The beer lovers at Belmont Station offer a massive day of tastings and special drafts represented by the people who brew them. Meet a bunch of great Oregon craft brewers, most of whom are not represented at the big Oregon Brewers Festival. All this is happening on Saturday July 24, 2010.

Noon-2PM

* HEATER ALLEN BREWING.  Brewer/founder Rick Allen will pour tastes of his authentic German-style lagers and weizens brewed in McMinnville, OR. Bottles always for sale at Belmont Station. Isarweizen and Pils on draft.

* HOP VALLEY BREWING.  Brewer/owner Trevor Howard will pour tastes of Alphadelic IPA, Natty Imperial Red, and Elias Briggs Cream Ale from bottles (we will also have a limited supply of bottles for sale for the first time in Southeast Portland). Hop Valley Natty Imperial Red and VIP Porter on draft.

2-5PM

* FIRE MOUNTAIN BREWING.  Brewer/founder Henry Gorgas will pour tastes of his Oregon Pale Ale, Bad Henry IPA, and Steam Stout brewed in Carlton, OR. Bad Henry IPA on draft.

3-6PM

* PALE HORSE BREWING.  Brewer Josh Frank and one of the Pale Horse founders will pour tastes of their Amber, Pale, IPA, and Stout brewed in Salem, OR.

Also featured throughout the day:

* GILGAMESH BREWING. Nick and Lani Radtke and likely a few more members of this Turner, OR family brewery will be here with some of their super-creative drafts: Chocolate Mint Stout, Monster IPA, and Mamba beer brewed with tea and no hops.

* BONEYARD BEER. The founder/brewers of this new Bend, OR craft brewery will be here to chat about their beers. Bone-A-Fide Pale Ale and Black 13 on draft.

* BARLEY BROWN’S BREWPUB. Brewer Shawn Kelso’s WFO IPA (cask conditioned) on the beer engine all day. This is one of the best IPAs you may never have tasted and it’s even rarer to have it on cask. From Baker City, OR.

* BREWERS UNION LOCAL 180. Brewer/owner Ted Sobel will be serving two of his authentic British style Cask Conditioned Beers from traditional Beer Engines: “Wotcha” Best Bitter, (4.4%) & “60 Love” Hoppy Amber Liquid Refreshment (5.4%ABV).

Brewed in Oakridge, OR. These real ales will be served Saturday only. If you miss them you have to go to Oakridge (worth the trip when you have the time!)

We spoke with Belmont Station owner Carl Singmaster about this day of Oregon craft beer. Here’s the interview:

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer awards, beers on film, places to drink beer

A few years ago, if someone was to tell me that Idaho Falls, Idaho was a must visit spot for craft beer, I’d have laughed at the notion. However, as the craft beer revolution unfold before our very palates, more towns like Asheville, Astoria, and now Idaho Falls are putting up a good fight to liberate libators of the dud suds. Granted, there’s a lot of work to be done, and the battle is uphill. It was evident from the tap selection at pedestrian establishments like Appleby’s that the conglomerate macrobrewers still have a stranglehold on people’s options and perception of beer. One good thing about macrobeer and big scale craft beer, is you can often count on invariability. The Blue Moon White, Widmer Hefeweizen, and New Belgium Fat Tire I drank at Appleby’s were all certainly clean, crisp, and as I expected them to be. You’d be hard pressed to find one of these beers on tap and be a sour or butter bomb (save for somewhere that doesn’t move the beer quickly enough, stow it properly, or neglects keeping taplines clean). On this first evening in Idaho Falls, I was satisfied knowing that there would be a lot of different beers in the week ahead. Not just the flights of beers to judge, but at the Mountain Brewers Beer Festival that would be the highlight of the week. Further, my roommate for the week, Shawn Kelso of Barley Brown‘s, brought growlers of his hop-forward craft beers that I prefer to most.

Judging at the North American Beer Awards

At the conference center of Idaho Falls’ Red Lion hotel, panels of beer judges, including myself, worked through what would be 149 flights and nearly 1,200 beers. Following a truncated first evening of judging on Tuesday, the real legwork began Wednesday at  a.m. Many folks not in the know might perceive beer judging as a drinkfest; one that is fun, easy, and cool to do. But judging beer, as anyone who is a seasoned BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) student knows, is hard work that requires arduous note taking, advanced sensory awareness, adequate communicative skills, and the innate ability to discern an array of characteristics and off-flavors in an objective and categorical manner.

To be honest, my beer judging experience coming into this year’s panel was rather limited, though I was working from a mostly hermeneutic consistency standpoint. This means I have, for some time, analyzed beer in a manner that is consistent and involves coherent explanation. Basically, I’ve critically tasted a boatload of beers with the objective of identifying the characteristics that substantiate each one. I’ve been involved with a few BJCP courses and have come to appreciate the range of interpretations one person’s palate can hold over that of the next. Still, the majority of my critiquing of beer has been at homebrew competitions and in various round tables with other beer-minded folks.

In the room was a smorgasbord of varying experience levels when it comes to critical analysis. To be honest, I would have to rate myself somewhere in the middle. I view this experience as a stepping stone toward further enhancing my ability to characterize and methodologically understanding what defines a beer as more than simply “good” or “bad.” In the room was accomplished brewers like Pelican’s Darron Welch, Widmer’s Ben Dobler  and founder Rob Widmer, to name a few. These are folks I respect deeply when it comes to quality, consistency, and dedication to their trade. They each have a practical scientific and theoretical understanding of brewing, from boiler to bar top, that I’d be safe to say dwarfs my own. Still, from my vantage point, the hermeneutics behind me probably tasting more brands of beers critically than the average brewmaster could have added an interesting element to the equation and outcomes. I was nonetheless approaching this experience humbly and with much to learn.

Discussing the elements that qualify and quantify beers is a great way to learn and enhance your palate and perception. The average beer drinker likely knows a badly skunked beer when she tastes it, but the nuances of ingredient play and subtle off-flavors like diacetyl and DMS are probably not on everyone’s mental checklist. Most folks, even those who train themselves in the ways of objectiveness, are still swayed by marketing, especially attractive and beckoning labels on beer. The great thing about beer judging is trying a brew in a bare-bones environment where the appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and overall impression are what dictates your feelings about the beer. There’s also the biases each judge and taster brings with him to the table. For someone who really doesn’t enjoy the bitterness of an IPA or the sourness of a lambic, it is quite important for him to be cognizant of these feelings as personal preferences, and to develop the ability to discern quality in accordance with fixed style guidelines.

Wednesday June 2

The first full day of judging at NABA began early. While 9 a.m. typically is a good time to begin your day, it’s not, at least for me, the ideal time to begin ingesting alcoholic beverages. So, it’s safe to say, it was hard to get going. At my first table of tasting beer with alcohol (the night before I judged carbonated soft drinks and non-alcoholic beer), I was  joined by brewer Rudy Borrego of Snake River Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Todd Campbell of Pelican Brewing, a few NABA folks, and a nice woman named Michelle from Ball Corporation, world’s leading suppliers of rigid metal and plastic packaging products and services (among many things, Ball makes cans for beer). Local homebrewer and NABA volunteer named John was also in the panel. A friendly man, John provided me with a little insight to the goingson in Idaho Falls. “There’ s really nothing here for young adults” he commented “It’s boring.” John was content living here and enjoyed the quiet life. I figured that by the end of the week, I’d be ready to return to Portland where there’s no shortage of great beer and progressive artistic culture. While waiting for our first flight to arrive, John spoke of the two malting facilities in town. Anheuser-Busch and Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona) were two imposing structures visible from highway 15 as we approached town. Talking with John and folks from AB and Modelo, the grain of Idaho is a matter of local pride. The region boasts some of the best and widely abundant barley harvest and malt production in North America. Interestingly, John mentioned that Idaho Falls has more beers per capita than any other city.

At 9:30 a.m., our table received a flight of entries for the brown porter category (10A). Being a preliminary round, it was our table’s mission to find the three best representations of the style and advance them to another round. By 11 a.m. we were working on Irish Reds (category 8D). And, at noon, the hotel staff catered in food. It would turn out to be the same offering each day, cold cuts, not something I as a vegetarian was too enthusiastic about. Still, there was beer, a lot more beer.

After the break, three more categories would find their way to groups I was assigned to. After meeting an assortment of mostly friendly and interesting people, and laboring through Belgian Wits (16A), American Pale Ales (6c), and  liver-bending Wood Flavored Beer (18c), the work day had commenced. As interesting as evaluating myriad beer styles, was the side conversation of folks. Gathering an understanding of these Americans’ backgrounds and lives. One gentleman offered an idea for a beer blend consisting of Anchor Old Fog Horn and Pyramid Apricot that I will have to try someday soon.

After Wednesday’s judging was complete, Shawn and I retired to our room to relax and unwind. A spot of  Barley Brown’s Turmoil Cascadian Dark Ale was surprising well received by my body after this full day of sipping. Soonafter, we headed over to Idaho Brewing near downtown to attend a private party being thrown for NABA judges. This wonderful event included a spread of free food, a live band, and a variety of free beer from different Idaho breweries. Of all the tasty craft beers available, my preferred brew of the night was Lost Continent Double IPA from Grand Teton Brewing in Victor. Despite troubling weather reports, the evening stayed dry and relatively warm. This made for a nice relaxing experience on the brewpub’s deck that featured a beautiful pink sunset.

Thursday June 3

Morning seemed to come sooner Thursday than it did the morning before. Perhaps the second Double IPA and nightcap were not the wisest of decisions. A 9 a.m. panel featured a sizable number of American Pale Ales (6c), followed by Strong Pale Ales (6E), German Pilsners, and a medal round flight of Brown Porters. Again, this education experience was filled with getting to meet new people like Tony Savoy, the brewer-owner of Flyers Restaurant and Brewery on Whidbey Island in Washington. I’d actually met Tony before at festivals, but never got to talk to him much though I have greatly enjoyed his beers. I really enjoyed judging with him and learning more about his brewing background that involved a stint at Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Near the end of the judging day around 4pm, Andy Shaw of Grupo Modelo, a local guy who has been involved with NABA since its inception back in 1997, announced a barbecue that he was hosting at his home. I was quick to see that Andy was a charismatic presence at the event and most of the returning judges where friendly with him. Andy arranged a taxi shuttle to bring groups of people to his home about three miles from the Red Lion. Here, Andy and his wife graciously provided an amazing spread of food coupled with some of Andy’s impressive homebrews. On tap he offered a stout, Bavarian hefe, and perhaps the hit of the night, a pale ale brewed exclusively with New Zealand Nelson Sauvon hop, that emitted a wonderfully floral gooseberry and chive aroma. Matt Beamer from Squatters Brewing of Salt Lake City, Utah also provided tasty bottles of their Hop Rising Double IPA and their Saint Provo Girl Pilsner.

Around 7 p.m., I was quite tuckered  and ready to call it a night. So, back to the hotel to catch some of the NBA Finals on television and rest up for the next morning. On Friday a bit more judging would continue before the NABA medals would be doled out at 5 p.m.This was going to be the home stretch for the judging. However, the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest on Saturday, I knew, would likely be the biggest beer event of all.

To be continued…

Posted under beer awards, beer events, beer news, beer reviews, places to drink beer

Living in Oregon, it’s easy to forget that Idaho is also part of the Pacific Northwest. Driving from Portland to the eastern boarder and into Idaho is a roughly 380 mile trip that takes more than six hours by car (if you obey the speed limits). On a quest for more craft beer flavor, I was easily persuaded by my friend Shawn Kelso to visit Idaho Falls to serve as a beer judge at the 2010 North American Beer Awards (NABA) . Four days of qualifying almost 1,200 entries seemed daunting yet exciting. Perhaps the most anticipated part of the excursion would be the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest (MBBF) that would follow the days of judging. MBBF boasts being the most attended one-day festival in the country, and draws more crowds in a single day than any other fest shy of the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Now in it’s 16th year, this giant celebration of beer, has grown form 22 breweries to more than 100. Declared by Idaho’s governor as a “Beer and Brewing Day,” the event happens each year in June, and since its inception, has outgrown two venues. Now, since 2001, MBBF has been held at the spacious Sandy Downs on the southern outskirts of Idaho Falls. The grounds feature  a race track with wide open views of distant imposing mountains create a perfect festival environment.

My friend, Shawn, also the brewer at Barley Brown’s Brewpub in Baker City, Oregon, was no stranger to this fest and had done quite well in the past with his beers at NABA, taking home more than 30 medals in four years. It was on Shawn’s recommendation to both myself and  NABA judge coordinator, Bob Beckwith, that I became involved with one of the most interesting, educational, and entertaining beer-related weeks of my life.

A mostly mountainous state within storied The Rockies, Idaho is of substantial size, ranked at 11 of the 50 (Oregon is 10th; Idaho is slightly larger than neighboring Utah and larger than than all of the New England states combined). Idaho’s population is a different story than its massive expanse. With just over 1.54 million people, Idaho ranks 39th out of 5o states in this department. Vast pastel high desert glacially  formed hills and porous shrub-cover lava flows roll up rigid landscapes to  snow-capped high mountain peaks making Idaho easily one of the most beautiful spaces in North America, if not the world.

Though a little skeptical of setting off for nearly a week toward Idaho Falls, I finally figured out a plan that would make it feasible. There was no way in hell I was going to make the entire trek by car. You see, getting to Idaho is one thing, but that’s just over half the distance to Idaho Falls from Portland. I’ve made long car trips and monumental road trips as well, but even so, by car, Idaho Falls is still more than 5 hours from the Oregon border (again, if you adhere to the speed limit), meaning that the total drive, not counting breaks for gas, food, and sanity, is roughly 11 or 12 hours. So, I booked a flight into Boise. Though only 420 miles from Portland by way of Interstate 84, by airplane Idaho’s largest city was a mere hour away. From Boise, Shawn would pick me up and I’d make the remaining four-plus hour drive by car (Baker City where Shawn lives is about two hours from Boise).

Arriving at the Portland airport at about 9:30 a.m., I survived the annoying airport checkpoints and set up camp at one of Laurelwood’s pubs of PDX International right next to my gate. By 10:30 a.m. I was finished with a breakfast pint of Spaced Stout and ready to adhere to my section’s boarding announcement. The plane departed around 11 a.m. and soon after I was treated to a complimentary glass of Redhook Copperhook Ale. Life was good and the hops were aromatic and the malt was crisp. Before I could sneeze, what would have been a grueling drive dissipated into a quick quaff.

Shortly after touching down in Boise, Shawn picked me up and we took me to a brewery in town I’d been wanting to visit for a while. Sockeye Brewing was the home of brewer Josh King’s boisterously hopped brews. Here, after a tour of Sockeye’s cozy 7-barrel brewhouse, we enjoyed a delicious lunch matched with an assortment of artisan brews. On tap, Sockeye poured a Dagger Falls IPA, an insanely hopped Precocious IMperial Pale aka P.I.M.P., and an even more insane Hopnoxious Imperial IPA. In addition to these lupulin goliaths, I was able to enjoy their Pi Tripel, Galena Summit Kolsch, and a test taste of a powerfully complex Bavarian Hefe Rauch. With melding flavors of banana clove and smoked malt, this brew was undeniably refreshing yet robust.

Time was of the essence and since crossing into the Mountain timezone, an extra hour had slipped through our fingers. We had to make it to the first rounds of beer judging by 7 p.m., and it was now almost 3 p.m. with a four-plus hour ride ahead of us (again, provided we oblige the speed limitations). So, we reluctantly yet anticipatively pulled ourselves away from the Sockeye Brewpub, their amiable staff and uniquely palatable brews, and shot off into the eastern horizon toward Idaho Falls.

For many miles and many minutes, nothing but seemingly repetitive beauty rolled past us. In some ways it was reminiscent of a trip I made to Iceland yet with slightly more pronounced vegetation. It seemed like ions before a rest area would be found to relieve us of Sockeye’s bounties. Discouragingly the surgically clean rest area’s three vending machines, for some strange reason, would not accept our currency. It wasn’t until we reached a gas station on the Shashone-Bannock Tribes Reservation that we were finally at liberty to enjoy a spot of hydrating water (future note: pack lots of water for this drive).

After a long drive from Boise, at last made it to Idaho Falls, Idaho just a few minutes past 7 p.m. Shawn introduced me to Bob Beckwith, as he was greeted by many of the perennial faces of the fest. “You gonna save any medals for the rest of us this year?” one brewer joked rhetorically.

Most of the flights had already been assigned for this truncated first day of judging, so Shawn and I were both placed on  table where carbonated soft drinks and non-alcoholic brews were the first two tickets. After eight different super sweet beverages, my head was spinning from a sugar high. Then, we delved into a short flight of “near beers” that was something like trying to award good Samaritan badges to a group of convicts (well, that’s probably a bad analogy). After this short introduction to NABA judging, the group was dismissed for the night around 9 p.m.

Shawn and I were pretty tired from traveling all day, but after an hour settling in to our hotel room at the downtown Red Lion, figured we’d scope out the town a bit. By now it was past 10 p.m. and downtown on a Tuesday night was without a pulse. So, we did as any blue blooded American would and parked ourselves at the closest Appleby’s where we were welcomed to the neighborhood. The craft beer line-up here consisted of Widmer Hefe, New Belgium Fat Tire, and Blue Moon White. Well, at very least, we were pleased to see Oregon representing the otherwise macro market well with their flagship hefeweizen. The only dinner I had on this night was the lemons I removed from my crisp and quenching American wheat ale.

After shooting the breeze and unwinding some, Shawn and I retired to our room to rest up for the first of three consecutive 9 a.m. judgings.

To be continued…

Posted under Uncategorized

In this second part of two, Portland Beer and Music‘s Jason Wallace explores some of the breweries of Eastern Oregon. Check out Jason’s great website at: pdxbrewtunes.blogspot.com.

Mt. Emily Alehouse:  This brewery has been open in downtown La Grande since January of 2009.  Brewer Jerry Grant attended the UC Davis Master Brewer program and spent time at Shasta Brewing.  A 7 barrel system is in place.  On two visits I had a chance to try several beers.  Nothing was mind blowing in quality but most were serviceable examples of the style.  The house beer, The Big, is described as “…defies categorization, but we feel it resembles an old English ale with toasted caramel undertones crossed with the piney hoppyness of a West Coast IPA.” The Big was my favorite and was more towards the English ale in that it had a strong malt profile with some caramel flavors. It only hinted at underlying hops.  I have to give Mt. Emily Alehouse props for having the bar staffed by a knowledgable bartender who obviously had an interest in craft beer and made my visits much more enjoyable.

Mutiny Brewing:  Situated in the beautiful town of Joseph, Oregon, between Lake Wallowa and Enterprise, Mutiny Brewing just released their first beer a few weeks ago after spending over a year getting the restaurant side of the brewpub up and running.  Brewer Kari Gjerdingen first got into commercial brewing in her home state of Indiana, attended the brewing course at UC Davis and ended up brewing at Terminal Gravity. She fell in love the Enterprise/Joseph area (I can see why – beautiful country and great people) and looked to open her own brewery.  I drove in on a Saturday after seeing a facebook post announcing the release of their first beer.  Unfortunately, the release date had been pushed back a few days.  Kari was kind enough to drop what she was doing and offer me a couple of tastes of the first two beers from the tanks.  Kari has a small 4-barrel system running.  Both beers I tried were very good.  The nearly complete wheat beer had great depth of flavor with strong citrus flavors and a hint of chamomile.  The porter had only spent a week or so in the tank but still threw out some great chocolate notes.  Both beers have since been released to the public and I believe the wheat beer is running out soon.  

Terminal Gravity Brewing:  My first visit to TG in Enterprise was great.  I mentioned in a recent post that I hope for two things when visiting breweries with larger distribution such as TG:  the opportunity to try beers that might not make it out of the brewery and a chance to enjoy the ambiance of the taproom/brewpub.  TG hit it on both accounts.  The taplist had all the standards plus two single hopped double IPAs (Centennial and Millenium hops), a barleywine, and a just blown CDA.  The ladies working the bar were knowledgeable and friendly, as were the locals.  The little house the brewpub sits in surrounded by mountains and the food is good.  What is not to like?  Can we move it closer to Portland please?    

Barley Brown’s Brewpub:  My final trip was one of my most anticipated and disappointing.  Barley Brown’s is in the small town of Baker City in far Eastern Oregon.  They have been increasing their distribution to Portland and all of the beers I had been lucky enough to try had been excellent.  The brewpub sits on the small main street and obviously serves as one of the gathering places for the locals, which is great.  The beer was not disappointing.  In fact, the Tankslapper Double IPA was probably the best single beer I had during the two weeks – a potent, floral hop bomb of goodness.  The problem was the brewery took a back seat to the restaurant.  There was not a single person working the floor or the bar who knew anything about the beer or brewing process.  I left knowing no more about the brewery than when I arrived.  Owner Tyler Brown was kind enough to respond to my blog post and apologize for my experience.  Hopefully, I will make a return trip soon.     As you can see, what once may have been considered a barren stretch of Southern Washington and Northern Oregon in the craft beer world is now ripe with options for good brews.  I didn’t even mention the breweries in and around Walla Walla.  As you make your summer travel plans, I hope my reviews will help you quench your thirst if you find yourself near one of these breweries.  Hell, even if you find yourself stuck at the Wild Horse Casino just outside of Pendleton they have $3 pints of Ninkasi Tricerahops!  Good luck.

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

Last week at the conclusion of the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago, the biannual World Beer Cup (WBC) was held.  This global competition with a majority of American entries, has run since 1996 with an ultimate goal to create “greater consumer awareness about different beer styles and flavor profiles while promoting international brewing excellence.” A panel of certified beer judges were in place to honor the top three beers in 91 categories with gold, silver, and bronze awards. The World Beer Cup, one the most prestigious beer competitions in the world, witnessed 13 Oregon breweries take home medals in 2010. Here’s a look at some of the winners.

WINNERS

Oregon breweries claimed six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals at the 2010 WBC, second to only California who claimed 45 medals (but also entered 185 more beers than Oregon). Among the Oregon winners, was Bend Brewing Company (BBC). Accomplished brewmaster Tonya Cornett continued her winning ways for BBC. Cornett won top honors in the strong ale beer style category for its Outback X, a beer Cornett describes as demonstrating “roasted malt with hints of hops in the nose leading to a rich, roasted malt flavor with a background of dried fruits and sherry.”

“The Outback X was originally brewed for our ten-year anniversary,” Cornett explains. “We re-brewed it because people liked it so much, and I am thrilled that it just keeps doing as well as it does.” This is the third gold medal for Outback X.

This year, 642 breweries from 44 countries and 47 U.S. states vied for WBC awards, making for the world’s largest-ever commercial beer competition. Winners were selected by an international panel of 179 beer judges, including Cornett, who served a first-time WBC judge this year. “Sixty-five percent of the judges are from other countries,” she says. “I felt really fortunate to judge alongside and learn so much from them.”

In addition to the gold medal win for Outback X, Cornett garnered glory for her traditional stein lager recipe, which won a silver medal for Lost Abbey Brewery of San Marcos, California. Cornett teamed with award-winning Lost Abbey Head Brewer Tomme Arthur last year to brew two versions of traditional stein lager using molten rocks to set the wort to boil. Hot Rocks Stein Lager, created by Cornett and brewed by Arthur, took silver at WBC.

