At Ninkasi in Eugene, Oregon. All new (to me!) beers to try. Sterling Pils, Little One, Quantum Pale Ale, Vanilla Oatis, and Babylon DIPA. Great stuff all around, but Babylon and Vanilla Oatis stand out.

Devil’s Canyon Full Boar Scotch Ale on tap at Freehouse. A 2 of 4. Nice color and lacing, and quite a bit of roasted maltiness up front. Relatively thin body and some slightly weird yeasty notes. Has the flavor profile you’d expect from a scotch ale - but the thin body is a bit lackluster.

Upright Brewing’s Fatali Four (Picked up at Trappist Provisions). A 4 of 4. Awesome. So light and nice tartness - lots of yeast notes and a really wonderful saison. Then comes the spice. Some slight heat that builds if you sip too quickly, but a nice slow heat if you drink slowly. Not overly spicy, but really interesting with the tartness up front. I never thought farmhouse tartness and heat could work well together, but this just works. Awesome beer, I’d love to have it again.

Mission St. 2013 Anniversary Ale (from Trader Joe’s). A 2 of 4. A solid imperial brown - some nice nutty notes in the nose, as well as some slightly weird dark fruit and toffee notes. Some almost-molasses-y sweetness in the body, and a bit too much of it. Needs some balancing bitterness, but not bad at all - the sweetness fades in the finish, so it drinks pretty easily.

Prairie Artisan Ales Prairie Somewhere (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 4 of 4. Another from Prairie that I love - great color and carbonation, and definitely quite a bit of sediment in the bottle. Some nice yeasty funk going on - some lemon, tropical fruit, and spice in the nose, and the body has a pleasant sweetness up front with a tartness that quickly grips your palate. Quite a nice body to this beer, and just the right level of tartness with a ton of complexity.

Ommegang’s Biere D’Hougoumont (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 3 of 4. A really nice, nuanced biere de garde - quite a bit of caramel maltiness as well as quite a lot of brown sugar/candy notes in the body, and some vanilla and maple near the finish. The nose is quite light for the richness of the body, but it is still quite nice - just slightly yeasty and spicy. Really quite good.

Calicraft’s Chez Panisse Farmhouse Ale (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 3 of 4. Brewed for Chez Panisse, this is clearly a beer made to pair well with food. Specifically, farm-fresh food. Nice bright, clear body with not much carbonation. Lacing sticks around for a while. The nose is full of subtle citrus and grass and other spice and floral notes. Only slight dry - there is a nice sweetness in the body to balance. Finishes quite clean on the palate - just a slight nuance to this. Not bad, but tastes as if it is meant not to be the main feature when you’re drinking it - it is meant to go with food.

Widmer’s O’Ryely IPA (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 3 of 4. Lots of pine notes in the nose, along with a faint spiciness and some caramel sweetness as well. Drinks relatively easily with a nicely balanced body - sweet tropical fruit notes, toasted malt character, and some rye spiciness. Pretty easy to drink, and finishes relatively clean and sweet. Solid.

Cismontane’s Mesa (Picked up at Beer Revolution). A 3 of 4. 75% pilsner, 25% riesling. You can see the definite color shift from the wine, and some definite grape sweetness in the nose. In fact, the nose is almost all light fruit-forward wine with just a touch of cereal and very slight grass notes. Drinks more like wine than beer (although only 6%), but the grape sweetness builds after a while. If you had me guess the blend blind, I’d put a much higher wine content on this - probably 50/50. This is definitely interesting, and would be very good on a hot day in the sun.

Orval Trappist Ale (Picked up at City Beer Store in SF). A 4 of 4. Excellent stuff, even when fresh. Can’t wait to see how another bottle ages, as well. Beautiful high carbonation that lifts so many awesome complex yeasty notes to your nose - lots of spice, funk, light fruit, and others. Drinks slightly dry with a very nice candy-like caramel sweetness and just enough bitterness to balance, and finishes with just a nice, slight funk.

Rogness Gigantophis Imperial IPA (Thanks Ian for bringing this from TX!). A 3 of 4. Nice hazy dark body with some solid carbonation. Pretty massively bitter in the body, and some buttery notes crop up. Not a ton of hop nuance in the nose, but some nice earthy notes are there. The body is nicely massively bitter, despite still being relatively thin. Solid stuff, and always nice to try a new brewery!

Brooklyn’s Local 2 (Smuggled back from the East by Kim, thanks!). A 3 of 4. Nose has the distinct dry Belgian character, with plums, other dark fruit, as well some dark roasted character. The body is nice medium thickness, and has a slightly prickly carbonation to it. Finishes clean, and with more dark fruit complexity and a really balanced sweetness. Great stuff.

Freigeist / Jester King’s Saur Power on tap at Trappist Provisions in Oakland. A 3 of 4. A really delicate smoky/sour combo. They are layered on top of each other - the nose isn’t as smoky as most smoked beers, but the tartness is definitely present there. Surprisingly this works quite well as an integrated beer - the smoke is not overpowering, and the tartness isn’t puckering. Some interesting spice notes from the yeast, and a medium body. Interesting.

Alesmith’s IPA (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 4 of 4. Had it plenty of times, and actually even rated it before, but I decided it needs a new review (to go with the new label art). If you have not had this yet, find it. It’s getting more and more widely available, and the powerful citrus presence in the nose and body, combined with the perfect thickness to the body makes this delightful. Find this, drink this.

New Belgium’s Lips of Faith Cascara Quad (Picked up at Berkeley Bowl West). A 2 of 4. Not bad, but falls a little flat up front - definite dark fruit notes and a touch of tartness, but no coffee or other complex notes to speak of. The body is a bit boozy and doesn’t carry the nuance well. Some nice malty caramel and other notes come out, but combined with the relatively thin and boozy body, this isn’t that impressive. I’m actually quite disappointed, as I typically love NB’s stuff, and this is mediocre at best, especially with the ingredients they are working with.