Tasting Beers of the Week

Butte Creek Brewing - Organic Porter: Nice even taste. The alcohol content and beer flavor make an impression on the first taste. Not that the 5.9% is high, but you get the porter and chocolate followed by the beer/alcohol taste. Surprised, I had not had a beer with good flavor with such a obvious flavor right after. It doesn't smell beer. It has a great odor, dark and rich, would almost say earthy. The color is a nice even dark color, you can't see through it, but I have had darker. I would recommend it, but the price for the "organic" tag makes regular enjoyment difficult. Especially with so many tasty local beers around. (i will be sure to point out the location to the MIL, when they go to Chico.)

Aledaris - Porteris: Lets start out with the what. Brewed in Aldaris, Riga, Latvia. Yeah Latvian Beer. Latvian Porter? I hope so Porteris is the equivalent of Porter and I ain't drinking pig urine. Why, you ask. I went to the store to get beer and got several to taste. It was a reasonable price for a pint and I want to see what passed for Latvian Porter (or pig urine). Well I am sure it's not pig urine (or maybe pig urine in Latvia is great). Unfortunately is doesn't cut it for me as a Porter. It has that sour taste, the same as the Czech Porter I had. It is missing the rich, smokey, malt, dark burnt flavors I like. The sour isn't turn off, I just associate it with European Porters (the few I have had), It leans to more of a sour brown pretending to be a porter. I can see through it, which definitely means not a porter. So as a sour brown it's good. No hops to push you off the flavor, a good broad brown.

Deschutes Brewery - Jubeale: A new year and a new version of Jubeale. If you don't believe that than you are cracked. It has changed ever year for the last 6 years. Subtle, with tweaks here and there but it is different. I like it this year. It still has a high alcohol content 6.9%, but this year it is more of a actual holiday beer. The hops and malt, making it worth buying again and consume most of the year.

Alaskan Brewing - Winter Ale: I always like this beer, since I had it at an Octoberfest 10 years ago. Brewed with Spruce tips it has great flavor and hops. The recipe is always good and don't mess with it. A great odor, reminds me more of a fall than winter.

(haven't sample the last beer yet)

Not pictured:
Redhook Brewing -Winterhook: An ale masquerading as a winter beer. It doesn't have anything I think would qualify as a winter ale or anything. The flavor is okay and the hops are good, but the spices you would assume would be there are barely there on the palate.

Widmer Brothers - Brrrr Seasonal. First impression. It is like a someone crushed a nasty cranberry and rubbed it into my tongue. The second taste is a little more mellow. The spices are even across the tongue. It has a great smell, like you would expect from a seasonal beer. I thought I was going to pour it out. It is too sour of a fruit beer for my liking. My buddy Chris would love it, he is a Cranberry, Belgian type of beerguy. I was trying to figure out what the deal is and look at the alcohol content 7.2%. I couldn't tell there was that much alcohol in it.
"It's like a lambic with an attitude", say the Mrs. I won't buy it again.