Schwarzenfreude is a first-ever collaboration brew with the Pelican Pub & Brewery and Gigantic Brewing Company. Founded by former Pelican brewer Ben Love and Van Havig, Gigantic is a new brewery scheduled to open in SE Portland this Spring.

Schwarzenfreude was designed and brewed for the Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer releases, brewpubs, press releases

Only 240 cases of mother of all storms, formerly known as the perfect storm, will be released

Booking “Mother’s Day” Package only way to guarantee case of Mother of all Storms

The Pelican Pub & Brewery will release its famous Mother of All Storms beer on November 19, 2010, which the Pelican is naming “Mother’s Day.”

Mother of All Storms, formerly known as The Perfect Storm, has caused quite a stir over the last couple years and has sold out quickly.  Mother of All Storms is produced in an extremely limited quantity and only 240 cases will be produced in 2010.  This year, the only guaranteed way to get a bottle (or more) of Mother of All Storms is to attend “Mother’s Day” on Friday, November 19 beginning at 8 a.m. or to book the “Mother’s Day” Package for Thursday, November 18 through the Inn at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City.

The “Mother’s Day” Package is for one night only—November 18, the night before the Mother of All Storms is officially released.  Those who book it will be guaranteed a case of Mother of All Storms delivered to their room on Mother’s Day (November 19) and avoid the hassle of waiting in line.  The package includes one night in a Kiwanda Guest Room at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda on November 18, a guaranteed case of the Mother of All Storms delivered to the room on November 19 and a limited edition Mother of All Storms t-shirt.  Please call the Inn at 1-888-965-7001 for more information, pricing or to book your room.  Dog-friendly rooms are available.

The Mother of all Storms is based on Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer releases, brewpubs, press releases

The artisan brewers of Pelican Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon have announced the release of one of Oregon’s favorite fresh hop beers. Brewed only once a year at peak hop season, their Elemental Ale is made with 450 pounds of freshly picked, “wet” Sterling hops from Goschie Farms in Silverton, Oregon. The hops are only three hours from the vine when they go into the kettle. The mash tun was also used as a hop back, holding 300 pounds of hops. This beer features a huge floral, spicy, grassy aroma with a firm malt background and a huge, snappy hop finish. Head to the Pelican to get some before it’s gone! Here’s some pictures of this year’s Pelican Elemental Fresh Hop brewing process:

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news, beer releases, places to drink beer, press releases

On July 14 in honor of the French National Holiday, Bastille Day, Pelican Brewery will release a new one-off beer called “The Guillotine,” which is made with experimental hops from Alsace, France. The Guillotine will be an international-style pale ale that is golden hued and slightly stronger than other brews at 6 percent ABV—a perfect beer for summertime on the Pelican patio. The Guillotine will be available on draft only.

We recently spoke with Pelican brewmaster Darron Welch to find out more about this exciting if not interesting new beer.

“This (hop) is an experimental variety from the grower’s co-op” said Welch. “It’s the first product of the breeding program.” When asked what the hop is called, Welch said “It’s a no-name hop. It’s referenced as P05-9.”  So how did a craft brewer on the Oregon Coast come to find such a specimen? “I came across a tiny booth at the Craft Beer Conference in Chicago a few months ago” said Welch. ” A representative there named Francis (Heitz) and I got to talking about experimental aroma hops. And, he asked about (Pelican) doing variety brewing trials.”

Interested in the hop mentioned by Heitz, Welch and company returned to their quiet life and brewing routines in Pacific City. “About six or eight weeks later a mystery box arrived at the brewery” said Welch. “I had forgotten about it.” With the shipping information lost in transit, Welch spent the next week and a half trying to figure out who sent it. Finally he was able to discover that his new friend from France had been responsible. When we spoke with Pelican’s brewmaster, he was just gettin ready to brew a batch of beer with the new hops. “We’re making a beer designed to be straight ahead” he stated. “It will be a beer that allows for the characteristic of the hop to be prominent.” The beer will employ Northwest Pale Malt at 14 Plato and 40 bittering units, folks able to try it at the pub will find a hop-forward beer with a bitter 1.3 kilos of lupulin. “(We) used Magnum (hops) for 90 minutes in the boil. The entire (experimental P05-9) hop charged the beer as a dry hop addition in a 15 barrel batch” siad Welch. When asked about what sort of attributes the new hop will provided to the brew, Welch said he was unsure. “According to (Heitz’s) description, it’s a mild green herbal variety; spicy and slightly citrus.”

