It seems that more and more breweries are putting out blended beers. Some of these blends are subtle, like Allagash’s Interlude and Odyssey. These two brews each started as a single batch, but are then split, aged separately, and blended back together before bottling. Dogfish Head employs the same method for their Black & Blue and Red & White. DFH also takes blending a step further with Burton Baton; a straight up blend of their 90 Minute IPA and an oak-aged English strong ale. Southern Tier does the same with Gemini; blending their Unearthly Imperial IPA and Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale. Even the local boys at Upright Brewing Company are getting into blending with their Turkey on Rye. ToR starts out as two barrels of their rye beer Six. One barrel receives chocolate syrup, the other, Turkish chilies. After aging, the two are blended back together.
Draft blending is also becoming more popular; reaching beyond the familiar Black & Tans, Snakebites and Black Castles. At any Rogue Public House, you can order a Snickers; a 50/50 mix of their Chocolate Stout and Hazelnut Brown Nectar. McMenamins Pubs offer Rubinator; a combination of their Ruby Ale and Terminator Stout. If you can find both Anderson Valley’s Boont Amber and Barney Flats on tap, you can order yourself a Boontmeal; 3/4 Amber, 1/4 Stout. I am currently caning a similar blend; 3/4 Oakshire Amber to 1/4 Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout. Being the first person I know of to order this mix, I am going to take this opportunity to name it. I dub thee Slightly Cloudy. Until Oakshire starts bottling their Amber, you might be out of luck getting yourself a Slightly Cloudy unless you live in Eugene or Portland. If you do happen to live in Eugene, I also recommend a 50/50 mix of Hop Valley’s Stepchild Red and Double D Blonde; a Blonde Redhead.
For those of you unable to get the brews above, I have come up with a few more blends using beers that should be readily available at most bottle shops.
DIY Aprihop – 1/2 Pyramid Audacious or Magic Hat #9, 1/2 of your favorite IPA (this is reserved for the 9 months of the year where Aprihop isn’t readily available)
DIY Munich Dunkel – 3/4 Victory Prima Pils, 1/4 Deschutes Black Butte Porter (or your favorite low % Porter)
DIY Imperial Munich Dunkel – 3/4 Clipper City Heavy Seas: Small Craft Waring, 1/4 Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
Imperial Black and Tan – 1/2 North Coast Old Rasputin, 1/2 Flying Dog Double Dog (warning: doesn’t float nicely like Guinness on Bass)
Apple Pie – 1/2 Fish Brewing Winterfish, 1/2 Spire Mountain Apple Cider
Organic Blonde Redhead – 1/2 Grand Teton Au Naturale, 1/2 Laurelwood Free Range Red
Last on my list is an obscure blend. Paying homage to the tasty Indonesian crepe, I present Kueh Dadar; 1/2 Trade Route Pandan Brown, 1/2 Roots Brewing Toasted Coconut Porter. This one is not so readily available, requiring you to pick up a to-go growler of the Porter from Roots Brewery.
So, there are a few blends to get your creative juices flowing. If you already have a favorite blend, or happen to Frankenstein together some fantastic new monster, feel free to share it here. If I receive enough blends, it might persuade me to add a ‘mixes’ section to the Beer App. I’ll also mention that mixing your favorite Lambic with your favorite Chocolate Stout can be a delicious endeavor, but can also horribly awry. I’ll leave the experimenting up to you.
Finally, for you ‘purists’ out there, turning ill at the thought of defiling your precious beers, I do have one non-beer blend to share. Lately, I have been drinking Redbull with Mazam; a hot pepper infused Vodka from Bendistillery. I call it the Burning Bull.
Until next time, happy blending.
Cheers!
Kevin