For a moment we considered doing a month in review. We still might, but there’s just so much to reflect upon for the past Oregon Craft Beer Month (OCBM), we aren’t sure where we would. With several awesome festivals and unique events, OCBM 2010 was undoubtedly a huge hit filled with wonderful beers, memories, and the great people who make craft beer in Oregon the best month of beer appreciation anywhere in the world.

As previously mentioned here in the paper-free pages of Brewpublic, almost every day during the month of July featured multiple events and made for tough decisions about which event(s) to attend. Of course, there are worse problems in the world to deal with than an overabundance of spectacular beer.

This past weekend marked the final hurrah of OCBM, and as you might expect, there were at least a handful of noteworthy craft beer events worth involving oneself in. Bailey’s Taproom’s AnniBrew3 Barrel-aged Beer Fest was a go-to goings-on for the uber geeks that didn’t want to pass on once in a lifetime vintages of brews organized by proprietor Geoff Phillips and his faithful. Rogue’s Bones and Brew was a hot ticket item for those around Portland’s Pearl District looking to soak in some perfect summer weather, live music, and partake of the luring scents emitting from the grill. Concordia Ale House’s now well-known Concordia Cup was another chance for hop heads and S.N.O.B.s (Supporters of Native Oregon Beer) to blind taste a dozen different imperial IPAs (all brewed here in the fine state of Oregon) and help to decide which brewer will represent us in February’s Beer Brawl versus California and Washington.

For us, we were locked on our six hour meet the brewers pub crawl, aka BrewPubliCrawl. Featuring twenty breweries and some of their representing brewers. The crawl kicked off at Red Fox, a pub we haven’t spent much time at in the past. Not necessarily a beer geek pub, Red Fox serves up some of the best bloody Marys in town. However, they regularly carry Double Mountain and Laurelwood beers on tap. A third tap is devoted to Trumer Pils. Double Mountain and Laurelwood brewmasters Matt Swihart and Chad Kennedy, respectively, arrived at the noon kickoff time to meet and greet a healthy early crowd ready to get a day of craft beer under its belt. Laurelwood’s Deranger Red and Double Mountain’s Hop Lava seemed like a perfect beginning to this big day.

After a while enjoying the relaxed vibe at Red Fox, the crowd pushed on to nearby Saraveza pub, one of Portland’s finest destinations for beer geeks. Always replete with great service and excellent beer selections, Sarveza revealed Hopworks Velvet Underground Imperial Black ESB, Seven Brides Emily’s Ember Amber Ale, Fort George Vortex IPA, Heater Allen Bobtoberfest, Ninkasi Radiant Summer Ale, and more.

The next stop on the crawl was at Lucky Lab’s Overlook location where Deschutes Sage Brush Pils, Migration Pale Ale, Lompoc’s C-Note, Alameda’s Yellow Wolf IIPA, and a special Lucky Lab Pilsner, brewed for Pacific Rivers Council, were pouring in the eastern room at the venue. A great day made outdoor seating optimal in front of the establishment on N. Killingsworth. This fabulous weather would make the next stop perhaps the best of the day.

The pub crawl commenced at The Hop & Vine just a block away from the Overlook Lucky Lab. Here, jockeyboxes where set up in the spacious backyard where folks could relax and gather. On tap: a new Boneyard Beer RPM IPA, a new MacTarnahan’s Ink Blot Baltic Porter, Cascade Nightfall Blackberry Sour Ale, Widmer Gose, Natian Organic Golden Ale, Upright Auld Reekie Smoked Brown Ale, Vertigo Apricot Cream Ale, and Oakshire La Ferme Belgian-style Farmhouse Ale. All of these beers were excellent and it was great to have the brewers all on hand. At 6:00PM, Ninkasi founding brewer Jamie Floyd addressed the crowd and got everyone pumped up about the bounty of Oregon beer that makes our state so badass.

