(no subject)

[olivermoss]

One of the nice things about my hobby being Walk Portland A Lot is nabbing beers along the way. I made a detour on today's photowalk to snag some beers at Belmont Station (which, confusingly, is on Stark. There's a historical reason for the name). I wanted to grab more Mt Tabor Red Flannel to make the label into washi tape, but they were out. They did have:



I have about a beer a week, so this haul is me good for a while. Next time I am near Ecliptic's brewpub I need to pick up a shirt or two. I am becoming a big fan of their stuff and wish I'd tried it earlier. I also love Crux. Wildcraft is hit or miss, but a winter press sounded interesting.

Comments

[oracne]

I love all the weird labels on microbrews. I don't really like the taste of beer, but I will spend a long time staring at the labels in the store.

[olivermoss]

I don't like IPAs, which limits my options for fun labels. If a brewery does a geeky, meme or other sort of pop culture release it's always an IPA, Double IPA, etc. One local brewery did an Eagle Fang (from Cobra Kai) and of course it was an IPA.

[mistressofmuses]

All of those are excellent can designs! The Ecliptic one sounds intriguing (and the others sound good, too.) I really don't care much for beer most of the time, but stout is often an exception, or things that trend more toward cider-y flavors. I hope these are all good!

[olivermoss]

The Ecliptic one was good, but also a bit different from the rice lagers I am used to. I mostly like stouts, porters and ciders. Sadly, IPAs are still like 70% of the selection at most stores here. This town is insane for IPAs and I don't get it.

[mistressofmuses]

I've never tried a rice lager!

Those are the three I'd pick - stouts, porters, ciders - if I had to pick a beer! I genuinely DID think I just hated beer, with hard cider as the only exception, and then Taylor had me try a stout they bought at a concert we went to. Turns out, maybe I just hate IPAs!

IPAs reign supreme here, too. Denver (+ Boulder, and Colorado as a whole) had a big microbrew boom over the last decade, though not quite like Portland. But it's definitely a lot of IPAs compared to anything else. (WHY?)

[olivermoss]

I don't know why IPAs are so big. I *think* the first beer I liked was a German Wheat Beer. Random, I know. I love a good peach lambic if I can get one.

Rice lagers are big in Japan. There is an imported rice lager called Echigo Koshihikari that I pick up if I am near the Japanese grocery store. That's the flavor I expect from rice beers, which likely gave me an unfair expectation.

[mistressofmuses]

I do not understand why IPAs are *the* style of choice. I have never had peach lambic, but I love peach and that sounds really good.

Not surprising that they'd be A Thing in Japan. But I can also see a more genuine import spoiling you for future brands, ha.