Are you a beer geek? Did you need an excuse to get down to the Oregon Coast this summer? Looks like now you’ve got one.

The Pelican Pub & Brewery is located at 33180 Cape Kiwanda Drive in picturesque Pacific City, Oregon. Visit them online at www.pelicanbrewery.com

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

A few years ago, if someone was to tell me that Idaho Falls, Idaho was a must visit spot for craft beer, I’d have laughed at the notion. However, as the craft beer revolution unfold before our very palates, more towns like Asheville, Astoria, and now Idaho Falls are putting up a good fight to liberate libators of the dud suds. Granted, there’s a lot of work to be done, and the battle is uphill. It was evident from the tap selection at pedestrian establishments like Appleby’s that the conglomerate macrobrewers still have a stranglehold on people’s options and perception of beer. One good thing about macrobeer and big scale craft beer, is you can often count on invariability. The Blue Moon White, Widmer Hefeweizen, and New Belgium Fat Tire I drank at Appleby’s were all certainly clean, crisp, and as I expected them to be. You’d be hard pressed to find one of these beers on tap and be a sour or butter bomb (save for somewhere that doesn’t move the beer quickly enough, stow it properly, or neglects keeping taplines clean). On this first evening in Idaho Falls, I was satisfied knowing that there would be a lot of different beers in the week ahead. Not just the flights of beers to judge, but at the Mountain Brewers Beer Festival that would be the highlight of the week. Further, my roommate for the week, Shawn Kelso of Barley Brown‘s, brought growlers of his hop-forward craft beers that I prefer to most.

Judging at the North American Beer Awards

At the conference center of Idaho Falls’ Red Lion hotel, panels of beer judges, including myself, worked through what would be 149 flights and nearly 1,200 beers. Following a truncated first evening of judging on Tuesday, the real legwork began Wednesday at  a.m. Many folks not in the know might perceive beer judging as a drinkfest; one that is fun, easy, and cool to do. But judging beer, as anyone who is a seasoned BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) student knows, is hard work that requires arduous note taking, advanced sensory awareness, adequate communicative skills, and the innate ability to discern an array of characteristics and off-flavors in an objective and categorical manner.

To be honest, my beer judging experience coming into this year’s panel was rather limited, though I was working from a mostly hermeneutic consistency standpoint. This means I have, for some time, analyzed beer in a manner that is consistent and involves coherent explanation. Basically, I’ve critically tasted a boatload of beers with the objective of identifying the characteristics that substantiate each one. I’ve been involved with a few BJCP courses and have come to appreciate the range of interpretations one person’s palate can hold over that of the next. Still, the majority of my critiquing of beer has been at homebrew competitions and in various round tables with other beer-minded folks.

In the room was a smorgasbord of varying experience levels when it comes to critical analysis. To be honest, I would have to rate myself somewhere in the middle. I view this experience as a stepping stone toward further enhancing my ability to characterize and methodologically understanding what defines a beer as more than simply “good” or “bad.” In the room was accomplished brewers like Pelican’s Darron Welch, Widmer’s Ben Dobler  and founder Rob Widmer, to name a few. These are folks I respect deeply when it comes to quality, consistency, and dedication to their trade. They each have a practical scientific and theoretical understanding of brewing, from boiler to bar top, that I’d be safe to say dwarfs my own. Still, from my vantage point, the hermeneutics behind me probably tasting more brands of beers critically than the average brewmaster could have added an interesting element to the equation and outcomes. I was nonetheless approaching this experience humbly and with much to learn.

Discussing the elements that qualify and quantify beers is a great way to learn and enhance your palate and perception. The average beer drinker likely knows a badly skunked beer when she tastes it, but the nuances of ingredient play and subtle off-flavors like diacetyl and DMS are probably not on everyone’s mental checklist. Most folks, even those who train themselves in the ways of objectiveness, are still swayed by marketing, especially attractive and beckoning labels on beer. The great thing about beer judging is trying a brew in a bare-bones environment where the appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and overall impression are what dictates your feelings about the beer. There’s also the biases each judge and taster brings with him to the table. For someone who really doesn’t enjoy the bitterness of an IPA or the sourness of a lambic, it is quite important for him to be cognizant of these feelings as personal preferences, and to develop the ability to discern quality in accordance with fixed style guidelines.

Wednesday June 2

The first full day of judging at NABA began early. While 9 a.m. typically is a good time to begin your day, it’s not, at least for me, the ideal time to begin ingesting alcoholic beverages. So, it’s safe to say, it was hard to get going. At my first table of tasting beer with alcohol (the night before I judged carbonated soft drinks and non-alcoholic beer), I was  joined by brewer Rudy Borrego of Snake River Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Todd Campbell of Pelican Brewing, a few NABA folks, and a nice woman named Michelle from Ball Corporation, world’s leading suppliers of rigid metal and plastic packaging products and services (among many things, Ball makes cans for beer). Local homebrewer and NABA volunteer named John was also in the panel. A friendly man, John provided me with a little insight to the goingson in Idaho Falls. “There’ s really nothing here for young adults” he commented “It’s boring.” John was content living here and enjoyed the quiet life. I figured that by the end of the week, I’d be ready to return to Portland where there’s no shortage of great beer and progressive artistic culture. While waiting for our first flight to arrive, John spoke of the two malting facilities in town. Anheuser-Busch and Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona) were two imposing structures visible from highway 15 as we approached town. Talking with John and folks from AB and Modelo, the grain of Idaho is a matter of local pride. The region boasts some of the best and widely abundant barley harvest and malt production in North America. Interestingly, John mentioned that Idaho Falls has more beers per capita than any other city.

At 9:30 a.m., our table received a flight of entries for the brown porter category (10A). Being a preliminary round, it was our table’s mission to find the three best representations of the style and advance them to another round. By 11 a.m. we were working on Irish Reds (category 8D). And, at noon, the hotel staff catered in food. It would turn out to be the same offering each day, cold cuts, not something I as a vegetarian was too enthusiastic about. Still, there was beer, a lot more beer.

After the break, three more categories would find their way to groups I was assigned to. After meeting an assortment of mostly friendly and interesting people, and laboring through Belgian Wits (16A), American Pale Ales (6c), and  liver-bending Wood Flavored Beer (18c), the work day had commenced. As interesting as evaluating myriad beer styles, was the side conversation of folks. Gathering an understanding of these Americans’ backgrounds and lives. One gentleman offered an idea for a beer blend consisting of Anchor Old Fog Horn and Pyramid Apricot that I will have to try someday soon.

After Wednesday’s judging was complete, Shawn and I retired to our room to relax and unwind. A spot of  Barley Brown’s Turmoil Cascadian Dark Ale was surprising well received by my body after this full day of sipping. Soonafter, we headed over to Idaho Brewing near downtown to attend a private party being thrown for NABA judges. This wonderful event included a spread of free food, a live band, and a variety of free beer from different Idaho breweries. Of all the tasty craft beers available, my preferred brew of the night was Lost Continent Double IPA from Grand Teton Brewing in Victor. Despite troubling weather reports, the evening stayed dry and relatively warm. This made for a nice relaxing experience on the brewpub’s deck that featured a beautiful pink sunset.

Thursday June 3

Morning seemed to come sooner Thursday than it did the morning before. Perhaps the second Double IPA and nightcap were not the wisest of decisions. A 9 a.m. panel featured a sizable number of American Pale Ales (6c), followed by Strong Pale Ales (6E), German Pilsners, and a medal round flight of Brown Porters. Again, this education experience was filled with getting to meet new people like Tony Savoy, the brewer-owner of Flyers Restaurant and Brewery on Whidbey Island in Washington. I’d actually met Tony before at festivals, but never got to talk to him much though I have greatly enjoyed his beers. I really enjoyed judging with him and learning more about his brewing background that involved a stint at Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Near the end of the judging day around 4pm, Andy Shaw of Grupo Modelo, a local guy who has been involved with NABA since its inception back in 1997, announced a barbecue that he was hosting at his home. I was quick to see that Andy was a charismatic presence at the event and most of the returning judges where friendly with him. Andy arranged a taxi shuttle to bring groups of people to his home about three miles from the Red Lion. Here, Andy and his wife graciously provided an amazing spread of food coupled with some of Andy’s impressive homebrews. On tap he offered a stout, Bavarian hefe, and perhaps the hit of the night, a pale ale brewed exclusively with New Zealand Nelson Sauvon hop, that emitted a wonderfully floral gooseberry and chive aroma. Matt Beamer from Squatters Brewing of Salt Lake City, Utah also provided tasty bottles of their Hop Rising Double IPA and their Saint Provo Girl Pilsner.

