Nor'Wester Best Bitter Ale
- Product Reviewed: Nor'Wester Best Bitter Ale
- Brewed by: Willamette Valley Brewing Co.; Portland, OR
- Review by: David Brockington
- Original Posted to Usenet: June 17, 1994
Initial Impressions:
This is a fairly new micro which has rather immediately opted for
stock capitalization. I have read that they have plans to open a series of
satellite micros across the country -- in effect, to go national, but not
through the contract-brewing route, but with their own physical plant.
Enough of the business crud; let's cut to the beer.
I first had this beer on tap at The Archer in Bellingham, WA.
(If you are ever that far north, I highly recommend the pub. It is in
the Fairhaven District of Bellingham. While it is fairly new, it has
an impressive interior decor/atmosphere, and an excellent micro selection
on tap, including two beers always served cask. While the cask ales are
slightly more expensive, it is worth it to cover the publican's higher risk
of spoilage.) The version I reviewed was in a bottle, purchased in Portland,
Oregon. There was little discernible difference between the bottled version
and the CO2-forced version, if my recollections serve me correctly.
The beer poured a big, pale-colored head in my glass, while the
beer itself was light-amber in shade. The head displayed wonderful retention,
leaving a beautiful lace-work down the entire glass.
Nose:
The nose revealed hints of malt, followed by light-moderate hoppiness,
which were all ultimately submissive to a strong crystal malt aroma. The
Crystal aroma, ultimately, is my sharpest memory of this ale.
Flavor:
The Nor'Wester was a medium bodied beer going down. It started
with a standard base maltiness, moved on to a hop bitterness, and then
fished long with a crystal maltiness. Flavor hops were found to be lacking.
Final Analysis:
An average Bitter, imho. Overall subdued on the hops, which is
moderately surprising from a brewery named after the Willamette Valley.
Slightly out-of-balance to the malt, but it is a clean, highly drinkable
ale.
*** (out of 5)
Next Up:
Yuengling Porter
Copyright 1994 by David Brockington, all rights reserved
David Brockington,
Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu