An Evening at Loowit Brewing Company

...with surprise guest, Breakside Brewery.

Stopping in at Loowit Brewing Company recently, we had our first taste of their new menu. Expanded last October to include a kitchen, expanded seating area, new bar, taps, and artwork, this was not our first time into the newly remodeled space but it was our first taste of what's been going on in the kitchen. We ordered the black bean burger with a side of pickled beans. I never would have thought of making pickled beans or putting them on a menu, much less eating them, but they were delicious. We started eating them like a salad, with a fork, and ended up eating them like French fries, with our fingers. Pickled with jalapeño peppers, they were spicy and oddly addictive. We split the burger, flavorful and filling with the addition of bacon and egg on a sweet roll. It was good enough that I looked into making my own at home.

The place was lively on a Monday night with several people at the bar and an intense game of darts underway in the corner. There was plenty of seating as well as beer to choose from with 16 of their own beers on tap plus two guest taps.

Dionysus IPA with pickled beans.

I chose the Dionysus IPA which is aged in white wine barrels for six months. I like wine as well as beer yet it was a mind-bending experience to enjoy flavors of both in the same glass. The combination surprised me at first sip. It was reminiscent of the chardonnay barrel-aged beers of Wander Brewing. As it warmed, the flavors blended harmoniously and I found it was a nice pairing with the pickled beans. 

Hubby chose the 100 Year Storm India Pale Lager which was only 4 IBU compared to Dionysus's 66 but that didn't mean it wasn't powerfully flavorful.  It was medium brown in color, hazy, and rich in stone fruit flavor with Galaxy, Equinox, Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe hops, yet virtually no bitterness from dry-hopping. I never think of "juicy" and "lager" as going together but they did incredibly well in this mouth watering beer.

Finally, we shared a Delirious Funky Cosmonaut IPA. This one clocked in a a big fat 0 IBU. This beer has the same hops as the IPL - 10 pounds per barrel - but, again, no bitterness from dry-hopping. Hazy and mega-juicy, this IPA drinks like juice but will heat you over the head at 7.2% ABV if you're not careful. Dangerously delicious, drink with caution.

Once home, Hubby poured me a blind taste. The beer was deep golden/orange color with an off-white, rocky head, and a steady flow of tiny bubbles rising in the glass (but not overly carbonated). At first sip, it was easily identified as an IPA. Testing my tasting skills, I ventured it was medium-low to medium in bitterness. It had a fruity taste and full (but not creamy) mouthfeel. I guessed it was of medium alcohol although, after the Delirious Funky Cosmonaut, I was prepared to be fooled. Based on its fruitiness, I guessed there was no Simcoe but maybe Citra in its hop profile and thought maybe yeast lent to its mouthfeel (although it was not hazy). Aware of what we have on hand, I knew it was a PNW beer but could not guess the brewery, although I did predict it came from Oregon. I was thinking specifically of Hood River and, if pressed, would have guessed it was a pFriem beer.

In the end, it turned out to be Wanderlust IPA from Breakside Brewery (64 IBU/6.2% ABV). I was wrong about the Simcoe but piled on top was Amarillo, Cascade, Mosaic, Summit (no Citra) to lend to it's big fruity flavor. It was the Munich malt that gave the beer it's mouthfeel and color, and softened the hops with its sweetness. Wanderlust, winner of multiple awards, was a winner even if my tasting skills were not.

Practice, practice, practice.