Hello sour beer lovers!  There is lots going on at the Barrel House this week, and we’ve outlined it all for you here…

If you haven’t yet attended our weekly “Tap It Tuesday” program – where we tap a live barrel of something really amazing – then make it a point to attend tonight, when we’ll tap a barrel of Cherry Bain de Brugge. This little brother of Bourbonic Plague, 2009 Bain de Brugge is a spiced porter with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel and star anise, additionally aged on cherries.  Look for hints of cherry sweetness throughout the deep maltiness of this cellared beer. The cherries appear again in the finish and leave a lingering sour coating on the palate. This is a single barrel project, one you won’t want to miss.  Tap It Tuesday takes place every Tuesday at 6 pm.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer awards, beer releases, events

Be sure to mark your social calendars for some pretty cool events that By The Bottle has planned. Co-founder Arlene Nunez say “Each event promises to be a bountiful source of new beer flavors and provocative beer experiences. From an introductory home-brewing class, for ladies only, to sour ales, new beer explorations await you.”

COMINGLE: A Collaborative Beer Tasting with Oakshire Brewing and Cascade Brewing, Friday, February 4, 2011

All events are held at By the Bottle, 104 W. Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver, WA, 98660, 360-696-0012, unless otherwise mentioned. Must be 21, bring valid photo ID. So sorry, no minors are allowed in the Bottle Shop or in the Tap Room, and, our Tap Room is cash only, thanks.

A free “Cool-laborative” Beer Tasting with Oakshire Brewing (Eugene, OR) & Cascade Brewing (Portland, OR) Come-mingle with Matt Van Wyk with Oakshire and Curtis Bain with Cascade at the same tasting! Matt is the Brewmaster for Oakshire, and Curtis is Cascade’s Master Educator on their signature Sour Ales. Both will be pouring your samples while discussing their beers. The samples they will be providing are free. Larger taster flights of four, for $5 will be available. Glasses/pints, depending on the beer, will be sold on draft.

Beer Menu (subject to change): Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer releases, places to drink beer, vintage beers

Here’s a look at some events happening around Beervana on Tuesday July 20, 2010 that you might consider. That is, if you have it in you…

Cascade Meet the Brewer – Join imagineer and brewmaster Ron Gansberg, Curtis Bain, and Cascade Brewing‘s talented staff to experience first hand a bit of sour magic as well as some hoppiness. The BeerMongers, in a series of meet the brewers going on this month will be tapping a keg of Cascades Summer Gose, a light, mildly tart beer perfect for summer and accented with a bit of salt and coriander spice. We’ve tried it and think it’s the best rendition of this year they’ve made yet. Also pouring will be Cascade’s generously hopped Summer Solstice IPA brewed especially for Oregon Craft Beer Month and the great summer weather. 5-8PM.

The BeerMongers is located at 1125 SE Division Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 234-6012.

Over the Edge – Belmont Station kicks off their week-long alternative to the Oregon Brewers Fest…or, as we like to think of it, a supplement. “Over the Edge” is a celebration of Oregon breweries that will not be in attendance at the OBF (Strange, that there are any not attending). It is recommended that you follow the bier cafe’s Twitter to get up to the minute tappings like Bend Brewing’s Eclipse Black IPA, Calapooia Devil’s Hole, Hop Valley Alphadelic IPA, Gilgamesh Chocolate Mint Stout, Boneyard Bone-a-Fide Pale, and Barley Brown’s cask conditioned WFO IPA. Special brewer tastings will be going on throughout the week and weekend. Find out more at www.belmont-station.com. Event kicks off at 3PM.

Belmont Station is located at 4500 SE Stark Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 232-8538.

Alameda Open House – Visit the Alameda Brewhouse and brewer Carston Haney for some special vintage samples from the brewery’s cellars, as well as cask pours of house favorites. Alameda will also be offering brewery tours throughout the day. Check ‘em out 4-8PM.

Alameda Brewhouse is located at 4765 NE Fremont Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 460-9025.

Lucky Lab Meet the Brewer – Stop by Lucky Labrador Beer Hall‘s Northwest Quimby location and meet brewers Ben Flerchinger and Casey Lyons and see why this brewpub is one of Portland’s most beloved. The brewers will be tapping special beers made especially for Oregon Craft Beer Month and will have some house favorites like Super Dog and Triple Threat IPA in house as well. Don’ t miss out on this opportunity! 4-9PM.

