BBC Imperial Pilsner and Victory Storm King at The Blacksmith
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
Appearance: Pours a hazy pale golden. This beer is noticibly unfiltered, so there’s lots of little floaties (which, in my opinion, is a good thing here). Decent carbonation. The head dissipated quickly, leaving a little ring around the glass.
Appearance: Deep amber. Tan, inch-high head that settles into a quarter-inch layer that stays for about a quarter of the glass.
Appearance: Cloudy, straw, a little murky. Great big-bubbled head with good retention at least halfway through the glass (thank you wheat!).
Appearance: White head of big bubbles sitting on top of a clear, straw colored beer. Big carbonation.
Appearance: Small, white head that settles to a surface covering rather quickly. Hazy straw-orange color with some … wow, this is definitely unfiltered. Plenty of tasty bits suspended in the beer.
Appearance: Off white head, beautiful orange color, big bubbles in head around glass. A little hazy, but plenty of light gets through to show off the color and the good carbonation bubbling up.
