Eel River Flight

The Eel River Taproom & Grill, in Fortuna, CA, was a pleasant break from camping, and a good chance to try their beers at the source (I was extremely disappointed with a bottle of their Porter I tried early this year).  With Aunt, Brother, and Brother-In-Law in tow, I headed north for some crisp refreshment-

Eel River Acai Berry Wheat

Crispy, subtle berries lent a nice tartness to this dry, wheat ale.

Eel River California Blonde Ale

California Blonde was crisp and bright, with a tight malt profile that avoided being too weighty or cloying, and had the signature Eel River subtle finish.

Eel River Amber Ale

Nice and refreshing, with a strong but light and balanced malt profile.

Eel River IPA

Another un-hoppy IPA from Northern California?!?  Yup.  Good, and very European.

Eel River Porter

Wow… what a 180 from my experience with the bottle earlier this year.  The porter was as crisp and dry as most Eel River offerings, with light notes of roasted grain and coffee and a respectful, almost minty hopping.

Eel River Triple Exultation

Big and sweet, as one would expect from a Belgian strong ale,

Eel River Raven’s Eye

Thick, heavy, and black as tar.  Full review to come.

Eel River Saison

The Saison stood out the furthest from the rest of the flight as it was the only offering that didn’t have the Eel River twang at the end.  Sufficiently farmy and a little light.

Eel River Organic Triple Exultation Old Ale

Breaking up the cascadian dark ales, I'm popping the top on a bottle from the all organic Eel River Brewing Co, Eel River Triple Exultation Old Ale.

Eel River Triple Exultation Old Ale was clear and cherry-wood red tinted brown with heavy carbonation and a thin head.  The nose was sharp and spicy, with pine and floral hop aromas mixed with peppercorn and a faint hint of cloves.

Eel River Triple Exultation Old Ale opened with a big caramel malt sweet front and a subtle coffee background.  Tripel Exultation sat creamy and oily in my mouth, and kept hinting at dried fruits without ever solidifying. Bitter notes persisted throughout the taste, and it ended on a toasty, almost burnt note.  The 9.4% ABV showed through in the heat of the ale, somewhat undermining the sweet caramel-shake body of the ale.

Eel River Triple Exultation Old Ale is infinitely better balanced and more drinkable that the bottle of Eel River Organic Porter I tasted, but still falls a bit short of great.  The sweetness, thickness, and high ABV exclude it from being a contender for a session beer, but it lacks the nuance and defined body to make it stand out from the crowd of sipping ales.  It's worth a shot, and purportedly better out of the tap.

Eel River California Blonde Organic Ale

Eel River California Blonde, a regular offering from Eel River Brewing, poured the color of honey, with a slight pink tinge to the edges.  The sticky white head carried notes of subdued, dry bread.  

Eel River California Blonde Ale opened with crisp, soft malt.  The smallest amount of smooth sweetness came through as the ale warmed in the mouth, and there was no bitterness to speak of.

Eel River California Blonde Ale, like most other Eel River offerings, is a light, crisp, delicate take on the Blonde style.  Whether that's a good thing or not depends on how much flavor you want out of your beer.

Eel River Organic Amber Ale

Eel River Organic Amber Ale, an organic offering from Northern California Eel River Brewing, poured a flat, pinkish-red into the glass with a small, almost non-existent white head.  The nose was so subdued that there wasn't much to reliably pick out and identify.

Eel River Amber Ale opened extremely crisp and clean (an Eel River hallmark), with a mellow malt profile that started light but slightly sweetened and rounded as the ale settled.  A slightly estery yeast note consistently popped up in the otherwise dry fade.

Of all the Eel River offerings, Organic Amber Ale is probably the weakest.  It is by no means bad, but it's too subdued to be a flavorful beer while the strange fruit note at the end would likely turn off someone looking for a neutral beer.  

Eel River Organic Porter

Eel River Brewing, one of the only completely organic breweries I am aware of, historically has an equal hit-to-miss ratio, with their beers... either they are refreshingly clean and crisp or they miss the mark by a mile.  With both trepidation and excitement I opened their Eel River Organic Porter.

***Update/Revision***

Although I'm maintaining my original review below, I gave this beer another shot in a 12oz. bottle purchased at the brewery, and there was clearly a contamination or storage issue with the original bottle I drank.  Eel River Organic porter had a very light nose, slightly roasted, with coffee and a little but of grass coming through.  The porter opened light as well, with a crisp caramel middle, light coffee, and an extremely clean finish.  This was more like a brown ale than a porter, but it was certainly not exhibiting any of the terribleness I experienced in the original bottle.




***Original***
What a fantastic mess the Eel River Porter was.  Poured dark black with orange highlights into the glass, the thin but sudsy head suggested a thickness not followed through by the nose, which was almost pure pine with the slightest hints of malts.

The first taste revealed an over-exaggerated hops front that faded to a sour apple middle.  If the front left nothing to be desired, the linger made it worst, suggesting hints of smoke and tobacco without ever bringing them forward.

This beer drank too crisp and clean to be a porter, way too sour to be enjoyable as a beer, and had malt notes that promised a complexity and interest the beer just couldn't deliver on.  Pass.

The redeeming factor of this tasting is it was followed by my first home-brew boil, a Sierra Nevada Porter clone.    My beer mentor shared several beers he recently brewed during the process (English Strong Ale and a random hopped ale he calls Hop Freak) that made my first brew so much more enjoyable.

Eel River Organic India Pale Ale IPA

Eel River Organic India Pale Ale IPA, a year-long offering from Eel River Brewing, poured the color of iced tea into the glass, with a bright white head and medium carbonation.  The nose was almost non-existent, to the point where any aromas I detected were questionably just my imagination.

Eel River IPA opened with a well carbonated but slightly watery start.  Light flavors of floral hops peeked out over a subtle vanilla malt sweetness in the middle, and the ale ended with an extremely clean finish and no lingering bitterness.

Eel River Organic IPA may be one of the most subdued and non-aggressive IPAs available, weighing in with less hops, bitterness, and alcohol than many Northwest pale ales.  The result is a pleasantly drinkable, but thoroughly average, ale drinking experience.  Good for the hop novice.