The weather is finally starting to cooperate and the shiny object in the sky has at last returned. Following a some recent events, such as Fred Fest, that have highlighted high gravity brews, we’ve decided that now is the perfect time to enjoy some sessionable and refreshing brews fitting for this great Spring weather.

The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner-Weiss: brewed in memory of Fred and Sarah Hottenroth, Bruery founder Patrick Rue’s grandparents, this tart German-style Berliner Weisse is as indicative of the style as any American brewery has made it. Using lactobacillus and a hint of brettanomyces to add a nice sharp tartness, Hottenroth’s low gravity (3.1% ABV) wheaten body makes it perfect for sunshiny days. Some folks prefer the traditional raspberry or woodruff syrup to counterbalance the tartness. Last we checked, The BeerMongers still had this beer pouring and offer the raspberry syrup as well. The Hop & Vine should keep this beer as a regular throughout the summer as well. The Bruery says “Almost an extinct style, we hope to help revive the Berliner Weisse in memory of two great people.” They would be proud. Prost!

MacTarnahan’s Lip Stinger: This effervescent and rustic farmhouse ale is another unique brew to enjoy right now. A limited release ale for spring and summer months, ‘Stinger is fermented with cracked peppercorn to introduce a luring spicy nose and warming mouth feel derived from effervescent DuPont yeast and a Malaysian and Indian peppercorn blend. Get it while the gettin’s good, as this 4.8% Saaz and Mt. Hood hopped brew won’t be ’round for ever.

Vertigo Cyclone Cream Ale: Last summer when the mercury gauged 100+ degrees Fahrenheit, we were stoked that this beer was on tap in our home keggerator system. Cyclone is a light crisp summer ale brewed with Pale and Crystal malts, balanced with late additions of Saaz and Mt. Hood hops. We enjoyed playing around with flavored syrups with this brew as well to give it fruity character. The Vertigo brewers also produce an Apricot Cream rendition of this wonderful brew that beat out Pyramid’s Audacious Apricot in a head-to-head competition at Henry’s Tavern in Portland. Brew ya!

Widmer Sunburn: Widmer Brewing keep on pace with what’s doing on the the modern world of brewing. Unlike other breweries who have been around since the early days of the craft brew revolution, these folks continue to evolve with today’s ever-changing palate. Likely the next trend in brewing is the “slow beer” movement. This 4.8% ABV, 20 IBU seasonal brew comes light with the booze, but heavy with the flavor. A truly smooth, refreshing, and sessionable ale, Sunburn is light in color, body, and bitterness but carries a vibrant aroma through the Citra hop. Says Widmer: “Citra is aptly named for its thirst quenching citrus flavor and aroma. Sunburn Summer Brew is lighter in alcohol, full in flavor with a crisp finish making this a great beer for any summer afternoon” and we concur. The brewery accurately claims that this new beer goes well with “Yardwork, flip-flops, Backyard BBQs, front porch swings, and lighter dishes like Grilled Halibut with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette, Orange Glazed Chicken, Grilled Scallop Kabobs, and chips with fresh salsa.” Summer in a bottle is here.

Redhook Rope Swing Summer Pilsner:  This traditional Czech-style brew is the first pilsner Redhook Ale Brewery has ever released and is quite refreshing. Rope Swing  is  soft on the palate and with bready crisp malt flavors (Pale, Carapils, Caramel, Munich malts are used) that are offset by a nice addition of Saaz hops (25 IBU). This spring and summer forget the adjuncty macros and reach for this beer, designed to pair well with barbecued chicken, bratwurst, spicy food, fresh fish, and green salad. Some beer geeks who only give merit to  high gravity barrel-aged brews may overlook this and other readily available beers by Redhook, but that is foolish considering you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better brewery anywhere in the world.

Upright Four: Upright Brewing’s lightest, most sessionable year-round beer is the wonderfully crafted Four. With its name indicative of the beer’s specific gravity (1.040), this Northwest take on the French farmhouse style is a real gem when it comes to warm weather quaffability. Brewmaster Alex Ganum accurately describes the Four as “truly a light yet flavorful beer.” The recipe uses a healthy percentage of wheat malt with Munich and Pale malts, and incorporates a sour mash into the process that is less aggressively tart than, say, a Berliner-Weiss, but equally as refreshing. “It has delicate aromas and flavors that span a range of floral, grassy and herbal notes” says Ganum. This is, in part, due to piquant and floral small additions of Hallertauer and Mittelfrüh hops. “The finish is extra dry and makes the beer a great beverage to pair with food, especially various cheeses and shellfish.” At 4.5% ABV, the Four will allow you to remain upright longer than with other brews. Try it at the Portland Farmers Market by Portland State University, Saturdays all summer long.

Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager: Started by Minott Wessinger, fifth generation brewer and great grandson of Henry Weinhard, The Great Northern Brewery that makes Black Star, was built. The goal was to continue a family tradition and produce the finest hand crafted lagers available. Mission accomplished. After 7 years of brewing Black Star in Whitefish, Montana, Wessinger chose to stop production in 2002 when other projects didn’t allow him to give Black Star the time and energy it deserved. He decided to put Black Star in hibernation with the hope of one day being able to bring it back. Fast forward to 2010…Black Star has returned to brewery kettles, and in February Minott Wessinger and company reintroduced the beer in light of the beer’s 15th Anniversary of its first brewing. With a mild citrus and grassy snap, this straw yellow brew is a stellar way to beat the heat.  Look for it in both 12 ounce cans and bottles. Yeah!

Got a beer you’d like us to review? Email us at info@brewpublic.com or simply send it to us. Cheers!

Posted under beer reviews

Calling all hopheads! We just caught wind that tonight Bythe Bottle in Vancouver, Washington will be conducting a special tasting tonight featuring brand spankin’ new cans of Oskar Blues Gubna Imperial India Pale Ale.

Currently unavailable in Oregon, this event is folks in the Portland metro area’s first chance to purchase the hearty Lyons, Colorado favorite. As well as being able to try the bold new hop monster, attendees will be able to take cans home with them while supplies last.

Commercial description of Oskar Blues Gubna IIPA:

Emphasizing that complexity of character can arise from simple elements, this ale is made with three malts and one hop. Its light amber color and slightly spicy malt character are derived from the use of German Dark Munich Malt and Rye Malt respectively. North American 2-row barley combines with the other grains to lay the foundation for the hop onslaught to come. Summit hops are used exclusively in the boil for bitterness, flavor and aroma but it doesn’t end there. Post-fermentation dry hopping allows the 10% ABV monstrosity to gently coax the citrus rind and grapefruit aroma to join the 100 IBUs already present. This beer should greet you with a pungent citrus blast, provide a spicy yet round middle and finish with a brisk, clean bitterness.

Says By The Bottle co-founder Arlene Nunez:

“

Holy cow! This beer is, excuse my Spanish, is bad ass! It’s a flavor rocket ship waiting for take-off. When released from its can confine, just get ready, hold on to a chair or something. It takes off immediately. Be sure to hang on to the huge aroma, and gigantor flavor before the ride comes to an end. I mean, a lil ol 12 oz. can only lasts so long.”

By The Bottle is located at 104 W. Evergreen in downtown Vancouver, Washington (next to Salmon Creek Brewpub).

Keep your eyes peeled for a new tasting room at BTB soon!

Posted under beer events, beer releases

Founder Jim Mills packages Caldera's first bottled beer

Ashland, Oregon’s Caldera Brewing has added a new dimension to their craft beer repertoire, a line-up of seasonal craft brews soon to hit shelves for distribution…in bottles. A pioneer in canned craft beer, Caldera is the first Oregon brewery to can their product since the craft beer revolution. Beginning with their brightly hopped Pale Ale and now also selling their India Pale Ale and Ashland Amber in cans, the brewery has won over the hearts and taste buds of several Northwest beer lovers. Now, with the help of Green Bottling, who works with more than 17 Northwest craft brewies, Caldera will feature a special seasonal line-up of beers in 22-ounce bottles. Known as “the Kettle Series,” this rotating assortment of brews, according to brewmaster and founder Jim Mills will feature eight different beers annually.

Caldera’s first bottling from Brewpublic.com

Lawnmower Lager: The first bottled beer by Caldera for distribution, this beer is a refreshing deviation from the gratuitously hopped beers many people refer to when they think of the brewery. Living up to its name, the Lawnmower is a crisp, clean super-lite 3.9% ABV session brew perfect for the warm days ahead. Mills says the beer should retail around $2.99 on the shelves.

Hopportunity Knocks: Here’s a wonderful 6.8% ABV India Pale Ale different from Caldera’s well known IPA in a can. Brewed exclusively with Centennial hops and a variety of malts, this beer is all about a rich, unbridled hop flavor and aroma (100+ IBU) without overpowering bitterness. This is aided by the use of a hopback to steep the boatload of hops. The smell in the brewhouse when this beer is brewing is unbelievable!

