Breweries of Salem: Gilgamesh

As part of my trip to Salem a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Gilgamesh's beautiful new brewing campus (as they term it) and checked out their brewpub. The last time I'd been to Salem, they had recently opened their downtown lounge location, which was mediocre at best (though the beer then was quite good).

The new digs are visually pleasing - lots of light wood, high ceilings, a large patio with plenty of outdoor seating, plenty of big bay windows, and a fireplace built to resemble their arrow logo. It's obvious that the owners put a lot of thought into designing the place.

Given that it was afternoon on a weekday, service was prompt. I think we were the only ones there at the time we arrived.

The bar has a huge mirror behind it, and the taplist was written on the mirror, making it very hard to read from a distance. A minor quibble, but annoying nonetheless.

Flights are $6 for 6 4oz samples. I opted for a 7th, to be able to try all the single-batch beers they had on offer.

Here are my tasting notes:

Mega Mamba - An imperial version of their hopless beer. Boozy and spicy, with pronounced mango.

Blueberry Sour - Acidic, sour, with good blueberry flavor and a cereal malt finish.

Fun Guy Bock - Apparently made with mushrooms. Woody and maple-like.

O'Doyle Rules - A very forgettable and average amber.

Oedipus IPA - Harsh, vegetative hops.

Chai Oatmeal Stout - Tea and spices dominate, a creamy, milk-like finish.

Bandit Porter - Smoke, vinegary sourness, some roast.

Gilgamesh makes beers that are interesting. Following up on my last post, generally they go for Point 3 beers - adding ingredients without really seeming to build beers around them, which is necessary, especially if you're working with very potent adjuncts like tea and blueberries. I enjoyed the Mamba and the sour, but the rest all suffered from mistakes a little bit more experimentation and planning would have fixed.

I'm always up for trying more of Gilgamesh's beer, if only because I know that whatever they're offering, it won't be boring. If their consistency and quality tick up a little bit, they'll be in very good shape.