Finally, it is time for us to post about one of the best beers I have ever tasted. In preparation for this blog I wanted to spend some time making sure this life-long relationship was real. How many times have you tried a beer a second or third time to find it doesn’t compare to your original assessment? Maybe it was the food pairing. Could have been that particular batch. Or possibly it was the not so good beer you tried right before. After almost every Tuesday for over 8 months of visiting Bend Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon I can truly say this beer is unequaled by few in the community. With a 9.2% ABV this time around Hop-Head Imperial IPA is a sweet and smooth treat with a power packed punch to the noggin’ if you’re not careful.
Hop-Head’s home, Bend Brewing Company, is a great spot to hang out and kick it after work any day of the week. The dining area is cozy and sports fans will love the TVs in view of most tables. The bar is one step above the dining area and can seat quite a few hop heads waiting for a pour of gold! In the summer time the back patio provides a great spot to chill out while viewing the Deschutes River at Mirror Pond.
Amazingly, Bend Brewing Company has occupied the same building for it’s 15 years of existence. The brewery was actually the 2nd brewery to be founded in Bend. The beers are all nurtured by their awesome brewmasters including one of a handful of female brewmasters, Tonya Cornett. Hop-Head and some of their other brews have won medals at many prestigious beer festivals around the globe. After trying any of their award winners it’s easy to see why locals night at the pub is always busy!
Tonya Cornett and the Bend Beer Bloggers!
Earlier this year, we did a trade deal with Justin Iverson, aka PB Hoss for all you twitter fans. We designed his beer cellar door and he gave us a case of his wonderful amber home brew. Thanks Justin, we enjoyed it!! And we hope to come out and brew with you some time!
Ninkasi has been a power house in the local beer industry this past year. They are doing great things not only with their beers, but with promotion and advertising as well. It takes a lot to stand a part from all the other local breweries. Good beer is just part of the puzzle. We recently had a chance to give their Maiden The Shade a try and were very pleased to find this beer can definitely stand on it’s own.
Style: American IPA
Ingredients:
Malts: ???
Hops: ???
Yeast & Water: ???
Specs:
- 6.8% ABV
- Starting Gravity: 1065
- 72 IBU
- Preferred Glass: Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler), Mug (or Seidel, Stein)
- Food Pairing: Cuisine (Curried, Thai) Cheese (peppery; Monterey / Pepper Jack, sharp; Blue, Cheddar, pungent; Gorgonzola, Limburger) Meat (Poultry, Fish, Shellfish, Salmon)
- Established 2009
- Available: Seasonally on draft and in 22oz. bottles
We picked up this beer at our local Whole Foods. Caldera Brewing located in Ashland, Oregon brews this pretty tasty American IPA. We can’t help but love the label on this one!
Style: IPA
Ingredients:
Malts: ???
Hops: ???
Yeast & Water: ???
Specs:
- 6.8% ABV
- ??? IBU
- Preferred Glass: Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler), Mug (or Seidel, Stein)
- Food Pairing: Cuisine (Curried, Thai) Cheese (peppery; Monterey / Pepper Jack, sharp; Blue, Cheddar, pungent; Gorgonzola, Limburger) Meat (Poultry, Fish, Shellfish, Salmon)
“An imperial IPA brewed in the northwest tradition with American 2 row and crystal malts balanced with Five different northwest varietal hops. Fruity flowery and BIG!” – Silver Moon Brewing
I wonder what the correct spelling for this brew is… Hoptygon (as written on their website) or Hop-tagon (as written on the bottle)?? hmmmm.
Style: IPA
Ingredients:
Malts: 2 Row and Crystal
Hops: Five different northwest varietal hops
Yeast & Water: ???
Specs:
- 9% ABV
- 7.2% ABW
- 99 IBU
- Preferred Glass: Pint
- Copper (English pale ale) (10 SRM)
We are big fans of the Ninkasi Brewery and are so glad they take the time to keep us up-to-date here in Bend, Oregon. We highly recommend that you try all of Ninkasi beers as they are great at what they do. Visit their website at www.ninkasibrewing.com and here is what they say about this outstanding beer:
Multiple hops collide in balanced perfection, dominating the senses, achieving total satisfaction. From the Pacific Northwest, birthplace of the modern IPA, comes a beer whose name says it all.
- Established 2006
- Starting Gravity: 1067
- IBUs: 65
- ABV: 6.7%
- Available: All year in 22oz. Bottles and on Draft
We love to hear what you think, so don’t forget to rate this beer below!
We grabbed this bomber at the Whole Foods down the street. They have a pretty good selection of local beers and we love just looking around the store when we get a chance. My love of hops was telling me this one was going to be good. Plus we have been a Silver Moon fan for a good while, but still have not nailed a favorite from the brewer. Maybe this would be it.
So here are the details:
Style: American IPA
Ingredients:
Malts: ??
Hops:??
Yeast & Water: ??
Specs:
- 5.9% ABV
- ??º PLATO
- 40 IBU
- ?? AA
- ??º Lovibond
HISTORY
Brewed in Bend, Oregon.
Further Reading
http://www.silvermoonbrewing.com/hop-knob-ipa.html
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10271/45501
This beer was actually one of the first I ever purchased when starting to blog about craft brews. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to look at the cover of a book before deciding to read it. Fortunately, after giving this beer a taste I am OK with that judgment. By the price tag on this little bottle I knew it wasn’t just your regular ol beer. Reading the label just made me excited about what I was about to try.
I don’t have a lot on this one. If anybody can chip in please do. Here are the specs:
Style: American Strong Ale
Ingredients:
Malts: ??
Hops: ??
Yeast & Water:??
Specs:
- 8.6% ABV
- ??º PLATO
- ?? IBU
- ?? AA
- ??º Lovibond
This was our first tasting experience with friends. We have been planning on doing something like this and finally got a chance to get a small group of friends together and rate beer. Again, we grabbed this beer at Newport Market in Bend, OR. While we were there Ninkasi was also in the building giving out samples of Spring Reign, Total domination, and Tricerahops. The guy running the booth was jamming to some oldies and having a great time pouring us a few. After that scene it was given that the night would be a Ninkasi night so we grabbed three of the Ninkasi labels and headed to the house.
Cali has recently been talking about her growing like for Ninkasi over her long time favorite Rogue. She loves the events (Last Band Standing, etc.), and promotions that Ninkasi are doing all over Oregon. That along with the good beer has really amped her excitement for the brewery.
Nothing is better for movie night than a couple of beers. We all sipped this one out of a pint glass. Our guest, Eric and Anne, are not beer tasting experts either and all ratings are just for fun. Besides, everything is subjective anyway so what’s good to you may not be for someone else. Hey, art is art…
Thanks again to Eric and Anne for the great time! Glad we stopped at two beers because I needed all my wits for Shutter Island. Great beer and great movie!
First check out the specs:
Style: American Blonde Ale
Ingredients
Malts: ???
Hops:???
Yeast & Water: ???
Specs:
- Established 2009
- 38 IBU
- Starting Gravity: 1052
- ABV: 6%
- Available: Seasonally in 22oz. Bottles and on Draft
I grabbed this one at Newport Market in Bend, OR. The cover reminded me of the first time I drove through Weed, California. Definitely sparked my inner Oregonian to seek more information on this one. All I can say is this one is packed with hops!
First check out the specs:
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Ingredients
Malts: ???
Hops:???
Yeast & Water: ???
Specs:
- 9% ABV
- 100 IBU
- ?? AA
- ??º Lovibond
