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

By Marc Demeule

I recently attempt to the 11th edition of le X de 1000, the biggest homebrewer event in Québec. The managers and volunteers did a great job to plan, set up and execute the event. Attendees even received serigraphy glasses. The annual brewing theme was chosen at the end of the previous year. A sweet chaotic and ethylic brainstorming result that our Senators (René Brasseurs Illimités, Jean Brasseurs & Frères and Nicolas Bedondaine et bedons ronds) decided that every style brewed in a previous edition (porter, tripel Belge, IPA, Scotch ale, barley wine, stout, saison, brown and mild ale, trappiste & 10%+) would be considered as an imposed style style imposé for the 11th edition.

Every other beer could be presented as freestyle (style libre) for this very friendly competition. The winner has the privilege to tell everybody that he wins this edition and is allowed to hoist the trophy  for a year. It is also appreciated if he pays to engrave his nameplate on the trophy… Read More…

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

Oregon Trail Brewery and Old World Deli in Corvallis, OR

Last weekend on our action packed travel to Corvallis, we learned that the college town was about more than just Oregon State Beavers and their prosperous Division 1 sports programs. The seat of Benton County, Corvallis is home to over 50,000 people as well as a thriving craft beer community.

Orange and black lights up the streets where the Beaver faithful seem to never waiver from cheering on their favorite school. In fact Oregon State University offers a Fermentation Science option that is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists program. In recent news, Indie Hops, an Oregon  supplier of aroma hops, donated $807,000 toward a new program for aroma hop research at the university in the College of Agricultural Sciences. In total, the hops merchant has provided over $1 million toward hops breeding and chemistry research. This is not only good news for OSU and Oregon, but it’s great news for much of the North American craft beer community.

Besides being a major player in the Willamette Valley’s beer ingredient realm, Corvallis is home to three commercial breweries (soon to be four) and a homebrewing supply and bottle shop.

Oregon Trail Brewery is the city’s oldest craft brewery. Originally founded in 1987 by homebrewer Jerry Shadomy behind the same space that today still houses the Old World Deli in a spacious old hotel building erected in 1910. With the help of building owner Ted Cox, who also ran a homebrewing supply shop in the space, Shadomy was successful in getting the first incarnation of Oregon Trail up and running. This was at a time when the only other commercial breweries in Oregon were BridgePort and Widmer in Portland. In 1989, Oregon Trail’s Brown Ale was awarded a Beer of the Year award by Fred Eckhardt, who was the Oregonian’s beer columnist at the time.

In an interesting setting where three tiers of gravity-drawn brewing aided in the production of local beer. The 7-barrel brew system was obtained from Hart Brewing of Kalama, WA (later to become Pyramid Brewing).   In 1991, current owner Dave Wills, a supplier of hops for the brewery from his company Freshops, bought out Shadomy though he had little hand in the initial brewing process. Shortly after expanding from around 300 barrels to over 1000 annually, a series of personal problems for Shadomy and some unwanted bacterial infections in the beer led to the brewery’s closure in 1992.

In 1993, Wills took the reigns for Oregon Trail, and with the help of Jerry Bockmore, a founder of the now defunct Yamhill Brewing Company (where today resides the Green Dragon Pub and Bistro), a talented area brewer, found the money and energy to rebuild the great brewhouse. Their revitalized Oregon Witbier with orange peel and coriander spice was quite popular in a world of wheat and fruit beer. At the time, the beers were available in 22 ounce bottles, and in 1994 and 1995, Oregon Trail’s brown ale scored a silver medal at the GABF (Great American Beer Festival) in the heyday of Pete’s Wicked.

Today, Wills continues his entrepreneurial spirit by running multiple businesses including his Freshops company that he’s been at since 1982, and a Christmas tree farm. The current production of the brewhouse is about 500 barrels a year, about 90% of this being on draft, and a small percentage being the Wit in 22′s.

During our visit to the garret, we met Don Pfeifer, a retired microbiologist who is serving as Oregon Trail’s lab tech. Pfeifer was taking plate counts and continuing assurance that the brewery doesn’t fall victim to the contamination issues of the past.

Before leaving brewery the jovial and spirited Wills provided samples of his flagship Wit as well as a chewy and robust  Brown Ale, a distinctly flavorsome Ginseng Porter, and a particularly less assertive, light IPA. We were also able to talk him into a pour of the Bourbon Porter, a rich, boozy, bourbon-forward highly sought after beer.

Old World Deli, in the same building as Oregon Trail Brewery

Thanks to Dave Wills, Don Pfeifer, and Lillian MacNamara for taking time to show us a piece of Oregon brewing history. We hope to see the brewery continue to grow and perhaps once again find themselves on the stage of the GABF.

Thanks also to  Melinda Stewart the kind folks at Visit Corvallis who arranged our meeting with Wills and aided in our trip to Corvallis.

