High Desert Brewing Company Reviews

jb	3.1 High Desert Irish Red Ale After tasting two great dark beers here I was less enthused by this. Malty, yes , but not super clean. Drinkable though. Saturday, February 11, 2023
kevinator	3.3 High Desert Caliente SMASH Decent spicy pale ale. Notes of chili pepper with a tropical hoppiness. Light and crisp. Mild burn. Monday, May 4, 2020
kevinator	3 High Desert Saison Brune Average dark Saison. Brown sugar color. Mild flavors and aromas. Earthy with some fruit esters. Just OK. Monday, May 4, 2020
kevinator	3 High Desert Octoberfest Average Oktoberfest. Earthy malt with a mild flavor. Small aroma. Copper color with a decent head. Monday, May 4, 2020
kevinator	3 High Desert Irish Red Ale Average malty Irish Red. Caramel color with a medium weight. Slightly watery and muted. Low hop profile. Monday, May 4, 2020
kevinator	3.1 High Desert Scottish Ale Nice caramel malt aroma. Light copper color, a little watery looking. Full flavor with a burnt sugar note. Medium body. Monday, May 4, 2020
kevinator	3.3 High Desert Rio Rift IPA Good hoppy IPA. Nice pale malt balance with a mild sweetness and citrus bitterness. Medium weight. Sunday, May 3, 2020
kevinator	3.3 High Desert Peach Wheat Good fruity wheat beer. Balanced without too many off flavors. Yeasty finish. Good nose. Saturday, May 2, 2020
pubhunter54	4.1 High Desert Dark Bock A rich caramel base flavor with a dry smoky aftertaste. Excellent with food or by itself. Sunday, February 28, 2016
FlacoAlto	3.9 High Desert Bohemian Pilsener Sampled August 2014 A steady pour from the growler into my teku glass produces a fat, one-finger thick, pale, almost light tan colored head. The beer is a copper color that shows a lightly hazed, golden tinged, lighter version of the same when held up to the light. The aroma has a sweet, almost honey like malt character to it up front, and this is backed by a slightly spicy, somewhat herbal hop character. The hop character has a nice lemon zest note to it that melds well with the light herbal notes The beer has a solid, herbal and grassy hop character to it that also contributes a biting bitterness from beginning to end. The bitterness does a good job of drying things out in the finish to help balance the up front cracker like, slightly hay leaning, and chewy rustic bread character that the pale malt contributes. Suggestions of lemon zest, hints of sage, a slight peppery note towards the finish, a bit of lemon pith as well, and a lightly herbal leaning woody note. The body of this beer is nice, it has a certain texture to it that keeps it from being overly light, it has a certain chewiness to it, but it is quite quaffable. This is one of the better beers, and likely the best, that I have had from this brewery; I am pretty sure this batch is pretty fresh, which certainly helps, both the malt and hop character are quite brightly presented here. Friday, July 3, 2015
FlacoAlto	3.7 High Desert Steam Beer Sampled August 2014 A vigorous pour into my teku glass from the growler produces an almost, two-finger thick, pale amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a dark red stained, concentrated amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, deep, red-gold hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of berry like fruit notes, a touch of citrus zest perhaps, with a light herbal note, and a toasty, malty, biscuit like, & dark grain bread like note towards the finish. The aroma has a slight menthol / mint leaning edge to it. My second pour of this beer seems to have a funky, dirty cheese like note to it for some reason, but this seems to dissipate quickly. The flavor has a chewy, toasted malt character up front that includes a rounded, caramelized, dark-grain bread flavor to it. The finish has a touch of roasted grain to it, this boosts the bite provided by a firm hop bitterness. Lingering hop notes that are herbal and perhaps lean towards menthol in the finish, definitely a sort of smooth, not overly spicy rosemary like note, and a bit of pine character are all found here. There is a rounded currant, maybe hint of floral cranberry, and tangerine zest leaning hop fruitiness to this beer that is accentuated by a caramelized maltiness. The body of this beer is definitely quite quaffable, but has a soft lushness to it that provides a lightly viscous texture, and pleasing palate coating character. This is much better than I was expecting for some reason; I really like the balance of malt and hop, and the texture of this is quite nice as well. Friday, July 3, 2015