Around 7 p.m., I was quite tuckered  and ready to call it a night. So, back to the hotel to catch some of the NBA Finals on television and rest up for the next morning. On Friday a bit more judging would continue before the NABA medals would be doled out at 5 p.m.This was going to be the home stretch for the judging. However, the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest on Saturday, I knew, would likely be the biggest beer event of all.

To be continued…

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

Last week at the conclusion of the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago, the biannual World Beer Cup (WBC) was held.  This global competition with a majority of American entries, has run since 1996 with an ultimate goal to create “greater consumer awareness about different beer styles and flavor profiles while promoting international brewing excellence.” A panel of certified beer judges were in place to honor the top three beers in 91 categories with gold, silver, and bronze awards. The World Beer Cup, one the most prestigious beer competitions in the world, witnessed 13 Oregon breweries take home medals in 2010. Here’s a look at some of the winners.

WINNERS

Oregon breweries claimed six gold, four silver, and three bronze medals at the 2010 WBC, second to only California who claimed 45 medals (but also entered 185 more beers than Oregon). Among the Oregon winners, was Bend Brewing Company (BBC). Accomplished brewmaster Tonya Cornett continued her winning ways for BBC. Cornett won top honors in the strong ale beer style category for its Outback X, a beer Cornett describes as demonstrating “roasted malt with hints of hops in the nose leading to a rich, roasted malt flavor with a background of dried fruits and sherry.”

“The Outback X was originally brewed for our ten-year anniversary,” Cornett explains. “We re-brewed it because people liked it so much, and I am thrilled that it just keeps doing as well as it does.” This is the third gold medal for Outback X.

This year, 642 breweries from 44 countries and 47 U.S. states vied for WBC awards, making for the world’s largest-ever commercial beer competition. Winners were selected by an international panel of 179 beer judges, including Cornett, who served a first-time WBC judge this year. “Sixty-five percent of the judges are from other countries,” she says. “I felt really fortunate to judge alongside and learn so much from them.”

In addition to the gold medal win for Outback X, Cornett garnered glory for her traditional stein lager recipe, which won a silver medal for Lost Abbey Brewery of San Marcos, California. Cornett teamed with award-winning Lost Abbey Head Brewer Tomme Arthur last year to brew two versions of traditional stein lager using molten rocks to set the wort to boil. Hot Rocks Stein Lager, created by Cornett and brewed by Arthur, took silver at WBC.

BBC has won 12 brewing competition medals in the last four years. This is Cornett and BBC’s sixth gold. In 2008, Cornett was honored as the first woman to win the title of World Beer Cup Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year. BBC simultaneously won Small Brewery of the Year. “I am actually better known in the international brewing community than I am in Bend,” jokes Cornett.

Shawn Kelso of Barley Brown’s Brewpub in Baker City, Oregon, much like Cornett, has been proving that it doesn’t take a large brewery to rake in medals. Kelso, on Barley Brown’s four-barrel brew system took home gold for Shredders Wheat, in the American-style wheat category. The same brew that landed the brewpub a Silver at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest (GABF) was now at the top of the pack. Look for more great beers from Kelso and Barley Brown’s to come. Rumor has it the brewhouse could be seeking out a larger brew system in the 10-15 barrel range to keep up with increasing demand for their delicious brews.

Caldera Brewing of Ashland scooped up two wins at this year’s WBC including a gold medal for their Rauch Ur Bock in the Smoked Beer category, and a silver medal for their Pilot Rock Porter in the Brown Porter category. Look for more innovative releases from brewer Trevor Kemp and Caldera founder Jim Mills. The brewery has recently kicked of their Kettle Series in 22-ounce bottles. This series includes the Rauch Ur Bock, so you can also taste the gold medal winner. Also in the Smoke Beer category, Rogue Ales of Newport snagged a silver for their Smoke Ale.

The Pelican Pub & Brewery and Brewmaster Darron Welch won a silver medal for MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale at this year’s WBC. The staple Pelican brew won the medal in the Scottish-Style Ale category and was one of 29 entered.

