If you’ve seen “Ten Things I Hate About You”, you’ll know Julia Stiles is sleeper-cell hot. You don’t think she’s hot off the bat, but she sneaks up on you. You will also have seen the “Fremont Troll”, which is under the Aurora Bridge in Fremont, in Seattle. The street there has been renamed to Troll Ave, natch. This same Troll adorns the label of this beer, and serves as its namesake. While I wanted to get a nice foamy white head to contrast the dark dark black (turns only dark brown in bright light!) body, the picture shows the dearth of suds on the beer. I didn’t really pour it softly, either. No matter. This beer is smooth, brotha, smooth. To be fair, I am listening to jazz right now, Duke Ellington. Be that as it may, this brew is smooth and satisfying. The lack of head is due to the soft carbonation that contributes to the Miles Davis of the experience. The opening pull is on the bitter side, which mellows quickly into roasty burnt toast that all the good porters possess. The finish is slightly sweet, earthy, lip-smacking good. I must admit, I picked this up because of the cool label, but this is a damn good porter that I’ll look for again!

Specs:

22 oz bottle
7% ABV

Green Lakes Organic Ale is another brew by Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. Or as I like to call it, Mecca. I have not yet been to this Holy Shrine of Hopdom, but rest assured, I will go and it will be glorious.  (Where do I come up with this stuff? Hopdom? Yes it’s late, yes I’ve been drinking. Back to the beer at hand.) Green Lakes is certified organic, according to the label. Even though this is an amber ale, it is incredibly bitter with an overwhelming hop flavor. This clocks in at 45 IBUs, which is right around where an IPA usually is. Given a blind taste test, I’d say this was an IPA. It pours nicely, with a good head and satisfying color. It starts hoppy and bitter with slightly sour notes and ends the same way. There’s no malt flavor to speak of. The mouthfeel is pleasant, carbonation level is good, but this is far more bitter than an amber has any right to be.

Specs:
12 oz bottle
5.2% ABV
45 IBUs