FlacoAlto	3.4 High Desert Amber Ale Sampled August 2014 The beer arrives from the tap with an amber tinged, nicely tan colored head. The beer is a clear, amber color. The aroma has a nice hop fruit character to it up front that smells of grapefruit, a bit of guava notes, tart tangerine zest, and some Curacao orange character. Towards the finish there is a hint of supporting toasted nutty whole grain malt character, and some grain character that accentuates a dried hay like note that also might be in the dominant hop aromatics. This has a nicely biting bitterness to it that gets more pronounced through to the lingering finish. The finish also has a linger citrus zest character that leans towards not-quite-ripe oranges, ruby red grapefruit zest, and even a touch of Meyer lemon zest. The body of this beer is quite light, perhaps a touch on the thin side, which helps to make this quite quaffable. Really though the malt character is not quite as rich as one might expect from something called an Amber Ale; on the hand this makes this more sharply hoppy. The malt character plays a supporting role here, there is a touch of toasted nutty red malt character, and a bit of whole grain cracker like notes. I wasn’t expecting something that was so hop focused, this is definitely a nice surprise, and a beer I am enjoying. Friday, July 3, 2015
FlacoAlto	3.7 High Desert Irish Red Ale Sampled July 2014 A steady pour from the growler into my teku glass produces a two-finger thick, pale amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a deep reddish-amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, rich amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of berries, spicy whole grain malt, toasted whole grain, and toasted malt husks at first. There is a perceived sweetness to the aroma that is brought out by the fruit-leaning fermentation character, and accentuated a bit by the malt. The beer tastes a bit sweet up front, but finishes with a bitter hop bite to it that helps to dry things out a fair amount. The body has a viscosity to it that coats the palate nicely, and adds a definite chewiness to this beer without keeping it from being quaffable. There is a nice berry like fruitiness here that leans towards red-currants, but more nondescript red-berries of some sort, and there is also a light citrus character here that suggests of tangelo perhaps. There is a light herbal character here, just a touch of peppery character, and a nice spiciness that is all hop derived. The malt character is quite as pronounced, compared to the hop notes, as I was expecting, but still plays a prominent role; flavors of caramelize whole grain, a bit of spicy crystal malt character, the hop character is quite a bit more pronounced than I was expecting, though this is by no means a hoppy beer, but it is almost a bit more hop focused than it is malt focused. I wasn’t really expecting much from this beer, bland and boring’ish perhaps, but this is actually quite tasty, and very well balanced. Part of the reason I am enjoying this so much is that I expected so little from it, but I don’t really care. Friday, July 3, 2015
brystmar	3.7 High Desert Barleywine Amber color, tan head, solid lace retention. Caramely, booze-infused malts. Just the right amount of sweetness; almost fruity on the finish. Hops in check. Quite good for a fresh American Barleywine. I'd happily buy a few if they bottled. Sunday, October 19, 2014
brystmar	2.9 High Desert Porter Good lace retention atop the body. Aromatic depth is the standout here: roasted/caramelized malts whet my palate. Taste is dry and reasonably roasty with a touch too much carb. Decent. Sunday, October 19, 2014
Ferris	3.4 High Desert Barleywine Draft - Sweet raisins and brown sugar. A bit vinous and boozy. Cloudy brown orange with a thin head. Raisin, brown sugar and hoppy bitterness. A decent American barleywine. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ferris	3.6 High Desert Rye PA Draft - Orange hops with a bit. Of spice. Orange gold with a thin head. Orange and citrus hops, pithy bitterness and some spice from the rye. Not bad. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ferris	3.6 High Desert IPA Draft - Caramel and grapefruit hops. Clear gold with a rich head. Pine, resin, orange and some caramel in the finish. A well balanced IPA that although has nothing exciting is nice and easy to drink. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ferris	3.9 High Desert Amber Ale Draft - Caramel and some floral hops. Clear copper with a rich head. Caramel, roast malt and a little aromatic hop bite. A really well balanced and flavourful amber, that doesn’t lose site of the malt. Very well done. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ferris	2.9 High Desert Peach Wheat Draft - Huge candied peach aroma. Clear gold with a thin head. Tastes very similar to the smell, although some grain peeks through mid palate. Finish isn’t cloyingly sweet, but mellow peach. This is way to sweet and is that sweet beer for people who don’t like bitterness. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ferris	3.4 High Desert Wheat Draft - Light sweet grain and a bit of citrus. Clear gold with a rich white head. Wheat and some sweetness with a clean finish. Decent, but nothing special. Tuesday, February 25, 2014
larsonlo	3 High Desert Dark Bock Wednesday, January 29, 2014
larsonlo	3 High Desert IPA Wednesday, January 29, 2014
