At Threshold, I went with the Porch King, their west coast IPA. My friend had the Radegast Lager.
These were both winners: mine had a dank nose and a sharp bite on the finish, which is exactly what I’m hoping for from the style. It was a bright, clear beer and well executed.
The sip I got from the lager had a biscuit quality in the middle that really elevated the beer for me.
My second beer was the Dream Spires saison and once again: this relies on a classic set of qualities, a little funky on the nose and a little spice from the Belgian yeast, but I also noted a nice malt character on the finish.
There was a lot to enjoy here, and I dug it.
The East Glisan IPA at Montavilla, is where I started; nice nose, kinda piney. But that finish is a combination of mouth scouring bitterness and medicinal cleaner. Maybe a touch of cilantro? Either way, it’s rough.
My friend got the Helles, and says “its rough”, so I have to try this. I get some smoke on the nose…and it has a quality resembling meat.
This can’t be right.
However, we had what we had: maybe an off day, maybe it’s us but these beers didn’t quite fly.
And that’s it! That’s the whole shebang, until someone else comes out with a list and I feel like I should check out those new places.
A pint for Dionysus 