Thanks a lot to everyone involved in making the OCBM closing ceremonies so much fun. Thanks to Mother Nature for a tremendous day, all of the brewers for their time and top notch brews, and to staff at Red Fox, Saraveza, Lucky Lab, and The Hop & Vine for making this event a success!

Time for a liver cleanse now…

Check out more photos from BrewPubliCrawl and OCBM and more at http://brewpublic.com/photos

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

Bailey’s Taproom is unquestionably one of the best craft beer bars we’ve ever set foot inside, and, of course, our standards for beer are pretty high. Proprietor Geoff Phillips and his dedicated crew of beer geeks will be celebrating their third year on Saturday July 31, 2010 with a lineup of specialty barrel-aged brews, to the delight of area beer zealots and those traveling from afar to partake in one of the most anticipated beer events of the year in Portland, Oregon.

In a few recent posts on Bailey’s blog,our friend Geoff divulges some of the rare barrel-aged brews attendees can expect to try. We pulled the following info from Bailey’s site:

Read More…

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

Brewpublic announces another special meet the brewers pub crawl. You might remember back on March 20, 2010 when we brought you the first of this kind on SE Division Street in Portland. Now, we’ve got a crawl, also with four craft beer bars, less distance to cover, and even more brewers to meet while you enjoy a plethora of great brews.

What: Meet the brewers pub crawl (aka BrewPubliCrawl). 18 Oregon brewers will be on hand for this exclusive 6 hour event, each with a refreshing and unique offering designed especially for the commencement of July (Oregon Craft Beer Month). Four craft beer loving bars will open their doors as normal, but on this day with a lot more artisan brews to share. We’re really excited to have you check this out!

Where: N. Killingsworth Street, Portland, Oregon.

The crawl starts at the Red Fox bar (5128 North Albina Avenue); moves to Saraveza (1004 N. Killingsworth Street); then Overlook Lucky Lab (1700 N. Killingsworth Street); and ends up at The Hop & Vine (1914 N. Killingsworth Street).

When: Saturday July 31, 2010 Noon until 6pm. Brewers with beers at each stop will be on hand for 1.5 hours at each stop. (Red Fox Noon-1:30PM; Saraveza 1:30-3PM; Overlook Lucky Lab 3-4:30PM; The Hop & Vine 4:30-6PM)

Why: Because we are nutty about Oregon Craft Beer and love our community and the artists who brew great beer here in Oregon. Also, we want to toast another great Oregon Craft Beer Month that is closing out on this day.

Other Details:  No tickets are required for this pub crawl. Folks 21+ will be able to purchase beer from the bars like you’d normally expect. The entire pub crawl route from start to finish is just 0.7 miles. Brewers in attendance with their beer pouring include: Alameda, Boneyard Beer, Cascade, Deschutes, Double Mountain, Fort George, Heater Allen, Hopworks, Laurelwood, Lucky Labrador, MacTarnahan’s, Migration, Natian, New Old Lompoc, Ninkasi, Oakshire, Seven Brides, and Vertigo. Also, Bailey’s Taproom’s 3rd anniversary barrel fest is happening on this day and we strongly recommend that you visit them for some of the rarest and most unique beers as well!

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

Juggernaut Red Ale returns for its second year as Pyramid Breweries’ Fall seasonal offering.  The Red Ale crafted to fuel Fall festivities made its well-received debut in 2009 to the open arms and welcoming palates of Pyramid’s many consumers.

Juggernaut is an American Red Ale using caramel malts and brightly flavored Northwest hops. Pouring a rich red hue, Juggernaut is balanced in body with subtle caramel flavors that shine through.  Simcoe and Cascade hops compliment the malty character, creating an inviting aroma and finish.  Juggernaut pairs incredibly well with a wide variety of food, including cheeses, red meat, poultry, and fish.

“The return of Juggernaut signals that Fall is approaching,” said Mike Brown, Commissioner of Inspiration and Aspiration for Pyramid Breweries.  “This beer is perfectly primed to compliment the season in which it’s poured – geared up for all the tailgating, warm days and cool nights, and seasonal festivities you can handle.”