kevinator	3.2 High Desert Barleywine Slightly sweet malt and alcoholic aroma. Dark brown sugar color with a thin head. The most weighted palate of their beers I’ve had. Decent carbonation. Tastes of mixed hop bitterness, caramelized malts and a little spice. Alcohol was relatively hidden. Good beer but not overly unique. Wednesday, January 15, 2014
kevinator	3 High Desert Stout Decent stout. Roasted malt aroma but not strong. Dark and creamy looking with a thin head. Smooth and lightweight palate. Felt like a milk stout. More roasted malt flavors with some sweetness and a slight hops bitterness. Nothing unique though but very drinkable. Tuesday, January 14, 2014
kevinator	3.5 High Desert Dark Bock Really tasty. Not a very strong aroma of roasted malts and caramelized sugar. Dark like a Porter with a thin head. Good weight with a smoothness that filled the mouth. Strong burnt sugar with malts and a slightly bitter finish. Well done and balanced. Monday, January 13, 2014
FlacoAlto	3.7 High Desert Dark Bock Dark, almost burnt, concentrated amber color. The head is thin and has a light brown tinge to it. Aroma has an interesting fruit character to it that is berry leaning; but is very subtle. Rich, sweet, malty notes, deeply caramelized, slightly nutty, deeply caramelized notes, and a touch of umami richness from the contrast notes. Sweet, a bit on the rich side, though not overly heavy. The beer has a nice dense, concentrated malt character to it, a meaty, chewy beer with lots of melonoid character. The beer has a touch of spiciness in the finish that seems more grain / malt related than hop, but it could be a touch of that too. The bitterness balance here is quite light, there is just a touch of it here in the finish so that this doesn’t get cloying. An incredibly satisfying beer, especially after driving the entire day. Sunday, November 10, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.1 High Desert Wheat The beer pours from the growler with a one-finger thick, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, copper hued color. The beer has quite a bit of buttery character, lots of malty character, but not much wheat character that I was expecting. the buttery notes really seem to dominate here. Soft caramelized malt character, no real wheat character, a touch of metalic character, and a soft buttery note that becomes a bit morenoticeableas the beer warms up. The body is fairly light here, but definitely has a viscous quality to it. Not bad, but a pretty standard wheat beer. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.4 High Desert Amber Lager The beer pours from the growler with a pale tan colored head. Lightly hazed, with a bright copper / pale amber color. There is a cracker like, nice lager like maltiness up front, some touches of metallic hoppiness, Nice cracker like maltiness, touches of caramelized malt character, metallic hops, some touches of herbal character, slightly menthol character,as it warms perhaps a touch of . The beer is quite light bodied, but has some light heft to it that sits a bit on the palate. Quite smooth. This is pretty nice, much better than I might have guessed. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.7 High Desert Stout A steady pour into my teku glass produces a one-finger thick, lightly browned, dark tan colored head. The beer is a rich black color that is quite opaque. The nose has nice roasted nuttiness, lots of roasted grain, chewy burnt grain husk, and just an overall, smooth rich maltiness. Touches of dark chocolate, a solid toasted whole grain character that becomes more prominent as the beer warms up. Smooth up front, but then a bitter, sharp roasted character kicks in towards the finish, and lingers nicely on the palate. Black, concentrated, malt-sweetened coffee, charred malt, burnt dark chocolate. Bitter hop notes meld with the roasted, bitter malt notes. There is a light malt sweetness to the beer, which really helps to balance the roasted malt character. Overall the roast character is kept really smooth here, it is sharp / biting in the right ways. The beer is quite quaffable, light enough, but still definitely a stout with enough palate presence, heft, and viscosity. The malt sweetness that is here even seems to provide suggestions of vanilla after the beer warms up quite a bit. A rich toasted nutty note, lots of rich dark maltiness, malted candy notes (without being overly sweet), and burnt caramel brittle are all more noticeable as the beer warms up. This is a really well balanced and easy drinking for a standard Stout; I really like how smooth it is, but still has enough of a bit and sharpness from the roast character to keep this interesting. There is a burnt smokiness to this brew that lightly influences both the aroma and the flavor. This is defintely a beer meant for drinking throughout an evening. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.3 High Desert Fresh Hop IPA A steady pour into my teku glass produces a one-finger thick, light tan colored head that leaves some light lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is a pretty, red color that shows a brilliantly clear, bright red-gold hue when held up to the light. The aroma is definitely hop leaning with notes of pine, grapefruit marmalade, tangelo zest, and some floral tropical fruit notes. There is also a dirty, sort of dank character to the nose that seems to be a mix of green hop notes and crystal malt character; it lightly influences the finish, and adds a hard edge to the aroma that doesn’t really seem to get in the way. Somewhat bitter, with a solid hoppiness, the beer has lots of pine-like flavors as well as a menthol like note that finishes my first sip off. Bright peppery hop notes, and a general herbal spiciness plays a noticeable role in the flavor. Supporting flavors of grapefruit zest, lingering essential citrus oil, and some touches of floral peach that become more noticeable as the beer warms up. The body is fairly light, definitely quaffable like it should be, and it has enough of a body to it. The beer is actually fairly dry though, and I wonder if this hassuppressedthe juiciness of the hop character a bit. The malt character plays a supporting role here, but still provides soft notes of caramelized grain, and a bit of brown cracker notes. Not nearly as interesting and tasty as I was hoping, it is still a decent beer, but almost seems more Pale Ale than IPA; I was really hoping this had a juicy, fruit laden hoppiness to it, the hop character just doesn’t pop as much as I would have hoped. Sunday, September 29, 2013
Jow	3.4 High Desert Porter Tap the brewpub. pours dark brown with light chocolaty nose. Tastes of chocolate. burnt toast, cola, coffee, and some vanilla. touch thin on palate but overall serviceable porter. Monday, September 23, 2013
Jow	3.6 High Desert Fresh Hop IPA Tap at the brewpub. Pours copper orange with soapy white head. Nose is fairly astringent pine. tastes of caramel, malt, pungent hops, piney, earthy, vegetal, and a little basement. overall it was pretty tasty Monday, September 23, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.3 High Desert Barleywine A vigorous pour into my teku glass produces barely a tan, ring of a head. Sweet, dense, caramelized malt, and also has hoppy notes of pine, woody notes, and warming, spicy alcohol. As it warms up, candied grain, and candied citrus hop character combine to add some other dimensions to this beer’s aroma. Sweet, hoppy, malty, chewy, rich and contemplative. The sweetness dies down a bit in the second sip, it never was cloying though, and there is enough hop character to help temper things. Woody, pine, an herbal (though still woody) middle, some tobacco notes, and a dense caramelized citrus notes that have touches of grapefruit, Curacao orange peel, and some ripe tangerine type notes. There is a herbal, slightly astringent bitterness to this beer that helps to anchor the dense malt just a bit. The malt is quite dominant here, with lots of caramelized notes, touches of sweet tea flavors, some toasted sweet cracker notes, and some savory dense maltiness that doesn’t quite get to peat or salty in level. A nice enough Barley Wine; it can get a touch hot at times, and perhaps a bit rough, though really just not as well integrated as it could be. Thursday, July 4, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.6 High Desert Porter A vigorous pour into my teku glass produces a three finger thick, light brown tinged, dark tan colored head that leaves some light lacing on the sides of my glass. The aroma smells cocoa, rich dark malt, earthy dark grain, toasted grassy whole grain bread, and even some cold coffee bitter roast character towards the finish after some time. The beer has a nice carbonation that backs a somewhat creamy body; the beer is a medium light heft that sticks just a bit. The beer has a light roasted character that leans into a chocolate notes, a bit of bitter roast / coffee character. There is some malt sweetness that kicks in as the beer warms up, this accentuates the chocolate notes, and a bit of sweet dark fruit character that is sort of berry like, maybe a touch prune like. This is a nice porter, light enough to be eminently quaffable, with lots of flavor and character like a good porter should be. Thursday, July 4, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.3 High Desert Octoberfest A steady pour into my teku glass produces a one-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a rich amber color that shows a clear, copper tinged, amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of slightly tinny hops backed by rich, caramelized / toasted malt notes, as well as a vibrant spice character contributed by both the malt and the hop character. The spiciness almost has a cinnamon like quality to it, and there is also a certain berry like fruitiness here that melds in with that spice character. The beer has a touch of dryness to it as it first hits the palate, but then quickly gets a malty sweetness to it that lingers through to the long finish. Flavors that are cinnamon like, as well as ample malt sweetness that leans towards caramelized, and sweet brown grain crackers are also found here. There is a slight peppery note to the finish, as well as being a bit green and