No rest for the wicked… or for Oregon craft beer lovers for that matter. As we are gearing up for the mother of all craft beer events here in the Pacific Northwest, aka Oregon Brewers Fest, we can look back over the weekend and again amaze ourselves at how many great beer events we’ve run up against. Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events, beer news, beer releases, beer reviews, places to drink beer, weekend in review

Brewpublic and Portland Beer & Music bring you the first annual BenFest at the Grain & Gristle. This unique event is a celebration of brewers named Ben and their amazing contributions to craft beer. For this Ben-efit, each Ben will unveil a special keg of brew.  In addition, a few brewers have decided to brew beers in honor of the Bens.

Besides the beer, you will be able to enjoy food from Grain & Gristle co-founder and chef, Ben Meyer. Besides the regular menu, the Twofer will be available during BenFest, a meal meant to split with your date, best friend or one of the Bens.

Portland Ben beers: Read More…

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

Migration brewer Mike Branes (left) with Lucky Lab brewer Ben Flerchinger

On July 16^th Migration will be hosting a Pig Pickin’ Party as part of craft Oregon Craft Beer Month. Migration co-founder Colin Rath says “We will be host to Lompoc’s Sour wheat beer a 5-beer blend, Uprights latest Monk and Mingus and a special keg of Coffee IPA from Migration.  These amazing beers will be set to pair with a pork centric plate of food supplied by local BBQ cart Robb’s Really Good Food.  Four local bluegrass, guitar pickin’, banjo strummin’ bands will accompany all this great beer and food.”

July 23^rd marks the date for Migration and Amnesia’s first edition of Brewer’s Feud at Migration Brewing. Participants will include: Read More…

Posted under beer events

Join members of LOLA (Ladies of Lagers and Ales) on Tuesday June 7, 2011 starting at 4:30pm for the debut of LOLA Kölsch.  Ben Flerchinger, Lucky Lab Beer Hall brewer will be there to talk about the experience of leading the ladies as well as LOLA members who designed the recipe and brewed the beer.

This brew is a first for the Ladies of Lagers and Ales (LOLA) crew with no less than a dozen women breaking a sweat on a sunny day in April at the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall on NW Quimby. Under the watchful eye of Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news, beer releases

Join members of LOLA (Ladies of Lagers and Ales) on Tuesday June 7, 2011 starting at 4:30pm for the debut of LOLA Kölsch.  Ben Flerchinger, Lucky Lab Beer Hall brewer will be there to talk about the experience of leading the ladies as well as LOLA members who designed the recipe and brewed the beer.

This brew is a first for the Ladies of Lagers and Ales (LOLA) crew with no less than a dozen women breaking a sweat on a sunny day in April at the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall on NW Quimby. Under the watchful eye of Lab Brewdog Ben Flerchinger, this beer was brewed with Golden Promise and flavored with Munich, Wheat & Honey malt. Then CTZ hops were added for bitterness and Fuggles for aromatics. A Kölsch yeast was used to give it a bready, lemony, and mildly dank character.

This beer was brewed by the ladies to be enjoyed by everyone!

About LOLA: Started by Margaret Lut in 2010, when she got together with friends and realized other ladies may want to join them.  LOLA is a social group made up of females that enjoy craft beer, including people working in the industry, homebrewers and craft beer drinkers.

Posted under beer events, events

Join the Ladies Of Lagers & Ales at Lucky Lab’s NW Quimby location for a special release of their Kölsch brewed by the collective of women and with Brewmaster Ben Flerchinger.

The LOLA Kölsch was brewed with Golden Promise and flavored with Munich, Wheat, and Honey malt. CTZ hops were used for bittering; fuggles were used for aromatics. A Kölsch yeast was used to give it a bready, fruity, lemony, and mildly dank character. This brew is the first for the LOLA crew, with no less than a dozen women breaking a sweat on a sunny day in April. A limited quantity of this beer will be available, so get it soon!

All are welcome!

Posted under beer releases, events

Portland, Oregon is filled with beer geeks. So it is no wonder that in recent months a group of ladies have gotten together and decided to form a social beer drinking group. To be a part of the Ladies of Lagers and Ales, or LOLA for short, there are two requirements to join; you must Read More…

Posted under beer news

This week we were invited to the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall on NW Quimby to join brewer Ben Flerchinger for a sampling of various vintages of hearty and stalwart brews. This year’s highly anticipated tastival, slated for March 4 and 5, will reveal around 60 high octane beers capable of knocking out any remaining winter chill we might be experiencing.

During our preview, Flerchinger along with fellow Lucky Lab brewer Casey Lyons, Lucky Lab founders Gary Geist and Alex Stiles, and a few other Portland beer media folks tasted and tested a wide assortment of vintages from various breweries dating back to 2007.

Geist recognizes a trend where barleywines are being replaced often by imperial IPAs, imperial stouts, and strong barrel aged offerings. “Barleywines are so ’90s” he says, “Nobody makes them anymore.”  Geist says that the Lucky Lab pulled back on the big beers this year to allow the remaining vintages to shine. “We went a little overboard last year” he says. “We’ve got a lot of interesting, rare beers to try for 2011.”  And he couldn’t be any more right. While a few of the older kegs had taked a turn for the worst and will be extricated from this year’s lineup, several have matured into quite notable and complex offerings. Here’s some recommendations that attendees at this year’s Barleywine and Big Beer Tastival might not want to miss out on: Read More…

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

The Barleywine & Big Beer Tastival is happening on M arch 4th-5th noon to ten pm and promises to be a lot of fun.
Admission is free. Glasses, required to taste, are $9. and come with two tokens. Additional tokens can be had for $2.

More than 60 rotating barleywines and high octane brews will be showcased from vintages dating back to 2007. Volunteers are needed. If interested, contact Ben Flerchinger: flerchingerben@yahoo.com

Posted under beer events, beer news, events

Another fun night at the Horse Brass Pub in Portland on Tuesday January 11 featured a special event organized by the Oregon Brewers Guild. Many local brewers and well-known industry folks were on hand to partake in the fun. Representatives from each brewery threw a dart to decide what beer style would be made by their brewery for the 5th Annual PCTBB scheduled for April 30, 2011. A high number dictated that a strong beer would be brewed. Similarly a low number meant a lower ABV offering.  Darts landing in Read More…

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