Available from August – September, Juggernaut is big on taste but short on time.  The delicious Red Ale is available on draft, in 12oz and 22oz bottles, 6-packs, 12-packs, and as the seasonal star in the Fall Variety 12-pack – alongside of Haywire®  Hefeweizen , Apricot™ Ale, and ThunderHead® IPA.

Juggernaut Red Ale is one of four offerings in Pyramid’s strong seasonal portfolio featuring Fling™ Pale Ale (Spring), Curve Ball™ Blonde Ale (Summer), and Snow Cap® Ale (Winter).

JUGGERNAUT RED ALE – BRIMMING WITH UNSTOPPABLE TASTE
Availability:     August – September
Style:         Red Ale
Malts:                   2-Row, Carared, C-120, Carafa II, and Roasted Barley
Hops:                   Simcoe, Cascade
ABV:         5.6%
IBU:                      45
Pairings:    Cheese, Red Meat, Poultry, Fish

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

Raise your pint to mark the first day of summer at the Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub’s annual Summer Solstice Celebration. The family friendly, all ages event features an afternoon of live music, including Cascade Brewmaster Ron Gansberg’s bluegrass-folk band, Black Lodge, and The Redeemed, a Portland-based Cascade Country band with a hint of rockabilly and swing.  No cover charge. There will be delicious bbq meats roasted over an applewood fire as well as other food for purchase.

Most exciting will be the debut of “The Four Goses of the Apuckerlypse!”  This is a one-time opportunity to try and compare all four of Cascade Brewing’s Goses that have been stored away specifically for this party.  We’ll be pouring last fall’s, winter’s, this spring’s and debuting this year’s summer gose: a classic style gose, this fairly light wheat beer was brewed with coriander and salt and soured slightly.  There will also be a full barrel of our Summer Solstice IPA based on brewer Jon Berry’s recipe and made with Summit and Chinook hops.  The ceremonial rolling out of this barrel on a handcarved wooden cart will take place at 5 pm. Rumor has it there may also be an appearance of The Vine!

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

This past weekend was great for many reasons. Great weather, great company, and of, course, great brew. On top of these three key factors, one of the coolest parts about the weekend was two awesome beer events right in our neighborhood. Brewpublic headquarters (this is fancy talk for our house), is off Southeast Division Street in Portland. Friday and Saturday witnessed the celebration of two spectacular new establishments in our little corner of Beervana that we suspect will not be leaving us anytime soon.

Friday: Apex Bar Grand Opening

We’ve mentioned this place a lot recently, and for good reason. Jesse McCann is the kind of guy is like a puddle of beer on a slug farm. Apex, his new pub at the corner of 12th and Division has been softly open for a few weeks now, but after announcing his official cork popper for Friday, swarms of who’s who in the local, and even West Coast brew community flooded the gates to wish McCann well. We showed up around 4pm before things were too crazy, and joined a thick crowd of pubgoers who were already soaking in the Friday rays in Apex’s frontside outdoor area.

As the hours weighed on, we saw lots of our favorite beer celebrities like Kurt and Rob Widmer, Full Sail Brewmaster John Harris, Double Mountain’s Charlie Devereux, Hopworks’ Ben Love, Preston “Beer Guy” Weesner, and so many others. The night was unbelievably fun with great draught pours that included Laurelwood Workhorse IPA, Cascade Spring Gose, and Lagunita’s Little Sumpin Wild.

Many thanks to McCann and his crew for doing it up right. As a special surprise, some rare bottles of brew made rounds to friends and family. We were fortunate enough to get a taste of Duvel served from a Jeraboam as well as a superbly hard to find 3-liter bottle of Toronado 30th Anniversary ale, a sour brewed special by Russian River. There was even a dolo pour of Skookum Cascadian Brown Ale from Phillips in Victoria, B.C., brought down by Jesse’s dad Dermot, who helped with much of the worked needed to get the bar open.