herbal at times. Fruit notes contribute a solid berry / currant like flavor here, and there seems to be a touch of herbal character that leans towards rooibos tea and even a spike of mint in the finish. There is perhaps even a touch of citrus character to this beer, which may suggest at more hopping than one finds in a traditional example of the style. The body has a certain fullness to it that seems quite appropriate for this type of beer; chewy and textured, without being heavy at all, and still retaining a certain quaffability that this type of beer needs. Like their Pale Bock, this beer is quite a bit different than what one would expect from a Lager and Octoberfest style beer; lots of interesting spice notes and fruitiness are found in this beer. Thursday, July 4, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.3 High Desert Pale Bock A vigorous pour into my teku glass produces a voluminous, fat-three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a bright amber color that shows a brilliantly clear light amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells fruity, with sweet malt, it has a backing hay like malt, and a touch of green beer / herbal character, with the finish having an amped up dried hay grain character. The fruit character has notes of not quite spiced cider. The beer is sweet, malty in a pale malt sort of way and finishes with a touch of husky, dried hay character and a solid cracker like maltiness. The beer has a spiciness to it, that somehow seems a bit like green chile (though just a suggestion), hoppy and herbal, perhaps even a hint of menthol, perhaps even something a bit like cinnamon, and definitely a touch of black pepper in the finish. There is some slight fruit character that leans towards green apple, perhaps a touch of pear even. The body is chewy, a bit viscous, and definitely sits on the palate a bit, and is about right for a Bock, but may be a bit on the thick side for a Pale Bock, sometimes, but it is satisfying non-the-less. Definitely tasty, but it seems to be a bit out of parameter for your typical Pale Bock. Thursday, July 4, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.2 High Desert Peach Wheat The beer arrives from the tap with perhaps a light haze, though it may just be the dim bar and the fact that the beer is so cold I can’t really get rid of all the external condensation. The beer is a light gold color and is topped by a fluffy, pale tan colored head that leaves lots of lacing stuck to the sides of my glass. The aroma is dominated by the peach aromatics, it is noticeable as soon as the beer is handed to me and pretty much overwhelms anything else coming through. The beer is quite cold, on the dry side, well carbonated with an effervescence, and finishes dry and a touch astringent. The peach flavor becomes more prominent as the beer warms up and boosts the perceived sweetness just a bit. Soft straw like grain notes, and maybe a touch of cracker describe the malt presence here. This is light bodied and quaffable, though it is not to light. What I expected, peachy, refreshing and simplistic; not a bad example of a fruit beer, though not overly interesting either. Saturday, June 15, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.6 High Desert Imperial Stout Pours with a very thin, brown tinged head. The beer is nice and black in color and opaque. The aroma smells of toasted, roasted, and wholesome wholegrain browned, toasted grain character. There is a hay-like, grain husk, toasted quality to this that doesn’t get astringent. Rich cocoa notes, dark chocolate, and roasted caramelized candy notes come out as the beer warms up. The beer is rich tasting, definitely on the dense side, richly roasted tasting, and with some warming alcohol notes. Rich enough to have some peat / smoke leaning, umami character, but not overly rich. Roasted mocha notes, dark chocolate, a touch of toasted cocoa, coffee liquor, a bit of charred seaweed, and some pepper alcohol add to the complexity here. A pretty good Imperial Stout, it suffers a bit from the rich, regular strength stout that I just had, but is still quite enjoyable in the end. Saturday, June 8, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.8 High Desert Black IPA A vigorous pour from the growler into my Teku glass produces a two-finger thick, lightly brown stained, tan colored head. The beer is a concentrated brown, sort of approaching black color that shows a brilliantly clear, rich ruby-brown hue when held up to the light. The aroma is pungeantly hoppy up front and then picks up some roasted / burnt malt notes towards the finish. Ample lychee, big tangelo zest aromatics, some chewy guava notes, as well as some light herbal / floral / pine notes; these last are quite a bit more reduced than I was expecting, as these are usually accentuated by the roasted malt character in a Black IPA. The malt character has a wholesome toasted brown grain character to it in addition to a light roasted coffee character, and a bit of char once you start to dig around in the aroma. Overall this is