Belt’s Beer Garden: Respect the Beer’d

Lumberbeard Brewing is a family-owned and operated brewery located in Spokane, Washington. After deciding the world of finance wasn’t for him, owner/head brewer, Bret Gordon, moved to California, got a Professional Brewing Certificate from the University of San Diego, and began working in the beer world. In 2018 he took another leap, moved to Spokane, and opened up Lumberbeard with his wife, Hannah.

Today I have one of their beers that also goes towards a special cause, their QED.

QED is a hazy IPA brewed with Ales for ALS, a fundraising program where breweries use a custom hop blend and then donate the proceeds to ALS research (also known as Lou Gehrig Disease). Lumberbeard took that custom hop combo and made a 6.5% ABV New England-style IPA out of it. A pair of 16-ounce cans cost me $13 but at the brewery itself it is a little cheaper.

This hazy IPA poured a super bright golden straw color with just about a finger of eggshell white foam building up. The head disappears down into a thin ring around the edge of the glass rather quickly, leaving some moderate lacing down the side as it does so.

On the nose this beer packs a super juicy punch of tropical fruits and dank hoppy goodness. Massive notes of pineapple and mango lead the way with some light melon and stone fruit qualities hitting underneath. A light flaked wheat backing along with some hoppy dankness finished off the smell, making this beer insanely inviting and soft.

After smelling it I fell in love and immediately had to dive into the beer.

My first sip started with a super creamy and soft mouthfeel with just a hint of carbonation fizzling across my tongue.

The hops hit first with some light bitterness before some pineapple and dankness set in. Stone fruits like peach and apricot slowly crawl forward, pushing out the dankness and inserting more of the fruit flavors.

Towards the middle, a slightly resinous sticky began to appear and brought some notes of pine and pithy grapefruit. A small splash of lemon also makes an appearance with the slightly tart grapefruit characteristic.

QED then finishes quite cleanly. That tiny resinous stickiness lingers on for a moment or two before fading out but there is no aftertaste or dryness left by the beer. It makes going back for seconds dangerously easy.

Overall, QED is quite tasty and insanely crushable. It does become a tad more bitter as it warms up and you reach the end of the pint but it’s still really good and really well made. Support this cause and support Lumberbeard.