BBC has won 12 brewing competition medals in the last four years. This is Cornett and BBC’s sixth gold. In 2008, Cornett was honored as the first woman to win the title of World Beer Cup Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year. BBC simultaneously won Small Brewery of the Year. “I am actually better known in the international brewing community than I am in Bend,” jokes Cornett.

Shawn Kelso of Barley Brown’s Brewpub in Baker City, Oregon, much like Cornett, has been proving that it doesn’t take a large brewery to rake in medals. Kelso, on Barley Brown’s four-barrel brew system took home gold for Shredders Wheat, in the American-style wheat category. The same brew that landed the brewpub a Silver at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest (GABF) was now at the top of the pack. Look for more great beers from Kelso and Barley Brown’s to come. Rumor has it the brewhouse could be seeking out a larger brew system in the 10-15 barrel range to keep up with increasing demand for their delicious brews.

Caldera Brewing of Ashland scooped up two wins at this year’s WBC including a gold medal for their Rauch Ur Bock in the Smoked Beer category, and a silver medal for their Pilot Rock Porter in the Brown Porter category. Look for more innovative releases from brewer Trevor Kemp and Caldera founder Jim Mills. The brewery has recently kicked of their Kettle Series in 22-ounce bottles. This series includes the Rauch Ur Bock, so you can also taste the gold medal winner. Also in the Smoke Beer category, Rogue Ales of Newport snagged a silver for their Smoke Ale.

The Pelican Pub & Brewery and Brewmaster Darron Welch won a silver medal for MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale at this year’s WBC. The staple Pelican brew won the medal in the Scottish-Style Ale category and was one of 29 entered.

“As an experienced World Beer Cup judge, I can say that this year’s event was one of the most competitive I have seen,” said Welch. “The quality I saw even in the preliminary rounds was very high and there were lots of outstanding beers that didn’t receive medals. The fact that MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale was honored this year is extremely flattering.”

Upright Brewing and founder brewer Alex Ganum won a bronze medal for their Gose, a mildly tart wheaten ale, in the German-style Sour Ale category. For Ganum, this is his first WBC win, but hey, it’s only the first year his brewery has been in existence. We expect a lot more bling-bling for him in the future.

Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) continues to do well in just a few years since opening to the public. HUB claimed a silver medal at WBC for their Organic Velvet ESB in the  Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter category. Look for Christian Ettinger, Ben Love and company to accumulate a healthy collection of beer competition medals as time goes by.

Widmer Bros took home two WBC rocks this year. Their Drop Top Amber was crowned with the gold in the Ordinary Bitter and their original Alt pocketed a bronze in the German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier circuit.

Rounding out the Oregonian wins Full Sail of Hood River receiving a gold in the American-Style Dark Lager field for their Black Session; Deschutes nabbed a gold for their well-known Bachelor Bitter in the Special Bitter or Best Bitter field; Hop Valley of Springfield sealed the bronze honors for their DD Blonde, American-Style Wheat Beer.

Congratulations to all the winners at this year’s World Beer Cup. Prost!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer news

Oregon’s first meet-the-brew pubcrawl was a huge success. The culmination of great people, great beer venues,  outstanding beer, and spectacular weather was the perfect recipe for one hell of a time!

Victory Bar proprietor and barkeep Yoni Laos adds special beers to the chalkboard. You can always count on exceptional beers at Victory, but today was even more special. The pub usually opens at 5pm, but on this special day, Victory opened at noon to accommodate droves of thirsty craft beer drinkers. Brewers Matt “Speck” Speckenbach and Ben Love of Hopworks Urban Brewery (just down the street) were on hand to debut their new For Those About to Bock lager. From Double Mountain in Hood River, Oregon, Kyle Larsen was on hand to showcase his pitchy, booze-a-licious Imperial Choas Double Stout. Lots of other delicious geek-friendly beers adorned the taplines including Le Trappe Isid’or, Mt. Shasta Lemurian Lager, Mikkeller Single Hopped Centennial IPA, and Southern Tier Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale.

After a great reception for the brewers at Victory and an hour and a half at the inaugural stop, the crowd dispersed and headed west down SE Division Street to stop #2 at New Old Lompoc’s Hedge House. The Hedge House is a beloved neighborhood watering hole and dining destination where the delectable beers brewed at two Lompoc breweries can be enjoyed. For this first day of spring, the sun was shining bright and the outdoor patio and lawn seating was a bonus.Pouring at the Hedge House were some brewhouse specialties including Lompoc’s peppery Saison the Beach, a tropically scented Simcoe Survivor Belgian IPA, the 69 Baltic Porter lager, and a handful of other quenching Lompoc brews. Lompoc’s NW 23rd brewery’s Zach Beckwith was on hand to greet the crawlers, many of whom made this their lunch stop as well.