definitely hop dominated in the aroma, but there is a surprising amount of malt character noticeable if you dig around, which isn’t always the case with Black IPAs. This has a medium body to it that keeps it from being dangerously quaffable, but still allows it to be drunk like an IPA should be. There is a light carbonation here that provides a definite prickle to the texture. The flavor is of course dominated by the hops, which are quite a bit more herbal than in the nose, but still have a huge fruit character as well as an additional, biting, lingering bitterness. The hop bitterness is also accentuated by a lingering slightly burnt, roasted grain bitterness. Up front the malt provides a soft (relative to the hops), supporting, rounded brown malt / brown bread maltiness, after which it gets more roasted, perhaps a touch acrid, and even has a touch of burnt grain husk character to it. There is a light pine character, a touch of woody herbal notes. This is definitely a nice Black IPA, it has a bit more malt / roast character than many an example, but this still manages to not make things overly harsh. This definitely hits the hop-itch. Saturday, June 8, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.5 High Desert Hefeweizen The beer pours from the growler with a straw gold color that shows quite a bit of haze to it when held up to the light. The beer is topped by a frothy, pale, one-finger thick head. A bit of clove, perhaps even a bit floral, perhaps some pear like notes, this is backed by some hay notes, and a touch of cracker like pale grain. As the beer warms a bit of sweet grain character becomes a bit more noticeable and it combines with the yeast character to produce a hint of something like cotton candy. Prickly carbonation, quite light bodied, but it does have a touch of viscosity to it. The beer has a sweet grain character to it, some straw like notes, and a touch of cracker like grain character that gets a bit more chewy and noticeable in the long finish. There are some light fruit notes here, the banana becomes more noticeable as the beer warms, there are also notes of pear, a touch of apple, and perhaps even a touch of something like Meyer lemon. The finish has a fairly solid bitterness to it, at least for a Hefe, but it is certainly not intrusive at all. Not a bad example of a Hefe, it has the requisite yeast character, but I usually like a bit more wheat / barley influence (decoctions are really nice for this style). Still, this has grown on me a bit as I work my way through my pour. Saturday, June 8, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.2 High Desert IPA A vigorous pour from the growler produces a two finger thick, pale tan colored head in my teku glass. The beer is a rich amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, rich copper-amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma has a huge toasted, nutty malt character to it up front. There is a soft citrus hop character, a touch of herbal hop character, but really this is surprisingly not hoppy; it is like an old school IPA from the 90s or earlier, but by todays standards doesn’t seem to have much hop character to it at all. It doesn’t even smell like a malty IPA, more like an amber ale. This does have a big bitterness to it that provides a bite to my first sip. There is lots of malt flavors here; sweet, caramelized, sweet tea, nutty toasted malt, and lots of English biscuit character. Soft citrus notes play up a grapefruit character, caramelized tangelos, some menthol notes that also provide a palate presence, and an herbal, woody, not quite rosemary like character all perfume the mostly more dominant malt character (at least for an IPA). A weird beast, definitely not at all what I expected, seems to be an American take on an English interpretation of an IPA. Certainly not bad, but I was hoping for a hop fix, and this certainly doesn’t fit that bill. Saturday, June 8, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.8 High Desert Anniversary Ale This has a long lasting, light tan colored head (well over an hour of staying power here. Pungent fruit and herbal hop aromatics are quite apparent. If you give the nose a moment to adjust to the prevelant hop character then you can notice the malt; slight biscuit notes, pale cracker like maltiness, and even a hint of rustic bread crumb (the technical bread definition) notes that has a bit of that grain sweetness. The flavor has a solid, ample hop character to it: ample lychee, ripe tangelo zest, jellied guava, citrusy spruce tips, hints of candied pine, a light peppery herbal note, and a solid, though not biting (for an IPA at least), bitterness that definitely lingers on the palate. The malt character is clearly just a supporting role, it has just enough to support the huge hop character, and the beer isn’t so dry that the concentrated fruit hoppiness is muted. The herbal side of the hops becomes a bit more noticeable after a short while. The body here has a light viscous character, and just a touch of chewiness to it; this extra body really helps