So far, the two aforementioned brews are the only ones to be bottled. In less than a month, others will also be packaged. According to Mills, here’s what we can expect to see in the Kettle Series in months to come:

Rauch UR Bock: “Should be one of the most smokey beers on the market. 7.4% (ABV)”

Ginger Beer: Beloved draught offering with a distinct yet not overpowering presence of ginger in a light crisp bodied brew. 4.7 ABV %

Old Growth Imperial Stout: One mother of a rich, complex, chocolaty brew, OGIS is another draught favorite.  8.8% ABV.

Vas Deferens: “8.1%  (ABV) Belgian-style strong ale brewed with orange bitters and blood orange zest.”

We’ll just have to wait and see what other flavors Caldera bottles up in the future. In an interview Brewpublic did with Jim Mills last September, he said “I’ve always been into experimenting with different ingredients but in the last year I’ve been super-inspired all of a sudden. But all of a sudden I was just going buck wild with the recipes.”

Mills also says their Hibiscus Ginger Beer will be hitting the market in cans this summer sometime this summer. Hell yeah!

More on Caldera:

The brewery was  incorporated in 1996 and began selling kegs the following year.  In 2005, Caldera gained statewide popularity for becoming the first craft brewery in Oregon to can their beers. Operating in a 6000 square foot building on the southern side of town, the brewhouse is a 10 barrel system with fermentation tanks ranging from 10 to 60 barrels. One thing that sets Caldera apart from many other Northwest breweries is the incorporation of fresh whole flower hops into the brewing process. The brewery states that “whole flower hops have a cleaner taste than pelletized hops.” There’s no doubt that founder Jim Mills has a passion for fresh, dank hops. However, his brewery has an expansive palate and a passion for producing a wide range of beer styles as you can see.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news, beer releases

Brewpublic recently visited Caldera Brewing‘s new taproom in beautiful downtown Ashland, Oregon. There we met with founder and head brewer Jim Mills to learn more about one of Oregon’s best breweries that resides a stone’s throw from the California border. Caldera is Oregon’s first microbrewery to can its own beer and has aadding to the bold flavor profiles to give them a seemingly cult following around Beervana.

At the recently remodeled taproom, which has been through a few incarnations including the original home of Rogue, we enjoyed quaffing beers on the back patio which, according to Mills, is the biggest patio in town. Under the shade of trees and a bridge in a relaxed brookside setting, we learned about the history of Caldera and the man who made it what it is today. Caldera opened on the 4th of July of 1997. Mills informed us that the brewery sold their first keg on August 28 of that year. Fittingly, on August 28, 2009 Caldera celebrated its 12th anniversary out back on the same patio with live music and delicious hand crafted beer.

Tell us about your background with beer and what brought you to this point with brewing.

Jim MIlls: It pretty much started when I was in third grade and my cousing was homebrewing. This was probably the late 70s. He made like a dark, amber, brown sort of beer that was like 7%. Also, my dad always gave me sips of his beer growing up. And I remember tasting that and going “Oh my God, that’s real. They’re not fuckin’ around. This is the shit right here.” So from that point on, I was like, okay, homebrewing-that’s how it’s done. I moved (to Ashland) when I was 19. I was in college still. So I just started homebrewing and kept bugging the old manager here at the old Rogue brewery to give me a job. I finally got a job bartending and working in the kitchen. Then I started washing kegs for free just to learn how to brew, get in there. I was brewer’s assistant for a while. Then I was head brewer here in ’94-’95. Then in 1995, I started my business plan. The flood of ’96-’97 was here and Rogue at that point pulled all of their equipment out and it became Siskiyou Pub. It was a multi-tap, not a brewpub. We just purchased it on July 1st of this year. We did a pretty extensive remodel and opened on July 27th.

How did you settle on calling your business Caldera?

JM: It’s basically Spanish for “boiling kettle” and it’s our logo, the calderon or kettle. Since it was Spanish, it was easier to trademark (laughs). I had two other names but they were both taken so that was number three. At the time, my attourney said “I like this one better anyways.” So it was pretty cool (laughs). It’s hard as hell for some people to say. Ross from Walkabout is Australian and always says “Cal-dur-uh.”

Since you started in the 90s, how has the beer scene changed to what it is here today?

