Oregon IPA 2016

When I tell my East-Coast friends that we always spend a significant portion of our week in Oregon at the beach, they often ask me how the beach in Oregon is different than beaches near D.C. "Completely," is my usual answer. Beach time at Rehoboth Beach is a hotel-lined boardwalk, a groomed sandy beach completely packed with people, lifeguards, and gentle waves dotted with swimmers. We love our time there, but none of those things exist at our Oregon beach. If there's more than 5 other people on the beach it feels crowded. The sand is naturally contoured with driftwood. You can go in the ocean, although I never do, given how cold and powerful it is. Plus there are no lifeguards. There are walks on the beach, evening campfires and mountains in the near distance.

And there is really good local India Pale Ale (IPA). We always make a point to stock up on bottles (or cans) that we've never tried before to see if we can discover a new favorite. It's been 2 years since we did this tasting, since we weren't in Oregon last year. Our 2012 favorite was Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, which we included in our 2013 and 2014 tastings. We didn't include Ninkasi this year, but for a very good reason: it's now available on the East Coast! Yes, I can buy all the Ninkasi I want at Whole Foods now, and it's become our go-to IPA. Deschutes Brewery's Chasin' Freshies fresh-hop IPA bested our 2013 tasting. And in 2014, our champion was Laurelwood Brewing Company's Workhorse IPA. Laurelwood returned to our slate this year, along with three new options. On to the tasting!

We had our first Laurelwood Brewing Co. IPAs at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, our favorite lunch spot in Tillamook. We sampled two of them, our 2014 favorite, Workhorse IPA, and a new one, Green Elephant IPA. Upon our initial sampling, Green Elephant IPA was our favorite of the two. According to Laurelwood's site, Green Elephant has a "mellow malt character," which was definitely true. It has that clean, fresh even citrusy taste that lets the hops really shine. In contrast, Workhorse has a more balanced hop-malt profile and a touch of sweetness. That said, Workhorse was available at Fred Meyer, so we picked up a six-pack. The more we drank it through the week, the more we actually realized that it was a our favorite. It's got a good happiness, but it's refreshing too, the kind of IPA that works great in warm or cool weather.

Worthy IPA from Worthy Brewing Company was good, but probably our least favorite of this group.  It's not as muscular an IPA as I like, but it has a nicely balanced flavor. Better, but still not a favorite was Cyclops IPA from Cascade Lakes Brewing Company, which was decently hoppy but not overly so.

Our other favorite this year is Vortex IPA from Fort George Brewery. This is brewed in Astoria, Oregon, which is about an hour's drive from our beach house. This beer has a nice hop intensity, exactly what I like, while managing to stay very drinkable. It comes a 16-oz. can, so you get a little extra (or it's perfect for splitting if you're going to have a few). It was an ideal accompaniment to our Upper Crust Pizza.

Favorite: A tie between Laurelwood Workhorse IPA and Fort George Vortex IPA.

Related

Tasting of Oregon Craft Ales (2012)

A Second Round of Oregon IPAs (2013)

Tasting of Oregon IPAs, 2014

Tasting of Oregon IPAs, 2014

A trip to Oregon isn't complete with an IPA...or nine as the case may be for us this year. We were pretty aggressive in trying a variety of them this year, both old favorites and a few we hadn't had before.

Oregon IPA of the Year: Laurelwood Workhorse IPA. We first tasted this beer over lunch with friends at a Laurelwood Pub in Portland's Sellwood neighborhood and were bowled over by how good it is. When we went to stock up on beer for the beach house, Fred Meyer was sadly sold out. But then when we made a return trip to Freddie's because we needed some other things, I was delighted to see they had it back in stock and snagged a six-pack. This beer is assertively hoppy as we like, but it's more than just hoppy, with a bit of grapefruit nose and even a little of sweetness.

Other favorites: We've had Deschutes Brewery's Inversion IPA before and were happy to revisit it this year. We've been into hoppy IPAs for years, although lately I've learned that I like an IPA that isn't just hoppy. I like it to be balanced with a little citrus or fruit. That's why we loved Laurelwood's Workhorse IPA and also why Inversion IPA is another favorite. It's also why Ninkasi's Total Domination IPA, our favorite in 2012, is no longer our "top favorite" but rather one among several we like, as the strongly bitter ale doesn't offer as much other flavors. 10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA was also pretty bitter, although not as much as the Ninkasi IPA and offered a bit of malty flavor. I'll also give props to Bridgeport's Hop Czar IPA, which nicely balances its bitterness with a bit of spice and fruit.

Others sampled: A definite mis-match for our taste was the Pelican Silverspot IPA. This IPA is made in the English-style, rather than the American West-Coast style we love, and the difference is noticeable. It's hopped, but not nearly as bitter as the usual IPA and noticeably maltier in taste. Interesting, but just not our thing. We were also disappointed by the Widmer Upheaval IPA, which wasn't very flavorful (full disclosure: we tasted this one in advance of our trip, as I spotted it on the shelf at Whole Foods. I must say though, it stings that Widmer, along with Rogue, are the only Oregon beers I see with regularity in D.C. I wish some of these others--Deschutes Brewery this means you--would get wider distribution here). Bridgeport's other beer we tried, the Bridgeport Trilogy 2: Aussie Salute, part of a limited-release series, is a pretty light IPA, and thus not really something to sate hopheads like us. Lastly, Silver Moon's Hop Knob IPA wasn't bad, but just not very memorable as compared to some of the other hoppy IPAs we sampled this year.

