Would you be surprised to hear that Breakside Brewery lead by ambitious and inventive brewer Ben Edmunds is releasing seven new beers? Probably not, considering the brewery pumped out nearly 100 different beers in 2011. Impressive, yes. And if you haven’t yet visited the Northeast Dekum Street brewpub in Portland, the question now is “What the hell are you waiting for?”

Not just cranking out a pedestrian lineup of beers, Edmunds and assistant Sam Barber are devising an assortment of offerings including cocktail inspired, barrel-aged, revamped historical styles, tribute recipes, and one-of-a-kind brews unlike what anything you’ve likely tasted before. Coming up in January, look for a bunch of interest peaking newbies from Breakside, as well as an alluring brewer’s dinner. Here’s the deets from the brewhouse: Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer and food, beer releases, brewpubs, places to drink beer, press releases

Sure, you might have seen the Brewers Association figures concerning the rise of craft beer in American, and you can likely sense the overall proliferation of it around the nation. But to really get a feeling for how blossoming craft truly is, you would have been in queue at Hair of The Dog‘s 18th Anniversary sale last week.

In year’s past at the brewery’s former production facility near the Brooklyn railyard in SE Portland, you could count on a long line featuring beer geeks from all over the world dropping in to score bottles, six packs and cases of founding brewmaster Alan Sprints‘ unique and bold creations. Beers such as Adam and Fred which have evolved to include various renditions such as wood-aged, bourbon-aged, and cherry one-offs have further encapsulated the spirit of newbie enthusiasts and longtime loyalist alike.

At Sprints’ most recent dock sale, which occurred at HOTD’s latest digs (since spring 2009) at SE Yamhill by the city’s Southeast waterfront, an Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events, beer news, beer releases, places to drink beer

After conditioning and sampling I have prices for the release Beers at the Anniversary sale November 12th, from 9 to 12. Doggie Claws is lush and tasty, nice carbonation and a firm bitterness. It will be $5 a bottle, $95 a case. Bourbon Fred from the Wood is a bit of a disappointment because of the carbonation level, which is low, even by my standards. The Beer is still delicious, smooth and rich with a great bourbon flavor. It may self carbonate in the future, or maybe not. It will be $7 a bottle, $140 a case. Adam from the Wood is like no other, and should make you smile, he will be $15 a bottle, limit 24. Hope to see you here – Alan Sprints, Hair of the Dog Brewery

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer releases, brewpubs, events

In an effort to encourage exploration and provoke discourse, I would like to organize a bottle share for the night before my Anniversary sale. The event will take place on Friday, November 11th from 6 to 8pm at the Commons Brewery. The Brewery is located at 1810 SE 10th Ave, Unit E, entrance is on SE Stephens between 10th/11th. There will be no entrance fee, but you must bring Beer and snacks to share. Hope to see you there – Alan  Sprints, Hair of the Dog Brewing

Posted under beer events, events, places to drink beer

Meet brewer Alan Sprints of Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog Brewing and taste some of his popular brews.

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

By Ben Kilduff

Like many of you, I cherish my Saturdays. No alarm waking you up, no job to go to, and you can have a whole day to sit on the couch if you want. But this Saturday, I awoke with a 7 a.m. alarm  to head down to Hair of the Dog Brewing Company to get some of the newest version of Cherry Adam from the Wood. Some friends and I stood out in the rain for about an hour, and we weren’t the first in line. Not exactly what I had in mind for a Saturday morning, but with friends and the thought of getting a great beer that hasn’t been released in about a year and a half, it was worth it.

Cherry Adam from the Wood consists of Hair of the Dog’s Adam aged on top of local black cherries in bourbon barrels for 20 months. it is then bottled with very little carbonation. It is almost port wine like — thick and chewy. But even at 13.5% alcohol by volume, it goes down way too easy. This would be a great beer to have with a Dark Chocolate drizzled cherry cheesecake or just sitting in the house watching the last of the bad weather go by.

I must admit, I enjoy the Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer and food, beer releases, beer reviews, brewpubs, places to drink beer, vintage beers

Friday November 19, 2010 marks the kickoff of Hair of the Dog Brewing Company‘s Anniversary celebration weekend.

In their new digs situated centrally in close-in Southeast Portland uncorks their  their 17th anniversary celebration by opening with specialty taps to be rotated throughout the weekend. On Saturday morning at 10:00, brewer-chef-founder Alan Sprints will initiate sales of a couple specialty bottles. HOTD’s two newly release offering will include Read More…

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

“I am pleased to announce my 17th anniversary celebration. This year it will be November 19th thru the 21st. We will have special Beers on tap all weekend long and two Beer releases. I will be selling 2010 Doggie Claws and 2010 Matt starting on November 20th, at 10:00 am. There will be a limit of six, 12oz bottles per person on the Matt, no limit on Claws. Hope to see you here” – Alan

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“I am pleased to announce my 17th anniversary celebration. This year it will be November 19th thru the 21st. We will have special Beers on tap all weekend long and two Beer releases. I will be selling 2010 Doggie Claws and 2010 Matt starting on November 20th, at 10:00 am. There will be a limit of six, 12oz bottles per person on the Matt, no limit on Claws. Hope to see you here” – Alan

Posted under Uncategorized, events

It’s been more than just a weekend of craft beer consumption and highlights, so we are expanding this post to cover the entire week passed. Here’s a look at the wonderful events and fun people we’ve encounters during the past seven days. Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events, brewpubs, places to drink beer