Lately you’ve probably heard a lot about the late Michael Jackson, pop star. But, a new tribute brew by Portland’s Hair of the Dog Brewery slated for release on November 14, 2009 will honor the late beer scribe of the same name. Hair of the Dog brewer and founder Alan Sprints has concocted a special barrel-aged and bottle conditioned Flemish Red Ale simply named “Michael” to pay tribute to the man who Sprints calls “the most influential beer writer and critic who ever lived.” We must admit, those are hard words with which to argue.

Michael will be unveiled this Saturday at the Hair of the Dog Brewery’s annual November dock sale. Sales start at 10 a.m. and as usual, there are expected to be droves of beer geeks awaiting their turn at the Sprints’ cellarable favorites. Specialty brews sought after at the sale include Cherry Adam from the Wood, Fred from the Wood, Doggie Claws Barleywine, and the Matt, a bourbon and apple Eau de Vie barrel-aged sour originally designed to commemorate Bottleworks’ (Seattle) tenth anniversary. Expect long lines and good times once again this year.

Ok, so not every weekend can be a wild craft beer drenched adventure. We most certainly strive for that goal, but sometimes the old body just won’t concede, and it’s good to take a break here and there. Following a three day no-beer detox due to a string of allergies and cold-like symptoms, I figures I’d hang my beer shoes up for a spell and drink a grip of H2O, juice, tea, and nurse myself back to beerdom with some homemade veggie soups. Most of the weekend’s activities consisted of yard work and movie watching from the couch. However, being a beer nut, I did get to include craft beer in my schedule to a degree. After clearing a strip of land to the north of our house on Friday, Saturday involved my pal Jean-Paul helping me install posts for a hops trellis. In an area with a great southern exposure the trellis, now simply two twelve foot posts cemented in the earth will soon become a forum for Cascade, Willamette, Mount Hood, and Centennial hops to reach for the high heavens and aid in our home brewing needs. In addition to the trellis, we also threw up a barrier around our raspberry bushes to keep them from wondering into the driveway. It was a good to get the hands dirty and enjoy the nice mild, partly sunny weather we’d experienced for most of the weekend.

Installing a hops trellis