Saturday, according to Seattle Beer Week‘s event schedule, seemed to be one of the biggest days of the who shebang. However, we had one last day to sop up the fun. This was Sunday. After this day, SBW would be on hiatus until next year. But let’s be perfectly clear, there’s always some craft beer-related fun to be had in the Emerald City. What a town! With places like Beveridge, Bottleworks, Malt and Vine, three Elysians, Stumbling Monk, Latona Pub, Uber Tavern, The Dray, Duck Island, etc etc etc, there really is no excuse for missing out on great beer in this wonderful city.

So, after coming to our second and final hoorah in town, and after being equipped with a wholesome and filling breakfast, we set out on our adventure. This day was the day of SBW’s “Last Call,” a finale to this eleven day celebration of great beer and the folks who love it. Last Call was to be held at the Hale’s Brewpub, where the kick-off ceremonies ignited things ten days prior. We had purchased our tickets in advance to ensure we’d not miss out on what was billed to be the best of the best. However, upon checking with some Seattle beer geeks we knew, it appeared that many were already burned out and their livers were demanding a break. Good thing we’d been living in Portland and were ready to put up a daily fight against the evil liver. We were a bit surprised to find that the organizers were still pushing tickets for the event. Why wasn’t such a supposedly cool event sold out?

It wasn’t until we had arrived in Seattle that we’d discovered that Last Call was running from noon until 5pm. I guess we needed to be on our toes and get quaffin’ early. There were still other spots in town we were set on visiting, so we needed a little warm up.

Maritime Pacific

Sunday’s beer hunt started off a little frustrating at our first two stops. First off, we were anxious to get a taste of some Maritime Pacific brews (MPB). Corey Blodgett, former Oregon brewer at McMenamins (and one of their best to date), was now brewing here, so we were jazzed to try some of his brews. MPB had moved to a new location not so long ago. From their Ballard brewpub just down the street from Hale’s, MPC was now even closer in a new larger space in Fremont. Upon arriving to their Jolly Roger Taproom, it appeared closed, but there were no hours of operation posted in the window (at least we couldn’t find them). After walking around a bit, I called the number from their website. After a few rings, a woman answered “Hello?” “Is this Maritime Pacific?” I inquired. “Um yeah” she replied almost unsure. “What time are you open today?” I asked. A pause. “Um…11″ she said before cutting in “Wait, it’s already past eleven. Hmmm. Maybe its 12. I don’t know. I don’t normally work here.”  “No problem” I said “Do you fill kegs?” Again a long pause. After several minutes on the phone listening to this confused lady explain why she didn’t know anything about the place, its hours or keg sales (I just wanted to get off the phone), she noted that the bartender had just arrived. At first she said I should talk to him, then she said I should call back because he might not like being bothered upon just walking in. I agreed, but before I could get off the phone, she got him on the phone. “Hello” he said. “Sorry to bother you” I said, “but we’re from out of town for Seattle Beer Week and we’d like to get a keg fill. Do you fill 1/6 barrel kegs? “No. Just Half barrels and quarter barrels. You should go to a smaller brewery for that.” “Ok, thanks” I said. He hung up.  Golly!  It appeared the woman was trying hard to be helpful, but only leading us to more frustration. And the bartender, he was put off to help someone from out of town interested in spending money here. What was up with this place. We always love drinking MPB beers, but now we were considering not coming back. But we wanted to support Corey. Some advice for employees at any establishment: If you are opening, know the hours. If you are not open and don’t want to be bothered, don’t answer the phone. If you do answer the phone and someone is asking for something you do not offer, either kindly ask them to call back or offer alternatives to what they’re inquiring about. I would have spent money here, but instead, did not.

Brouwer’s Sours

After checking out some chocolate samples at Theo’s Chocolates in the old Redhook Brewery of Seattle’s Fremont District, we jumped across the street to one of Seattle’s best beer establishments. Brouwer’s Cafe, owned by the same folks as Bottleworks, offers out of this world beer for the top notch connoisseur (as well as a world of bourbons, but that would only keep us from more beer). On Thursday May 20, Brouwer’s threw a sour party for SBW that showcased 40 sour and tart beers on tap. A mind-boggling lineup of wild ales, that in this day and age, beer geeks really fancy.

When we arrived at Brouwer’s  Cafe, the selection of sours had considerable dwindled from Thursday, but was still amazing. One thing that has kept Brouwer’s from really kicking ass in our opinion, however, is the somewhat sterile atmosphere and the barkeep’s rush to get us to order. When there’s several dozen beers on the menu, a person, especially a beer geek, likes to think it over. Our server asked us three times if we were ready to order. The place was nearly empty and we were in no rush, but felt the barkeep, sort of a beer-know-it-all wanted us to make up our minds and quickly. Finally, after being coaxed a bit, I ordered a glass of 2006 Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek. Served in a 6 ounce glass for $6, this was another issue with Brouwer’s: price gouging. Now, a four year old Belgian Lambic is something you don’t just find anywhere, so I wasn’t going to squabble over the cost of this fine beer I’d likely not try again on draught for some time. However, later perusing the beer menu, we noticed most brews were exorbitantly priced. The cheap stuff was $5 for 12 ounces, and a handful of domestic sours from Cascade Brewing (one of our favorite breweries, mind you), including the Spring and Winter Goses, were each priced at $9 for 12 ounces. We didn’t even bother asking what the bottles from Hair of the Dog in the clear glass cooler were selling for.

When my partner Margaret went to use the restroom, the server at Brouwer’s continued pushing. I’d already settled in front of my Lou Pepe Kriek. “Do you know what she wants yet?” he asked. Was I the spokesperson for Margaret? Was she incapable of ordering her own beer? Was he really in that much of a hurry to sell the overpriced beer being offered? “I’m sorry. You’ll have to ask her” I responded. When Margaret reappeared, he continued on her until she finally made it clear that she would let him know when she was ready to order. When asking the bartender what she could expect from Avery’s Sui Genesis, he said “It’s tart and sour.” Really? A sour beer is sour? Wow. Thankfully it was a spectacular beer with a deep amber and soft off-white lacing. At over 10% ABV, Sui Genesis according to Avery (and we find this spot on)is “a complex ale, aged and artfully blended from several types of oak barrels, and displays a delightful lactic sourness complimented by hints of brett, oak, and acetic. Intricate yet bold, deeply complex yet surprisingly refreshing, Sui Generis was crafted in the tradition of perennial Tap Room favorites De Vogelbekdieren and Voltron.” The second release in Avery’s Barrel Series, this one was almost worth the $9/glass price tag. Almost.

Don’t get me wrong, Brouwer’s is a wonderful living museum of beer, but another experience of ours there was tainted by a pushy and seemingly arrogant bartender and prices that we’ve come to liken to highway robbery.  Maybe we were wrong about the server. Maybe he wasn’t all that bad. So, I tried to make conversation with him and his correspondences played more like quips. He appeared to have no interest in what we said. Annoyingly he sang loudy along with the Kurt Cobain who blasted on the stereo (We love Nirvana, just not listening to an out of tune bartender croon along with them). When I told him we were going to Last Call at Hale’s, he acted put off that someone would consider going there and not staying to drink $9 glasses of Oregon beer. “Maybe we’ll come back after the other event” I told him. To this he responded “It will probably be too busy here by then.”  …or not.

Overall, we were stoked to try a small glass of four-year-old Lou Pepe Kriek and a snifter of Avery Sui Genesis. However, we’ll likely avoid Brouwer’s in the future. Too bad, because their beer selection is to die for.

