S1E74 - Ordnance Brewing's White Crow White Stout

Episode Notes

Episode 74: Ordnance Brewing’s White Crow White Stout

It’s the Two Minute Beer Review!

I’m Andrew Burkum and it’s that time again where we take on that massive craft brew aisle to find the hidden treasures waiting for us there.

This week we’re taking a look at White Crow White Stout by Ordnance Brewing in Boardman, OR. What exactly is a White Stout, anyway? Let’s find out!

First thing’s first. Although Ordnance Brewing’s operation is based in Boardman, they also have a taproom in Wilsonville, Oregon. I got to visit this taproom over the holidays and spent some time enjoying several of their beers. It was my intent to do a quickfire review as I usually do on my brewery visits, hitting all the beers that I tasted that day—and don’t get me wrong, I still intend to devote an episode to that. But when I tried their White Crow I knew that I was going to have to do a whole show featuring this beer.

Pouring this beer into the glass I had no idea what was going on. It was listed on the wall as a stout but the color is a pale straw yellow. If you poured this and set it in front of me I’d swear I was looking at a pilsner. But then I smelled it. Absolutely amazing. Out of this pale yellow brew I got a ton of coffee and a little chocolate as well as just a hint of vanilla. There’s also a little bit of a cereal scent in the very back that rounds it out and reminds you that this is a brewing operation owned and operated by an Oregon farming dynasty.

But what about the taste? White Crow is sweet around the edges with a good strong coffee bitterness. It’s full of roasted, toasted flavors that again I did not expect based on what I was looking at in my glass. You get both that little bit of chocolate and that little bit of vanilla that shows up in the scent. It also has a little touch of that unique stout sourness in the very back of the swallow which rounds the whole thing out and bring it home stout style. The feel of the beer in the mouth is very clean and pillowy soft but not at all chunky like you might expect from some stouts. It’s almost refreshing because of how clean it drinks.

I went into this tasting expecting a gimmick beer—a stout that was pale instead of dark. But that’s selling White Crow extremely short. This is a lovingly-crafted stout with all the flavors I love and expect out of the style, but with a unique spin that adds to the fun of drinking it. White Crow is 5.8% alcohol by volume. Based on their website it appears that Ordnance currently distributes to Oregon, Washington and Northern Idaho. I’ve reached out to them for more information and I’m waiting to hear back—I hope to have more details on how you can get your hands on this and the rest of their beers soon. But for those of you living within the distribution area—or who know people who can ship or smuggle you a bottle across state lines—this is an absolute must-try beer. We’re making it a Two Minute Beer Review Recommendation.

That’s all for this week, but I hope you’ll join me next week as we take a look at Hanamachi Rice Lager by Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA. Is this one a hit or should we save the rice for sushi ? We’ll find out next week.

Look for links to this week’s beer and brewery in the show notes, and don’t forget to let us know what you’re drinking and what you’re thinking about the show. You can find us on Facebook or tweet us @2minutebeer, using the number two.

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