Corvallis is a college town, and the otherwise unfortunately named Flat Tail Brewing is all about the OSU Beavers. But now Corvallis has three breweries (not counting the McMenamin’s), which is not a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. Kappy and I showed up for lunch and ordered the beaver tail-esque taster paddle to accompany it. I was a little surprised that several of the beers were made with fancy spices and whatnot, like coriander and rosehips, and two were made using open fermentation, and so I got my hopes up for some interesting brews.

Flat Tail Brewing’s taster tail — Corvallis, OR

Rob’s Picks
• IPA – 6.8% – Citrusy aroma. Big hoppiness — mostly citrus flavored, but some floral, too. Decent balance — not the best IPA, but good.
• Dusseldorf Alt – 4.5% – Really nice. I wish this had been their Pale Ale. Great maltiness and nicely balanced. Very drinkable. Unfortunately, the line “I was born in Dusseldorf, and that is why they call me Rolph” kept going through my head as I drank this.
• Porter – 6.8% – Decent balance of dryness, hoppiness, and chocolate and alcohol flavors. Good lingering flavor.
• De La Rose – 7.5% – Floral aroma. Nice balance of floral and other flavors. This is the one with the coriander and other spices. Complex but drinkable. I like it.
• Six – 6.5% – Like a lighter, hoppier tripel. Good sweet caramel flavor balanced by hoppiness rather than alcohol flavor. Nice!
• KSA – 3% – Kind of like sour cherry cider. Very sour, very strong cherry flavor, almost no maltiness or hoppiness. Pretty fun, actually. Made with cacao nibs, as well, but you really have to concentrate to notice it.

The Rest
• Kolsch – 5% – Light and bubbly. Somewhat lemony start to strong bready finish. But kind of dull.
• Pale – 5.5% – Fairly light. Subtle floral hops, decent malty base. Drinkable, but nothing too interesting.
• White Tail Wheat – 4.5% – Fairly crisp for an unfiltered beer. Nothing interesting going on with the flavors, though. Drinkable, but meh.
• Saison de la Tail – 10% – Very light on the tongue. Strong floral hoppiness, subtle caramel sweetness. Can’t believe it’s 10%. Did they accidentally swap this one with, say, the De La Rose?

With the way the Kolsch, Pale Ale, and Wheat came out, I’m glad we skipped their Amber. I was also glad they were out of their raspberry ale and pumpkin stout. But hey, they had some good beer, and the food was decent. So, I’d say Flat Tail is a fine addition to Corvallis. Go Beavers!