JM: One thing I noticed is that we had a strong homebrew club here and after I started Caldera, the homebrewers started dropping off one by one. They said it was just easier to buy good beer than to make it. So I’ve noticed that change because most towns have a really strong homebrew club. Portland, Eugene, and even Medford, I think, has a pretty good following. There’s hardly any homebrewers in this town. I mean, there’s a few, my electrician being one, but its not like it used to be where there was twenty guys and we’d host the meetings and whatnot. That’s one thing. I think the other thing-its not really just in this town but in general, but in Oregon and across the nation-the third wave of breweries…we’re the second wave..you know Ninkasi and some of the guys in Enterprise and whatnot…they’ve made the big guys step up. Like BridgePort is doing that Kriek now. They would have never done that ten years ago. We’ve always done off the wall beers. I think that’s what I’ve noticed. It’s a tertiary wave of brewers coming in and spurring all the other breweries to get unique and creative because that’s what the consumers are wanting right now. Like this Rose Petal beer. I don’t know how it’s going to go over, but (the consumers) just want to try something new and crazy and different. So that’s kind of the major changes, I think.

Other than the homebrews that you tried early on in life, what other beers did you try that captivated your imagination from a brewer’s perspective?

JM: Well, of course, the old standard. And when you call Sierra Nevada Pale Ale “the old standard”, it’s got to make Ken (Grossman) pretty happy and proud I guess. Using whole hops is one way I’ve modeled my brewery after Sierra Nevada. It’s a cleaner product. But I really like the fact that through all of their expansions, and they would expand like crazy, that pale ale stayed pretty much the same. This last year the hops are a little bit different, but really, for the past twenty years, it’s been spot on. So Sierra Nevada, the old standard, but also a lot of the Belgians and Germans-Lambics, German Marzens and lager beers are my favorite beer of all styles. So it’s a combination of different things.

You have a lot of imaginative styles like the Rose Petal Golden Strong Ale, the Ginger Pale Ale, the Hibiscus Ginger, and you rotate the Calderon Brew each year…

JM: Calderon brew is a Halloween beer that’s a different style every year.

Do you have any beer styles you’ve been thinking about brewing in the future that you haven’t done before?

JM: We used to brew oatmeal stout. We’re going to brew that on Thursday. We’re going to bring that back for the pub and a couple of other accounts. We’re also going to do an IPA #2 that will be a bigger IPA like a 1.060 gravity and use all Centennial hops and we’re going to dry hop it also. We’re going to make it scream in your face, not so balanced. Southside Strong is an old strong ale we used to make and is named after the south side of Mt. Ashland. We’re going to be bringing that in the next month. We’ve also got an imperial stout. Over the years we’ve done imperial stouts differently. Last year’s was the first traditional Russian Imperial stout we’ve done. But before that we did them with pink peppercorns, lavendar, and chocolate. The year before that we did black currants, dates, and white peppercorns. And the year before that was black peppercorns we used lager yeast. So, yeah, we’re always messin’ around.

Very bold and innovative; not afraid to take some chances…that’s what we love, it’s what Brewpublic is all about!

JM: I’ve always been into experimenting with different ingredients but in the last year I’ve been super-inspired all of a sudden. But all of a sudden I was just going buck wild with the recipes.

Caldera, when we think of Oregon, has really been at the forefront of the craft beer in the can movement. How far do the cans get distributed and what go you interested in chosing cans while so many others have been using glass bottles?

JM: We are the first and only brewery in Oregon so far to use cans. We started with our Pale Ale in 2005 in the spring. The IPA was in August 2007, and just this past spring, the Ashland Amber. We chose it because up until 2005, nobody making canning lines were making small enough ones. It was either a quarter of a million dollars. Cask Brewing Systems out of Calgary came up with two small canning lines including a manual that basically we started with and is a nightmare…I never drank more beer in my entire life doing that filling one at a time…three people doing 16 cases an hour…

What about MacTarnahans? They had cans, was that similar?

JM: No, they contracted their canning out. We were the first to do it ourselves here in Oregon…the first since Blitz. So after that we got an automated system with two people doing about 60 cases an hour. So that’s a lot better. We got into canning for two reasons: the affordability of a canning line. Cans are a better package than a bottle because it completely blocks all of the sunlight out, the airs are really low. It’s lightweight, easy to recycle, easy to pack in, pack out, you can take them to beaches, poolside. There’s just so many advantages. There’s only one disadvantage, and that was educating the public that you could get good beer in a can, and we’re starting to finally do that, especially with some of these other breweries jumping on board and putting their beer in cans. The problem can also be that you’re dedicated to buying a truckload of cans at a time and they come in nine foot palates, and there’s 25 of them. So it’s a full trailor or cans. So you need to have the space to store them and most pubs don’t have the space. Some microbreweries like us have the space.

