Bull Trout with Sierra Nevada Porter
Location: Metolius River
Beer: Sierra Nevada Porter
Chris and I had been chasing carp and bass all over Eugene for the last couple weeks and we were both ready for a change. Since it’d been pouring, pouring and pouring some more in our neck of the woods we decided to make the two hour drive over to the Metolius River.
The Metolius is a gorgeous river. It starts as a full sized river bubbling right up out of the ground and continues though beautiful pine forests before draining into Lake Billy Chinook. The Metolius holds four species of fish that we pursue; rainbows, browns, whitefish and bull trout. Of those four, bull trout are our favorite. You target them with BIG streamers and they get huge!
I think he already had a couple porters
The beer that I chose for the weekend was the Sierra Nevada Porter. I was/am still on a bit of a porter high after the Washington Cask Beer Festival and I hadn’t ever tried Sierra Nevada’s offering.
Normally we wait until we catch a fish or two before cracking the first beer, and we stuck to that M.O. this trip as well. However, when the fishing starts as hot as it did for us you end up cracking beers at nine in the morning!! Check out this double that got us started. Definitely a reason for a celebratory beer, no matter the hour.
Early morning bull trout double!
The Sierra Nevada Porter was a great choice for the weekend. The dark, smoky goodness went perfectly with big bruising bull trout. I find that this time of year on the Metolius really lends itself to porters too. I like a bigger heavy beer to go with the cool inclement weather and the Sierra Nevada definitely qualifies.
He looks thirsty!!
The beer has a nice smoky/sweet aroma with hints of toffee. The flavor is much of the same with a really smooth, slightly sweet taste. The beer is well balanced and isn’t overly sweet or bitter. Overall I would highly recommend both the beer and the Metolius to all fishermen out there.
Sierra Nevada Porter
Appearance: A very dark brown, almost black, but does let a little light through. The head reminded me of a root beer float, it was very thick and foamy and had the color of chocolate milk.
Smell: It has a pretty nice scent, but not very strong. Typically malty, with a hint of toffee.
Taste/Mouthfeel: Well balanced, it is both sweet and bitter, but not overpowering in either. You get a bit of toffee in the taste as well. A nice smoky porter with a slight bitter aftertaste.
Overall: I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. It is a bit bubbly, but great overall, I liked the balance between sweet and bitter. It was quite drinkable; I would buy this again.
Beer Stats:
Beginning Gravity: 13.8 PLATO
Ending Gravity: 3.5 PLATO
Alc/Vol: 5.6%
IBU: 32
Brewery Location: Chico California
4 out of a Six Pack
