Ain’t gonna lie to you. In addition to being a craft beer obsessed individual, I am also quite fond of film. Anything from classic movies to television series, I am particularly interested in it. My all time favorite film on principal is Repo Man starring a young Emilio Estevez and the venerable Harry Dean Stanton. This film, like many of my favorites is of the cult variety and makes a lot of bazaar commentary on modern day society. Also, like many of my favorite films, there’s a beer scene. Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer me, beers on film

Spring has sprung as so have several new craft beers that are sure to quench the palate of enthusiasts during the warmer days ahead. Here’s a look at several new beer labels from across the Pacific Northwest that we are greatly anticipating getting our hands on: Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer me, beer releases, California Beer, Oregon beer, Washington Beer

The burst of new craft beers coming out in the Northwest isn’t losing any steam. In fact there are several new and exciting beers making their way down the pipeline as you read this. Brewers from across the Northwest from Northern California to Alaska, Oregon to Idaho are dropping some mouthwatering treats that give us so much to be fired up about as we head into warmer days.

Several new draught releases will be available soon from Hood River, Oregon’s Pfriem Family Brewers. Brewmaster Josh Pfriem and company are concocting a range of styles from Pilsner to Dark Strong Belgian-style beer. And anyone who has tasted the early releases from Pfriem is undoubtedly excited.

Widmer Brothers Brewing continues to set forth with some new experimental hop IPAs in the “X” series, an effort that assure their audience will remain loyally awaiting more evolutionary releases. There’s a lot to check out here, so have a gander at more than 100 new craft beer labels for bottles and kegs that you might want to check out if you can get ‘em in your neck of the woods: Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer releases, California Beer, Oregon beer, saké, Washington Beer

For the first time EVER, Fort George will alter its Public House vibe for a full-on Carnival of Stout.  The booths and tables will be removed, and the stage will be set.  Gallivant throughout the brewery block while sipping on exclusive stouts, and navigate through the maze of entertainment.  The Stout Stage in the Public House will hold the likes of Portland’s Blue Skies for Black Hearts, and the Builders and the Butchers.

Posted under Beer & Art, beer events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, press releases

“We have gathered 14 House Stouts together to tap throughout the whole short month of February!” says Fort George’s Brian Bovenizer.  The recently expanded brewpub will feature 14 Stouts in 28 Days.  “As always,” says Bovenizer, “We will rotate some of our favorite Guest Stouts from all over the great northwest and beyond.”  

Posted under Beer & Art, beer events, beer releases, Beer Travel, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

I don’t even know where to begin, but I suppose I will start somewhere… It really irks my bones when I can’t pump out some juicy craft beer fodder for the readers of Brewpublic, and the past few days have been lacking. I know it. I mean, Brewpublic prides itself of giving you a steady, daily glimpse into some of the many many goingson in and around Cascadian brewing and a little more. Being on planes, trains, and automobiles with a Smartphone, a thirsty palate, and a hankering to round up as many beers as possible makes the blogging a bit lacking at times, but it’s not because of will.

They say the road to hell is paved in good intentions, and we intended to scare up some goods for you the past few days, but we were short a laptop, a spare liver, and more daylight hours (heck, we can often muster just fine in the dark!). On Monday we scheduled details for rounding up as many kegs as we could while in and around Portland, Oregon. The reasons were many. SF Beer Week events, a new pub opening, and simply to blow Bay Area artisan beer enthusiasts’ minds. Spending much time in the East Bay of the San Francisco area, it has been my goal to inject as much of the Cascadian craft beer culture into the locals down here as I possibly can. With SF Beer Week about to pop off (February 8-17, 2013), I couldn’t think of a better way to exemplify what amazingness Oregon’s uniquely saturated yeast culture has to present. Don’t get me wrong, Northern California is home to some legendary breweries and beer halls that rival some of the finest in this world. Further, NorCal is booming with new breweries that vivaciously illustrate the significance of the modern day Post-Prohibition beer revolution. Thus, it makes perfect sense that while living here, I find myself working at an Oakland pub named Beer Revolution with the best selection of regional, national, and international fermented malted pours. Soon, the adjacent revamped train depot in Jack London Square will beef up the neighborhood’s selection almost two-fold. Looking to open very soon, the Olde Depot Taphouse will assert the community as an even more undeniably world class destination.