“As an experienced World Beer Cup judge, I can say that this year’s event was one of the most competitive I have seen,” said Welch. “The quality I saw even in the preliminary rounds was very high and there were lots of outstanding beers that didn’t receive medals. The fact that MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale was honored this year is extremely flattering.”

Upright Brewing and founder brewer Alex Ganum won a bronze medal for their Gose, a mildly tart wheaten ale, in the German-style Sour Ale category. For Ganum, this is his first WBC win, but hey, it’s only the first year his brewery has been in existence. We expect a lot more bling-bling for him in the future.

Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) continues to do well in just a few years since opening to the public. HUB claimed a silver medal at WBC for their Organic Velvet ESB in the  Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter category. Look for Christian Ettinger, Ben Love and company to accumulate a healthy collection of beer competition medals as time goes by.

Widmer Bros took home two WBC rocks this year. Their Drop Top Amber was crowned with the gold in the Ordinary Bitter and their original Alt pocketed a bronze in the German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier circuit.

Rounding out the Oregonian wins Full Sail of Hood River receiving a gold in the American-Style Dark Lager field for their Black Session; Deschutes nabbed a gold for their well-known Bachelor Bitter in the Special Bitter or Best Bitter field; Hop Valley of Springfield sealed the bronze honors for their DD Blonde, American-Style Wheat Beer.

Congratulations to all the winners at this year’s World Beer Cup. Prost!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer news

You may have heard of Pelican’s Perfect Storm, a bourbon barrel-aged rendition of the Pacific City, Oregon brewery’s Stormwatcher Barleywine. After spending four months aging in 1998 Evan Williams Bourbon barrels, this 13.5% ABV, highly sought after bomber garnered huge accolades from several beer geeks like the imperial beer hypers at Beer Advocate (BA). BA dubbed the beer the 13th best beer on earth earlier this year with a perfect “100%, A+” rating.

Due to perceived confusion with a boisterously hopped Double India Pale Ale of the same name at Eugene, Oregon’s Oakshire Brewing, Pelican elected to change the name of their Perfect Storm to “the Mother of All Storms.” And, according to Pelican’s public relations team, someone recently asked Pelican Brewmaster Darron Welch about whether or not they should drink their bottle of the Perfect Storm due to issues surrounding the exclusivity and/or age of the 2009 brew. In a statement, Welch offers the following:

Pelican Brewmaster Darron Welch

“The Mother of All Storms (previously known as The Perfect Storm) is ready to drink, having spent many months of maturation here at the brewery before we packaged and released it. While it will stay in good shape for months and probably even years from now, I do not perceive any meaningful further maturation of flavor from aging in the bottle. One of the reactions happening in the bourbon barrels is a slow, controlled oxidation which leads to many of the mature barleywine characters that marry so well with the bourbon character. The finished, bottled beer will experience further oxidation over time, but I don’t see that as a significant enhancement of the beer’s flavor profile. So don’t hold back. Open it. Enjoy it.”

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer awards, beer releases

Just in time for Zwickelmania, Pelican Pub & Brewery of Pacific City, Oregon unveils two new red ale. First, say hello to Riptide Red, a new spring seasonal from Brewmaster Darron Welch and company.

Darron Welch describes Riptide Red:

Inspired by the traditional red ales of Ireland, Riptide Red has a beautiful dark copper color and a medium bodied presence. Our Spring seasonal has a malt aroma reminiscent of toffee, caramel, and cocoa with a subtle floral bouquet. The lush aroma gives way to a full, rounded malty flavor with caramel notes, and a smooth, well-balanced finish. Riptide Red is our local tribute to Irish heritage!

Ingredient List:

Golden Promise malt Santiam hops

Caramel 15 malt pure local water

Melanoidin malt pure ale yeast

Chocolate malt

Brewing Specifications:

13.5 degrees Plato

5.7 % alcohol by volume

bitterness: 25 IBU

color: dark copper

In addition to this welcomed new brew, Pelican is also releasing a special new one-off Belgian-Style Brew. Raz de Rouge will feature a “complex, fruity aromatic character with notes of sweet spices, toasty malt, caramel and toffee. A rich, malt-driven flavor profile emphasizes soft caramel flavors with a subtle hop presence. A background tart character rounds out the finish. Raz de Rouge is naturally carbonated by re-fermentation in the keg, and completely unfiltered. Enjoy this unique Belgian-style beer while it lasts because only five kegs of it were produced. It will be available at the Pelican around the middle of the month.”

