Had some business to do in the Dub-C recently, which of course meant a mandatory stop at the paradise that is the ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop. They say to pronounce it you should “touch your tongue to the top of your mouth and say ‘UL’ while making a strange face.”
This is a tiny place on a side street in Downtown, but trust me, it’s worth the effort to find. These guys are serious about the enjoyment of beer, so much so that there are no TVs at the cozy bar to divert your attention from the beverage in front of you. All beers are served in appropriate glassware, and each glass is rinsed with filtered water before your beer is poured.
18 brews are available on tap, with hundreds more in bottles. Each bottle has “for here” and “to go” pricing. Since I prefer tap beers whenever possible, my usual routine is to have one from their tap list at the bar (or two, depending on who’s driving), and pick up a bottle or three to take home.
My tap choice on this visit was the Believer Double Red Ale from Ninkasi Brewing out of Eugene, Oregon. Very nicely balanced, assertive on both the malt and hops sides, with a snappy bitter finish. Quite tasty. I recently tried their IPA as well, which was also quite nice. Good hop flavor, easy finish. Well done. Since I spend most of my beer time bruising my palate with double-whatevers, I forget how nice and drinkable a regular IPA can be. These are the first beers I’ve had from Ninkasi, and so far I like what they’re doing.
My “to-go” choice was Hopwired IPA from 8 Wired Brewing in New Zealand. This will be my first Kiwi IPA, so I’m eager to try it. Actually, this might be my first NZ brew, period.
BTW, right now ØL is featuring the Yeast 2.0 Series from Mikkeller, out of Denmark. Basically, it’s a series of six beers, all exactly the same except for the yeast strain used. You can order flights to compare them side-by-side (they are tapping three beers at a time). I didn’t partake on this trip, but maybe I should have. Sounds fascinating.
BTW II — actually, I’m not quite correct about the above Ninkasi brews being the first two I’ve had. I’ve also enjoyed their collaboration ale with San Francisco’s 21st Amendment, Allies Win the War. Although Ninkasi bottles it, I had 21st Amendment’s canned version. Brewed with and aged on dates, it was quite unusual, although I think for the most part I liked it. Quite honestly, though, it was worth just for the packaging alone.