Migration Brewing co-founder Colin Rath says “We are planning on releasing two new beers, at this event BBQ’ing, hopefully a whole pig which is fed by our spent grain by a local farmer here in town, as well as live music and a DJ closing the party in the later hours.”

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

To celebrate the upcoming wintry season, Full Sail will release a new beer in their Brewer’s Share line up that is sure to entice the snow gods to bless the season with plenty of powdery snow. Brewed by Full Sail Brewer Adam Bulson, “Adam’s Malty Bomb” is pray for powder porter that’s sure to make our mountain snowy white all season long.

Porters are Adam’s favorite beer after a day on the snow, and he thought releasing his own version preseason would be a good omen for a great winter. Adam’s Malty Bomb is a robust porter with a big body and lots of dark, caramel/toffee flavor, yet it won’t weigh you down like heavy snow. It’s hopped with just enough hops to balance out the malts, and finishes smooth with no sharp edges. Bomb’s away! (ABV 5.3% IBU 41)

Full Sail has scheduled two “Meet the Brewer and the Beer” events to showcase this new beer. The first Meet Brewer and the Beer event will be at Full Sail at Riverplace in Portland, Tuesday, September, 7th, from 5:00 – 6:30PM. The second is at the Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub in Hood River, on Thursday, September 9th from 5:00 to 6:30PM. Join the Full Sail crew to celebrate the upcoming season, toast a pint of this new brew with Adam.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer releases, brewpubs, events, places to drink beer

Hopworks Urban Brewery will present a new beer at BikeToBeerFest this Saturday, August 28. Named Piledriver, it’s a Belgian ale, aged in barrels with lots and lots of cherries. It’s a truly unique treat. The beer pours reddish-brown with a bright, near-white, frothy head. Aesthetically, it’s a very pleasing beer, as it looks very appetizing just sitting there in a teardrop glass. A tart cherry aroma explodes when you take that first sniff; it almost overwhelms. Interestingly, there’s almost no bourbon scent at first impression. However, when that first taste hits your tongue, the bourbon is right up front. It’s not harsh or overbearing, but you know it’s there. Very quickly, though, the tart cherry flavor begins to round off and smooth out the bourbon. That tart sweetness, together with a hint of the bourbon, is the distinct impression of the beer, initially.

But, even though the bourbon flavor is very much forward as you first sip the beer, it recedes very quickly, as the beer stays in your mouth and then as the beer warms in the glass. With each sip, the bourbon is less pronounced, while the tart sweetness of the cherries, along with the astringency and slight bitterness of the tannins, become the more prominent flavors. Eventually, the bourbon almost hides in the background, while the blend of different, competing flavors – the bourbon, the tart cherries and the tannins – works in concert to give a very complex and pleasant taste.

A very nice beer that I’m looking forward to seeing on tap at the fest.

The facts on the beer:

17.7 plato, 18 IBU, 8.5 ABV (higher alcohol from fermentation of cherries and alcohol from bourbon barrels)

Aged for 18 months in 4 different barrels:

- Heaven Hill Bourbon

- Maryhill Sauvignon with 60# of sour cherries from Fruithill in Yamhill

- Maryhill Cab barrel with Brett Bruxellensis

- Maryhill Cab barrel with Brett Lambicus

Andre The Giant vs. Roddy Piper

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, brewpubs, places to drink beer

Brewery Invites you to Meet the Brewer and the Beer and Support Local Charity

As the hot summer winds down and the days get shorter, dreams of cold mountain air, skiing and snowboarding start to swirl in our heads. That can mean only one thing: it’s time to start praying for powder. To celebrate the upcoming wintry season, Full Sail will release a new beer in their Brewer’s Share line up that is sure to entice the snow gods to bless the season with plenty of powdery snow. Brewed by Full Sail Brewer Adam Bulson, “Adam’s Malty Bomb” is pray for powder porter that’s sure to make our mountain snowy white all season long.

Porters are Adam’s favorite beer after a day on the snow, and he thought releasing his own version preseason would be a good omen for a great winter. Adam’s Malty Bomb is a robust porter with a big body and lots of dark, caramel/toffee flavor, yet it won’t weigh you down like heavy snow. It’s hopped with just enough hops to balance out the malts, and finishes smooth with no sharp edges. Bomb’s away! (ABV 5.3% IBU 41)

Full Sail has scheduled two “Meet the Brewer and the Beer” events to showcase this new beer. The first Meet Brewer and the Beer event will be at Full Sail at Riverplace in Portland, Tuesday, September, 7th, from 5:00 – 6:30PM. The second is at the Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub in Hood River, on Thursday, September 9th from 5:00 to 6:30PM. Join the Full Sail crew to celebrate the upcoming season, toast a pint of this new brew with Adam.