Saturday: The BeerMongers’ Bar Baptism

Kitty-corner from Apex Bar across SE Division is another top notch beer destination. The BeerMongers opened their doors to the public last fall and have been a staple craft beer bottle shop ever since. A wide variety of bottled craft beer from around the globe at very affordable prices has exemplified owners Sean Campbell and Craig Gulla’s proletariat passion for the pint. Recently, with the help of handyman and friend Christopher and plumber Dean “Dean’s Scene” Pottle, The ‘Mongers added a beautiful countertop and standing bar, made from Tropical Salvage wood.

To christen the new bar, Campbell showed thanks to his customers and community by opening some special bottles of his own while tapping a mix of Oregon and import brews. Special bottles included Urthel Hop-It!, Scaldis Prestige de Nuits, Upright Four Play, La Chouffe Belgian Golden Ale, and Sierra Nevada-Dogfish Head Life and Limb collaborator brew. On tap, a dry-hopped Fire Mountain Bad Henry’s IPA was a maltilicious piquant favorite. Other tap highlights included Heater Allen Pils, The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner-Weiss, Weihenstephaner Kristal Weissbier, Off The Rail Coal Porter, and Goose Island Matilda.

The official christening of The BeerMongers’ bar came around 5pm when Campbell gave a speech thanking his customers before uncorking a Methuselah (6-liter bottle) of Val Dieu Grand Cru. The crowd roared in appreciation before a few more beers from the cellar came out. These included a Rogue Chocolate Bear Stout, export Buckwheat Ale, both more than eight years old, and two ten year old bottles of McMenamins’ Hammerhead Ale.

Live music ensued as folks showed thanks for the great beer available and the cool dudes who made it all happen.

Sunday

After two big days in the ‘hood, Sunday was a day to relax and spend time with our moms. On this day or rest, we enjoyed 70 degree sunshine on the Columbia River in a boat sipping Zywiec Porter.

Hope your weekend was good to you and your mom.

Posted under beer events, beer news, beer reviews

A night in Portland, Maine definitely calls for a stop at a Novare Res Bier Café. Named one of Imbibe Magazine’s best 100 places to drink beer in America in 2008 it is not difficult to see why. Located in the Old Port District of downtown near Castro Bay, Novare is situated in the lower story of a rustic dimly lit brick building. Featuring 25 draught beers, two beer engines, and offering more than 300 bottle brews, it is easily one of Maine’s top beer destinations.

Upon our visit Novare Res  offered  a flight of Mikkeller’s single hop series beers on tap that we couldn’t pass up. Cascade, Amarillo, and Warrior varietals served in tidy little stem glasses provided a nice contrast of the three Northwest hops side by side. Mikkeller Cascade poured a burnt orange hue and a thin white head with a chewy fruity nose. This dual purpose hop exuded big sticky and bitter character perfect for both a malt counterbalance and magnificent floral aromatics. The Warrior IPA shined a burnished ruby-orange color with a thick frothy white head. In addition, resinous pininess dominated the nose and lingered into the flavor that complemented a lingering caramel and esterous body. The Amarillo IPA also held a shiny orange body with a similar thick white top. Great bitter hops and sweet malts play worked with a prominently astringent mouthfeel. The fruity esters of this beer were relatively subdued in contrast to the Warrior. This serves as a wonderful opportunity to educate the palate while enjoying some of the best hoppy beers on the planet.

Also pouring at Novare Res was Haverhill Brewing’s Ascension Ale, a Belgian-style American IPA hybrid. Featuring Pilsener malt, Saaz hops, and a boatload of zestiness, this 7.3% ABV brew did a nice job of melding grassy hops in an effervescent body.

There’s a lot of great beer to enjoy at Novare Res, but  it’s an easy place to miss. The entrance is in a tucked away alley just off the beaten cobblestone path. If you find yourself in Southern Maine, it’s a fantastic mellow environment to unwind at the end of the day and lose yourself in vast Belgian and regional offerings.

