly faded to a dark chocolate malt that combined with the cherry notes and lingered for some time like a cherry cordial.  The long, chocolate-cherry body eventually faded, ending Lava Rock Porter on accents of roasted coffee. 

Much like last night's tasting, I was surprised how much was happening with this beer.  The cherry notes from hops are something I don't recall experiencing before and isn't something I would have sought out, but they complimented the chocolate and made the beer seem less heavy.  I absolutely recommend lovers of porters and plain old beer drinkers alike check this out to try a somewhat different take on the classic porter style while still enjoying all the things that make a porter great.