I’m in Seattle, Washington for work this week and arrived in town today. After getting in, I hit Elysian and enjoyed a couple of their seasonal pumpkin beers (Blight Pumpkin Ale and Dark O’ the Moon) with lunch, and then stopped at Pyramid Brewery Seattle Alehouse and had their Hop Tep II. After checking into my hotel and going up in the Space Needle, my cousin called and told me to meet him at Two Beers Brewing when he got off work. He walked down the street from work and met me here for a beer before we rushed off to stop at Georgetown Brewing before they closed for the day. They had a few things on the beer menu I was interested in, and I was hoping we might come back here before they closed, but we didn’t get a chance to.
Location: On tap and served in a 12oz curved glass at Two Beers Brewing in Seattle, WA.
Numbers: 5.6% ABV, 61 IBUs, ~ 160 Calories
Numbers: Hops: Cascade, Centennial and Chinook.
Appearance & Aroma: It’s brown in color and fairly clear. It had a good sized, cream-colored head, which stuck around for a while and left some nice lacing on the glass. It had a nice piney and slightly citrusy hop aroma.
Taste & Feel: The body was light-medium and the mouthfeel was somewhat creamy and smooth. The flavor up front was malty, with some caramel and light toasty-nutty notes. In the middle, the bitterness kicked in, with citrus and a piney-resin hop flavor that grew though the finish. The hop flavors lingered for a bit in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: This was primarily a citrusy-piney, hop flavored beer with just a bit of toasted nuttiness up front. Therefore, I’d pair this with something heart and flavorful, such as a cheeseburger or steak. The nuttiness would help to transition from the food to the beer, and the hoppy flavors would be left after each sip.
Overall Impression: I’ve had Dogfish Head’s and Boulder’s India Brown Ale, and have enjoyed them, but, true to the “Cascadian” style, this one uses lots of Northwest hops (Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook) to give it a citrusy hop flavor. I think I prefer the India Brown Ale style, as I feel like the toasted nuttiness in brown ales lends itself a bit more to the earthy and spicy hop flavors (rather than citrus). Overall, I still thought this was a pretty good, drinkable beer that hop lovers will enjoy.
My Rating: 
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