To be continued…

Posted under beer reviews, places to drink beer

Seattle Beer Week a Big Success in Second Year

Seattle Beer Week wrapped up its second year this past weekend. A group of dedicated beer lovers and proponents known as the Seattle Beer Collective coordinated with  WABL (WAshington Beer Lovers) to orchestrate a citywide celebration of one of the country’s best beer destinations. Well put by the Collective, “Beer Week exists not because of this city’s abundance of great brews, but because of the beer drinkers–the sole reason (Seattle) has such an abundance of craft beer.”

In conjunction with American Craft Beer Week, Seattle’s hoorah began four days prior to the nationally recognized date (May 17), and on May 13 the jubilation of craft beer in the Emerald City began with a kick off party at one of the Pacific Northwest’s longest running craft breweries, Hale’s, in the city’s Fremont District. From this kick off date, the celebration continued for ten more days. Noteworthy brewpubs, bottleshops, and places where craft beer is championed collectively and continually showcased some of the best of what Seattle had to offer.

From Beervana

While there has been some bickering due to an online poll setup by modern day beer icon Charlie Papazian about what city in the United States should be dubbed thee “Beer City,” Seattle stood tall, kept its head down, and illuminated itself as a more than worthy contender. And while Portland, Oregon aka Beervana boasts more breweries than any other city in the world and a seamless stretch of craft beer abundance produced close by, Seattle offers a plethora of great bars with great beer. A major distinction one Seattle pub owner pointed out is that Portland is a destination where the beer culture is very self contained. Every neighborhood has a brewpub or two. And while you can readily find choice worldly beers of Belgium, Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Scandinavia in Portland, a great contingency of the beer pride is generated from our focus on more locally made brews. Seattle, like Washington State, has some spectacular breweries that are worthy of the most refined palate. However, being more of a major metropolis, Seattle’s bar scene exhibits a spectacular import market. The best beers from all over the world, and yes, from Oregon, are at your fingertips there.

When viewed from outside the Pacific Northwest, Seattle’s beer scene reveals similarities to much of Cascadia. Afterall, due to modern irrigation and harvesting developments, the greatest producer of hops in North America is Washington’s Yakima Valley, and no longer Oregon’s still flourishing Willamette Valley. The Pacific Northwest as a whole attributes for around 30% of the world’s hop supply. Without Cascadian hops, burgeoning craft brew regions like Southern California, Colorado, New England and now even Scandanavia, would have a far less extensive palate when it comes to what often characterizes their bold American-style beers.

Seattle Beer Week In Review

In some ways, Seattle Beer Week was less about the beer made in Seattle and Washington (though this was a big part of the celebration), as it was about the culture that loves great beer and enjoys quaffing it in one of the world’s best cities.  The collective of proponents, organizers, supporters, and drinkers of craft beer year round is quite impressive. Perhaps not as impressive as the atmosphere at, say, Oregon Brewers Fest and the entire month of July in Oregon, but the Collective in just their second year of putting Beer Week together did a fantastic job. There was never a dull moment.

It would have been nice, theoretically, to soak in the entirety of SBW, but living in Portland, that just wasn’t possible. So, in hopes of soaking in some of the best the eleven-day week had to offer, we made the pilgrimage by car three hours north for the final two days. You just know a city is great for beer when your biggest issue is that you simply don’t have enough time or liver capacity to take in even a fraction of what is offered. Asheville, North Carolina, who touted themselves as winner of this year’s Papzian Poll, must be a great city for beer. We will certainly find out soon enough. We’ve never been there. But one thing is for sure: Less than than ten breweries can be experienced in two days. Seattle’s bounty, on the other hand, can not.

A few weeks prior to our journey north, we purchased our tickets for the commencement ceremony on May 23 at Hale’s known as “Last Call.”  Buying the tickets in advance pushed us to commit to visiting Seattle for the first time in over a year. This was the longest stretch of not traveling to the Emerald City we’d experienced since moving to Portland more than a decade ago. Seems every year we are able to at least take in a Mariners game or two and hit up a few of our favorite Seattle brew spots.  Usually this entails patroning one (or more) of the three Elysian locations, Bottleworks, Brouwer’s, Uber Tavern, or Duck Island (one of our favorite bars ever).

Even as we approached the city and caught the first glimpse of the city’s skyline, we didn’t know what most of our itinerary would encompass. The city was wide open and there was a lot doing with brewing.

Day One: 27 Beers

Georgetown Liquor Company (GLC) is another spot we like to visit nearly every time we’re in Seattle. Located in the southern part of the city by Boeing Field in a heavily industrial district of its namesake, Georgetown Liquor Company is a great little hole in the wall featuring retro video games, full bar, great veggie food options, and at least a handful of worthy brews on tap. The attitude is punk rock and a computerized modern jukebox spews out crusty and grungy cult classics. The staff is always friendly and the food is excellent. Soup, salad, sandwich, and of course suds. We often make GLC our last stop before trucking it home to Portland, but this time we figured our visit was long overdue and a great meal and tasty pint was in order right off the bat. The first beer of our trip was a Gallant Maiden Hefe.  Brewed by Georgetown’s Schooner Exact Brewery, this beer was described by the unknowing server as “the kind of beer people who don’t like drinking beer drink.” A Bavarian-style wheat, the Maiden was unfittingly served with a lemon wedge. Very dry, crisp, bready, and overall refreshing, this was a nice light warm-up for the big day ahead.

Bodaceous ‘Beveridges’

Beverage Place Pub (BPP) in West Seattle is another key destination for any craft beer enthusiast in Seattle. Regularly hosting 25 rotating taps of local and imported specialties and over 100 bottles, BPP is a real treat. We arrived in time to catch the tail-end of Bodaceous Beveridges, billed as featuring “As many unusual beers as we can come up with. Odd ones, rare ones, new ones, etc,” this was a unique exhibition of pre-set taster trays bolstering interesting one-offs. These included the themes: Tart & Tangy, Distinctively Hoppy, Fruit & Spice, My Old Kentucky Home (bourbon barrel-aged spread), and an Iron Brewer Redux (remaining brews from a previous tasting of the same name). Since no mixing and matching was allowed, we opted for the zany Iron Brewer Redux platter. The brews of this platter were remaining beers from the May 16 Iron Brewer Triple Header event at BPP. In this event, staff from BPP chose unique ingredients and set brewers head-to-head to make these beers. The public was the judge. The beers on this tray were: Naked City Pipers Creek Heather, Hale’s Fig Heavy, Snoquamie Cascadian Fig, Snipes Mountain Sour Farmhouse Heather, and Big Time Curry-ous George. Of this flight, it was safe to say all of these brews were interesting, but none quite as tasty as Big Time’s Curry-ous George. It appeared more flowery and fruity than spiced. Notes of orange and pine glistened in this beautifully crafted hazy golden experimental beer. A bit of South Asian spice with hops, George resembled a different take on what might be referred to as a West Indian Pale Ale.

For an added fee, we added on three more snifters to our tray: Odin Thor’s Intrigue: with added lactic acid, this murky dark brown ale put forth a prickly acidic sour snap and a hint of pine and a good deal of roast. Airways What Happened To Winter? featured a brown ale base that made use of cinnamon, allspice and ancho chile peppers – then aged on organic, fair-trade cocoa nibs from Seattle’s Theo Chocolates. Black Raven’s Splinters was a divine sipper. We’d made it our goal to attend this brewery, one that had opened since our last visit to the area. Black Raven has been making quite a splash scooping up festival medals left and right with an assortment of heralded recipes. Splinters was taken from the My Old Kentucky Home flight. Big boozy bourbon ravaged the nose of this imperial scotch ale. Monstrous bourbon. A few sips unveiled a pleasant vanilla and oak presence that tamed some of the heat, but not much. The Raven was tapping at our chamber door and we welcomed him in with open arms. Our next stop was a no-brainer…

Black Raven Brewing

As a child I always dreamed of visiting Redmond, Washington. Not because I had a crystal ball and could see that in the future I’d be a mega beer geek and that Black Raven and Malt and Vine would beckon my desires to seek out worldly brew. No, Redmond has long been the American headquarters for Nintendo. A quaint Seattle suburb filled with tech industry, Redmond was Graceland for a ten year old Super Mario Bros nerd, and now it was another check on the bucket list for a thirty-something beer nerd. At the 2010 World Beer Cup (WBC), Black Raven took home two gold medals and a silver.

Almost a half hour from downtown Seattle, our first brewery visit for SBW was the mighty Raven. Located in a somewhat rural industrial plaza, totally San Diego brewery-style, the Raven made great use of what might be an otherwise drab locale. In the small pub we were greeted by friendly and knowledgeable staff and promptly ordered the sampler: Sun Thief Krystalweizen, Hefeweizen, Totem Pale Ale, Black Raven Trickster IPA (Silver medal winner at 2009 NABA), Jerked Brown Porter (a jerk spiced rendition of the WBC gold medal-winning Brown Porter), Second Sight Strong Scotch Ale (the non-bourbonated original version of Splinters), Morrighan Dry Irish Nitro Stout, The Margalette (a deliciously robust Belgian strong ale). Each and every one of these hand crafted brews was exceptional and had a story behind them touched upon in the menu. And though we were a little disheartened to miss out on the gold medal brown porter, we were quite pleased to fill a growler of the fantastically aromatic Trickster featuring Chinook, Magnum, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Cascade hops.

Malt and Vine

We’ve been subscribed to this Redmond bottleshop/taproom’s email list since their early days and often drool over some of the beers they get that are not available for distribution in Oregon. So, following our visit to the illustrious Black Raven, we dashed over to Malt and Vine to see what was up. Here, we were pleasantly surprised to find Ninkasi frontman Jamie Floyd in the house. Floyd, a lovable beer presence in Oregon was just wrapping up his week in the Seattle area with his “World According to Ninkasi” tasting. After Jamie left the place and headed home, we met with Malt and Vine proprietor Doug Engler. Engler exemplifies passion and enthusiasm when it comes to beer. Following his dream to fill a niche on the East Side, Malt and Vine has offer a tremendous selection of bottled and draught pours since 2006. To celebrate their anniversary, Black Raven brews a special beer each year for Malt and Vine. For SBW, they tapped their  Vertegenwoordigen voor de Oostkant! (meaning “Representing for the East Side, yo” in Dutch) Malt and Vine 2nd Anniversary Ale. According to Malt and Vine “We named the beer “Representing for the Eastside” in Dutch to both reflect the roots of the brew, and to proudly proclaim that the Eastside is full of great beer and great beer people!” Golden in color with a mild hop character and excellent spicy overtones attributed by the yeast, this is another awe inspiring creation by James “Beaux” Bowman and crew over at Black Raven. We feel fortunate to have been able to get a glass of this fine brew.

Also at Malt and Vine, we enjoyed the keg dregs of a Yakima Brewing Belgian Dark Ale. One very cool experience was being introduced to the Oskar Blues crew and were treated to a can of Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. On tap we enjoyed samples of Upright Brewing’s Monk and Mingus, brewed in collaboration with new Maritime Pacific brewer Corey Blodgett for Portland’s Cheers To Belgian Beers Fest. Also, we sampled Snipes Mountain Dos Borrachos Pale Lager, a uber-light adjunct lager worth pounding.  In the end we also picked up a couple of rare bottles of sour ale from Avery Brewing that, like Oskar Blues, made their way from Colorado.

Naked City

Another place in Seattle we hadn’t yet visited was Naked City Taphouse and Brewery. We’d heard nothing but excellent things about this establishment, so after dinner, we headed out to find what was left of Chuckanut Night featuring an award winning lineup of the Bellingham brewery. With more than 20 beers on tap, the one Chuckanut keg we were most hyped  to try, the Sticke Alt, was kicked. Just as well, because we had the pleasure of sampling two fabulous Naked City Belgian-style ales: Duplicity was a Belgian-style Dubbel with rich dark fruit character and lots of sweet caramel coupled with spicy yeast. The Ferocity, a bold 9% ABV Belgian-style Tripel, was a crisp, effervescent, spicy and complex golden-colored beer worthy of being our nightcap on this fine evening. However, we had one more stop before calling it a night.

Big Time IPA Fest

For more than 20 years Big Time Brewery & Alehouse in Seattle’s University District has been a staple for Seattle craft beer. In fact, each time we visit the Emerald City, we make it a point to stop here to unwind. The U-District is a favorite destination for us while in town for its youthful, progressive, and artistic culture. Having Big Time across the street from your hotel doesn’t hurt either. On the last Saturday of SBW, Big Time ponied up a boatload of their IPAs on tap. Somewhat dwindled down from their initial eleven India Pales that graced the taps earlier, Big Time still offered eight delicious hoppy brews . One letdown was that no sample tray was offered, leaving little option other than to buy snifters of everything in order to try them. In the past, being neglected a sample of certain beers has dissuaded us from purchasing certain brews at certain establishments, but, this was a fest, and we weren’t gonna let it get us down. So, we skipped a few we’d tasted some time ago, and opted for their Jeezum Crow India Brown Ale, Perspective India Pale Ale, Matt’s Red Eye India Pale Ale, and Big Time De Mensonge Belgian-style IPA. The Perspective was a favorite of the lot with a great citrus hop nose. Palate fatigue had officially set in and it was getting late. So, we called it a night and headed back to our hotel to rest up for our big day ahead.

To Be Continued…

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

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.

Posted under beer events, beer releases

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.

After the ground work for our project was laid, we retreated inside for a couple bowls of Margaret’s homemade barley and bean soup. I even snuck a small pour of refreshing Kona Longboard Lager, that just hit the spot after the afternoon of hammering, nailing, cement mixing, and digging in the dirt.  We finished up around 3 pm and after a quick shower we rushed over to the Hair of the Dog Earth Day Sale to see if there was any chance in hell of scooping up a bottle of Matt, the dark sour brew made to honor Bottleworks‘ Matt VandenBerghe. Unfortunately, we waited to long and the beer, even at $14 for a 12-ounce bottle, was completely gone.

After leaving a little disheartened, we headed over to Belmont Station to pick up some beers for my cousin Wes’s  birthday. My Italian-American family had reservations at Piazza Italia in Portland’s Pearl District to celebrate the event. At Belmont Station, I opted for a mix twelve pack for my cousin, who is a hop head. Recently he had discovered an assortment of DIPAs new to his palate, and I wanted to bring him a selection of some of the best India Pales that the Pacific Northwest had to offer, as well as an obvious choice in the Green Flash West Coast IPA.

From Brewers Share to Angels Share

After a wonderful dinner at Piazza Italia that included a few bottles of fine Italian red wine (don’t ask for details, I am a beer guy, ok) and an Art Alexakis sighting, we presented Wes with this phenomenal case of hoppy monsters before deciding it was time to cut the bull and get one for ourselves. After finally getting a parking spot by the River Place Brewery, we entered to enjoy a couple glasses of Full Sail‘s Brewers Share handle known as Kyle’s Broken Paddle IBA. The beer was a deep, ingredient laden black IPA with a citrusy zing and lots of chewy malts to accompany the ripping IBUs. We had been meaning to quaff this brew for about a month since our friend Kyle Larsen had made it. It was hearty and delicious. After returning home, we opened a 2007 Lost Abbey Angel’s Share. This viscous 12.5% ABV bourbony, oaken beast was a great night cap for our relaxing night about town.

