Beer 97 Primo Island Lager and Beer 98 Rogue Mocha Porter
Being only 4 beers away from my goal of trying 100 new beers in one year, I can say that it has been a great experience. First and foremost, I got to try a lot of beers that I had never even heard of. I learned that a lot of people I know enjoy a similar pursuit of the unknown. Most importantly, I got to share a lot of them with some very good friends. I look forward to reaching the goal very soon, and maybe setting a new one.
Jason, Jen and Maya, came to visit us last week. We had not seen them in almost 2 years. We used to see each other all the time back in Rochester, but moving to Florida 6 years ago has made our visits less frequent. The good news is that we remain great friends, and we always seem to “pick up where we left off” when we do get together.
In honor of their visit, Jason and I went to the store for some milk for Maya. Naturally, we rushed straight back home squeezed in a quick trip to Andy’s and Walgreens to pick out a few beers to try during their visit. Jess and Jen would have thought something was wrong with us if we didn’t do this.
Beer 97 is Primo Island Lager. It was chose chosen simply due to the fact that it is from Hawaii…and also because it was on the Walgreens make your own 6 pack shelf. Not much risk in buying 2 bottles at 1.50 each. As the saying goes, ” if you don’t like the beer you are drinking, drink it fast and get a different one”. When we opened our bottles, they poured into our pint glasses in much the same way as any regular domestic beer. Golden in color, and with a medium head, it looked like…well…beer. It’s taste could be described as…well…beer. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t awful. Just a middle of the road beer. I wouldn’t rush out and grab one, but if you see one, pick one up to try. When you are in Mexico, you would try Modelo, and if you were to be in Hawaii, you would try Primo. For now, I will simply have to imagine that we were in Hawaii when we tried it. Actually, hanging out with friends on our pool deck, was pretty close to paradise that night. Click Here to check out their website.
Beer 98 Rogue Mocha Porter was “discovered” at Andy’s. Jason’s look of disbelief was worth the trip to Andy’s. He did remind me that Wegmans and Beers of the World joined forces back in Rochester to have a World Beer section in all of their stores. Still, the wall of beers can be intimidating on a first visit. So many beers to choose from. We agreed to try the Rogue beer as it seemed “different but good”. Since we both liked porters, “how wrong could we be?”.
Our 1st round of these dark brews poured nicely into our pint glasses with a rich head. The reddish brown Oregon brewed beer looked very inviting as we took a moment to admire its”majesty”. From the first sip, it was obvious that there were no “fruited plains” to be found. Rather, we found a great blend of interesting flavors. Roasted grains, malts, and coffee were noticeable at once. A chocolate aftertaste at the finish was similar to that of the chocolate baking powder my Mom used to keep in the cupboard. It is not a sweet chocolate, and has sublety to it. We both agreed that we liked the combination of the flavors, and were very pleased that we had bought a 6 pack, so we could enjoy it again later. At 5.3%, it won’t get you tanked, and it makes for a good sipping beer to have while catching up on things with friends. It improved as it gained in temperature, and new flavors presented themselves, which was a bonus. A highly recommended beer to try. Click Here to Check out their website.
The Primo can be found for $1.50 a bottle, and the Rogue Mocha Porter was $9.99 for a 6 pack at Andy’s.
