1001 Beers: Pike Brewing

1001 Beers: Pike IPA & Monk's Uncle Triple



I have started every other blog post about this place with this image, so I figured there was no reason to change things up now. I have been to this brewery a few more times than I ever thought, but apparently there is a ton of history behind both it, and the owners. I wish I would have planned things out better in order to try and talk to them. I mean, a Saturday is not the best day to go to Pike Place. Though, being from the Seattle Area, I already knew this.

Beer Number 69: Pike IPA

"We start with sea water from the 18th century, flown over from England," quips Pike Brewing Company's founder Charles Finkel. "We were one of the first to do an IPA on the West Coast. We wanted, as much as possible, to create an 18th-century India Pale Ale, but with local flavor as well."

I feel they pretty much accomplished their goal when it came to the ideals behind this IPA. It may have been wild 5-10 years ago, but it was fairly mellow and had an awesome balance despite the hop presence. Grassy with tropical fruits in the finish. Very easy drinking.



Beer Number 70: Monk's Uncle Triple

Pike Monk's Uncle Tripel was originally brewed in 2006 to celebrate the fact that the Finkels had re-aquired the Pike Brewing Company after an eight-year absence. A total of 500 limited-edition bottles were given to key accounts and friends of the brewery to say thank you for their support.

I have had a few Triples, some quite a bit better than others but thisone was not bad. Spicy, fruity, sweet and sticky. A high carbonation level and a bit of hops in the finish. They said it was 9% abv, but I couldn't really feel it until I stood up. Good thing I only had to walk around the packed market.



931 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

Chimay White

I wonder if I did something wrong to this bottle. When I first went to unwrap the metal clamp holding the cork into the bottle it shot out of my hand and the cork went flying up to the ceiling. The bottle then began to slowly foam up...

I transported this bottle to Seattle with me but I did not do anything that I think would have hurt the bottle. I kept it within the proper temperature range and everything for the just about the whole trip minus the initial 7 hour drive, and then the last of the drive... I do not know what happened. None of the other bottles in which I opened from the cellar had this effect (I plan to open Chimay Blue tonight as well) so the only thing I can think of is infection, but I am sure I would have heard about that somewhere... and I purchased all three bottles at the same time and from the same location. I mean sure, they may not have transported together or were brewed at the same time, or stored in the same or best conditions, but this is just really weird for a beer...

Anyway...

As I did not have the proper Chalice for this beer, I drank it out of my Hair Of The Dog Tulip. I love this glass, it is probably one of my favorite glass types. I am so sad that my The Bruery glass is in storage. I will miss that thing ~tear~ I was very much looking forward to this beer because I love Triples... or at least all of the ones that I have had... well most...

Appearance: It is a hazy copper color and poured a huge white head. I am assuming this is a side effect to what ever is wrong with the bottle because as soon as it became, what I would call normal, the head was small, white, and beady. Very similar to what I experienced with The Red that I reviewed Here.

Nose: I get some yeast character. It is somewhat spicy but does not burn the nose and a little fruity... That of bananas? and cloves probably bring the spice I am referring to.

Taste: At first it tasted a little metallic. Which did not make much sense to me. It faded away after drinking a bit of this and then it became quite smooth, spicy, and somewhat citrusy. Alcohol lingers in the finish, but seems to be quite dry.

Mouthfeel: It has a high level of carbonation but it does not detract from the beer. I tend to like very little carbonation, but it all depends on the style. It feels right for this beer, but the beer seems a little thin underneath the carbonation. I guess that is where the flavors live and I did not notice it at all until I started trying to pick it out.

Overall I liked this beer. It is a good Tripel, but I would want to taste a fresh bottle or something because I do not believe that mine was in perfect condition. It behaved strangely but still tasted good so i guess I cannot complain too much. A very nice beer to have with only seven days left to go.