One of the most anticipated craft beer events on the West Coast is undoubtedly the annual Boonville Beer Fest. This past weekend marked the 17th annual return of this event centered around the pioneering brewery that is Anderson Valley Brewing.

Located within the serene rolling hills and oak groves in the secluded town of Boonville, about 25 miles west beyond a winding mountainous pass from Ukiah in Mendocino County, Anderson Valley’s yearly pilgrimage witnesses a great deal of brewers, brewery representatives, industry folks and beer enthusiasts from all points north, south and east. With a large contingency of the turnout representing California, the festival showcased both popular and obscure, regional and journeyed companies for this unparalleled undertaking. Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, beer reviews, Beer Travel, California Beer, places to drink beer

The Oregon Garden Brewfest has released the lineup for its 9th annual event, taking place April 26 through 28 at The Oregon Garden’s Grand Hall. A record 62 breweries will be presenting their products, for a total of 125 beers, ciders and mead. Event hours are Noon to 11 pm Friday & Saturday, and Noon to 6 pm Sunday. Located in the historic town of Silverton, just an hour’s drive from the Portland metropolitan area, the Oregon Garden Brewfest also features live music from 22 area bands, food, tasting lessons by Women Enjoying Beer and a homebrew competition presented by Capitol Brewers.

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, beer to do list, Beer Travel, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

by Marc Demeule

A new beer event came to the world within the basement of the Saint-Enfant-Jésus Church in Montréal. La Cuvée D’Hiver was part of the 10th edition of the Montréal En Lumière Festival.

I heard of this new beer event through social media sites that proposed an event with beer, food and music with a list of beers selected for a large pool of beer consumers. Some not yet tasted products sparked my interest, and free hours in my schedule helped me to decide to drive to Montréal. My first feeling wasn’t good at all. This church basement, with grey terrazzo flooring and walls painted with colors that would give a headache to a coulour-blind person reminds me the basement of our local church where I did attempt to attend 4H and scouts meetings in my youth. I however have to admit that the 50′s music and growing crowd did convince me that this cheesy environment would be fine for the first edition of La Cuvée D’Hiver.

Close to 73 beers from 27 breweries were presented. Five breweries got their own booth while the rest of the selection was separated in two standard booths and a cream bar that offers six nitrogen taps hidden in an old barrel–an original idea to complete the ambiance. Here is a little review to some of the greatest I had while listening to Chérie Cherry music. Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, Beer Travel, places to drink beer

FredFest 2013 is on the books! May 5, at Hair of the Dog, we will once again celebrate the birthday of Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers, who, at going on 87, has been writing about beer long before it was legal to homebrew and probably even longer than many of us have been alive.

Press Release:

PORTLAND, Ore.  — Organizers announced that tickets go on sale today, March 12, for FredFest 2013 at the official website: http://www.fredfestpdx.com, and that the event is slated for Sunday, May 5 from 2-6 p.m. at Hair of the Dog Brewing.

The event, which always sells out, is highly anticipated in the craft beer community, with fans flocking from across the country to attend and pay homage to Fred Eckhardt, the Dean of American Beer Writers, who turns 87 on May 10.

What started as a surprise 80th birthday party for the world-renowned Portland beer writer, FredFest has become a significant fundraiser for the nonprofit organizations of Eckhardt’s choice—a different one each year. Eckhardt has selected the Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, Beer personalities, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, press releases

It’s hard to believe that Block 15 Brewery has been open for five years. Its seems like it was just yesterday when the Corvallis brewpub opened its doors, but then again, right off the starting blocks, the beer has been better than most. “What a journey it has been” says founder Nick Arzner. “We want to thank our wonderful customers and the Corvallis community for their support. We also want to thank our amazing staff for all of their hard work and dedication.”

Join Block 15 on Saturday March 2, 2013 for a not to miss celebration of their first half-decade with some incredibly mouthwatering offerings including locally sourced food and beer. “We are releasing a couple gems from our wild cellar, featuring an awesome Anniversary burger, dancing to the live music of The Bon Ton Roulet, discounting apparel, and featuring Hoppy Hour all day long!”

Here’s more details on this fun and tasty event, including a special anniversary brunch at Les Caves. Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, beer releases, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, vintage beers

Press Release:

HELL’S BELLES Headlines This Year’s Anniversary Party on Saturday, March 16 at the Brewery

It’s that time of year again when we toss up the big tent, fill the taps with all we’ve got and throw a shindig to thank all our friends for another great year. The Double Mountain Anniversary Party has become a Northwest institution, and this year’s 6^th Anniversary gig will carry the fun even higher.