Now that Caldera has settled into a groove with their canning operation and things with the new taproom have started flowing smoothly, Mills believes he has more freedom to get nutty with some of his recipe development. So expect to see more innovative and bold brews from the Southern Oregon brewery. Mills also revealed that he will soon be launching eight different 22-ounce bottles of off-the-wall seasonal brews including the beloved rotating Calderon Brews. A ten barrel tank will continue to be used to prop up yeast and develop delectable new styles.

Try Caldera’s Ginger Pale Ale at Brewpublic’s Brewniversary Party @ Saraveza on October 9th and their Rose Petal Golden Strong Ale at our KillerBeerFest @ Bailey’s Taproom on October 10th.

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer

A recent visit to Fort George Brewery in Astoria revealed five new things about the brewery. Since some of this news is premature and there are not any details, this will be a short and sweet post that will share some exciting news to come from Fort George.

First, lets start with the news that can be experienced right now.

Fort George has some new fancy growlers available at the brewery for purchase. Now you may be wondering what new beer could you fill your growler with. Well, the Spank Stout was just released and it is delicious. The Spank Stout used 40 pounds of habanero, jalapeno and anaheim peppers and starts as a mellow full bodied slightly chocolaty stout and slowly grows to a spicy finish that leaves the palate warm and wanting more.

A trip to Astoria is always fun, but combining the trip with a beer fest is even better. Coming September 25-27 to the seaside town at the mouth of the Columbia River, Chris Nemlowill from Fort George will once again be organizing the Pacific NW Brew Cup. Last year’s event had about 30 northwest breweries and this year’s fest promises just as many. All proceeds raised go to the Clatsop County Food Bank. Check the calender for more details down the road as they are released.

Now for breaking news. Fort George has been growing at a very comfortable rate and has looked into the possibility of expanding. The building on the other side of the parking lot from the current location is vacant and it looks like Fort George will be setting up a new place there. Also, they are looking into expanding into the second story of their current location. With this expansion means that Fort George will also be acquiring a canning line and the first beer they plan on canning is the Vortex IPA. I’m not sure how soon all this be finished but it gives us all something to look forward to.

For a list of current locations in Portland that sell Fort George beer check out their web site.

Posted under beer news

Oskar Blues: A canned beer pioneer

The first thought that leaps into many folks’ minds when they hear the phrases “canned beer” or “beer in a can” is the proverbial old swill that Pa used to drink after a hard day of work.  Perhaps quite fitting for this Pa character to be sittin’ in his favorite arm chair in a wifebeater watching the boob tube, or out on the porch counting cars.  These days the perception of Pa and his metal-clad accessory is changing thanks to breweries like Oskar Blues Brewing Company of Lyons, Colorado, who started hand-canning their flavorsome microbrews in 2002 and haven’t looked back since.  With full-bodied craft offering such as Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub Scottish Ale, and Gordon, a double red IPA, the microbrewer was the first of its kind to can its product. From those days of two-at-a-time hand-canning, OB first thought the idea of putting a “bold, hoppy pale ale” in a can to be humorous and claim it made them “laugh for weeks.”  This pale ale named after main man Dale Katechis changed a lot of misconceptions about canned brews.  Says Katechis: “We discovered that the belief that cans impart flavor to beer is a myth. The modern-day aluminum can and its lid are lined with a water-based coating, so the beer and the can never touch.”  The use of cans on quality brews serve other advantages over bottled brews.  “Cans, we discovered, are actually good for beer. Cans keep beer especially fresh by fully protecting it from light and oxygen. Our cans also hold extremely low amounts of dissolved oxygen, so our beer stays especially fresh for longer. Cans are also easier to recycle and less fuel-consuming to ship.”  Today, the Oskar Blues is still hand-canning their delicious beer, but with a more advanced mechanism that allows for five cans at once to be filled and sealed.

Caldera Brewing Company of Ashland, Oregon began canning their floral, bitterly hopped pale ale in 2005 and now offer their award winning IPA in the same format.  The can-only brewery notes some overwhelming advantages of the format such as “Cans chill quicker and keep the cold longer, are lighter in weight, are easier to store, don’t break, and are easier to construct pyramids and model airplanes from.”

Other breweries are catching on to the advantages of placing their beer in cans. 21st Amendment Brewing of San Francisco, California has been canning it’s Hell of High Watermelon Wheat Ale and Brew Free or Die IPA for a few years and plans on distributing the beer sometime in the next year.  Also, New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado began canning their Fat Tire Amber Ale in May of 2008.  No word on when the can version of this beer will be widely distributed. Stay tuned…

Posted under beer reviews