Flyers Humbles Blonde Ale

Flyers Brewery, Oak Harbor, WA – Humbles Blonde Ale  

Stars: 3.5 
Date sampled: Feb 16, 2014
Format: Pint on tap
Where I found it: Fiddler’s Inn, Wedgwood, Seattle

The Humbles Blonde Ale was a crystal-clear honey-hued brew with sweet and crisp aromas of the honey persuasion. This beer was stunning in contrast to Sam’s milky reddish brown disaster of a beer ordered the same evening at the Fiddler’s Inn.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this brew was more flavorful than one would expect for the style. The brew starts with a very crisp and smooth mouthfeel and evolves into an interesting creamy vegetable sweetness. (Sam was pretty adamant the veggie essence was reminiscent of creamed corn… after a healthy debate we settled on “vegetable sweetness”) Anyhow, the most exciting aspect of the beer was the unexpectedly bitter linger. The linger was a welcome surprise, as neither Sam, nor I, found any hops to be present up front! 

Blonde Ales are typically not my thing, but this one has me newly interested in the style. I should also note that this beer tastes like a much bigger one than it is…upon arriving home, we looked up the beer and realized it comes in at only 3.5 percent! What a great session ale!

- Megan

Stats: 3.5%

Brasserie d’Achouffe La Chouffe

Brasserie d’Achouffe, Achouffe, Belgium – La Chouffe  

Stars: 3.5  
Date sampled: Jan 12, 2014
Format: 11.2 oz. bottle
Where we found it: BevMo, Northgate, Seattle

One of the must-try Belgian brews – if not just because of its notoriety among those interested in Belgian beer.

La Chouffe, which means “the gnome” in French, is a relatively young Belgian brew, first brewed in 1982 by two brothers-in-law in Belgium. They started their operation as hobbyists but, within a few years, things grew quickly and the brothers-in-law went professional. Then, in 2006 they sold to the well-known Duvel Moortgat Brewery, brewers of Duvel golden ale. (By the way, Duvel Triple Hop 2014 is coming this March. We’ll be trying it as soon as we can get our hands on it).

Brewed with coriander, this Belgian golden has a yeasty, slightly spicy, and heavily banana nose. The medium-full mouthfeel (a little fuller than most Belgian goldens) is complemented by a slight tartness. The finish of this solid brew is spicy with a hay-like flavor, and is surprisingly dry considering the fuller mouthfeel (Megan was not a big fan of the finish).

Overall, a great stand-by golden ale. Not sure I’d seek this one out again but I’m certainly glad to have tried it.

- Sam

Stats: 8.0% ABV / OG: 1.065

Anchor Zymaster Vol. 5

Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, CA – Zymaster Vol. 5 Harvest One American Pale Ale  

Stars: 3.5  
Date sampled: Jan 2, 2014
Format: 22oz bottle
Where we found it: Whole Foods, Roosevelt Way, Seattle

After sampling over a dozen experimental hop varieties, the folks at Anchor Brewing Company were so struck by one variety in particular that they immediately knew they had found the inspiration for the fifth installment in their experimental and innovative line of brews known as the “Zymaster series.” In October 2013, Anchor released Zymaster Vol. 5.

The first thing you’ll notice about this beer is how the smells and flavors imparted by this new mystery hop create an unmistakable flavor profile of melon and peaches.

The sweet notes of peaches and melon seem to continue to float over a pleasantly bitter linger (the later likely being produced by the more familiar Nugget hops added early in the boil.) The medium-full body of this not-so-pale pale ale provides a wonderful stage for this “bitter-sweet” interaction to play out. I probably would have called this one an IPA rather than just a pale ale.

But it is not just the experimental hops that make this brew intriguing. More commonly used in the production of lagers, Anchor uses a method of carbonation called “bunging” in order to produce their ales. And this method, which involves closing the vent on the fermentation tank when fermentation is nearly complete, results in more “champagne-like bubbles” than do more common methods of carbonation. In Zymaster No. 5, this produces a wonderful crispness that really brings out the hoppy aromas.

Very solid and a nice opportunity to try some brand-new ingredients.

- Sam 

7.2% ABV