Appointed to manage Olde Depot is seasoned professional Dan “Bully” Bollwinkel who has further inspired us to take things on the West Oakland craft beer scene to the next level. Bully and I jaunted to Portland on a plane, rented a modest Dodge Caravan and sought to stock up on as many different beers as we could safely drive back 600 miles south to Oakland. On our journey, we even went a little overboard and maxed out the payload to the point where the chassis began to woefully sag toward the earth. With just 36 hours to obtain an optimal variety of mostly 1/6-barrel kegs and a few bottles, we were focused on making the most of our precious time.

Immediately upon touching down at PDX International Airport with just the clothes on our backs and Read More…

Posted under Bay Area beer, Beer & Art, Beer personalities, beer releases, beer reviews, Beer Travel, brewpubs, craft cider, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

As we move into the new year, we see no slowdown in the number of new beers shooting down the perpetual pipeline. It’s growth, growth, and more growth. Popular craft breweries of the Northwest such as Widmer, Ninkasi, Redhook, and Pyramid are getting more and more prolific to cater to the exponentially excited interest of craft beer drinkers. Craft lagers in particular appear to be a returning trend in this post-Prohibition era. It may be less cost effective than brewing ales since these bottom-fermenting brews take more time to condition properly, but just like barrel-aged offerings, our palates are worth the wait.

By looking through these new releases, we see a few other trends such as more fruit, chocolate, and vanilla infused releases, rye beers, and of the lagers, the IPL style is taking shape as a strong contender for a potential new American Brewers Association category. 

Many new breweries are always popping up, like the heavily hyped Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer news, California Beer, Oregon beer, Washington Beer

By D.J. Paul

Last evening Widmer Brothers Brewing hosted a release party for their new lineup of 2013 spring releases and the introduction of an on-going label artwork change to their packaging. As was reported here at Brewpublic back in September, Widmer’s newly designed labels are now beginning to hit store shelves. The first two beers with this newly designed label artwork and packaging are Columbia Common and O’Ryely IPA. 

The first beer that was served was Columbia Common. This common was paired with Neal’s Yard Dairy, Ireland Coolea (Cow’s Milk) cheese from Cheese Bar, which was delicious. This is Widmer’s entry into the style known as a “California Common” or a beer to resemble the trademarked Anchor Brewing’s Steam Beer.  This is Widmer’s first seasonal release of four for 2013. What sets Widmer’s version apart from the others out there in the marketplace are the hop being used and the two different yeasts that are used in its brewing process. The hop being used is the one in this beer’s name, the Columbia Hop. This hop was near its demise when Widmer created this common ale. What this hop offers is a nice yet subtle citrusy note to it. Then on to the yeasts being deployed here. Widmer is using a mixed yeast that starts out cold fermenting and then finishes up at a warmer fermentation. From this process what I tasted was a very enjoyable session beer with much more flavor than that of other beers below the 5% ABV level. Columbia Common at 4.7% ABV is a beer designed to enjoy after all of the heavy winter beers that have been consumed as of Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer and food, beer news, Beer personalities, beer releases, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

Tip of the hat to  WineIsDivine.com for pointing us toward this video. Two of Bailey’s Taproom‘s finest beertenders Michael O’Connor (also a contributor to Brewpublic) directed this video with hip-hop outfit Black Sleep featuring Bailey’s beer slinger Bill Munighan (second emcee to spit on the track).

For O’Connor, an accomplished student of film, this is not his first rodeo. The back-packer indie hip-hop cut “Astro Creeps” is just one example of his production abilities in his growing arsenal. You may remember a popular NW Film School video short O’Connor did, “Beer Porn” featured here on this very site.

As WineIsDivine.com’s Anthony Garcia points out in their post, Portland is a Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, Beer & Music, Beer personalities

Lots more craft beer labels have been submitted to the TTB (Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) for approval. Some noteworthy submissions from the Pacific Northwest include a bunch of redesigned keg neckers from the vastly expanding Ninkasi Brewing Co. of Eugene, Oregon.

We also noticed the latest re-brand of MacTarnahan’s, now going back to Portland Brewing. Side note: Recently North American Breweries Holdings LTD (NAB) who has run Pyramid, MacTarnahan’s, Magic Hat, Labatts, and more, was bought out by Cerveceria Costa Rica SA, a unit of Florida Ice and Farm Co., for $388M. More on this deal can be found here. Pyramid and Portland Brewing alike are putting forth a slew of new brands including some Belgo style releases, an oyster stout, new wheaten beers, and lagers.

Here’s a look at several new bottle and keg labels from across the Pacific Northwest: Read More…

Posted under Beer & Art, beer news, beer releases, California Beer, Oregon beer, Washington Beer