A Second Round of Oregon IPAs

Following up on last year's post on Oregon craft ales, this year, during our annual fall trip to the state, we tackled a slate of IPAs to find our favorite for the season. We were surprised to find that last year's favorite, the Total Domination IPA by Ninkasi, while still good, was no longer our favorite this year. Instead that honor went to ...

Chasin' Freshies, fresh hop IPA, Deschutes Brewery. ABV (alcohol by volume): 7.2%. IBUs (international bittering units): 65. Our favorite IPA was this seasonal fresh-hopped selection from Deschutes Brewery. It's a nicely hoppy beer but with fruity, floral notes too. Clean and crisp with good body. Loved it so much I went back to the store and bought a second bottle.

Breakside IPA, Breakside Brewery. ABV: 6.5%. This one doesn't appear in the photo above since I had it on tap at Bar Carlo. Like this Chasin' Freshies, this is another very hoppy beer that's nicely balanced with fruit. It's definitely got the bitterness of an IPA but more quite refreshing too.

Apocalypse IPA, 10 Barrel Brewing Co. ABB: 6.8% IBUs: 70. This one didn't have the "wow" factor like Chasin' Freshies or Breakside, yet I found myself reaching for it again and again throughout the week. It's a nicely balanced IPA, with fruit and malt flavors balancing the bitterness.

Total Domination IPA, Ninkasi Brewing Company. ABV: 6.7%. IBUs: 65. Still strong enough to satisfy any hophead. This beer is bitter. Not particularly fruity or malty. It's all hops with a perfect medium body. I still enjoyed it, but it wasn't my favorite this year.

Hopworks IPA, Hopworks Urban Brewery. ABV: 6.5%. IBUs: 70. Despite its stated IBUs, this one didn't seem as bitter to me as several of the others. Body is on the lighter side with hints of fruit and citrus.

Bridgeport IPA, Bridgeport Brewing Company. ABV: 5.5%. IBUs: 50. The lower IBUs really shows here. It's much less assertive than the other beers. So, while perhaps not a choice for hop-heads, it's still a nicely balance beer with hints of fruit and malt.

Tasting Oregon Craft Ales

We admit it: we're hopheads. Chris and I probably won't be satisfied until someone brews a bottle that comes with actual hops floating in it. Until then, we're reasonably satisfied with the selection of hoppy IPAs and amber ales available on the east coast. DC Brau's The Corruption IPA is a current favorite, but we're also big fans of Troeg's Hopback Amber Ale (not so much into Dogfish 60-Minute IPA as we used to be, but it's still good on occasion).

 But our occasional visits to Oregon mean an opportunity to sample the state's embarrassingly good variety of craft ales. Hoppy beers are naturally at home in Oregon, arguably one of the finest regions for American-made craft ales, particularly India Pale Ale (IPA).

During our recent visit, we sampled quite a few fine varieties. After coming home, I was still entranced by our favorite--Ninkasa's heady Total Domination Ale--and sorely disappointed to discover it's not sold in D.C. I tried to commiserate with a can of Corruption IPA, but by comparison, it tasted flat and one-dimensional.

Here's a rundown of what we tried:

Total Domination Ale, Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, Oregon (American IPA, 6.7% ABV). Hands down our favorite beer of the group: a deliciously assertive IPA with intensely bitter hop flavor and a clean finish. It's flavor isn't particularly malty, which I like.

Inversion IPA, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon (American IPA, 6.8% ABV). Deschutes Brewery has been around for awhile, so I'm surprised that I still don't see their beers on the East Coast yet. The Inversion IPA is a great brew for hop lovers. Its flavors are nicely balanced: it's strongly hoppy and bit malty, with a flavor that leans toward fruity.

Hop Czar Imperial IPA, BridgePort Brewing, Portland, Oregon (American Imperial Double IPA, 7.5% ABV). This is definitely hoppy. It has a light, cloudy amber color and a thick texture. Tasty, but not as easy to sit around and drink all afternoon.

India Red Ale, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., Redmond, Oregon (American Amber/Red Ale, 6.8% ABV). Apart from the IPAs, this was another favorite. It has a balanced hop and malt flavor with a somewhat smoky taste, almost like a porter. Ruby amber color.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Deschutes Brewery (American Pale Ale, 5% ABV). I remember I used to like this. It's not bad, but compared to the IPAs it doesn't stand out as a favorite. It has a light amber color with visible yeast. It's pretty floral and malty, but not very hoppy, at least not to me.

Dead Guy Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon (Maibock, 6.6% ABV). This one should be familiar to many, since it's distributed nationally. It has a cloudy, dark amber color and a malty, but not too hoppy flavor. I didn't think this was as interesting as the other beers we sampled. If I get tired of hops and want something malty though, it's not a bad choice.