Lucky Lab‘s Quimby pub is located at 1945 NW Quimby Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 517-4352.

MacTarnahan’s Firkin Tapping – The brew team at MacTarnahan’s lead by head brewer Vasilios Gletsos celebrate Oregon Craft Beer Month with this month’s second tapping of a special dry-hopped Mac’s Amber from a cask barrel served to you right at the pub at Mac’s Taproom. If you haven’t experienced this rendition of the perennial gold medaling brew, now’s your chance. Bungs fly at 5pm.

MacTarnahan’s Taproom is located at 2730 NW 31st Avenue in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 228-5269.

Fred Eckhardt’s 19th Annual Beer & Cheese Tasting – Fred Eckhardt, author of “The Essentials of Beer Style,” says that the combination of wine and cheese leads to a “train wreck in the mouth.” Once again,Mr. Eckhardt will make his case that beer is the superior pairing with cheese at the 19th Annual Beer & Cheese tasting event at the Rogue Public House and Distillery in Portland’s Pearl District. During the event, Eckhardt will lead participants through a decadent multi-course tasting featuring predominantly Oregon hand-crafted beers and cheeses. Starts at 6PM.

Rogue Public House and Distillery is located at 1339 NW Flanders Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 222-5910.

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

Wednesday July 14, 2010 offers a lot of options for Beervana craft beer lovers. Here’s a look at where and what you could be quaffing on this fine day:

Upright Reggae Junkie Gruit Release and Meet the Brewers – Upright Brewing has been turning the Oregon craft beer world upside down with some unique and fantastic beers. Since they opened just over a year ago, brewers Alex Ganum and Gerritt Ill have taken imaginative brewing to a new level. Known well for their French farmhouse style brews, on this fine evening at The BeerMongers, the Upright boys release their seasonal noteworthy hops-free herb beer known as Reggae Junkie Gruit. Brewed with a tantalizing blend of lemongrass, sichuan peppercorns, orange peel and hyssop, the gruit is another in a long list of innovative beers that Upright continues to put forth. Also tapping is a grassy loaded-with-hops Bavarian Engelberg Pils. 6-8PM.

The BeerMongers are located at 1125 SE Division Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 234-6012

Cascade Brewing Night at Puckerfest, Belmont Station – Puckerfest rolls on with more tart and wild brews than you can shake a stick at. Cascade brewer and sour champion Curtis Bain presents three very special sour ales on this night: The Manhattan Transfer, special blend of Pale Quad aged in Heaven Hill barrels, Tripel, and Sour Pie Cherry Kriek;  Noyeaux, a blend of Belgian spiced blonds, aged in white port barrels with raspberries and toasted inner pits of apricots used for the Cascade Apricot Ale; and the highly acclaimed dark, puckering, and complex Sang Noir. If you haven’t been by Puckerfest yet this year, what are you waiting for?! 6-8PM.

Belmont Station is located at 4500 SE Stark Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 232-8538.

Imperial IPA Fest Kick-off – Do you love hops? If so, this night is for you. In fact, the next five days are a dream come true for you. With more than 30 IIPAs being tapped throughout the week, Saraveza begins IIPA Fest with a bang. Tapping tonight: Beer Valley Leafer MadnessBlack Madness (a special blend of Leafer and the boisterously lupulin’d Black Flag Imperial Stout), Laurelwood Green Mammoth (debuting!), Oakshire Glen’s Hop Vice, and Ninkasi Tricerahops (gold medal winner at North American Beer Awards 2010). Brewer-owner Pete Ricks of Beer Valley, Oregon’s easternmost brewer, will in be in attendance, as will Laurelwood brewmaster Chad Kennedy. Folks with free tickets will receive a free Saraveza 32 ounce mason jar and get a fill for the price of a pint. Brewpublic is proud to sponsor this event. For more information go to http://brewpublic.com/events.

Saraveza is located at 1004 N. Killingsworth Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 206-4252

Hopworks Happy Hour Beer Pairing – Join Comune Accanto and the brewers of Hopworks Urban Brewery for a special marriage of happy hour delicacies and HUB’s award winning brews.

