Craft Beer Crosscut 11.9.19: Flight of Beer Monsters pulls together all the science-fiction brewing goodness available to give adults a mad monster party for the ages. This craft beer flight takes place at Peaks and Pints where five of the globe’s beer monsters are kept cold at the craft beer bar, bottle shop and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District. The flight opens with a narrator introducing the five monster beers and shows how Peaks and Pints keeps them restrained on the tree crosscut flight board without harming them. But the world’s peace suddenly faces a dangerous threat: Block 15 Brewing’s Dark Matter. The chocolate porter seizes control of Peaks and Pints’ beer monsters, turning them loose on Peaks’ guests. Peaks’ bartenders band together in large control rooms with enormous monitors and many blinking lights to respond in Tree-dimensional fashion: they regain control of the beer monsters and turn them on Dark Matter, reuniting of Peaks’ flight board for massive monster deliciousness.
Craft Beer Crosscut 11.9.19: Flight of Beer Monsters
Pelican Dankzilla
6.6% ABV, 50 IBU
Arising from the depths of Pacific Beach, Oregon, Pelican Brewing’s Dankzilla hits land with one mission: to capture hop character and flavor new to the world of Pelican beer. Dankzilla drags back loud assertive flavors of blackberry, resin, pine tree and stone fruit for Pelican brewers to combine with caramel and toasty biscuit. Dankzilla’s hints of citrus and hoppy, clean finish confuses Dark Matter, which helps leads to its tap change.
Rogue Batsquatch
6.7% ABV, 54 IBU
A half-bat half-sasquatch creature that, according to legend, residing in the woods on Mount St. Helens, Rogue Ales Batsquatch will swarm Dark Matter with Mosaic, El Dorado and Belma hops for flavors of stonefruit, orange, and tangerine, with a fruity citrus rind finish
Gigantic Squawkzilla
7.5% ABV, 58 IBU
Gigantic Brewing grabbed Squawkzilla’s reins, leading the beer monster over the Columbia River toward Yakima. With a quick stop at B.T. Loftus Ranches, one of the Yakima Valley’s longest running hop farms, to grab hop farmers, Squawkzilla drops its passengers at Bale Breaker Brewing squawking loudly for a double IPA collaboration. All the fresh Simcoe hops are gathered, including enough for a hop back session, as well as Citra and Ekuanot hops. Two weeks later, Squawkzilla battle Dark Matter with tropical flavors of tangerine, pineapple, and mango.
HUB Abominable
7.3% ABV, 70 IBU
Peaks and Pints reports sightings of strange, beer-soaked footprints, which means Hopworks Urban Brewery’s Abominable has emerged from the depths, surprising Peaks’ guests with a complex floral, spicy and citrus backdrop from organic Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Simcoe hops. With a base of Munich and Caramel malts adding balanced sweetness, Abominable attacks Dark Matter with slightly earthy, sweet, toasty amber malt tones plus ample dank citric floral bitterness.
Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
8% ABV, 84 IBU
Ninkasi, the mythical god of beer, would be afraid of this Ninkasi Brewing double IPA. Hops explode in the nose, cascading pithy grapefruit, sticky pinesap and floral notes atop a caramel foundation. It hits the tongue hard with sweet caramel before a blend of Chinook, Cascade, Summit, Centennial and Palisade hops offer floral, fruity, and earthy notes, yet with a malt background. It’s hop-forward, full-bodied and strong. Yet the balance with the malt lends enough depth and a spicy complexity to make it very interesting. The beer monsters rely on Triceratops’ resinous, citrusy, woody, and powerful bitterness to keep constant pressure on Dark Matter.