Coming up on April 27, Res Novare will feature eight taps of Scotland’s BrewDog beers, one on cask, and a representative from the brewery will be on hand.

Posted under beer reviews, places to drink beer

Thanks to the dudes at BS Brewing for coming out with their 33 Beers pocket sized beer journal and memory aid. Of late there have been a lot of great beers that we might have forgotten about had it not been for this handy little logbook. So, here we are again, about to run out of our stash, and soon to re-up. Here’s some of our last 33:

1. Avery Black Tot Rum Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout
2. Avery Brabant Barrel-aged Cheval de Trait Belge
3. Avery Sui Generis
4. Cascade 2005 Dry-hopped Beer of the Czars Baltic Porter
5. Oskar Blues Sour Ten Fidy Imperial Stout with Cherries
6. Avert Samael
   
7. BridgePort Old Knucklehead #11
8. Avery Hog Heaven
9. Caracole Troublette
10. Oakshire O’Dark:30 Cascadian Dark Ale
11. De Dolle Stille Nacht
12. Southern Tier Hoppe
13. Cantillon Gueuze
14. Diamondknot Industrial IPA
15. 2007 Hair Of The Dog Doggie Claws
16. 2007 Hair Of The Dog Fred From The Wood
17. Hair Of The Dog Blue Dot IPA
18. Pelican Tsunami Stout
19. Hair Of The Dog Ruth
20. Bridgeport Hop Czar
21. Klamath Basin 8 Second Pale
22. Roots Heather Ale
23. Roots Silent But Deadly Imperial Porter
24. Roots Flanders Red Ale
25. Hopworks For Those About To Bock
26. New Old Lompoc Saison The Beach
27. New Old Lompoc Simcoe Survivor Belgian IPA
28. Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton
29. Full Sail Hop Pursuit
30. Walking Man Foot Funk Wheat Ale
31. Beer Valley Rosebud IPA
32. Beer Valley Black Madness
33. Barley Brown’s Tumble Off Pale

Here’s a little on some of these fine brews:

Avery Black Tot Rum Barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout: One of a number of special beers that our man Preston “Beer Guy” Weesner was kind enough to share. He brought some palate bending specialties back from his trip to the Colorado, where he scoped out the exotic brews of the Boulder Sour Fest at Avery Brewery. This sour fest, so far, is the largest of its kind ever in North America. This non-sour beer poured pitch black with a circular tan head. Big oaty boozy nose. Lots of oat creaminess in the nose. Sticky big malt flavor. Somewhat cloying mouthfeel. Only 315 cases were bottled on January 13, 2010. At 10.08% ABV, this is a beer to be relished at a relaxed pace. Too bad, we had a few to try.

Avery Brabant Barrel-aged Cheval de Trait Belge: Another gold foil capped brew from Avery’s brewery-exclusive series.  Dark brown-black with bubbly gray head. Malty, Brettanomyces-laden nose. Fruity, mildly nutty, vinous character from Zinfandel barrels. Sharp, prickly mouthfeel. both aggressively sour and malt-forward with metallic bitter roast. Bottled on 2/10/09. 8.65% ABV. Thanks, Preston.

Avery Sui Generis: Again, a Preston special. I’ve always admired Avery. So much so, I named my cat Avery in honor of this fine brewery. This beer, at 10.20% ABV poured a deep orange-copper body with a silky white head. Fruity, yogurty lactic twang. Dark, dirty. Clanging hop sourness with a biting Pediococcus funk. Bottle dated 9/18/09. This completes the triumverate of these gold capped Avery brews from Preston. Thanks.

Cascade 2005 Dry-hopped Beer of the Czars Baltic Porter: Sampled on 3/12/10. Deep opaque brown with amber hints. Thick whitish head. Stale hoppy horse blanket funky sourness. Candied, full-on malty and cloying. Weird beer. Don’t think I’ve had a beer this sour and this hoppy before. Don’t really know what to make of it. Kind of like it. Kind of am freaked out by it. 8.5% ABV. We still have one of these in the cellar. Curious how it will taste in a year. Thanks to Ron Gansberg for popping open this from his secret stash.

