Shoo, Better Fill 'er Up

(Yes, I'm posting stuff I've written for tastings at my job [more on that later?] but since a good portion [all] of you haven't read it, it's new to you!)

I spent the past few days (back in October) in Portland, Oregon visiting some friends and enjoying some fruits of our microbial friend, the yeast cells', labor (I have a swollen ankle to prove it.) There's the big conception that everyone on the west coast loves hops, or precisely, loves MORE hops. My first beer (at a bar called East Burn, they have hammock chairs to drink in) was a red ale called Devestation, and it did nothing to disprove the idea. Big, juicy hops followed by a smidge of caramel followed by bigger, juicier hops.

So now I'm back on the east coast and I can't taste a thing. My lips feel like leather. My tongue is coated in humulone. I looked around the beer room, thinking "there has to be SOMETHING brewed on the east coast that can compete with such bitterness." And though I'm not sure if
we'll ever catch up to our buddies across the yard (and to be honest, I don't know if we should) I think I've found a few beers that can at least stand up and say "taste me, and destroy your palate."

I know what you're thinking. "But Beer Guy, I'm into malt, I much prefer a Scotch ale to an IPA." Tough shit. We all have to do things we don't want to sometimes - It's life. I will tell you that if you look (taste) hard enough, you'll find a sweetness in any bitter beer.

Starr Hill Northern Lights (Crozet, Va) 6% abv,
I've had this beer a few seperate times, each leaving me with a different impression. Today however, NoLights (as I am sometimes apt to call it) pours a hazy, honey color, that hints at least a small part of its smell. Mostly the nose is full of citric, bordering on harsh, hops, with a little
honey graham cracker in the back.

BIG bitter hops splash against the tongue, which is followed by some caramel and some toast, and is finished with citrus hop.

Blue Mountain Full Nelson (afton, Va) 5.9% abv, 12.99/6P
Touted as a "Strong Pale Ale," this one isn't fooling me; it's pure India. Nomenclature aside, Full Nelson pours clear amber with a thick head that subside to a thin layer of lacing.Hops take a back seat to bread crust and biscuit, but that doesn't mean we don't get any. Blue Mountain grows some of their own hops, as do I. The cascade vines my father and I harvested smelled like Thai peppers, and I'm getting a vague spiciness that I wouldn't be surprised if it was attributed to Virginia terroir.

Up front there is a floral quality, which gives way to breadcrust, which gives way to an acidic burst, finishing on toasted malt.