For more on the history of the Oregon Trail Brewery, visit: http://www.oregontrailbrewery.com/index.php?s=history

Here is a video from Oregon Trail we found on their website:

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

Zwickelmania weekend was awesome! Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to visit every spot that we wanted to. Still, we did hit up some favorites. Here’s what went down:

Heater-Allen at Bailey’s Taproom

Our weekend began on Thursday at downtown PDX’s best beer bar, Bailey’s Taproom, where a special meet the brewer event was underway. McMinnville, Oregon’s Heater Allen Brewery owned three taps on this night. Arguably the finest lager producing brewer in the Pacific Northwest, Heater Allen’s Rick Allen was on hand for the release of his brewery’s Hugo Bock. In addition, Allen’s Bavarian-inspired Schwarzbier and Pilsner were also pouring. Allen told us that his Smoked Bob, a rauch version of his esteemed Bobtoberfest Marzen was to debut at the brewery during Zwickelmania weekend. The brew will make its Portland debut at a meet the brewer event at Belmont Station on March 10.

Cascade Brewery at the Raccoon Lodge

We made an early Friday visit to the Raccoon Lodge to try some delicious new beers. Highlights: Spring Gose that featured chamomile and two different kinds of lavendar from Sequim, Washington; the lastest Apricot Ale on tap in at the bar; a piquant saison; and a special Noyeau blend put together by brewmaster and friend Ron Gansberg. The esteemed Curtis Bain was also on hand, as was brewer Ben Edmunds of start-up Breakside Brewery. We have yet to visit Cascade Brewing without having one hell of a good time.

Full Sail River Place

This was our favorite from 2009′s Zwickel-fest. This year’s tasting was solid, but unlike the previous one, there was no ten year old bourbon-aged Old Boardhead Barleywine. Still, there was a great brown ale, the latest in their Brewers Share Series called Collin’s Dark Secret.. The chocolaty robust ale was designed by Full Sail packaging manager Collin Godkin and paired excellently with shaved Belgian chocolate that was offered. Seasoned brewer Phil Roche was on hand to talk beer. Free pint glasses were given out as well. Good times!

Rock Bottom Brewery

Speaking of seasoned brewers, there’s none quite like Rock Bottom’s Van Havig who was on hand pouring four grubbin’ beers off the RB zwickel. Havig, one of Beervana’s finest, offered up two IPAs, featuring Cascade and Centennial hop varietals. RB’s Blitzen Tripel and a new Baltic Porter also flowed in the upstairs brewhouse. Rock Bottom is the kind of place where many beer geeks might not visit due to the preppy clientele, but for the real heads who appreciate superbly crafted beers that span a variety of styles,  it’s  a must visit.

Deschutes Portland Pub

Forget about it! This place emphasized on the “mania” in Zwickelmania. Insanely long lines warded us off from joining the queue for free samples. Last year we enjoyed getting a close-up peak at Deschutes’  beautiful Bavarian-style copper brew kettles. Instead, we linked up with uber-geeks Charles and Theresa Culp and Marc Martin over a snifter of the Jubel 2010 and a pint of their new Hop in the Dark Cascadian Dark Ale (actually labeled as such instead of a Black IPA, yeah!). We also ran into The Daily Pull crew who joined us for our last stop on the Zwickel tour. If you haven’t check out Brady Walen’s new beer blog, you need to. It’s a wonderful resource for those in search of Pacific Northwest craft beer insight.

NW Quimby Lucky Lab

We biked over to one of Portland’s best brewpubs to visit Ben “Grandmaster Flerch” Flerching who was giving thirsting beer tourists a glimpse into the 15-barrel brewhouse of Quimby’s Lucky Lab. Samples of the Single Hop Galena IPA and the Pavlov Imperial Stout. Spectacular! Also got a taste of a special new quadruple IPA called Son of Gold Yeller that was a pleasant accident aka double Super Dog . Look for it at the Barleywine & Big Beer Fest coming to the brewpub in March!

Brewpublic and Saraveza’s My Beery Valentine

Serving as a Zwickelmania after party, the My Beery Valentine event welcomed a healthy gathering of beer geeks to a benefit to raise money for Mercy Corps Haitian Relief. The Saturday and Sunday event was a huge success thanks to the friendly, knowledgeable, and hardworking staff at Saraveza. Northwest Brewing News’ Bartender of the Year Jonathan Carmean and the lauded Tyler “the Elder” Vickers were amongst the celebrity servers on hand at this event. Brewpublic curated an assortment of Valentine’s Day appropriate beers from top Oregon Breweries for this one-of-a-kind menu. Highlights included Upright Four Play tart cherry Saison, Cascade sour Noyeau blend, New Old Lompoc bourbon barrel fermented Cherry Stout, Vertigo Razz Wheat, Oakshire Two-Wheeler Red IPA, Widmer W’10 Cascadian Dark Ale, Fort George Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, and the buzz  beer of the event, a delectable Black Raspberry and Chocolate Stout from Block-15 Brewpub known as Love Potion #9. Thanks to owner Sarah Pederson and her lovely staff for a wonderful weekend! A portion of the beer sales and a variety of generously donated desserts from Sugar Pimp and organic chocolate from Equal Exchange helped raise a nice chunk of change for Mercy Corps Haiti Relief Fund. Thanks to all who supported!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer reviews