In Amsterdam, we found a beer shop, De Bierkoning, that sells plenty of beers from Oregon, mostly Rogue and a rare bottle of the Abyss, and a bar that exclusively sells American beers, The Beer Temple. It was nice to get back to the familiar. It was nearly impossible to pick from the thirty taps and hundreds of bottles. I couldn’t justify the cost of Westvleteren, but I picked up some stuff I’ve never tried.

I started with Brewdog’s Galaxy IPA. I think it was part of a single hop experiment. It was delicious smelling, super floral and citrusy, so satisfying. It tasted delicious, but came with an odd aftertaste, sort of like bitter coffee. Maybe the glass wasn’t entirely clean. Bobby got the Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout from Flying Dog. It was pretty good, chocolaty, but again a similar off flavor in the back of the throat. I followed up my IPA with a crisp lager from Mikkeller, nice bitterness. I drank that down fast, and I needed more, so I went with the Backburner barley wine from Southern Tier Brewing. It was delicious, too. Sweet smelling with a hint of soy sauce or teriyaki, the flavor was a mix of molasses and cereals. The whole experience was a little weird, American beer in Europe?

High-res I went on a date with Sarah tonight. We went to Wafu, and before the sake course I had a Pils from Heater Allen. My current favorite lager is the Hopworks from last week, but this pilsener is tasty. It’s a bit more bitter than the Hopworks Lager, but just as crisp. I like the earthy, peppery hop flavor. 

I went on a date with Sarah tonight. We went to Wafu, and before the sake course I had a Pils from Heater Allen. My current favorite lager is the Hopworks from last week, but this pilsener is tasty. It’s a bit more bitter than the Hopworks Lager, but just as crisp. I like the earthy, peppery hop flavor. 

High-res We’re at Hopworks drinking some beers after yoga. I had a HUB Lager followed by their Secession Cascadian Dark Ale. Both were very refreshing and interesting. The lager recently won the Willamette Week Pils Off comparing different pilsners from around the state. The HUB lager definitely deserves such distinction. It’s crisp and tasty with a little bit of bread and a healthy dose of bitter with a clean dry finish. It’s so nice. On the other hand I have never thought a black IPA sounded that great. Hops and black malts? At the same time? Actually pretty great. Definitely surprising, the dark smokey, burnt malt flavor melds perfectly with the bitter, grassy hop flavor. It has a porter like darkness and a great green hop flavor. Really interesting.

We’re at Hopworks drinking some beers after yoga. I had a HUB Lager followed by their Secession Cascadian Dark Ale. Both were very refreshing and interesting. The lager recently won the Willamette Week Pils Off comparing different pilsners from around the state. The HUB lager definitely deserves such distinction. It’s crisp and tasty with a little bit of bread and a healthy dose of bitter with a clean dry finish. It’s so nice. On the other hand I have never thought a black IPA sounded that great. Hops and black malts? At the same time? Actually pretty great. Definitely surprising, the dark smokey, burnt malt flavor melds perfectly with the bitter, grassy hop flavor. It has a porter like darkness and a great green hop flavor. Really interesting.