Brewpublic Visits Cascade Brewing at Raccoon Lodge from Brewpublic.com

It’s nice to see a mild ale being released amidst all of the gargantuan brews of late. Enter: Redhook Mudslinger Spring Ale… a soft highly sessionable nut brown ale from the Craft Brewers Alliance. Sure, uber extreme beer geeks fresh off a Beer Advocate tasting might scoff at such a beer, but I say kudos to such an approachable offering that I can sink my teeth into and not be belly up after three glasses. Redhook brewmaster Greg Deuh puts it plainly “Mudslinger is one of my favorite beers.”

The American Brown Ale is far from a shocker and that is why it is so good. Traditional notes of caramel and sweet malts, the overall impression is not far off from most browns your father has grown to love. Amidst the up-flexing of other large brewers to accommodate an seemingly ceilingless growth in big hops and world of American bigness, here rests a beer that is just a beer and designed with the utmost precision.  5.8% ABV, 30 IBU, perfect. Don’t get me wrong…I love boldly hopped, high octane, and sour beers, but those are the now beers; the chic fads. We are witnessing more dynamic breweries scrapping their brown ales but thankfully, the real heads still know what’s up. A brew like this is one that you could pour yourself over and over and be impressed with not only the drinkability but the subtle complexities Yeah, I know it sounds pretty cliche…but what can I say…I am a brown noser.

Last weekend before my brother Mario headed back to work at his teaching job, we celebrated the new year and the finale of his winter vacation with a tour of some of Portland’s best beer bars. We headed out in the early afternoon to get a jump on things, and to our delight, shared some laughs and discovered some awesome brews, while revisiting some old favorites.

County Cork Public House

Just as Double IPA’s have been for some time, barrel aged brews, much like sour beers, are in vogue these days. And why not. The range of flavors and complexity the booze-soaked wood offers the brewer’s product can be quite wondrous.

Keeping on pace with this zymurgilogical trend, Rogue Ales have developed their own barrel-aged series. This unique marriage of barrels and brews remains in line with Rogue’s vertically integrated practices utilizing the company’s liquor barrels from their award winning distillery in conjunction with their award winning beer. Enter: John John.

Brewpublic’s Quebecer correspondent Marc Demeule recaps a malt-filled weekend in October where he returns to Portland for more of what he loves…craft beer. This time Marc does it fest-style with Brewpublic’s 1st Brewniversary at Saraveza, The Portland Fresh Hop Tastival at Oak’s Park, and the KillerBeerFest at Bailey’s Taproom. We just wonder if he will make it back for the Holiday Ale Fest. Well, there’s always something exciting brewing in Beervana.

from Oscar Brand's album

As previously mentioned, Bend Brewing Company’s Tonya Cornett was invited to represent the USA and Oregon at J.D. Weatherspoon’s  International Ale Festival in England. Cornett, the first ever woman to represent any country at the event, brewed a Northwest amber ale dubbed Wild Blue Yonder.

Bend Brewing is encouraging all of you who take great pride in Oregon’s finest brews to get online and vote for Tonya’s beer as the festival’s best. As things stand on Charlie Papazian’s Beer Examiner poll, Ashville, North Carolina is beating Portland out as best beer city in the United States. How can this be?  Don’t let those other lackluster beer producers knock Oregon off the mountaintop of beer. You can give Tonya’s amber ale your vote at www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk.

Here is the first part in Brewpublic’s 24-hour beer adventure in Astoria, Oregon.

I had been to Astoria, Oregon before, but never on a beer crusade such as this.  Like many beer reporters of late, I was delighted when I received an invitation to join “the Astoria Ale Trail”, a visit with Astoria’s quaint yet burgeoning beer community.