Continuing my Oregon Beer quest at the Oregon Brewers Festival, it was recommended by a couple locals I stopped and talked with that I should try the Organic Rise Up Red from Hopworks Urban Brewery. They told me a bit about the brewery and its commitment to earthy sorts of things – organic, sustainability, biking, etc. They thought the beer was good because of its focus on good, local ingredients. So, I thought, why not…
When it was served, it was a brownish, almost deep amber color and had an extremely thick, creamy, tan head on it. There was a nice citrusy hop aroma coming from it, with hints of pine as well.
The body was light, and the head, it gave it a very creamy and smooth mouthfeel. There were some caramel and biscuity flavors before a nice piney hop flavor kicked in during the finish. It was a good, strong hop flavor, but not a hop monster. The hop flavor was pleasant in the aftertaste, but faded fairly quickly.
Overall, I thought this was a very good beer. It had a nice malt backbone and very nice Northwest style hop flavors. It reminded me of a nice IPA that just happened to be red in color. As far as a food pairing, I think I’d go with something of an Asian flair, like a Mongolian beef or general’s chicken. I think the sauces would pair nicely with this. I enjoyed the Velvet Underground Imperial Black ESB from this brewery as well, so if I make it back to Portland, I think I’d like to try a few more beers from HUB (or Hopworks Urban Brewery).
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