New special beers have been put on at The Blacksmith, so get em before the kegs are blown.
Bend Brewing Company – Imperial Pilsner
One of the owners of The Blacksmith and I went over to the Bend Brewing Company for lunch a few weeks ago, and had the good fortune of getting to try their Imperial Pilsner while it was on tap. This is such an enjoyable beer; I’m surprised I didn’t hear all the beer geeks I know in town talking about it.
Smooth … good bitter … great mouthfeel … excellent finish. It is surprising that this beer weighs in at 7.6% ABV (Alcohol by Volume) as it goes down very easily and is extremely refreshing for an imperial. Hops and malt are both clean and flavorful. The darker-than-a-Pilsner color depth is most-likely due to the fact that there were a larger amount of sugars than a traditional Pilsner in the boil (thus, the higher ABV measure). More sugars in the boil means more caramelization, and thus more color.
There’s only one keg of this at The Blacksmith, and I’m not sure how much Tonya has left at the BBC. Come and get some of this while there’s still some to get.
Victory – Storm King Imperial Stout
While my wife and I were on a trip to Eugene to see Queens of the Stone Age … saviors of hard rock … we stopped off at a beer bar called The Bier Stein. While there I loaded up on Victory beers. I’d had their Prima Pils before and loved it. They had others including the Storm King which came highly recommended, so I picked up a few. I absolutely loved it, and now you can too.
Another hit from Victory. This beer is big and roasty. It catches you off guard because it sure doesn’t go down like the big beer that it is. Weighing in at 9.1 ABV, it is full of smooth, creamy, roasty, chocolatey goodness. The hops are present and supporting, but not the star of the show. Great malt backbone, and clean finish. Would probably go great with ice cream or some chocolate.
Victory Storm King photo by Bend Oregon Restaurants
heard you were in with blacksmith on their beer choices…any chance of getting any three floyds?
linds,
Yes … I work with one of the owners on The Blacksmith’s beer selections. We have a wish list that we’re working on with our distributors. While 3F’s Dark Lord is on there, I wouldn’t hold my breath for it to show up at the Blacksmith any time soon. Being able to get high-quality craft beer from the Midwest is a tall order right now. Most of it has to do with supply and complications around beer distribution. Small breweries like Three Floyds have to feed the masses in their own back yard first, so the locals get a good chunk of the product. This is why a lot of Midwesterners were so jealous of how relatively easy it was for us on the West Coast to get this last realease of The Abyss. As I understand it, Three Floyds is currently only distributing to Indiana & Illinois. If this changes, or if I know of someone moving from Indiana, I’ll be sure to make an order and shout it from the rooftops.
ahh, such is life. Thanks for your response!
I agree about the Victory going well with ice cream. I did some tastings against some other stouts and overall found the Victory to be a bit ordinary compared to the likes of the Mikkeller Black Hole and The Foothills Sexual Chocolate. Still good just not the best.