Oskar Blues Sour Ten Fidy Imperial Stout with Cherries: Just when you think Preston Weesner has pulled out all the stops, he digs into his magic cooler and reveals a plain silver 12 ounce can of this potion. Supposedly, this was one of less than ten to make it into a container, this inoculated brew came back from Lyons, Colorado. Deep dark bodied like the “normal” Ten Fidy with a small tan head. Heavy molasses and sour fruity stinging nose of acetone. A barleywine by relegation, the character of this 11.5% ABV brew is, surprisingly subdued.

Cascade 2008 The Vine: Here’s a brew that has done some aging in a 750 ml bottle. Poured a light clouded golden-copper body with a clinging white top. Lots of coriander and cardamom. To a degree, overly spiced, sharp, stinging mouthfeel. American white wine grape runs all through this uber-spicy brew. Lots of sour. 9.2% ABV.

BridgePort Old Knucklehead #11: Here’s the 12 ounce of Old Knuck with Fred Eckhardt on the label (2003). Deep thick amber bodied English-style barleywine. Smell of wet cardboard and caramel. Oxidation presence but aged well otherwise. Sticky malt grit. Big on the sweet side with prominent fruity esters as well. 9.1% ABV.

Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hog Heaven is one of the best beers ever. With more IBU’s (100) than Avery’s Maharaja Imperial IPA and less alcohol (9.2% ABV), the Hog is the perfect marriage of hops and malts. Deep amber bodied with thick lasting head. Cha-ching! Leaves skull and crossbones on your tongue. Columbus citrus hops fruitiness with slight onion zest. Always a great decision!

De Dolle Stille Nacht: We recently were saddened by the news of a fire at the De Dolle fires that burned off the roof of the Belgian brewhouse, but thankfully all should be back to normal soon. A rare keg was tapped at Victory Bar recently to the delight of beer geeks like us. Big, bold 12% ABV (27 Plato), this beer made for Christmas (it’s name means “Silent Night”) makes use of a five hour boil. A brown-golden sticky body reveals complex hints of raisins, candy, plum, liquorish, honey and sugarplums. A shining hops attitude is checked by the monstrous yet perfectly balanced malt underpinning. Holy hot damn this beer is great!

Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton: Wild yeast, hand picked Muscat Grapes, and French oak barrels…what more could you ask for from one of the East Coast’s coolest breweries. Our friends Jim Bonomo and Theo Skourtis, two Beer Advocates, were kind enough to share a bit of this fabulous brew with us recently. Burnished tawny hued with a frothy white head, the flavor of sharp tart lemon resonates through this snappy brew. A nice dry residual mouthfeel makes you want to never stop quaffing. Like a great sour beer should, this beer possesses both a sharp peppery quality and a refreshing citrus pizazz. Mmmm mmm!

Oakshire O’Dark:30 Cascadian Dark Ale: On tap, this CDA is a bit different than from a bottle. I prefer the draught version. Almost opaque brown-black with a frothy whitish head. For a CDA, this beer lacks the piquant citrus nose that many other examples have exhibited. From first whiff, this beer could pass for a hoppy porter. Prevalent roastiness and coffee, tobacco notes.  Still, there’s no metal from husky bitterness that you’d get from a porter, hence the style. The pininess of hops comes to life in the lupulin bitterness and citrusness of the first few sips. Not the best example of the CDA style, but a well-built, sessionable dark brew. Plus, drinking it with Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk is even better.