The all-day party will culminate with the awesome musical stylings of Hell’s Belles, the all-girl AC/DC cover band that has torched stages across the nation. HB will be supported by a strong roster of local acts including the rockin’ country of Brewer’s Grade (formerly known as Unwound); surf rockers Audio Amigos; and local acoustic acts Shed Shakers and Sid & Al.

On the beer front, three bars will be dispensing a total of two dozen different Double Mountain ales and lagers, many of them from the brewers’ reserve stash. We will be doing half- as well as full-pours into a souvenir glass mug this year, to enable our fans to sample a wider variety. Pizza by-the-slice (new this year) and sandwiches will also be available. $5 admission for adults includes the souvenir mug; kids are welcome with parent/guardian until 5pm.

Summary of info: Read More…

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

As if five years of celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Seattle indy label Sub Pop weren’t enough, Elysian Brewing‘s erstwhile summer seasonal, Loser, is going year-round, just in time for anniversary number 25.  The distinctive, tropical hop character and golden, warming maltiness will be available on draft, in 22-ounce bottles and in six-packs throughout the year starting March 1. 

Posted under Beer & Music, beer releases, press releases, Washington 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

Press release:

Occidental Brewing Co. is putting on the first Humbug Lager Fest. The small festival, which will be held December 15 at Occidental will feature delicious lager beers from several Oregon breweries.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Occidental decided it was time to offer Portland beer enthusiasts a respite from fruitcake beers this holiday season. This Fest, sure to be the first in an annual tradition, will give quaffers an opportunity to enjoy crisp, clean lagers from the Commons, Upright, Heater Allen, Laurelwood, Rock Bottom, Block 15, Old Town, and of course, Occidental.

There is no admission fee to this indoor festival, and full pours will be available in addition to tasters. Beer will be served in glass.

While slaking your thirst with these marvelous lagers, fill your belly with the hearty cuisine of Urban
German and enjoy tunes spun by DJ’s (perhaps a ‘celebrity’ or two?). Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, beer and food, beer events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, press releases

Upright Brewing, Portland’s first farmhouse-style brewery celebrates Black Friday appropriately with a new bottle release “Untitled” brewed in tribute to Punk band Bad Brains.

The release party at Saraveza’s newly remodeled Bad Habit Room includes a screening of the Bad Brains documentary “A Band in DC” and a listening party for their new album “Into the Future” released the same week on Megaforce Records. Meet Upright Brewing’s Brewer/Owner Alex Ganum, Point Blank Distributing’s Morgan Torngren-Tatman who conceptualized the beer and label artist Ezra Johnson-Greenough. Look for 4 different Upright brews on tap including the Untitled “Bad Brains” beer. Limited edition T-Shirts featuring the Untitled Bad Brains beer label will also be available for purchase for $15 as well as bottles to go.

“Untitled”, a beer with no official name but inspired by the seminal D.C. punk band Bad Brains, is a double batch that is being released in both draft and bottled form. Made in a similar vein to 2010′s imperial pilsener-style “Clash Beer”, this one uses a nearly identical recipe but with just enough highly roasted malts to lend it a very dark brown color. The lager maintains a slight hoppy edge from perle, liberty, and tettnanger varieties but stays smooth all around. It also has the distinction of being the first true lager fermented in one of our open tanks. 6.4%

From here on out the two imperial lagers will be released in bottles every other year, with 2013 marking the return of the Clash beer while the Bad Brains beer will come back in 2014.

About Upright Brewing:
Upright Brewing specializes in farmhouse inspired beers rooted in France and Belgium but made with local ingredients and a Pacific Northwest twist, while also dabbling in both classic and quirky projects from around the world. The name is a reference to Charles Mingus and his primary instrument. Mingus was a musician whose compositions defy categorization. At Upright the recipes and processes are decidedly unbound, making for a true hybrid style that shares Mingus’ spirit of exercising creativity and craft.
240 N Broadway suite two, Portland OR 97227   |   (503) 735-5337   |  uprightbrewing@gmail.com
http://www.uprightbrewing.com/

About Bad Brains:
Considered to be the “holy grail” of punk rock, Bad Brains are one of the definitive American punk groups who garner the same respect as Sex Pistols, Black Flag, The Ramones and The Clash. It’s a return to form for the band that helped define American Punk and Hardcore music. http://www.badbrains.com/

“This album takes us back to self-produced record shines with Bad Brains’ true sense of freedom and musical experimentation, with blends of soulful backgrounds meshed with blistering hardcore and metal riffs, with classic dub,” says Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains.

Posted under Beer & Music, beer events, events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer