To celebrate the limited release of the newest Brothers’ Reserve series beer, Kill Devil Brown Ale, Widmer Brothers Brewing will host an event on Saturday, April 28, offering the chance for consumers to visit the brewery to purchase the beer before it hits shelves. The Brothers’ Reserve beers are one-of-a-kind, and each run is limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. Kill Devil Brown Ale is the most limited release of the Brothers’ Reserve beers to date.

WHAT:           Widmer Brothers Pre-Release of Brothers’ Reserve Kill Devil Brown Ale

Join Widmer Brothers Brewing for the pre-release event of Kill Devil Brown Ale, the sixth beer in the brewery’s Brothers’ Reserve series. Aged in Puerto Rican rum barrels, and brewed with Sweet Barbados and Blackstrap molasses, palm sugar, and Calypso hops, Kill Devil’s flavor and name were inspired by the ingredients used by Caribbean distillers.

This event will provide attendees with an opportunity to purchase the beer before it is released to the public in mid-May. Kurt and Rob Widmer will be on hand at the brewery to share samples, talk about the beer, and sign packages of the limited release. Twenty-two ounce bottles of Kill Devil will be sold for $13 each with a three-bottle limit until 11 a.m. or 30 cases are sold.

WHEN: Saturday, April 28 from 9 to 11 a.m.

*While supplies last

WHERE: Widmer Brothers Brewing Retail Store

929 North Russell St., Portland, Ore.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, events

ISA (India Session Ale)

*Available in 22oz bottles*

Deep gold with orange highlights, big citrusy aroma full of grapefruit and tangerine due to massive dry hopping, clean, crisp maltiness with a hint of sweetness, balanced bitterness is the result of the loaded late-kettle hop addition.

Malts: 2-row Pale, Honey malt, Wheat
Hops: Summit, Cascade, Centennial

ABV: 5.5   IBU’s:  51

S1NIST0R Black Ale

*Available in 22oz bottles*

*Gold Medal, 2011 World Beer Championships*

*Bronze Medal, 2009 Great American Beer Festival*

S1NIST0R Black Ale uses a special German dehusked black malt free of astringency, giving the beer a rich black color without the traditional dark beer characteristics. You will notice subtle hints of chocolate with an easy drinking balance on the back end.  In the glass the dark color may look intimidating to some, but don’t be fooled.  The unique combination of malts creates a very light body and smooth finish.

Malts: 2-row Pale, Carafa, Biscuit
Hops: Perle

ABV: 5.4%    IBU’s:  28

Apocalypse IPA
*Available in 22oz bottles*
*Silver Medal, 2011 World Beer Championships*

A Northwest American-Style IPA.  The color comes through as a deep gold with orange hues.  Fruity and citrusy hop aroma shines, with hints of pine resin.  The four hop flavor dominates, re-enforcing the aroma with more citrus, fruity and piney notes.  The malt character is clean and smooth with a unique toasted flavor from the Victory malt. A firm bitterness keeps it all together.  Apocalypse has a medium-bodied mouth feel, finishing crisp and dry, a very drinkable IPA.

Malts: 2-row Pale, Victory, Crystal
Hops: Horizon, Centennial, Amarillo, Cascade
ABV: 6.5%    IBU’s:  65

Posted under Oregon beer, Washington Beer, beer and food, beer news, events

Once every four years, we get a 29th day of February, which gives people another day to do something remarkable in February.  GoodLife Brewing Company decided that today was the best time to release its newest creation, 29’er India Brown Ale.  This seasonal beer is like the contrast of colors in springtime, a brown with the green of hops and it is remarkable!

29’er India Brown Ale is a classic Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, press releases

Kona Brewing has brought Koko Brown Ale to market, the first new beer available on the mainland from the brewer since 2007, and the third launch in Kona Brewing’s Aloha Series. Brewpublic was granted a preview of the new Koko Brown last week at a special event in Portland hosted by Thatch Tiki Bar in which Kona President Mattson Davis was on hand to discuss the dry, toasted coconut infused dark chestnut-brown hued ale with a distinct nutty aroma.

The Koko Brown was first tapped at Read More…

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

Brown ales aren’t known for being at the top of the charts among Northwest beer geeks (now that this has been said maybe a new trend will emerge?) but one thing is for sure, it’s hard to beat a good English nut brown. Newcastle Brown has for years been a staple of pub goers across the Pond. With today’s ever-growing craft beer market, such a well crafted brew is oft forgotten by those in search of the next imperial barrel-aged sour bomb, but anyone who enjoys a favorable session brew, Newkie is where it’s at.

Granted, you might say that Newkie sold out to the man when they Read More…

Posted under beer me, beer reviews

Down an unsuspecting rural road about ten miles from Skowhegan, Maine near the mighty banks of the Kennebec River resides Oak Pond Brewing Company (OPB). Initially founded in 1996 in a converted chicken barn, OPB today offers a distinguishing portfolio of both ales and lagers that is patently a family affair.

In 2003 co-founder and brewer Don Chandler has taken a purposeful and punctilious approach to his artisan brewing craft. Operating on a 14-barrel brew system acquired from Prince Edward Island, Canada, Chandler along with wife Nancy and son Adam, have arduously labored to fill an alcove for artisan beer in this region of Central Maine. Chandler admits his venture is the result of a point in his life when he was unemployed and unable to find work. OPB’s spotless brewhouse parallels the quality of offerings concocted within its walls. Chandler admits that keeping on top of his laborious operation has been trying and has involved seven years working about 70 hours per week. In 2010, he says, OPB has yielded just over 500 barrels of beer. This consisted of a fairly proportionate of ales and lagers.

On our visit on New Year’s Eve, OPB featured three ales and three lagers. These included: Read More…

Posted under beer reviews, press releases

About a year or so ago, a longtime  Mainer friend of mine informed me of a little brewer in Down East Maine that I ought not to miss out on. Spending the past few weeks in the doldrums of Dover-Foxcroft in Central Maine, I’d grown accustomed to the bite of a cold wind, an impending degree of snowfall, and the blinkered terrain of limited craft beer offerings. A a few days of unremitting cold, wind, and flurries,  the weather finally halted and I set off with my father to the seaport village of Belfast to encounter the offerings of Marshall Wharf Brewery.

Established in 2007, Marshall Wharf has more than filled the void that now that Belfast Bay Brewing Company left (ShipyardBrewing now produces the brand out of town). Spearheaded by craft beer visionary David Carlson, Marshall Wharf has turned to a team of brewers headed by former Belfast Bay brewer Dan McGovern to put forth some of Maine’s finest spectrum of delectable brews. Here, a stone’s throw from the harbor by Belfast’s charming colonial downtown, Marshall Wharf’s handy 7-barrel brewhouse roils forth some flavorsome cutting edge beer tipples.

At Marshall Wharf, we met with the amicable Carlson, production brewer Jared Mahrunic, and a staff of clued-up and inspired folks offer a range of modern and traditional beer styles that appease both the furrow browed fisherman, and the progenies like those who subscribe to Brewpublic’s venturesome outlook. About an hour-and-a-half drive where I’d been staying in the shiretown of Piscataquis County, Belfast’s lone brewery announced the New Year’s release of a special barrel aged Cant Dog Pale Ale constituted of 25% barrel aged beer and 75% fresh ale, exercising a portion of two year old esterous brew laid down in twelve year old Elijah Craig bourbon casks. In addition to Cant Dog, Marshall Wharf will be releasing two other bourbon-aged ales.

Carlson, obliged my aspiration to sample this spectacle slated to be unveiled to the public on New Year’s Day 2011 by offering up a taster of this divine potion. Rampant with compounded notes of caramel, vanilla, wood, and bourbon, the beer, was by some standards young, yet immediately gratifying. “Barrel aging has become a hot trend” says Carlson. “ We had the opportunity to get some decent bourbon barrels. And though blending is new to us, we’re quite pleased with the result. And it is easy to taste why. Carlson says that Marshall Wharf has served beer enthusiasts from New Hampshire and Massachusetts who are becoming more and more aware of the beers at his quaint 400 square foot brewery. Well known Maine craft brew outposts such as Novare Res and the Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine have opened tap space to Marshall Wharf’s patent biddings.

Unlike many traditional Maine craft breweries, Marshall Wharf steers clear of exhausting English yeast varietals like Ringwood and Nottingham, and have opted for a mellifluous and fruity Chico ale strain while tinkering with divergent Belgian sorts. Next door at Carlson’s Three Tides Restaurant and Bar, a Marshall Wharf’s inventiveness runs the gamut of savor with about 25 mainstay, migratory, and chance-taking pickings.

A sampler tray at Three Tides exposed the likes of Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, beer news, beer releases, places to drink beer

Each Tuesday Cascade Brewing Barrel House (aka House of Sour) taps a new sour brew direct from the barrel. This past Tuesday was no exception as Brewmaster Ron Gansberg and Barrel House GM Preston Weesner hammered the tap in and unleashed the latest barrel offering: Busta Nut Sour Brown Ale, a sour brown ale aged in oak barrels for over a year. Fresh, non-soured sweet strong blonde was blended in to add high notes.  It was curious to see the Read More…

Posted under beer events

By Matthew DiTullo

With a well saturated beer industry in Oregon, some beer drinkers may scoff at the idea of seeking out good craft beer in The Sunshine State. A recent trip to Florida proved that one doesn’t need to venture far for quality brew while soaking in the sun. Now, as much as I really wanted to go nuts for beer consumption, this was a family trip and I was presented with two different opportunities to imbibe some of the local flavors.

The highlight for sure was Read More…

Posted under beer reviews, brewpubs, places to drink beer

By Frank James

As any Portland beer enthusiast knows, there’s beer in the Columbia Gorge.  Lots of it, lots of really good beer and lots of it offered within an hour’s drive of the city.  This Friday we loaded up the two dogs and headed east on a whirlwind excursion that took us to three different towns, five brewpubs, and lots of excellent, fresh beer, all within an hour of Portland.

The best  beer road trips surprise and delight and provide memories that easily justify an hour-long drive and a nice chunk of gas money.  This trip certainly satisfied on that level.  At each brewpub we came across at least one beer, and something else about the establishment that made a detour to that particular pub worthwhile.  For the most part, it was the beer, but it may have also been the patio, the food,  the spectacular views or a combination of all of the above.

Our itinerary was simple: initial stop, Walking Man in Stevenson, Washington; over to Everybody’s Brewing in  White Salmon; and, then across the bridge  to Hood River for the real smörgåsbord -  Double Mountain, Big Horse and, of course, the big dog on the block, Full Sail.

For sheer aesthetics, a drive from Portland on the Washington side of the river,  east on  Highway 14 can’t be beat.  But it does tend to  stretch out the drive time, so we always take I-84 to Cascade Locks and then rumble across the Bridge of the Gods, hoping that we don’t have a bit of buzzard’s luck and  catch the narrow, metallic-grate bridge during a rainy squall.   From there, it’s a quick two to three mile drive east on 14 into the little town of Stevenson.

A first-time visitor might miss the Read More…

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