Pallet Jack IPA
Barley Brown's Brewpub

This is arguably the best West Coast IPA in Oregon. It can be a bit difficult to find on tap, but when found, it is second to none.

This is an outstanding West Coast IPA; very piney with a hoppy, yet smooth finish.

 

draught
Medium bubbled and medium amount of alabaster head. Medium orange/amber look. Pleasant, tangerine/lemon/grapefruit peel and medium toasted & caramelized malt aroma. Medium bite of tangerine and a bit of lemon peel, and a pretty light amount of malt, that being a medium toasted variety.

 

 

On-draught @ Beer O'clock, Portland, OR:

B- / WORTHY

On tap at Pizzeria Otto in east Portland.
Who is almost clear and burnished gold incolor. Whitehead quickly dissipates, low retention, scattered lacing.
Piney notes leave a little space for ever so light grapefruit zest.
Such a solid, old school PNW IPA. No haze, no juice. Awesome. Great malt backbone.
Mouthfeel is spot on, light carbonation. Mildly bitter finish.
Overall. Yes.

 

Such an easy flavorful drinker. Unfiltered golden copper body. Leafy floral grapefruit. Relatively mild caramel, medium lighter bodied. Has a nice juicy west coast feel to it, goes down very quickly.

12oz can from a 6-pk kindly sent me by vurt. According to the stamp on the bottom of the can, it was canned on March 1, 2021.

Poured into a shaker pint glass, this was a dark golden-amber color, a bit chill hazed. Decent sized beige head. Modest lace.

Grapefruity and piney nose. This is the most old school smelling WCIPA I've encountered for a while. It's glorious!

Big hop blast forward. Midway through, there's little more of a bready and sweet malt backbone than I expected, but not to a degree that was a deal breaker.

Medium bodied. Oily, resiny mouthfeel.

Seems like an old school WCIPA is almost as difficult to locate as a unicorn these days, so I loved drinking this! Thank you, Eric!

12-ounce can from a sixpack purchased at New Seasons. Poured into an English tulip-style half-pint. Canned on 12/21/20.

Look:
Bright clear gold with a head that starts rather loose and accumulates into a creamy disc of rich white foam. Very slight haziness which I'm attributing to hop haze.

Smell:
The nose blossoms with the glory of Amarillo hops: oily orange and grapefruit. This is supported with grapefruit peel and a whiff of sweet malt and alcohol.

Taste:
Starts with huge orange and grapefruit zest up front, followed by a crisp and somewhat doughy malt character through the middle. The malt is semisweet and mildly toasty, and best of all it doesn't wear out its welcome. Pine and citrus quickly reassert themselves to usher in a long, bitter finish that also has a bit of an alcohol burn. This is not a training wheels IPA. This is for IPA drinkers who want their beers clean, pungently hoppy, and gratifyingly bitter.

Feel:
Medium-bodied with a smooth texture and moderate carbonation. Finishes with a good hop bite and light alcohol warmth.

Overall:
I have difficulty choosing the best brewery in Oregon. Counterintuitively, I have no such problem claiming that the single best IPA in the state is Barley Brown's Pallet Jack. I don't generally like questions along the lines of "What beer would you pick if you could only have one for the rest of your life?", but every time I imagine owning a Kegerator, I always imagine Pallet Jack flowing from the tap. The fact that I can now occasionally get it in cans is one of the true bright spots of 2020.

Can courtesy of heyhiggi.
Super bitter + fruity west coast hop bomb. Old school. Very nice.

Thanks to VURT for this one. 12oz can (no date) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a clean, clear coppery-gold color with 3/4 inch of white head that had good retention and light-moderate lacing.

The aroma had a base of mildly sweet malt supporting a bright, citrusy hop ceiling.

The hops were even brighter on the tongue, the malt melded into the background, and there was a tinge of alcohol at the back.

The body was on the full side of medium, smooth, and had a dry, slightly bitter finish.

Drinkability was very good, I'd be drinking these regularly if they were local to me (Baker City OR ain't local to nowhere!).

Overall, matches its reputation as one of the best IPAs in the NW, and thus the country. A must-try if you see it.

Look: Clear burnt orange to orangish-red with a quick-forming white head that billows up and settles quickly, leaving good lacing behind
Aroma: Grapefruit, candied orange, pine sap, some Cannabis-like terpenes, wafts of melon and papaya, and awesome bread-driven, sweet malt
Taste: A full on palate punch of grapefruit rind, pine needles, and sweet orange hit hard and followed by an aftertaste like I just mashed my teeth into a fresh hop cone. Waves of melon, weed, papaya, and some passionfruit come and go in the mix before citrus and pine-led flavors lead to a great hop bite on the close
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, a little slick, medium-high carbonation, and a good amount of dryness on the finish
Overall: This beer is freaking awesome. For years I’ve pegged this as my personal favorite IPA in a sea of some great ones and every time I drink it, I reaffirm that feeling. Right up my alley in aroma/flavor profile – citrus, pine, dank, and light tropical fruit along with a great and tasty malt backbone along with welcoming bitterness and dryness. I love what these folks do and this, to me, is world class greatness. Delicious, dangerously drinkable, and highly recommended

 

On-tap in Meridian ID.

A: Light, straw gold with minimal head.

S: Impressive juicy aromas, pops with generic tropical fruit. Dry-hopping is apparent here.

T & MF: Smooth body leans sweet with light citrus notes and hints of dankness and herbal/greenness...even spice, with a malty backbone. There are some nice notes of hop bitterness as well, reminders that this is still an American-style IPA. Dry-ish finish.

O: One of the better non-hazy IPA's I have enjoyed recently, this is obviously a well-respected brew for good reason.