Onward to stop #3 at Bar Avignon where Full Sail Brewmaster John Harris was on hand in his own neighborhood. Harris, a seasoned pro in the brewing industry has been an inspiration to many brewers climbing the ranks. His Full Sail Hop Pursuit was pouring at Avignon. The beer is a vibrantly hopped pale ale with no apologies. Quite refreshing and appropriate for such a day. To make things even better, Fort George brewer Spencer Gotter made the trek in from Astoria, Oregon to greet folks. Fort George’s Vortex IPA, a boldy hopped, yet well-balanced Northwest brew was featured to the delight of the crawlers. Avignon prepared special toasted hazelnuts for the event that went perfectly with the grubbin’ beers.

Finally, the crawl made its way to the stop #4, the last stop, at The BeerMongers. Though the bottleshop and pub has only been around a few months, they’ve been making quite a splash in the neighborhood. On this fine day three breweries were on hand to partake in the festivities. Walking Man brewers Jacob Leonard and Dan Munch made the trip from Stevenson, Washington to exhibit their sought after Big Black Homo Imperial Cascadian Dark Ale and to unveil a special new sour wheat ale known as Foot Funk. From the far expanse of Eastern Oregon, Barley Brown’s owner Tyler Brown and Brewmaster Shawn Kelso made the long haul to deliver two special beers: WFO India Pale Ale and the 2009 Great American Beer Festival bronze medal winning Tumble Off Pale Ale. From even further away, Oregon’s easternmost brewery Beer Valley’s Pete Ricks came through with the debut keg of his new Rosebud IPA. Ricks also brought a special blend of his Black Flag Imperial Stout and Leafer Madness Imperial Pale known as Black Magic. Not a less than killer beer in the whole bunch, this served as the perfect closure to a perfect day.

For more pictures from BrewPubliCrawl No. 1, visit our photo page

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

We knew when we began organizing our BrewPubliCrawl last year that we needed to get Walking Man Brewing on board. Not only are their beers some of the best on planet earth (no exaggeration!), but the names are appropriate and often quite clever. They usually pay homage to humans and our ability to put one foot in front of the other. An apparel item sold at Walking Man’s brewpub in Stevenson, Washington is an homage to their vastly popular Homo Erectus Imperial IPA and reads “Brewed in celebration of being erect for two million years.” Some of their other wittily named brews include Olde Stumblefoot, Perambulator, Somnabulator, Biped Red, Heaven’s Gait, Abbey Road, and Knuckle Dragger.

We are elated to have brewers Jacob Leonard and Dan Munch on hand for the SE Division Street BrewPubliCrawl. These gents and two home run hitting brews will be at The BeerMongers with the likes of Barley Brown’s and Beer Valley. In total, eight breweries and their brewers will be on hand for this event hosted by the four best beer bars on SE Division Street.

Here’s what Walking Man is bringing to the event:

Big Black Homo Imperial Cascadian Dark Ale: We make it a point to  hunt this beer down every time we hear of it’s existence. It’s kind of like Big Foot, the sightings are rare and sometimes out of focus. A spin on Walking Man’s beloved Homo Erectus, Big Black Homo is best described by Leonard as follows:

Big Black Homo is an Imperial Cascadian Dark Ale. It’s an aggressively dry-hopped version of Homo Erectus with an addition of English chocolate malt, and German De-Bittered black malt. We dry-hop with A-LOT of Columbus hops. It’s 8.5% ABV and 100 IBU’s. It smells like oily dank Northwest hops, and has an interesting light chocolate and rich malt backbone.

Also along for the peregrination will be a one-of-a-kind sour wheat brew we helped to cognominate “Foot Funk.” Of this unique specimen, the brewer bids…

“Foot Funk (I like this by the way) is something that we have been working on for about three years. It’s our American wheat ale, Crosswalk Wheat, that has an addition of orange blossom honey, bitter, and sweet orange peel in the kettle, then was inoculated with the Lambic blend of yeast and bacteria, and left to age in an oak barrel. We never really expected anything out of this, but are very happy with the end beer. It’s got strong Brettanomyces aroma, with a slight sour lactic acid “zing.” It’s very light golden color, and has flavors reminiscent of tangerines, peaches, and funky Brett character. It also has a subtle neutral oak character, that balances the acidity. It’s fun and strange, and I am really excited to get some feedback on it. We have about two more kegs of it and are kind of sitting on them, because we want to serve them at something special. Foot Funk is 5%ABV, and 18 IBU’s. Not that the IBU’s really matter.”

Make sure to walk, crawl, jaunt, or stroll over to The BeerMongers for great beer, and pay a visit to Walking Man’s Brewpub, recently named the 15th best in the world by RateBeer.com.

