Beer Snob: Wild Ride Brewing

On January 23, 1980, I turned 40-years-old and my wife, the laudable Rizzo, gave me perhaps the greatest gift that one person can give to another. No, it wasn’t the gift of children, the gift of life, the gift of marriage, or even the gift of sweet, sweet lovin’. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it was the gift of beer.

You see, one of my resolutions in this new year was to drink more beer. Not that I wanted to drink copious amounts of alcohol but I wanted to explore new breweries. To the point that sometimes I will open up a bottle, pour four ounces at the end of the day to enjoy a new beer, and save the remaining bottle for another day. I wanted to try new beers from other parts of the country.

The challenge was that it is difficult to find beers from other parts of the country and the world in a store. Even big beverage retailers like Total Wine find it difficult to get some good craft beverages from across the globe. Don’t get me wrong, Total Wine as well as your local bottle shop will stock some great craft beverages but the very nature of state liquor laws make it a challenge for many breweries to sell in multiple states.

So Rizzo, being the ever vigilant, got me a subscription to The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club, the U.S. Microbrewed Beer Club. Every month twelve beers are delivered right to my front door. Each package includes two breweries. Each brewery includes two beers. Each beer included three bottles or cans. Let me tell you, in the time of COVID-19 and self isolation, having beer delivered right to your front door is perhaps one of the greatest gifts modern technology has bestowed upon our great land.

In this episode of Beer Snob, we will be reviewing the two beers from Wild Ride Brewing Company out of Redmond, OR. Malt of the Earth (the newsletter that is provided with each shipment) provides a this opening paragraph on the brewery:

Situated in Deschutes County, in Oregon’s high desert on the eastern side of the Cascades, sits the small city of Redmond. Just 15 miles north of Bend, Redmond is pretty much smack dab right in the center of Oregon, a state well-known for its exceptional beer. For a group of Redmond natives who were lifelong friends and craft beer lovers, the idea of opening a brewery and tap room downtown turned from a dream into a reality when the first beers of Wild Ride started flowing in May of 2014.

Wild Ride offered two beers to try in our selection: Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter and Hidden Trail.

Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter

I remember the first time I had a peanut butter beer. I was at a beer festival in Charlottesville, VA and tried the now famous Sweet Baby Jesus by DuClaw Brewing. As a big fan of peanut butter I was blown away. I loved the mixture of salty peanut butter with the sweet flavor of malt heavy porters.

That was September 14, 2013. Since then it seems the peanut butter beer has been overdone. Everyone in the craft beer market seems to have one on tap or has at least messed around with in the past. Like the Christmas Ale or the super-hopped up IPA, the peanut butter porter has seemed to have its day and will soon begin to disappear from the market.

Even so, this porter is absolutely delicious. When you pop open the bottle you can smell the peanut butter. Then when the beer hits your lips you can taste peanut butter mixed with the sweet taste of malt and delicious chocolate. It is like drinking a peanut butter cup but don’t worry about it being too heavy. Some fear a peanut butter porter, or any porter, because it may seem too heavy but this is absolutely not the case with this beer. This beer is light and easy to drink and at 6% ABV it isn’t too hard on the head the next day.

Four out of Five Stars.

Hidden Trail

If any of you have read any of my Beer Snob posts you will know that I do not like pale ales. An IPA is perhaps the worst beer on the market, in my opinion. Brewers overly hop the beer to taste like a pine tree in order to cover up the inability to brew a good beer (says the guy that can’t brew any beer but just likes to talk about how much he likes or doesn’t like beer). I’ll enjoy the occasional English-style pale ale other than that I’m not a fan.

The Hidden Trail NW Hazy Pale Ale was no exception. The tasting notes included in the newsletter describe this beer as “a bit of across between an American Pale Ale and a New England-style IPA.” I’ll admit I don’t have a pallet refined enough to tell the difference other than to say after drinking this beer all I could taste was pine trees.

Upon opening the bottle, the smell of the hops is overpowering. There is supposed to be fruity flavors in this beer but all I can taste is the bitterness of the hops overwhelming any other flavors that may be subtly represented. I’m sure if you are a fan of a nice pale ale this would be a great beer for you. The ABV is low (5.4%) which is lower than your typical IPA that makes it an easy drink for those hot summer days. If IPAs are your thing this would be a good beer to put in your rotation but it’s not for me.

Two out of Five Stars.

I’m so excited to keep sharing beers from the Beer of the Month Club. I hope I can get a wide variety from across the country and share what I like and what I don’t. In the meantime, keep drinking good beer and supporting your local brewer during this time. Many local breweries are offering curb-side pickup or delivery and we all could use a drink during these stressful times.

Stay Healthy.