Hale's Ale's "Red Menace" Amber Ale

4 out of 5 Hops






Another Seattle staple brewery, Hale's Ale's, and their delicious hoppy amber, Red Menace. I love the name and bottle label for this beer. The bust of Lenin in the picture is of an actual statue located in Fremont, just north of Seattle, where the brewery is located.Here is the story of the statue. I have to love this beer, if just for the label. Truth is though, it tastes good too. Style could be compared to an American Pale Ale, but with more toasted malt flavor and color. Hoppier than its UK cousin but not infringing on the IPA category. This fine brew is deep red color, almost brown until held to the light. The aroma is toasty, malty, and a touch of piney hops. The taste is initially a mild sweetness, then quickly balanced by moderate hop; about 37 IBU. The Centennial hop only is used exclusively for this beer. Bonus points for Single hop beer! The hop oils cling to your mouth for a while afterwards...in a good way though. The flavor has a slight black tea flavor left behind. Not sure my feelings on that. Mouthfeel is full bodied, but not to the point of being thick and creamy. I could not find the ABV for this beer, but given the original gravity of 1.056 I would calculate it is around 6% or just under. There is a bit of yeast sediment in the bottle, which makes me assume this has been bottled conditioned for carbonation. Bonus points for bottle conditioning! Hale's has been around since 1983 and still going strong. Try the Red, and if you like it, Join the Party!

Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale

4 out of 5 Hops

Redhook is a local Seattle icon in Beer History. What began in Ballard in 1982 has continued to be a staple brewery. Redhook ESB is a definite grocery store "go-to" beer in my book. This is a moderately hopped ale at 32 IBU, great dark amber color, and a nose of malt and subtle Chinook hops. This is brew is made with 4 different grains and 3 hops: Willamette, Saaz, and Chinook. At 5.9%, its a decent ABV beer to toss a few back while tossing the football or raking the fall leaves. The aftertaste is clean and not oily or thick in the mouth. Great beer in Autumn to get ready for hopped up stronger Winter Ales. Cheers! www.redhook.com

Stone Brewing "Oaked" Arrogant Bastard

4 out of 5 Hops


Another Great Brew from the folks at Stone Brewing (www.stonebrew.com). I've long been a fan of their many tasty beers. This of course is the oak barrel aged the Arrogant Bastard ale which falls somewhere between an Amber and an IPA...like an Anabolic Amber. Rumor has it the IBU is somewhere in the 100-102 range with all Chinook hops. This bad boy runs 7.2% ABV and has a smokey hopped aroma. Taste is smoother than regular Arrogant with a distilled liquor after taste. Careful chuggin these down, they are addicting. Its a sit and relax and sip kinda brew for me. Damn fine beer.

Scuttlebutt Brewing Amber Ale

3 out of 5 Hop Cones


This is a local beer from north of Seattle in Everett. It has a well balanced taste that leans to the bitter side. I don't detect any malty taste or sweetness that I normally think of with an amber. Of course for my taste I would enjoy more aroma from the finishing hops. This ale is a 5.1% A.B.V and is hopped with Mt Hood and Willamette hops. Although this is not a standout flavor for me, I find very good and enjoyable...just not remarkable. I am an avid supporter of local brews so I would highly recommend all to try this one and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to finding some of their seasonals shown on the website! scuttlebuttbrewing.com

Spaten Oktoberfest

4 out 5 Hops

So after enjoying the He'Brew "Messiah Bold", I switched gears to try a lager. I must say there was a little disgust in my thoughts because I don't like many lagers. Something about too many North American Light Lagers as a teenager I suppose. They tend to have that..uh.."lager aftertaste". Well lets just say I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Its a dark amber colored lager with a very faint lager smell and little to no foam. The ABV is 5.9%. I really really enjoyed the taste of this! If only all lagers were this good. It has a very balanced hop/malt clean flavor to it. I would recommend splitting a cold six-pack of this Munich goodness between you and your buddy this summer. http://spatenusa.com/6_what_new/6_3_promotions/index.htm. Yumm