Walking Man Foot Funk Sour Wheat Ale: After sampling the Sour Abbey Road thanks to our friend Erika at Saraveza, we were jazzed to get our taste buds on this beer. Special to the BrewPubliCrawl, this wheat ale is an inoculated Brett and Lacto version of the sessionable Crosswalk Wheat Ale readily available at the Stevenson, Washington brewpub. With extremely high expectations dues to the regularly awesome output of WM, this beer probably could only disappoint, but surprisingly, it did not. Our friend Ezra crowns the brewery’s wild ale efforts “perhaps the best West Coast made sour beer I have ever had.” Big words, but not without merit. This golden bodied 5% ABV brew was as refreshing as we’d hoped for. Perhaps the only missing component was the mildly watered down finish that slightly lacked the zingingly sour follow through we personally prefer. However, we did get our first quaffs following a day of palate bruising. Perhaps our cherished last growler will offer new insights to an intriguing brew from one of our all-time favorite breweries. Thanks Walking Man!

So there’s a few beer notes from our 33 Beers journal. Make sure to pick up your lil booklet soon and discover some great brews!

Posted under beer reviews

Another weekend has come and gone. This past one involved Spring-like weather in mid-February, something we are lucky to enjoy here in the Pacific Northwest. The cherry trees blossoming and several others budding made it clear that the coldest and darkest days of winter here are finally behind us. This lends itself to better accessibility to better beer. And, as you might expect, we took full advantage of this golden opportunity.

Friday

Friday kicked off with more of the same fantastic weather that would ensue all weekend long. The perennial crocuses made an appearance to soak up the warm sunshine along with a number of other budding plants that had remained dormant all winter. We enjoyed it the same, opening the glass facing on the screen door to let the warmth of this pseudo-spring in.

After enjoying the sunshine during the day, Friday night we went to the Portland International Film Fest. This great event showcases some of the best independent film-making from around the world. After a fun time at the fest, we visited our friend Jesse McCann at his soon to open Apex Taproom in SE Portland. Ezra’s New School Beer Blog had a nice write up earlier on Friday (here). This was the second time we’d actually gotten to look at the progress on Jesse’s new digs, and we have been anticipating it for quite a while. Located just across the street from our friends at The Beermongers, Apex is in a  great location, next to the hip new Los Gorditos Mexican restaurant. It has been evident of late that this emerging corner will surely be a hit in SE Portland. Apex, happily, will feature 50 craft beers on tap and has the cooler capacity for about 1500 bottles. The bar has not yet been built, but with the way things are going, an OLCC permit should be passed soon and things should be well on their way toward opening. Apex will also promote bicycling by offering about 60 parking spaces for the non-carbon burning commuters. The remainder of the lot will be utilized for outdoor seating, and a small portion will be set aside for a some motorcycle parking. Jesse’s involvement with New Belgium Brewing Company and love for bikes is evident and seems like a perfect fit for the spirit of Portlanders.

Jesse’s dad Dermot, an artist who lives in British Columbia, has been in town helping with much of the work needed to get the new bar open. Friday was Dermot’s 60th birthday and a small group gathered to celebrate whilst checking out the progress of Apex. It was a sort of beer potluck with some delicious beers being shared. On tap, Hopworks Lager, and New Belgium Ranger served as delicious refreshers, and a selection of bottles were shared. One particular highlight was a bottle of Lost Abbey Cable Car, an American Wild Ale that is hard to come across. All the hype aside, this sour brew was incredible with a world of out of this world complexities. Brewmaster Tomme Arthur sure does put forth some spectacular beers, and this one was a true delight. Thanks to Renata for sharing!

It was great to see our friends from Hopworks beer geek buds Chris “King C” Ensign, Ezra “Samurai Artist” Johnson-Greenough, Abram Goldman-Armstrong, Ritch “SNOB” Marvin, his wife Amy, and more!

Perhaps the highlight of the night besides just checking out the spot and gathering with other beer folks, was the appearance of Matt Phillips of Victoria, BC’s Phillips Brewing. According to Abram, Phillips’ Cascadian Dark Ale, known as Black Toque, is the first commercially released incarnation of the style. Friends with Dermot, Matt made the trip down with cases of his dankly delicious Hop Circle IPA. The beer possessed a citrusy fresh flavor that was very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing!

