Review: Anmesia Brewing, Washougal WA

AMNESIA BREWING, WASHOUGAL WA
Back on Saturday April 11th, I visited three breweries in SW Washington, Amnesia Brewing was the second stop. I have been a fan of Amnesia beers for a number of years and used to go to their North Portland (Mississippi Ave.) location prior to their moving to their current location in Washougal WA. I’ve heard a number of stories as to why they moved, primarily to be closer to their home and family seems to be the most frequently heard. Regardless of the reasons, they have refined their beers and have expanded their menu of food available since they opened in Washougal and it’s definitely making the trip out to visit them.

The brewery is located in downtown Washougal and has plenty of on-street parking. I really do appreciate the fact that it’s a ‘bar’, so no CRIpods are around when you go. They do have a couple of TV’s that typically show sports, so if you need a place to hang out and watch a game, this is definitely an option. We didn’t order any food, so we can’t really speak to that, but it looked like everyone that had ordered food was enjoying it. As you can see from the pictures inside, they have a bar you can sit at, as well as plenty of tables available.

They offer free samples of all of their beers as well as tasters of them. We ordered the full lineup and the bartender provided us the beers in a couple of sets. The reviews below go from left to right, back to front. They have about six standard beers that are usually available, and that day they had 6 seasonal beers available to try as well. The overall take away from this visit is that they have really refined their recipes and none of the beers we tried were bad. The best one’s we tried (for me) were the Crystal Red, Dusty Trail Pale, and Azacca Kahn Imperial Red (seasonal). It should be noted that they do offer a lot of swag at the bar (as you can see in the pic), as well as growler fills and canned beers available to take home.

Amnesia Brewing
1834 Main St.
Washougal, WA 98671
Ph: 360-335-1008
Email: amnesiabeers@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.amnesiabrews.com/
Face: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amnesia-Brewing/111919678932987

Cumulus Pale Amnesia Brewing • Spring Seasonal Pale Ale • IBU: 30 • ABV: 5.4% • 6 SRM This clear golden pale had a strong grassy nose with slight sweet notes. The yeast is subtle but present on the front and mid, the hop profiles (citrus rind to fruity) are layered and change as you sip and the beer warms up. The back end is rounded with enough grains to hold it’s own. No lingering bitters.

Dusty Trail Pale Ale Amnesia Brewing • Single Malt/Hop Pale Ale • IBU: 40 • ABV: 5.2% • 5 SRM Malts: Maris Otter Hops: Cascade This is a solid clear bright yellow hue draft with a bright white foamy head. The nose is grassy and piny forward. The front and mid mouth have a little bit of yeast, piny and grassy hops, and the mid/back hops express a bit of tropical/floral notes.

Desolation Amnesia Brewing • English style IPA • IBU: 55 • ABV: 6.2% • 20 SRM This slightly hazy amber colored draft has a solid white, foamy head that leaves nice lacing and bubbles on the rim. The nose is definitely floral and grapefruit with the front expressing lots of citrus and floral hops. The malts do help this be a solid bodied beer and the hops grow on the mid/back, expressing somewhat hop resins and dry bitters on the back.

Damnesia Amnesia Brewing • NW IPA • IBU: 70 • ABV: 6.7% • 18 SRM Slightly orange/amber slightly hazy draft with a two finger foamy white head that dropped quickly. The nose is full of grapefruit/citrus rind and a touch of slight herbal notes. The front and mid mouth-feel has a little sweet caramel to balance out the strong grapefruit and tropical (orange?) hop profiles. This is a really full bodied and complex beer with many layers of flavors. The back end is slightly dry with grapefruit rind bitters that linger.

Crystal Red Amnesia Brewing • Red Pale Ale • IBU: 40 • ABV: 6% • 25 SRM This amber/red colored draft has a nice white head that lingers and leaves nice lacing on the glass. The nose is sweet and malty with a little bit of citrus hops present. The front mouth is solid malt and slightly dried grains, fruit (berries), and caramel. The slight piny bitters do present on the mid/back in a really nice way, supporting the malt build.

Slow Train Porter Amnesia Brewing • English Porter • IBU: 40 • ABV: 5.3% • 40+ SRM Dark brown/red hues and a slight off-white small-bubbly head on this really solid porter. The nose has a lot of sweet and toasted grains with slight bitter-sweet chocolate and espresso. The front and mid mouth is solid, bready, full of roasted grain flavors and cocao/coffee bitters. The subtle bitter-sweet mid/back mouth is nice and this is a pretty standard English Porter in approach and style.

Frosty’s Revenge Amnesia Brewing • Strong Winter Ale • IBU: 60 • ABV: 8% • 20 SRM Red/amber slightly cloudy draft with an off-white small bubbly head. The nose is sweet, caramel and dried fruit and subtle spices. The front mouth has a little bit of sweet/yeasty character and lots and lots of malts that bring along the dried fruit and slight yeast. The back end has an alcohol warmth with the chewy body. You know you are drinking a strong beer with this one.

Azacca Kahn Amnesia Brewing • Imperial Red Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 7.6% • 25 SRM This is a hazy amber/red draft with a solid white head that leaves a lot of clingy foam on the rim. The nose is sweet caramel and grainy with a little yeast funk. The front mouth is really malt and grainy forward. The biscuit mid mouth-feel is really chewy and the sugary/citrus like sweetness lingers a bit on the back.

Regifter Amnesia Brewing • Barrel Aged Pale Ale• IBU: ?? • ABV: 7.2% • 35 SRM Dark brown/amber red hazy hue. Slight off-white head that falls quickly. The nose is burned sugars and malts. There is a lot of dried fruit (raisins) and drier cacao bitters on the mid/back. The back and linger burned flavors are like a tootsie roll, sweet, burned sugar and a solid malt body.

10th Anniversary Barleywine (2014) Amnesia Brewing • Barleywine• IBU: 8 • ABV: 10.2% • 28 SRM Aged: Red Zin and Bourbon Barrels Darker amber/hazy hues with a slight off-white head that drops quickly. The nose is super sweet with dried fruit and grapes (wine) and subtle tannin’s. The body is really alcohol forward with mashed cherries, port, hints of vanilla and bourbon. The grain build is secondary to the fruit and barrel qualities. The back is somewhat dry with a little bit of tannin’s and fortified wine like feel. The after has a bit of sweetness, no hops at all and the flavors do drop off quickly.