Idunware Beer is a software that allows users to store information on beer, much in the same way as sites such as Ratebeer.com or BeerAdvocate.com.  As an off-line tool, Idunware, developed by Henrik Morell of Copenhagen, Denmark, allows users to access their own customizable beer notes without the use of the Internet.  This allows for private, non-commercial, and sortable beer data to be stored for use at anytime without fear of viruses or criticism.  Morell’s goal is to provide customers with the best products and service available and to make things easy and logical in the current technological era.  I spoke with the man behind Idunware to find out more and to garner an understanding of his appreciation for craft beer.

What is your interest in beer/craft brewing?

Now available in 22 ounce bottles in the Pacific NW

Thanks to Chris at Belmont Station for the heads up on this one.  Ninkasi Brewing Company, known for it’s hoppy treats like the Total Domination IPA. Believer Double Red, and the Tricerahops Double IPA, have just bottled their deep rich stout named Oatis.  This dark, delicious oatmeal stout, named for the brewery’s mascot dog Otis, is healthfully hopped and contains a robust chocolaty malt character.  The perennially available draught beer will complement a nice repretoire of beers in bottles by the Eugene brewery.  When I spoke to brewer and owner Jamie Floyd last year, he described the beer as having a “rich robust flavor, silky oatmeal body, and cheek-warming strength fights off the cold winter months.” Amen, brother!

Lots of stuff going on in Portland this time of year, as you can see on our calendar. Here’s a look at some of the best events for beer geeks in Beervana…

Hopworks Releases Noggin Floggin’

Autumn sadly marks the departure of the light lager lounging’, porch sittin’, t-shirted wearin’ days of summer. Amidst this season, extricating one’s self from a warm bed to face the chill of a dark morning can be difficult and at times, downright depressing.  However, there are several aspects of the fall season that give each year a festive glow that, without, would leave the 52-week year less imaginative and far less interesting. The colorful leaves blowing around outdoors, lighting a cozy fire, taking in a football game (ur…match) and sipping on a hardy, robust brew are some of the elements of autumn that I look forward to each and every year.  Especially the part about the hardy, robust brew.

Halloween is a pagan holiday that carries as much, if not more, excitement as all the other big ones.  It is a mystical and magical time for children and a playfully spooky time for kids of all ages.  Here are some of the beers recommended for All Hallow’s Eve or Samhain:

Two vessel system at Lakewood, New York

As a follow-up to Brewpublic’s news about Lakewood, New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Company making it’s way into the Northwest market, here is an interview with head brewer Paul Cain.

What’s your experience at Southern Tier been like?

Deschutes Brewery sent out their most recent Bitter Truth Newsletter this month.  It is an informative, colorful, and well-designed update of many of their happenings around Bend and Portland.  It also lists several newly released and soon to be released beers of interest.  Among these are the Luckiest Lager, a German style lager with a bountiful supply of hops , the Old Samhain (Sah-win) Halloween nitro brew, six different fresh hop beers, and the Big Red Double Cinder Cone barleywine.  Perhaps, the most intriguing new offering to soon be released is a Wild Plum Stout brewed with sour wort and tart plums.  Mmm.  If the puckeringly sweet flavor of the Dissident Oud Bruin was any indication of how well Deschutes does sours, then this could be nothing short of spectacular.

I phoned Deschutes’ brewmaster Larry Sidor at the brewery in Bend this morning to find out more.  Sidor informed me that the Wild Plum Stout will be release soon and will be a pub only brew.  “We made about twelve and a half barrels of it” said Sidor.  “The plums are from our refrigeration mechanic.   He grew them in his yard and we felt it was something we should work on.”  So, about 20-25 pounds of plums were handpicked and run through a wine grape crusher.  The hand-cranked quarter-inch press extracted the sugar and tart qualities from the fresh fruit.  “(The stout) has a sour wort with a Lactobacillus culture in it.  We put about two or three gallons into the mash.”  So how did it come out?  Said Sidor: “When I tasted it, it was pretty darn tart.”

Larry Sidor Deschutes brewmaster

Offering a selection of brews impressive even by Beervana’s standards, Victory Bar at 3652 SE Division Street (at 37th Avenue) in Portland offers a relaxed atmosphere with a rotating tap selection worth discovering.  Voted one of the best places to drink beer in America by Imbibe Magazine in 2008, Victory also offers a full bar with choice wine and liquor selections as well as delicious happy hour food. The bar’s front man, Yani informed Brewpublic that the bar is soon to feature three additional taps.  This means the current five beer on tap will soon be eight. Victory features an assortment of beer geek favorites from around the world. On our last visit we were pleased to find Ommegang Rouge Grand Cru pouring as well as a Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA.  Check the most recent list below for an idea of how cool Victory is.

Victory Bottle List

By Margaret Lut

We all have memories of various first time experiences. Our first kiss, our first apartment and for beer enthusiasts, there is no fonder memory then our first taste that turned us on to craft beer. Drinking your first brew and savoring the taste is a first that will last a lifetime. Maybe it was the citrusy palate of a pale or IPA, or the robust mouthfeel of a rich porter or stout. Whatever it was, you will never forget your first tasty beer.

I remember my first encounter with enjoying and appreciating craft beer. It was the spring of 2000. I had a friend that liked to drink craft beer and I would try one from time to time. For the most part I was not a fan. From a household of Polish immigrants, the beer of choice for my father was a standard European premium lager. These light beers were devoid the assertive hop profile associated with Pacific Northwest brews. My first impression of the local beer choices were that they were often either too bitter or too strong for my taste. But then, one day, it happened. I took a drink and was amazed at the flavor that was filling my mouth. A slightly hoppy taste that was smooth and not harsh on the palate. It was kind of citrusy, floral, and surprisingly refreshing. It was a beer that was well balanced and very drinkable. This beer was no other than Deschutes’ Mirror Pond Pale Ale. It is beer that is generous spiced with Cascade hops and at 5% ABV makes it a brew that a first timer can easily enjoy.

The idea of Yellow Snow in your mouth might make you want to gag. In 1974 Frank Zappa warned us “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow.”  Now, it is recommended you drink one kind of yellow snow–Rogue’s winter IPA release. Brewed exclusively with high-alpha Amarillo hops, Rogue’s Yellow Snow IPA is a florally and fruitily hopped brew.  The beer was created in 2000 for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Yellow Snow is Rogue’s tribute to winter sports everywhere—downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country, ice hockey, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even curling. According to the brewery, it will be available November 1st in select states where mountains and snow can be found. At 15 degrees Plato, it seems that Utes might not be able to buy this brew on the slopes but you can. It’s out now!  Mmmm  Yellow Snow!

Here’s a funny commercial:

Here’s a look at what Widmer currently has on tap.