Perihelion Brewery

Perihelion Brewery  11Jun2017

I hopped on the D-Line bus headed for the bus tunnel downtown and picked up the Link Light Rail headed south. I arrived at the Beacon Hill stop and rode the elevator to street level. Perihelion sits on 16^th S, and I found it after making a couple of wrong turns. If I had just headed across Beacon from the light rail stop, I would have been right there.

Perihelion is in a nice residential setting with a few trees around.

Perihelion sits about a block off of Beacon, which puts it smack in the middle of a residential area, a very inviting setting. The outdoor seating area was in full use this day as the sun was out and the temperature was moderate but felt warm in the direct sunlight. I had to wind around the outside table area to get inside then walk to the front of the taproom to find the bar.

You have to run the gauntlet of outdoor seating to get inside.

The beer list is chalked up above the taps and clearly lists the beers and their ABV while no bitterness indicators are given.

Beer list and food offerings are above the bar and the open kitchen area is to the left in this picture.

Tasters (5 ounce), pints and growler fills are available. I studied the beer list and ordered eight tasters and then retired to a tall stool at a counter to sip, note, read, and study the neighborhood.

l to r Apogee Dark Belgian Strong, Daedalus Rye Saison, Singularity Stout, Mango Sour, and The Milky Way IPA. Sensing a galactic theme?

l to r Summer Kolsch, Matrix Maibock, and Icarus Saison.

Tasting Notes:

Summer Kolsch (6.3%): Slightly hazy gold. Bready malt aroma with slight noble hop. Sturdy bitterness and rich malt with a full body but pleasantly dry. Bitter finish. Odd flavor like some of the saison yeast snuck into the mix.

Matrix Maibock (5.5%): Clear red copper. Faint malt aroma. Sweet malt with a little roast and assertive (not aggressive) bitter flavors. Crisp dry malt. Bitter sweet finish.

Mango Sour (5.4%): Slightly hazy orange. Fruity mango aroma. Sweet and sour mango. No detectable bitterness. Quick finish with some lingering sourness.

Singularity Stout (5.9%): Opaque black with no highlights. Roast malt and coffee aroma. Roast malt (burnt), sweet malt, and bitter hop flavors. Full body. Sweet bitter finish.

Icarus Saison (7.9%): Clear gold. Perfumed aroma with peppery phenols. Medicinal and Band-Aid like phenols, bitter hop, sweet malt. Very full body. Bitter finish.

Daedalus Rye Saison (8.1%): Clear red copper. Malty phenolic aroma. Band-Aid like phenols (like the Icarus), sweet malt, some bitterness (less than Icarus). Bitter finish.

Apogee Dark Belgian Strong (9.2): Dark brown with red highlights. Fruity plum and malt aroma is very inviting. Sweet and fruity plum and cherry. Late, slight bitterness. Full body. Sweet finish and more late bitterness.

The Milky Way IPA (5.6%): Murky red orange. Piney and citrus hop aroma. Sweet malt and hop (piney and fruity) flavors, medium bitterness. Sweet bitter finish. Some minerality.

Perihelion is in a very pleasant area in a residential neighborhood, which should make it a natural local watering hole. A constant stream of pedestrians passes heading to or from errands on Beacon and trekking to the Red Apple Market. The greeting at the bar is neighborly and friendly. It’s still a new brewery and some of the beers need work, which makes the selections hit or miss. I would order second pints of the Apogee, if I didn’t have to drive, and the IPA. I didn’t try any of the food, so I have no opinion there. I didn’t finish the two saisons and the Kolsch had an odd un-Kolsch-like flavor.

My walk back to the light rail stop was much more direct than my walk to the brewery. Line of sight dead reckoning is something I can do. Light rail to the D-Line and back home to stagger around the kitchen making dinner.