FRITTO MISTO – Fried shrimp, calamari, fennel, lemon and olives, Hub Lager

ROASTED APRICOT AND ARUGULA SALAD – With pancetta and aged balsamic vinegar, Evelyn Sunshine Imperial IPA

HOUSE MADE RABBIT & ROSEMARY SAUSAGE – With slow cooked sweet peppers ,onions and crispy polenta, Deluxe Organic Ale

TAGLIERINI ARRABIATA – With local porcini mushrooms, chiles and tomatoes, Survival “7 grain” Stout

LOCAL CHERRY AND BLUEBERRY CROSTATA – With basil crème fraiche gelato, Velvet Underground Imperial black ESB

HUB’s famous beer bike will be on hand as well with pint specials. Bon appetit!

Comune Accanto is located at 2838 SE Belmont Street in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call (503) 235-4900

Posted under Oregon beer, beer and food, beer events, beer releases, places to drink beer

In Beervana, the weekend weather may have not felt like a lead-up to summer, but as far as the beer was concerned, we really couldn’t have ask for any better. Though today, Monday the 21st, marks the actual first day of summer, and the longest day of the year, Saturday June 19 marked the day for Cascade Brewing’s Summer Solstice Celebration at the Raccoon Lodge. This family friendly event was a multifaceted affair, featuring all four of the brewery’s revival brews, and was wittily dubbed “The Four Goses of the Apuckerlypse.” On the serene Douglas-fir laden beer garden, the barbecue crackled and many a tasty beer was poured including a special cask of Cascade’s floral Summit and Chinook-hopped Summer Solstice IPA and the latest version of The Vine, a special blend of their Triple, Blonde Quad, and Golden ales that have been re-fermented with the fresh pressed juice of white wine grapes. Spending more than six months of lactic fermentation and aging in small oak barrels, this beer, as some might remember was a hit at this year’s Fred Fest at Hair of the Dog Brewing.

After ordering up a flight of the Four Goses, we joined Brewmaster Ron Gansberg and Curtis Bain for an always welcomed trip into the brewhouse, where we experiences some more specialty treats. These included a new Brettanomyces brew with cherries known as Beckomyces Asscracky, a young incarnation of the latest Vlad the Imp Aler (rumored to soon be making its way into bottles), and perhaps the highlight of the Cascade tasting experience, a special on-hand barrel blend of a forthcoming The Bourbonic Plague, featuring three different barrel-aged dark ales consisting of dark fruits, and Bourbocide, a mind-tingling oaky delight.

After the blending madness commenced, some bottles were enjoyed. We opened a cellared bottle of Ithaca Brewing’s Excelsior! Le Bleu, a blend of 8 different wine barrels of aged sour beers from 2007, 2008 and 2009 each spiked with 50 pounds of fresh, hand-crushed New York blueberries, then inoculated with Drie Fonteinen Brett yeast and conditioned with champagne yeast. This beer that was a gift from our dear friends Joshua and Buck who currently reside in Upstate New York was quite effervescent a crisp, mildly tart, and poured a pretty garnet hue with a long standing white head.

Curtis dug into the cellar and pulled out a treat of his own. From his native state of Utah, he managed to get his hands on a 750ml bottle of Squatters Fifth Element. Brewed December 2007 and laid down to age in oak barrels January 2008. This highly regarded brew poured a straw yellow color with a large toppling white head. It’s commercial description indicates “It has light peach/fruit notes and a beautiful golden hue. High carbonation created during bottle conditioning gives it a champagne like texture on the pallet. It finishes slightly tart and cleansing.” That pretty much sums it up. One of the most refreshing Saisons to pass our palates in some time.

To complete a bottle trilogy, Cascade brewer John Berry, the architect of Cascade’s aforementioned Summer Solstice IPA, went into the coffers and extricated an unmarked champagne bottle filled with last year’s Vlad the Impaler. Named one of Draft Magazine’s top 25 beers of 2009, Vlad also took home a silver medal at last fall’s Great American Beer Festival in the wood and barrel aged beers category (In case you missed the news, the gold medal in this delineation went to none other than the Bourbonic Plague!). Being one of the first souls to experience a side-by-side of the two Vlads was a distinct pleasure.