to accentuate the hop fruit character, yet this is still quite quaffable as an IPA should be. A very nice IPA, one which I am quite happy to purchase a growler of now. I really like the pungent, fruity, hop character here, I just can’t resist. Monday, June 3, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.5 High Desert Brown Ale The beer is a clear brown color that has some red highlights to it and it is topped by a frothy, tan colored head. Toasted, brown crackers, touches of dark fruit, maybe a hint of herbal hop character. The beer has a light sweetness to it up front, which accentuates a solid berry like fruitiness that is backed by a toasted, well browned, whole grain bread crust character. The finish has a light herbal note, a light bitterness in the finish, and perhaps a touch of roast character that lingers a bit on the palate with a coffee like touch. There is a fullness to the body here that clings just a bit to the palate, a bit on the chewy side, but certainly a quaffing brew. Quite a tasty brown, perhaps a touch on the fruity / sweet side, without being overly of either; I am a bit of a Brown Ale fan though, so take my judgement here with a grain of salt. Monday, June 3, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.4 High Desert ESB The beer is a clear amber color that has a hint of red to it. The head is a pale tan color. The aroma has a bright raisin like note to it, or perhaps it is a bright currant character. There is a touch of an herbal edge to the currant like hop character here. There is a substantial toasted, English Biscuit like character, and whole grain cracker like character. Up front the beer is a touch non-descript, but that striking currant note takes hold in the middle and finish and is quite present and noticeable. Again the beer is just far too cold, it has a touch more body than the Pale Ale, but is still quite quaffable and light. There is perhaps a bit of grassiness to the hops as well, and I can’t quite shake that there is a hint of diacetyl here; the latter, if it is here, is found in the nose as well, and seems to accentuate and perhaps bring out the currant note somehow. Tasty enough, it is quite interesting that the currant note is so distinct. I can’t quite figure out if there is diacetyl in here or not, but regardless it seems to be a positive influence here, if perhaps a touch weird. Monday, June 3, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.5 High Desert American Pale Ale Arrives from the tap with a pale amber color that seems quite clear. The head is a frothy, pale tan colored head that is about a finger in height. The beer smells nicely hoppy, with lots of tangelo, lychee, and floral tropical fruit notes to it. Rounded herbal and pine notes become more noticeable as the beer warms up and there is a hint of cracker like and dried hay like malt too. The beer is certainly a bit on the cold side, actualy it substantially cold. Hoppy citrus notes almost play a secondary role to woody pine notes, and herbal almost rosemary like character, and a touch of menthol. This has a solid bitter bite to it, though without being overwhelming. This is nice and light bodied, certainly hits the quaffability that a good Pale Ale needs to have. This has a nice, supporting, malt character to it that keeps away from the muddling, caramelized malts; clean cracker notes, a touch of pale bread notes, and a hint of hay provides a subtle supporting role to the dominant hop character. The beer is fairly dry, which mutes the fruit side of the hops, but still notes of tangelo zest, some lychee, and perhaps a touch of guava are able to come through though. This is a solid, amply hoppy Pale Ale; I definitely prefer one with lots of hop character and this fits the bill. I wish that the serving temperature wasn’t so frigid, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was in the 30s (Fahrenheit) to begin with. Monday, June 3, 2013
cubs	3.9 High Desert Barleywine Tap @ High Desert. Pours a reddish orange appearance with a cream colored head. Somewhat sweet, caramel, herbal/floral aroma. Just a light retro nasal burn but overall, an easy drinking, toasty malty, rich caramel, somewhat sweet, a bit earthy flavor. Quite easy drinking. Nice brew. Friday, January 4, 2013
cubs	3.1 High Desert Bohemian Pilsener Tap @ High Desert. Pours a clear golden appearance with a small, off white head. Honey, chewy grainy, herbal, fairly earthy aroma. Moderately sweet, pale malty, grainy straw, lightly fruity, honey flavor. A little syrupy. Ok. Friday, January 4, 2013
cubs	3.2 High Desert Stout Tap @ High Desert. Pours a dark reddish brown appearance with a creamy brown head. Roasty malty, cocoa, a bit herbal aroma. A touch fruity, very roasty, slightly smoked, dark chocolate flavor. Friday, January 4, 2013
cubs	3.6 High Desert Porter Tap @ High Desert. Pours a dark reddish brown appearance with a brown head. Cocoa, light coffee, vanilla, roasty aroma. Creamy, dark chocolate, richly roasted malty, somewhat bitter flavor. The highlight of my sampler trays. Friday, January 4, 2013