Zen Of Beer

I'm not 100% sure what the difference is between a black ale and a stout or porter, but this, to me, stands up well in the stout category. The pour produced a thick creamy head that didn't stick around too long, and the beer, as the name implies, is black. Nose - slightly hoppy with a light, but rich, chocolate. Mouth feel - creamy, similar to their milk stout. Flavor - hints of chocolate, mildly hoppy, dark roasted malt, a bit of stout like astringency. All in all, a good beer, maybe a 4 star. I'd enjoy again.

So, a couple of days ago I was out with the family for a day trip in search of the ocean in Oregon. Driving through Hillsboro my wife caught site of Mainbrew Beer , so we figured we’d check in and see what was there. If you get a chance, drop in. They’ve got everything from the standard malts and equipment to a decent beer and soft drink selection, glassware, it’s a beer drinker’s candy store. Anyway, what excited me was the wide selection of base malts. I didn’t examine all of them, but there were like 8. The shop I usually frequent has two. In the collection I saw a Global Kolsch. It’s summer, it’s hot, and Kolsch is one of my two summer favorites, so I had to jump on it. Yesterday I picked up some white wheat and Vienna malt to add to it, so if plans work out as expected tonight I should be starting to brew up a slightly strong Kolsch style. More details to come.