San Juan Island Brewing Company, Raging Main Ale
Friday Harbor, Wash.
Cost: 22 oz. Bottle: $4+, House Pint: $3.95

The bracing wind and rain of the Pacific Northwest can chill one to the bone. At these times, nothing soothes like an "old ale." In particular, a "strong ale" can be warming in its richness and potency. The San Juan Brewing Company offers a fine interpretation of this quirky English style.

In a glass poured at their Front Street Alehouse in Friday Harbor, or from a bottle purchased at a retailer in Northwest Washington, the Raging Main Ale is a dark, opaque brew with ruby overtones. Brewer Phil Murphy describes it as "somewhat sweet and deliciously vinous."

This beer is fairly wine-like, in flavor and strength (7.2% abv). It offers a good balance of malts, hops and alcohol. True to style, its complex flavors suggest black-strap molasses and oaken-aged brandy.