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Happy beer week to everyone! It has been a blast thus far, with great events all over town. Chuckanut had a wonderful Oktoberfest on Saturday, and there has been ridiculously great beers flowing all over town. I wanted to share a review from a brewery that will be featured tonight @ Elizabeth Station — Reuben’s Brews. Native to the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle, Reuben’s is a small family owned and operated brewery, churning out delicious high-quality beers as fast as they can. Distribution of these beers rarely makes it outside of Seattle, so this is a somewhat rare opportunity to try some of their delicious rarities in Bellingham. If you can’t get down to Seattle to try the beers, that’s no problem, we’ll bring them to you! The Best of Reuben’s Brews night kicks off @ 4PM and will feature a plethora of Reuben’s best, including some rarities as well.

Here is just a hint of the list — Imperial Pumpkin, Life on Mars Imperial Red IPA, Imperial Black IPA. . .

I first encountered Reuben’s early this year, not really knowing much about them, I simply reviewed their beer with no preconceived notion or expectation. Which beer was it? Their Robust Porter of course, one of their classics, and one of my new favorites, especially now that the temperatures are dropping. Let’s explore this one again, shall we?

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Brewery: Reuben’s Brews — Ballard, Seattle, WA

Beer: Robust Porter

ABV / IBU: 5.9% / 30

Cost: $4.99 / 22oz

Appearance (4/5) This beer pours somewhat quickly out of the tap, and appears a deep brown color with a puffy mocha colored head that leaves behind nice consistent lacing along the inside of the glass.

Aroma (4/5) Initially quite light in the aroma department, this is fairly muted cold. Though as it warms it really picks up and brings on waves of aromas. Smells of nicely roasted chocolate malts, light cocoa and coffee notes, quite dry overall with no unnecessary sweetness, there is perhaps a bit of caramel and vanilla in there, but it is for the most part very dry and roasted.

Taste (4.25/5) Much like the nose, this beer takes on another life as it warms. Overall it tastes nice and dry, featuring a great depth of richly roasted chocolate malts and coffee tones, very nice. There is an espresso bitterness here balanced by a touch of creamy vanilla and caramel sweetness, without being cloying or off putting. Excellent balance.

Mouthfeel (4.5/5) While this maintains a medium body, it is fantastically light and crisp, with clean and lingering finish that lightly dries out the palate, encouraging you to come back for more.

Overall (4/5) This is a very nice porter from Reuben’s and a really good gateway to the rest of their lineup. Oh my I almost forgot to mention just how many awards this particular brew has received, just marvel in this list!

2015 Washington Beer Awards – Gold
2015 World Beer Championships – Gold
2014 European Beer Star – Gold
2014 Washington Beer Awards – Gold
2014 Australian Intl. Beer Awards – Bronze
2013 Washington Beer Awards – Silver
2013 US Open – Silver
2013 & 2012 World Beer Championships – Silver

Make sure you get down to Elizabeth Station to take in the full lineup of Reuben’s Best, I can’t think of a better way to christen the new Passports, come get some Reuben’s and a stamp!