We are very much looking forward to hanging out at Apex with friends, playing some pinball, and indulging in a vast selection of killer brews. Kudos to Jesse and Dermot for a great atmosphere. We greatly look forward to frequenting Apex soon!

Saturday

With the sun still on center stage, some spring yard work was in order. Pulling some weeds and hedging a bit while quaffing a few bottles of Samuel Adams Noble Pils and Deschutes Red Chair NWPA was on the agenda early on before heading out into the day to see what was doing. We met with the good folks at Bar Avignon to discuss our upcoming BrewPubliCrawl. On March 20th, SE Division Street in Portland will feature a pub crawl/meet the brewers event including the best beer bars on the rue and some of the best beers and their brewers in Oregon. More details to come soon, but one thing is for sure: Avignon offers some awesome craft beers on tap. An under the radar Full Sail Bourbon Wassail blend that was featured at the Holiday Ale Fest is currently flowing, as is a Walking Man Belgian Pale Ale, Ninkasi ESB, Fort George’s North III and Vortex IPA, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye on cask, and the venerable North Coast Old Rasputin on draught. Owners Nancy Hunt and Randy Goodman’s great little tap selection is often overshadowed by their unbelievable collection of wines and spirits, but it is surely a classy spot not to be overlooked by a true beer geek.

After departing Avignon and enjoying affordable vegan entrees at Los Gorditos, we ventured north to Upright Brewing learn of a new collaboration beer between Upright’s Alex Ganum, Gerritt Ill, and Confucian Brewer Corey Blodgett. Another special one-off concocted specifically for the upcoming Portland Cheers to Belgian Beers event at Hopworks on May 1, 2010. The beer fittingly named Monk & Mingus will feature this year’s selected Belgian Farmhouse yeast and will be a strong dark farmhouse ale. Much of the secrets of this anticipated beer have yet to be revealed, but a great write-up on Corey Blodgett’s Confucian Brewer site is worth a read.

Northbound from Upright to Prost on Mississippi Street, much needed half-liters of Hacker-Pschorr Märzen and Radeberger Pils helped to refuel before trekking on to Killingsworth where we made a stop at one of our favorite bars, Saraveza. Here we enjoyed a variety of wonderful tasters including Russian River Supplication, Everybody’s Brewing Country Boy IPA, and New Belgium Beer de Mars.We met up here with Captain Neil Yandow of Belmont Station and made our way down the way to our main stop of the night.

Saturday was Samurai Artist’s birthday party at the Hop & Vine, another top notch beer spot just down the street from Saraveza. In the back yard a fire burned warming us during the clear cool February night. Another beer potluck was underway. Rare bottles of commercial beer as well as delicious homebrews flowed. Highlights for us included Jimmy Blum and Ritch Marvin’s Cascadian Dark Ale collaboration homebrew, a bottle of Cascade’s tart Apricot, and Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Strong Brown on tap.

Lots of great beer geeks were in attendance for Ezra’s hoorah. Our pals Gordon “El Gordo” and his lovely wife Katie gave us a ride (thanks a lot!) back to Southeast. We visited our neighborhood pub, Victory, where a recently beefed up line-up of taps made deciding that much harder. Owner and head bartender Yoni Laos poured Widmer’s Deadlift Imperial IPA as well Delerium Tremens, and a delicious Wandering Aengus cider. It’s always nice to close out a weekend night at Victory. Look for them as a stop on our March 20th Division Street BrewPubliCrawl as well!

Sunday

More sun-soaking relaxing on the sabbath. A little gardening prep work, a little lawn chair sittin’, and a bit of quaffery. Deschutes Green Lakes Organic Ale, Deschutes Red Chair, Widmer Broken Halo, and Sam Adams Noble Pils paired well with the 60-degree February. Good times. Great weekend.

Posted under beer reviews, 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