Review: Cascade Lakes, Rooster Tail Pale Ale

I remember drinking this one about 3 years back and being far more impressed than I am now.  Maybe my sense of taste has sharpened.  On the other hand, I may have been drinking crap beer all along and never realized it.  I picked up a six-er of the once friendly Rooster Tail Pale Ale and I have to say; if I had brewed a beer that tasted like this does now, I would have given it a sailors funeral.  It has a orangeish straw color and appears clear and refreshing upon visual inspection.  A little smell test reveals something odd.  Butter.  Home brewers know this problem all too well.  The fermentation may not have been complete before they transferred, or they are having a problem with sanitation.  Either way, this beer is almost undrinkable.  It has nice carbonation and a pleasant appearance but I'm having a hard time finding any other redeeming qualities in this one.  It'll get ya drunk?  Well, there's better ways to do that, so, lets get to the numbers.

Aroma: 4/12   Appearance: 2/3   Flavor: 6/20   Mouthfeel: 1/5  Overall Impression:  4/10  Total:  17/50


Fail, fail, and fail.  I can't get over the mouthfeel.  It's like greasy butter or like if someone microwaved a stick of butter and poured it into a cup of water.  Cascade Lakes Brewery has a problem that needs to be fixed.  I'll have to check out some of their other beers to see if the problem is widespread.  

Review: Ninkasi Brewing Company, Maiden The Shade

Here's a beer that I don't see around too much.  Maiden The Shade from Ninkasi Brewing under the right light looks kinda like orange crush.  It has a very strong pineapple smell and a nice frothy stable head.  Seven different hop varieties go into this "Summer IPA"  gives it a real nice hop character which helps to balance out the large amount of malt in this one.  6.8% alcohol by volume means that your weekly lawn mowing can become challenging, however; this one drinks very smooth.  A few sips later it seems almost sweet and the hops seem to mellow out just enough.  This one didn't have the bitterness of an IPA but I like the idea of a lighter, sweeter IPA as a good change from the imperial IPA's I've been sampling recently. . . . Ruination IPA anyone!?  I just brewed a 10 gallon "clone" batch of Ruination IPA that needs some dry hopping very soon.  This Maiden does have some thicker malt aftertaste that helps you remember what you're drinking.  This ain't no light beer folks.  It's refreshing, hoppy, and easily drinkable.  I'm in Bend, Oregon as some of you know; where can I drink Ninkasi beers on draft?  Here's the number rundown...

Aroma: 8/12   Appearance: 3/3   Flavor: 14/20   Mouthfeel: 3/5  Overall Impression:  7/10  Total:  35/50


Another very nice beer from Ninkasi, I think I'm gonna have to take a trip over to the valley and have some straight from the source.  I need to come out to Hop Madness one of these years...  Has anyone ever been?  Let me know!