Wood aged Pale Quadruppel. Imagine a blend of Scaldis and Cantillon Pure Kriek. Forget it, there is nothing like it (yet). Vlad is shocking to your sour beer senses and taste buds, which do not understand that such a balanced delicate sour beer can be so drinkable and appeal to so many people while being extreme. But don’t forget, it will still open a can of 10.2% whoop-ass on your ass after all the pomp & circumstance of what an amazing beer it is subsides.

After all the mayhem amidst the cooperage, the late spring sun made a cameo and Gansberg’s bluegrass-folk band, Black Lodge, hit the stage and knocked out some toe tapping tunes that included a slice of Americana and some beloved rock and folk covers.

Despite the slow start to the warm season, at least this year, the festivities at the Raccoon Lodge didn’t include rain. Last year’s June 22 Solstice celebration saw folks run for cover and pack under the tent when large drops plopped down.  Warmer, shorter days are on their way….

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer reviews, brewpubs, 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

After three days of bottling, Cascade Brewing at the Raccoon Lodge have completed filling 675 cases of their Kriek. This sour cherry ale offers a rich, lush, fruity nose and lactic tart mildly creamy refreshing flavor to match. Brewmaster Ron Gansberg says of this oak barrel-aged and carefully blended brew “Much like the Apricot (Ale), the Kriek offers a lot more of the fruit essence than the previous year’s. I think we really did it with this one.” And he’s right. There isn’t anything to critique about this particular brew. Gansberg adds “It will be interesting to see how this beer develops with age.”

Since acquiring a twelve-head bottling machine from Wandering Aengus Ciders last year, Cascade has successfully placed three unique sour styles into 750 ml champagne bottles with cork and cage. In addition to the most recent Kriek, other resale bottles include the aforementioned ’09 Apricot and the brewery’s first release of Sang Rouge, a blend of tart red ales.

Cascade Brewing has been quite busy of late. In addition to bottling some specialty sours, the brewery is working hard to open their Southeast Portland Barrel Room. Here, not only will the public be able to enjoy a wide variety of Cascade’s highly sought after brews and guest taps, but several barrels of rare craft beers already begin maturation. Last week, the concrete floor was cut for plumbing. Soon enough, Portland will be home to another spectacular beer destination.

Read more on the wonderful sours of Cascade in this article by John Foyston in Mix Magazine.

Follow Cascade Brewing on their Facebook page here.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news

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

One of Oregon’s most anticipated brew events kicks off this Saturday. On February 13, 2010, the second year of Zwickelmania, a celebration of craft beer, gives thirsty beer lovers across Beervana an inside glimpse into daily Oregonian brewhouse operations and even better, provides them with tastes of what we love.

Running from 11 am to 4pm, Zwickelmania, in conjunction with the Oregon Brewers Guild, is a free statewide event that offers visitors a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers and sample their favorite beers.

Here’s some highlights of this year’s Zwickelmania that we recommend you check out if you get the chance.

Caldera Brewing: In Oregon’s deep (Ashland, Oregon) , beer lovers can meet founder and president Jim Mills at the pub, try a range of Caldera’s wonderful brews including their Rose Pedal Golden, Ginger Pale, Dry-hopped Orange, Hopportunity Knocks, Lawnmower Lager, Pilsner, and more. Also, get sick deals on beer. Mills says “I’ll be at the brewery for Zwickelmania selling cases of cans for $20. Shirts, hats, goodies also available.”

Caldera Brewing Company, 540 Clover Lane, Ashland, OR 97520

Caldera Tap House, 31 Water St #2, Ashland, OR 97520

541-482-HOPS

Fort George Brewery: Speaking of expansion, the good folks at Fort George Brewing in picturesque Astoria, Oregon are growing their brewery to a full city block, increasing volume to a 30-barrel system, and planning to unleash their citrusy, piny hop treat, Vortex India Pale Ale, in tallboy (16-ounce) cans. Yeah, we can’t wait either! Head brewer Jack Harris says “Spencer (Gotter) will be brewing Nut Red Ale and giving brewery tours on Saturday. We will be sampling the Illuminator Dopplebock out of the magic zwickel.” On top of all this, February is Stout Month at Fort George, and this means a buttload of grubbin’ dark roasty treats and killer guest taps (Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, Stone RIS). You don’t have to be a Goonie to wanna do the truffle shuffle over these brews!

