Beer sellers: Beermongers
ABV: 5.4%
Origin: Pacific City, Oregon, USA
Website: http://pelicanbrewery.com
US craft brewers, particularly West Coast ones, are known to beer fans in Europe primarily as producers of extreme beers – hyper-hopped, ultra gravity, wild fermented monsters that have preferably spent two years maturing in a bourbon barrel. But the truth is most brewers pay the rent with much more everyday and approachable brews that shade towards what Brits might recognise as session beers, and in my view these are at least as interesting, particularly those that look back to historic, pre-Prohibition styles.
When brewer Darren Welch was devising the initial recipes for the nascent Pelican brewpub, right on the ocean at Pacific City, Oregon, in 1996, he puzzled about what style to adopt as the entry level beer on offer. Avoiding the obvious pale ales and lagers, Darren developed a recreation of a 19th century cream ale. This style had originally developed as the old established ale brewers’ answer to the growing popularity of pale lagers from German-American breweries, using pilsner-style ingredients and a cold conditioning period but with a warm fermenting yeast, rather like Kölsch is made in Germany today. He named it after the protected coastline of Cape Kiwanda nearby.
Kiwanda Cream uses two-row pale malt, carapils malt and flaked barley, with a single hop, Mount Hood, a variety known for its German-style subtlety rather than the vivid citric and pine flavours most associated with American hops.
A 650ml bomber bottle bought at the Beermongers in Portland, Oregon, yielded a pale yellowy gold beer with a fine and full white head and a creamy and slightly spicy malty aroma with a classic hop note. The palate was straightforward but accomplished, with cracker-like malt lifted by firmly tingly and gently flowery hops. The finish left a creamy texture in the mouth, with light citric flavours and a refreshing bitter note. Overall a very well-balanced, tasty, honest and satisfying ale.
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