Cowiche Canyon Hop Lab Mosaic
Fremont Brewing Company

 

Forget gas, ass, or grass: this is grass, grass, and more grass—but you still ain't riding for free. This single-hop experiment is assertive, to say the least: the herbal and earthy—really more forest-floor, to borrow a descriptor from Pacific NW Pinot Noir—characteristics of Mosaic are those elements that ring out clarion, oily, and almost overpoweringly.

But to backtrack a bit: the appearance is above-par, with minimal turbidity to inflect the piney, amber orange-brown color, alongside manifold streams of tiny bubbles, which produce moderate head, but moderate-plus retention and lacing. The next order of business is the nose, which I found—unlike several other reviews—both fairly pungent and more-than-fairly satisfactory; indeed, the bouquet of this beer is first instance where you see that Fremont's expression of Mosaic, while herbally supercharged, is not one-note. There's wet, bruised, slightly (but pleasantly) rotted pine-nettles; there's a dark, molasses-cum-lemongrass valence; there are marked allusions to those heady straw, grass, marjoram, wild-sage, and forest petrichor notes that dominate the flavor-profile; and there's a hint of boysenberry, to boot.

And now back to said flavors: all of the just-noted herbal aromas—the straw, marjoram, and soggy forest-floor, primarily—follow the drinker into the realm of the tongue; but they're met by even more vegetal inflections: green bell-pepper (in a big way); wild, undried rosemary; bitter, spruce-tip and fennel-top; even a bit of a soft, subtle dill-like characteristic, which with alternate sips tastes more akin to freshly-grated orange-zest than dill-weed. With all this green activity—and the perpetual return of the grassy through-line—it's hard to focus-in on the malt; but there is a pine-sugar sweetness that coats the mouth, peripherally, as well as—like the previous review mentions—"some light biscuit" (though the emphasis is strongly on "light" given that Fremont has firmly given its Mosaic hops the wheel).

Given its effusive, borderline excessive, herbality, this is certainly not your go-to, grab-a-six kind of beer—but it's not meant to be. Instead, it's an awesome single-varietal taste of what one hop, and one terroir, has to offer—like that fuck-you 100% Mourvèdre that you don't want with every meal, but that definitely speaks—yells, even—of its origin.

Poured into an IPA glass from a 22 oz bottle provided by the inimitable snaotheus.

Color is hazy orange with a thick white head. Good retention and lacing. Smell is pretty muted. Some grassy and floral hops and some light biscuit. Flavor is similar to the nose - floral hops with a pretty strong malt backbone. More malt presence than I would like. Mouthfeel is nice and smooth. Overall, a good IPA, but I prefer the other CC variants by a wide margin.

Poured from 22oz bomber into my Fremont globe.

Appearance: medium orange hue with a light haze and a moderate effervescence. Head is a finger of frothy white foam that leaves quite a nice lace on the glass. Attractive!

Smell: hops are grassy and slightly fruity with a hint of tropical character. This is a combination I really like; it's green, fresh and enticing.

Taste: grassy and earthy hop character; virtually none of the fruitiness from the aroma. The malt is a bit on the sweet side, but that's not surprising for a beer this strength. More bitterness could be present to balance this out, but overall it's not bad.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: an interesting experiment. I would like this beer a whole lot more if the flavor delivered on the promises made by the aroma.

 

 

2015-11-05
22oz bottle served in a large mug. No date on the bottle that I can find. A little sediment came with the final ounces coming out of the bottle.

Pours slightly hazy coppery golden with a medium sized head and moderate carbonation. Smell is resin and flowers.

Taste is nice -- moderate honeysuckle sweetness, strong resinous bitterness, heavy pine finish, with just a hint of tropical fruit throughout.

Mouthfeel is light and dry. Overall, very nice beer.

 

 

 

 

22 oz bottle. Deep golden orange body, fairly clear with a fluffy white head. Nice lacing & retention. Aromas of tobacco, weed, earthy hops, malt. Flavor is weed, pine hops, minerals, and caramel malt. Sticky mouth feel. A bit maltier than I like overall.

Bottled 11 Sep 2015. Tasted 7 October 2015.

Pours a clear orangey amber. One finger of white head, decent retention and abundant lacing.

Smell is faint. I expect a fresh hop showcase to be bursting with them, and it's not. Smell is mostly grainy and herbal with a touch of spice. I really get no indication of mosaic hops whatsoever.

Taste is similar. Really grain-forward, followed by a rising bitterness. But only the faintest hint of aromatic hops. Sorta chalky. Tastes like a blah APA.

Feel is fine. A little low on the carb, a little heavy in the mouth.

I am disappoint. I like the regular Cowiche Canyon much better, with its much more prominent aromatic hops. For me, this one's meh to meh minus.

 

Beautiful crisp clear amber colour with a half finger off white head of soapy bubbles and velvety undercoating. Incredible lacing.

As soon as the top pops there's a complex melange of aromas which is impressive given the single hop utilization. Crisp clean honey malts present the stage upon which nuanced levels of citrus and some clean almost herbal notes.

So fresh and so clean clean. Starts off with just fresh clean juice and light tropical hints. It's hard to really describe the character that the fresh hops impart. Transitions quickly to its bitter pith. This swells and eventually subjugates the other flavours leaving only a faint sweet reminder of what was coating the long bitter finish. These come out as it warms: on initial pour, the pilsner malts ensure their presence is known, which struck me wrong... initially. As it warms and the layers and rest of the flavours emerge, the malts become nothing but distant supporting players on the deep bench helping that pithy finish to reach its potential.
I look forward to this time each year, and love the different concoctions imagined. Be fortunate. Cowiche Canyon IS the Great Valley which Littlefoot et al sought.

(Side note... I miss Bluth Studios. Also, yes.)

Look: Darker amber body. White sticky head.
Smell: Citrus and tropical fruit.
Taste: Tropical fruit, citrus, and some cotton candy. Sweet finish.
Feel: Nice and smooth.

Overall - Currently my favorite brewery that makes my best IPAs and stouts. This beer does not disappoint. Excellence, attention to detail, and their promotion of local ingredients helps them stand head and shoulders above many other top of the line breweries.