1483 Duane Street Astoria, Oregon 503-325-PINT(7468) fortgeorgebrewery.com

Vertigo Brewing: Hillsboro’s nano brewers, Vertigo will be serving up an assortment of their scrumptious brews including the Razz Wheat, Schwindel Alt, TBD Blonde, High Altitude Amber, Friar Mike’s IPA and High Dive Rye. But since the brewery is so small, brewer Mike Haines says “these could change rapidly as we go through the kegs.” Get it while the gettin’s good.

21420 Northwest Nicholas Ct., Hillsboro, OR 97124 www.vertigobrew.com

Ambacht Brewing: Hillsboro, Oregon’s other nano brewery, Ambacht, has been under the radar for some time. After lots of preparation and recipe development, the beer is finally ready to pour. Meet brewer Tom Kramer and sample an assortment of their unique beers including a Belgian-style pale ale called Ambacht Golden Ale, available at the brewery in 750 ml bottles for purchase.

1055 NE 25th Ave Suite N., Hillsboro, Oregon 503-828-1400 http://ambacht.us/

Oakshire Brewing: For those of you who will be in the Emerald City aka Eugene, Oregon, make sure to hit up one of Oregon’s best breweries, Oakshire. Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk, Co-Founder Jeff Althouse, and Head Brewer Joe Jasper will all be on hand to talk shop, give tours fill corn cans and provide good cheer. It also looks as though these guys might have the most impressive line-up of anyone for Zwickelmania: Oakshire Amber, Watershed IPA,Overcast Espresso Stout,Two Wheeler IPA, Frog’s Wort Pale Ale, Ill Tempered Gnome, Harvest Ale, Red Nugget, 09 Sasquatch, Duck Billed Platypus, Cascade Conundrum, Perfect Storm, and Bourbon Barrel Aged IPA! Hot damn!

1055 Madera St., Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.oakbrew.com

Hopworks Urban Brewery: Assistant Brewmaster Ben Love tells us that HUB will be doing brewery tours every half hour, sampling beer off the zwickel in the cooler (as expected) and on the Bar Bike and playing washoes!!!!! The brewpub will also be unveiling a new lager called For Those About to Bock.

Full Sail Breweries: Two location (Hood River and Portland, OR) will feature some rare treats including a new Brewers Share handle Collin’s Dark Secret (based on FS Packaging Manager Collin Godkin’s recipe) paired with artisan chocolate. Guided Brewery Tours at 12, 1, 2, 3and 4PM.

Full Sail Tasting Room and Pub, 506 Columbia Street, Hood River, Oregon 541-386-2247

Full Sail at Riverplace, 0307 SW Montgomery, Portland, Oregon 503-222-5343

www.fullsailbrewing.com

Gilgamesh Brewing: Turner, Oregon’ start-up brewery has been receiving quite a bit of buzz of late. Their presence at the Oregon Wine, Food, & Brew Festival at the fairgrounds in Salem last month made quite an impression on folks. Amidst an expansion process that will grow the nano brewery from a one-barrel system to a seven-barrel system, the Gilgamesh crew will take time out of their busy schedule to serve up free samples and sell growlers at the Willamette Valley Vineyards’ Pinot & Chocolate Celebration in Salem. In a recent email, Gilgamesh said “This is sure to be a great day with some of Willamette Valley Vineyards’ special Pinot Noir that is only served to the public this one day of the year. There will be different companies with chocolates and candies… and now GILGAMESH BREWING! We will have our Chocolate Mint Stout (naturally!), as well as two other brews on tap so please come on out to visit!” We sure hope the other brews  will be their Black Mambabeer brewed with black tea (instead of hops) and tangerine peels, or maybe their Cranberry Saison. Either way, beer geeks near Salem who like off-the-wall brews should check this out!  Please see Willamette Valley Vineyards’ site if you need more info – http://www.wvv.com/whatsnew/#events210.