With Adam’s brew comes a new feature of the Brewer’s Share series—each brewer will pick a local charity of his or her choice to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sales of their beer. Adam chose Hood River Adopt-a-Dog – Hukari Animal Shelter, so every keg of Adam’s Malty Bomb benefits local animals in need.

The Brewer’s Share series is a line up of small batch draft beers where each Full Sailor takes a turn hand-crafting their own single batch recipe and a portion of the proceeds benefit a local charity of their choosing. Full Sail’s Brewer’s Share beers will only be available on tap at Full Sail’s Tasting Room and Pub in Hood River, Oregon, and at Full Sail’s Brewery at Riverplace, in Portland, Oregon. Growlers to go are available. Full Sail will also offer Adam’s Malty Bomb at the Hood River Hopsfest on October 2nd. The next Brewer’s Share will be collaboration beer crafted by Full Sail’s Pub crew, and is expected in mid-November.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news, beer releases, brewpubs

On Friday September 24th Upright Brewing is hosting a release party for its newest beer in the style of 70′s and 80′s British Punk Rockers who fought the law to death and glory in the clash of the lower class leftists with limited career opportunities.

Upright specializes in farmhouse-inspired brews which are historically working man’s beers and so in the vein of the Punk Rock Warlords who wrote and played music for the poor and disenfranchised, we have decided to leave this brew both nameless and style-less and open to the interpretation of the thinking mans yob’s.

Please join us for a release party at the brewery from 4:30 – 9 pm on Friday 9/24 with DJ Bogman (Abraham Goldman-Armstrong) spinning classic punk before this beer gets lost in the supermarket.

Description:
The beer is well balanced with delicate flavors throughout, using a Munich lager yeast that highlights the ingredients clearly and gives the beer a soft yet satisfying finish. Brewed with Canadian grown pilsener malt and magnum, liberty and tettnanger hops from Mt. Angel. 6.77% abv

Upright Brewing
240 N. Broadway @ Leftbank Project Suite 2
Portland, OR 97227
(503) 735-5337

Tasting Room open 430-9pm Fridays, 1-6pm Saturday & Sunday, 6pm-gametime before Blazers games

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, brewpubs, events, places to drink beer

Standing Stone Brewery’s limited edition 350 Ale is once again available due to great reception after its original debut. Standing Stone brewer Larry Chase, stepped away from the tanks to share the details:

If you enjoyed a beer with us this past March you may remember the 350 Ale, our specialty offering at the time. We’re wrapping up the summer beer season by bringing 350 Ale back after many requests.

The beer is golden and medium bodied with a slightly sweet aroma. It pleases the palate, offering a tart and bready flavor with a balancing mild bitterness. Alcohol content is 6.5%.

It pairs well with fruit flavors such as our Marionberry Cobbler or Marionberry Rocket Salad. You’ll also find it’s a nice match with the delicious, house-made, candied nuts that top a few of our salads. It’ll soon be the end of strawberry season, and the 350 would be a great pairing with fresh fruit at home, too.

This beer has an interesting backstory: It came into being because I miscounted the number of malt bags slated for the original recipe. As a result, the batch contained 350 lbs of 2-row organic malt instead of the 250 lbs called for in the original recipe. And you, our customers, loved it. Ah, serendipity!

The 300-gallon batch was tapped August 18. Come and drink up, and get it before it’s gone!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, brewpubs, places to drink beer

Rogue celebrates the rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and creeksof Oregon with the release of Chatoe Rogue Creek Ale. Creek Ale is a Belgian style Kriek Ale dedicated to the Willamette River that runs along the eastern edge of the Rogue Hopyard.

Creek Ale is brewed with First Growth Oregon hops and malt from Rogue’s own micro hopyard and barley bench. The Rogue barley bench is located in Oregon’s Tygh Valley Appellation and Rogue’s 42 acre hopyard is located in Oregon’s Wigrich Appellation, where Rogue currently grows seven different hop varieties. Rogue remains dedicated to saving the terroir of Oregon hops and barley, one acre at a time, by growing our own.

The brew contains 8 ingredients: Wheat, Rogue Barley Farm DareTM and RiskTM Malts, Rogue Hopyard Revolution Hops, Montmorency Cherries, Pacman & Belgian Yeast and Free Range Coastal Water. It is the fourth in the Chatoe Rogue family, following Dirtoir Black Lager, Single Malt Ale and OREgasmic Ale.