Walking Man, Beer Valley, and Barley Brown’s beer and brewers will be at The BeerMongers (1125 SE Division St.) from 4:30-6pm on Saturday March 20, 2010. For more information visit our events page.

If you are planning on attending the BrewPubliCrawl paying in cash would really help the bars and save time for everyone. Please know your limits. There’s a lot of beer to be had. Make arrangements in advance if you need a ride. Designated drivers, taxi cabs, and public transportation are encouraged. The BeerMongers is close to the #4 and #70 bus lines. Pace yourself and have fun! We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted under Beer personalities, beer events, beer releases

Two breweries from the far reaches of Eastern Oregon to showcase some of the state’s best beer for the BrewPubliCrawl.

Oregon’s easternmost brewery and purveyor of monstrously hoppy brews, Beer Valley Brewing will be on hand for Brewpublic’s March 20th BrewPubliCrawl. Not only will founder-brewer Pete Ricks be on hand for the event at The BeerMongers, he will also be pouring two brand new Beer Valley exclusives: the Rosebud IPA and a special one-of-a-kind never seen before blend. The Rosebud is Ricks’ first anointed India Pale Ale despite his beers’ affinity for muscular hop bittering and titanic malt character (see: Black Flag Imperial Stout, Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale, Highway to Ale Barleywine). For a hint as to what the special blend might be we looked to Beer Valley’s website. However, nothing is confirmed except this new blend will be there and will be electric. These beers will be making their way from Ontario, Oregon, nearly 400 miles, and six hours drive to Portland.

Beer Valley brewer-founder Pete Ricks

Joining Ricks will be Shawn Kelso from Barley Brown’s Brewpub in Baker City 70 miles west of Ontario. These two hop-driven brewers, as Kelso states, are “brewing on the right side of Oregon.” Kelso will showcase his Tumble Off Pale Ale that took home a bronze medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest and was named as one of the top 25 beers in America by Maxim Magazine (Said Maxim: “with more hops than Bugs Bunny and a grassy, herbal aftertaste that recalls our second-favorite Oregon export; this refreshing concoction from the award-winning Barley Brown boys is guaranteed to cure what ‘ales’ ya.”)

Tyler Brown (left) and Shawn Kelso of Barley Brown's Brewpub

If having these two brewers together under one roof wasn’t enough, we asked Walking Man Brewing to join in on the action at The BeerMongers. More to come on the special offering from them soon…

Beer Valley, Barley Brown’s, and Walking Man brewers will be at The BeerMongers on Saturday March 20, 2010 from 4:30-6pm where special beers will be flowing. The BeerMongers is located at 1125 SE Division Street, Portland, Oregon (at the corner of SE 12th and Division St.).

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer news

As you are probably aware (seeing as how you’re a beer geek reading this), there’s a lot going on craft beer-wise in Cascadia during the month of March. Really, there’s always a lot going on here. It seems the fun never ends. Here’s three can’t miss events that we recommend you attend for the love of great beer.

March 13 Double Mountain 3rd Anniversary Party

One of Hood River’s top three best breweries, Double Mountain, has been turning heads and captivating palates big time. Now just three years deep in the game, they’re throwing a blow out not to be skipped. Starting at noon on Saturday March 13 and lasting until 11PM, there will be lots of great DM beer, an array of great live music, and delicious food. All this under a heated tent outside of the brewpub. Read more at our earlier post here. We’ll see you there!

March 14 Fort George 3rd Anniversary Party

Another spectacular Oregon brewery, Fort George of Astoria, celebrated their third anno the very same weekend. Much like the Double Mountain blast, there will be great food, great music, and yes, great beer. Special musical guests Ma Barley will be performing later on in the evening and will have a special Fort George Jingle to share with the crowd. All of this while Fort George begins to beef-up their production with a newly acquired 30-barrel brewhouse. Check out more on this celebration at the Fort on their blog.

March 20 BREWPUBLICRAWL / Meet-the-Brewers

Okay, so we are tooting our own horn, but this event is really about the art of beer and the artists who brew them. Eight breweries will be providing beers and brewers for this one-of-a-kind event taking place at four of Division Street (Portland)’s finest craft beer pubs. From noon til 6PM (possibly later) eight all-star breweries including Fort George, Double Mountain, Hopworks, Beer Valley, Walking Man, Barley Brown’s, Full Sail, and New Old Lompoc will rock Division Street in SE Portland. For more information, visit out events page.

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

Here’s a video involving some discussion between Oregon brewers about the emerging Cascadian Dark Ale beer style. This took place at a symposium hosted by Abram Goldman-Armstrong at Belmont Station.

Brewpublic at the Cascadian Dark Ale Symposium from Brewpublic.com

The music in this clip is that of the Rendezvous String Band during their performance at Abram’s Robbie Burns party later that evening.

You can count on a much cleaner production of the CDA Symposium from Alison Grayson in the near future.

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events