On Sunday, I found myself working the beer counter at By the Bottle, Southwest Washington’s premiere beer stop for over a thousand different selections rotating throughout the year. Lots customers came by to get the Oak-age Un*Earthly and Oak-age Cuvee from Southern Tier. I was also please to find a taste a few other beers currently unavailable in Oregon (but not for long): Oskar Blues Mamma’s Little Yeller Pilsner, and the Port and Bend Brewing collaborator beer called Hot Rocks Lager. Brewed by Tomme Arthur and Tonya Cornett, this brew was made in an age-old manner using malten stones that were thrown in the kettle to produce a dark, chewy, hoppy 6.5% brew. I found it a bit ironic that this beer produced by an Oregon brewer is not yet available in Oregon. However, rumor has it that Maletis Distributing will soon introduce the beer into the Oregon market.  A few Canadian folks came by the shop enamored by the presence of Stone Double Bastard in mammoth jeraboams. “I wish we could get this past customs” said the lady. And this is the kind of beer we take for granted here in Beervana.

After five hours at By the Bottle, we made a pit stop at Saraveza to see what was cracking. We were happy to see the amazing Jonathan at the bar as well as the woman who started it all, Sarah Pederson working to get great beer to a crowd of folks geared up to watch another heartbreaking Trailblazers playoff defeat. However, there was nothing but cheer for the wonderous beers on draft this night. A special DIPA, from new brewery Lat 44, served only in half-pint glasses. The beer is a tremendously floral and fruity beast of an IPA brewed at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River. Here is a blurb about the beer, we found on John Foyston‘s The Beer Here blog:

LAT44′s IPA is brewed using ingredients sourced exclusively from the Pacific Northwest, including a balance of premium caramel malts, two-row barley and hops.

A refreshing beer with an aromatic full-hop flavor, every ingredient used in the new LAT44 IPA was carefully selected to yield flavor complexity and a multilayered aroma.

The IPA is the first addition to the LAT44 portfolio and is an all-malt brew with no adjuncts or other grains.

Hops: Blend of Galena, Cascade, Summit, Willamette and Citra Hops

Alcohol Level: 6 percent alcohol by volume

Availability: The LAT44 IPA will be available on tap in select Idaho, Oregon and Washington restaurants, bars and pubs.

About LAT44:
Brewed in Hood River, Ore., LAT44 is a Pacific Northwest beer brand that embodies the spirit, passion and originality captured by the people that call Latitude 44 home. LAT44 is dedicated to using fresh, locally grown ingredients for its flavorful and aromatic ales.

Excellent.  After Margaret and I shared a glass of this and a goblet of Cascade Brewing’s Mouton Rouge (Red Sheep). Wow, what a complex and delightfully tart beer. According to brewmaster Ron Gansberg:

This Northwest style sour red is a blend of barrels with up to 16 months of oak barrel lactic fermentation and oak barrel aging. Dark fruit, sour, oak and funk flavors sweep over your taste buds like an incoming tide. 7.5% ABV, 9 IBU.

At Saraveza, Sarah kindly offered us a pickled plate. For some reason, Midwesterners really enjoy their picked items…and we can taste why. Pickled apples, carrots, olives, and cabbage amongst other items were refreshing a helped to cleanse the palate amidst these hoppy and sour ales. Sarah also gave us a few samples of Samuel Smith‘s latest organic fruit beers: a raspberry ale and a strawberry ale were quite good. There is also word that they have a cherry ale as well. A very nice twist on typical fruit ales, these beers are worth a try, even for those who don’t think they appreciate fruity brews.

After Saraveza, we headed home to witness the end of the Blazers defeat before calling it a weekend. We are looking forward to next weekend and the 3rd Annual Cheers to Belgian Beers event at Lucky Lab.  Stay tuned…

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