For more information on Chatoe Rogue releases, Tasting Room hours, Hopyard tours, or overnight stays at the Hop ‘n Bed, please contact the Rogue Department of Agriculture at 503.241.3800. Creek Ale will be on the shelves October 1st.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, places to drink beer

Some beers are meant to be enjoyed right away and others reward your patience by evolving and improving with age. Full Sail’s Old Boardhead Barleywine gives a good name to delayed gratification. While ready to drink now, Old Boardhead cellars exceptionally well. Full Sail’s Brewmaster, Jamie Emmerson, suggests you store a few bottles in a dark, cool place and be patient. The newly designed label highlights the reserve year making it easier to keep track. Whether you wait or not, Old Boardhead is a deliciously rich brew with a spectacular depth and complexity of flavor. Deep and robust, it’s a luscious brew to sip in any weather.

“We have been brewing “Old Boardhead” since 1990. It is a beer that celebrates the passage of time and amazingly enough it has been twenty years since our first annual release,” commented Jamie Emmerson. “Old Boardhead is part of our rotating selection of Brewmaster Reserve beers, and every few months, we come out with a different beer that showcases the art of brewing. We began the Brewmaster Reserve series back in 1998 to celebrate our independence and creativity.”

Old Boardhead has been kegged and bottled in 22 oz bottles and is on its way to specialty beer stores and pubs throughout the Pacific Northwest. (ABV 9%  IBU 91.) The next beer in Full Sail’s Brewmaster Reserve lineup is Lupulin Fresh Hop Ale that will be released in early September followed by Wreck the Halls that will be released in November. For a full list of Full Sail’s Brewmaster Reserve beers please visit http://fullsailbrewing.com/brewmaster-reserve.cfm

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, press releases

Brewers Publications, a division of the Brewers Association, announces the publication of its latest title, Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff.

Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation is a resource for brewers of all experience levels. The authors adeptly cover yeast selection, storage and handling of yeast cultures, how to culture yeast and the art of rinsing/washing yeast cultures.

Sections on how to set up a yeast lab, the basics of fermentation science and how it affects your beer, plus step by step procedures, equipment lists and a guide to troubleshooting are included.

“This is a great addition to brewing literature, and it should find its way on to the bookshelves of every eager brewer,” says Charlie Bamforth, professor, Department of Food Science & Technology at University of California Davis.

Mitch Steele, head brewer/production manager at Stone Brewing Company, also praises Yeast for containing “Loads of sound information and techniques that will work for brewers at all levels, from beginning homebrewers to production brewers at any sized brewery.”

Chris White earned his doctorate from the University of California and founded White Labs Inc. in San Diego in 1995. The company’s focus is liquid yeast cultures for homebrewers and professional brewers.

Internationally respected homebrewer Jamil Zainasheff co-authored Brewing Classic Styles with John Palmer. Jamil shares his passion and brewing prowess with homebrewers internationally, hosting podcasts on The Brewing Network.

Both authors will attend the Great American Beer Festival, September 16-18, and will be on hand to sign copies of Yeast.

Posted under beer events, beer news, beer releases

The fireweed is blooming and the leaves are starting to fall in Alaska, and on September 1, Alaskan Brewing Co. will release Alaskan Double Black IPA – a versatile and powerful brew built to face the coming season head on.

“It looks like a porter, drinks like an IPA and has the kick of an imperial stout,” says Alaskan Production Manager Dave Wilson. “We always challenge ourselves to showcase balance in our beers, and with so many big and bold flavors, this beer took that challenge to a new level.”

Alaskan Double Black IPA is the latest in the Brewery’s Pilot Series of limited-edition specialty beers. The new brew features a combination of beer styles, with a flavor profile most similar to an Imperial IPA and the dark black color and rich flavors usually found in heartier stouts and porters. Brewed with an array of dark malts, Alaskan Double Black IPA features the distinctive flavors of coffee and bitter chocolate with a subtle toasted sweetness. Large Cascade and Centennial hop additions late in the boil, and dry-hopping after fermentation, lighten and refresh the overall perception and flavor of the beer. It finishes with a dry palate and lingering citrus bitterness.

There has been a lot of discussion as to what to call this emerging beer style – “Cascadian Dark Ale,” “Black IPA,” and “American-style India Black Ale” are just a few of the names being used. “We’re not sure where it fits within traditional beer styles,” says Wilson, “Or if it fits at all, but it’s dark and hoppy and unexpectedly smooth.”

Alaskan first released their Double Black IPA as a “Rough Draft” for the 2009 Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage. “We didn’t really know what to think of it then, but we knew we really wanted to have it again.”

Alaskan Double Black IPA is the second release in the Brewery’s “Pilot Series,” a rotating collection of distinctive brews packaged in 22 oz bottles that has included Alaskan Baltic Porter, Alaskan Raspberry Wheat and will include a new release of Alaskan’s World Beer Cup-winning Barley Wine in December 2010. These and all of Alaskan’s specialty release beers are available in limited quantities throughout the western states. Stay tuned to AlaskanBeer.com and facebook.com/AlaskanBeer for updates and information about new releases and what is happening with the Alaskan Brew Crew.

Posted under beer releases