Pyramid Breweries at MacTarnahan’s Taproom: The NW Portland brewery will offer two separate tasting tables in the Taproom for Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s brands as well as complimentary three-ounce samples of six different beers including Mac’s new Spine Tingler Belgian-Style Tripel and Pyramid’s latest Ingnition Series release, a “Barbed Wire” Imperial Hefeweizen. There will also be complimentary light appetizers, a short walking tour of facility culminating in a sample of Haywire Hefeweizen from the Zwickel on a brite beer tank.Brewers Tom Bleigh, Vasilios Gletsos, and others will be on hand to discuss offerings.

2730 NW 31st Ave.,Portland, Oregon 503-228-5269 www.macsbeer.com

Upright Brewing: Always feels like Zwickelmania at Upright. These guys love making imaginative beer with a don’t give a damn attitude. Brewer and owner Alex Ganum says Upright’s first Zwickelmania event will highlight a firkin of the Four, a wheaten farmhouse ale, dry-hopped with a pinch of Mt. Rainier hops. Brewer Gerritt Ill will be pouring bottles of random Upright favorites as well.They will be rockin’ until 6PM as well.

240 N Broadway, Portland, Oregon 503-735-5337  www.uprightbrewing.com

Cascade Brewing: Stop by the Raccoon Lodge and say hello to the Ron Gansberg, Curtis Bain, and Chris Baggenstraus of Cascade who are taking time out of their very busy schedule to unleash some unbelievable brews. Recognized globally for their sour, lactic, and fruit and spice infused recipes, this could very easily be the hot spot for this year’s Zwickelmania.  Brewmaster Gansberg discloses “For Zwickelmania, we will be tasting select beers from the oak barrels. We will taste the Spring Gose from the Zwickel, as well as the Noyeaux…a blend of White Port barrel aged Strong Blond Ale on Raspberries blended with Noyeaux…apricot nut infused Tripel. We will also release this years Apricot and Sang Rouge for tasting and sale from the bottle!” Servus!

7424 Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway Portland, Oregon (503) 296-0110 www.raclodge.com

New Old Lompoc: Stop by the 5th Quadrant brewery for a special tasting experience at one of Portland’s best breweries. Brewer Bryan Kielty says “We’ll have the Lompoc Lounge set up in the brewery and have two beers on tap there. Brewery tours given by Dave Fleming and myself and tasting off of different tanks from 11:00AM-5:00PM. SideBar will be open 11:00 AM-9:00PM with a bunch of crazy beer on tap (Bourbon Barrel Aged LSD, 69 Baltic Porter, Double Dry Hopped Cnote, and Old Tavern Mouse). We will also be serving pulled pork sliders at SideBar.”  This is a must stop for craft beer lovers!

3901 N. Williams, Portland, Oregon (503) 595-1876 www.newoldlompoc.com

BridgePort Brewpub: What would a Zwickelmania be without visiting a piece of Oregon’s craft beer history? Bob Negele, general manager of retail operations at BridgePort tells us

that we have “some compelling reasons to come by BridgePort this Saturday as part of the Zwickelmania Celebration:

* First 50 people who come into the brewpub between 11:30am – 4:00pm with two cans of food for donation to the Oregon Food Bank will receive free of charge a BridgePort growler; all they need to do is pay $11.00 for a fill. Regularly a $27.00 value

* We encourage everyone to bring cans of food to be donated to OFB, we’ll be offering $2.75 pints from 11:30am – 4:00pm

* We’ll conducting brewery tours on the hour 12-4pm.

* Great food specials that day.”

1313 NW Marshall St., Portland, Oregon (503) 241-7179 www.bridgeportbrew.com

Bend Brewing: Central Oregon’s finest microbrewery, Bend Brewing will offer a special tour of the downtown bend brewpub. On this special day, Hophead IPA and Outback X will be pouring on tap. Also with a collaboration between Tonya Cornett and Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton. called Desert Rose will be available. This distinctly refreshing offering is based on a Berliner Weisse but brewed with dried cranberry and hibiscus. If you can, don’t be ridiculous…be it! Days like this we wish we had a private jet and personal pilot.  Prost!

For a complete listing of 2010 Zwickelmania events visit http://www.oregonbeer.org/zwickelmania

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

Brewpublic Visits Cascade Brewing at Raccoon Lodge from Brewpublic.com

Posted under Oregon beer