Sasquatch Snax
Three Magnets Brewing

Nice glow to the color with a half finger lasting head. This IPA has a flavoring, likely from the nettles and needles that I find crisp, green, weedy, and with sour grapefruit. While a friend of mine did not like this, I loved it and went back to buy more twice. I suppose it is a love or hate addition.

 

I have to admit to a modicum of amusement when I saw this one become available through Tavour. I had a job as a counterperson at a local gas station/mini-mart when I first retired from the Navy in 1998, prior to going to college full-time. It was before the prevalence of cell phones, so the store phone rang all the time. On this occasion, I answered & someone asked for my co-worker, Barb. "May I ask who is calling?" "Who in the f**k do you think it is?!? It's f**kin' Sasquatch! Put Barb on!" It was her common-law husband & he had been drinking, but from then on, his nickname was "Sasquatch" & we used to collect tabloid articles to give him. It was actually quite humorous.


From the CAN: "Town Series"; "india pale ale brewed with nettles and needles"; "artwork by zac boetes. brewed with pnw ingredients and foraged snax"; "Bigfoot Night! Thursday, may 10, 7:00 pm at the washington state history museum."; "this beer is a collaboration between three magnets brewing, adam's mushrooms, skagit valley malting and krist novoselic & dr. bob pyle from the band butterfly launches from spar pole. it will be served at bigfoot night, alongside a live performance by butterfly launches from spar pole! part of the proceeds from this beer will benefit the washington state historical society."

Upon Crack!ing the vent open, I got a spritz across my fingertips, followed by some mild foaming through the now-open vent. It settled to reveal a brimful craft CAN so I went with a very gentle Glug since it was a 16-fl. oz. pint CAN & I did not feel like dealing with a mess, if one were to develop. Even so, unbidden, it created two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with moderate retention all on its own, leaving decent lacing behind in its wake. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose had a jammy earthiness, loaded with pine, but accompanied by peach, lemon and tropical fruits, like mango, guava & papaya. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was not very bitter, weighing in at 40 IBUs, but it had a definite earthiness, very much of pine and lemon, but with a jammy, fruit preserve-like sweetness, all balanced by a light caramel and toasty/biscuit maltiness. I have noticed that a little caramel malt can go a long way, but they held this in check nicely in this beer. It was right on the border of an English IPA, but the adjuncts and malts were unquestionably American. Finish was semi-sweet, very earthy, but very sweet at the same time. It was a very interesting beer, to be sure.

$ 6.71 (Including shipping)/16 oz can ($ 0.419/oz) from Tavour’s, Seattle, WA.
Stamped on bottom of can “03272018”, stored at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand-washed and hand-dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Light yellow and hazy to the point of opaqueness. When held to the light, translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.5 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, low density froth, average retention time diminishing to a three to four mm ring and a complete thin layer. Head retraction leaves behind a broken wide lacing band connected to the ring by wide pillars of tiny to small bubbles.
Lacing – No additional lacing beyond that from the head retraction – the pillars just elongate as the level drops, eventually curving and coarsening into an open cribriform structure.
First pour – Light yellow, hazy.
Aroma – 4 – Piney with some floral undertones.
Flavor – 3.75 - Begins moderately astringent and chalky with some of the malt backbone shining through. The nose doesn’t directly translate to the flavor with the conifer perfume being lost somewhere between my olfactory sense and my tongue. No alcohol, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.75 - Almost medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Impression and summation – 4 – Despite the label’s resemblance to Grandpa Simpson, this brew isn’t bad. The appearance is good with the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The aroma is pleasing – you can’t go wrong with some coniferal terpenes wafting about. The flavor is a bit of a letdown after the nose but is still good. I don’t know the taste of nettles, so I can’t comment on their contribution. The palate is a little weak for my taste. The price point is a bit high but then this was brewed to raise money for The Washington State History Museum and I’m always happy to contribute to a museum.

POUR: Out of a can into a Teku glass. APPEARANCE: Nice gold to straw in color. Hazy. Thick white head. Somewhat rocky. No real effervescence. AROMA: Flower and perfume-like. Light. Somewhat earthy/ grassy, herbal and piney. TASTE: Light on the palette. Piney, herbal, and earthy. Lemon zest. Flowery and perfume-like. AFTERTASTE: Very balanced from initial sniff to finish. Medium body. NOTES: Brewed with nettles and needles. Really unique taste and balanced. REVIEW/ RATING: Very good/ 4 out of 5.

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a very hazy caramel amber with a big, four finger white head with great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus and piney hops, fresh pine needles, dry herbs; earthy and really inviting. Flavor is lightly caramel malt, pine needles and sap, earthy herbs, hints of lemon citrus; finishes with nice earthy pine forest and piney hops. Medium bodied with light creaminess. I was expecting something odd and interesting, but this is actually very tasty and surprisingly balanced. It is delightful to taste realistic pine needle flavors along with the "piney" hops flavors. The herb flavor is reminiscent of a good Sahti. The aftertaste is a lot like sitting in a pine forest drinking an IPA with pine needles falling in it. I'm impressed. Not just a novelty, very good. Not for the pine needle averse.