Someone get us to the coast…stat!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer releases

The past week has been teeming with mouthwatering, hoppy dark brews, starting back mid-last week when we attended a Cascadian Dark Ale blind tasting with friends. Here we were lucky to sample ten different CDAs and get a feel of the various nuances from a unique unbiased perspective. Now, as can be expected with any blind tasting, some were obviously more favorable than others. Style champion and all around beer geek Abram Goldman-Armstrong got us excited for the CDA Week at Belmont Station and the CDA Symposium he would be hosting on Saturday morning. All and all, we’ve probably never had as many of one style of beer as we did over the last week.

Thanks to Ezra for hosting and sharing and everyone who participated in the Cascadian Dark Ale blind tasting this past week. Here’s some notes on these ten beer offerings.

1. Hopworks Secession: Great example to start out tasting with. Bitter hops on the front as well as a bright citrusness aroma. Low roast as called for by style. Dry hopping really carries the character of this wonderful brew.

2. Laughing Dog Dogzilla: Diacetyl bomb! Creamy, nutty, butterscotch Lifesaver all over the nose. Caramel. All is buried in the off flavors. Laughably bad. Maybe another tasting with an untainted bottling would prove more prosperous for this brewery. I’ve had Dogzilla on tap and it is not this unpleasing. LD has got to get their bottling together.

3. Widmer W’10 Pitch Black IPA: Bitter yet mild aromatics. Acidic, biscuity, clean, and not overly hopped for style. Creamy yeastiness. Last sample screwed up palate, but this is a shining example of the CDA.

4. Phillips Black Toque: Watery mouthfeel. Tart and creamy. More like a Cascadian Pale (milder) Ale. Prominent roast with sulfury, sweet notes. Hops are dulled, likely from age. Solid brew otherwise though a little tame.

5. Stone Self Righteous: Nice citrus floral brightness in the nose that voices bold Northwest hops. Piney yet approachable. Low roast as called for by style. Big bodied beer, but fulcrumed by a balance of delicious, hearty hops and big malt underpinning. What really shines in this beer is the large, lovely citrus fruit aroma. Mmmm.

6. BrewDog/Stone bashah: Phenolic sweet clove essence from yeast making it Belgique. Candy, bubblegum notes all over this. Big fragrant fruity esters coupled with PNW hops that shine. Lots of great complexities in this one.

7. Tree Brewing Black Tree: Biscuity with low hops (for CDA style) in nose. Fruity, nutty. Hops might have dropped out due to age. Plays more like a hoppy brown ale. Doesn’t appear to be true to style. Not as aggressively hopped or with enough oomph to be a true CDA, but tasty nonetheless.

8. Southern Tier Iniquity: Boozy barleywine-like qualities such as a oaky, creamy, barrel-aged presence. Light toast. Not a true CDA, more like a barleywine according to the guidelines.Still a flawless beer that I would happily drink a lot of.

9. Three Creeks IBA: High citrus hop character right off the bat. Lingering bitterness. Hoppiness is fresh but not as assertive as it should be for style. Excellent balance of hops to malts, but not enough floral and citrus pine push for a Cascadian Dark.

10. Walking Man Big Black Homo: Alcoholic aroma coupled with resinous hops. This beer is dank, THC-like. Has that cannabis quality in the nose that I love in a big IPA. Well balanced monstrous malt underpinning with big citrus, pine hops. Aroma rules this brew. Great beer to finish with!

Thursday would require concentration, rehabilitation, relaxation, and meditation in order to prepare our bodies and minds for the big weekend ahead.

Friday: Cascadian Dark Ales in Full Swing

As previously stated, the Brewpublican weekend often begins early. We got a jump on things Friday by meeting up with our friend and top notch brewer Shawn Kelso of Barley Browns BrewPub in Baker City. Making the trek five hours to Portland, Shawn was instrument alongside Abram Goldman-Armstrong and Belmont Station’s Carl Singmaster in orchestrating the Cascadian Dark Ale Symposium and beer week. Shawn’s knack for concocting bold, flavorsome, and oft outrageously hopped brews have afforded the 4-barrel brewery national acclaim from World Beer Cup, North American Brewers Association, Great American Beer Festival, and yes, Maxim Magazine.* So Friday afternoon found us at Belmont Station to try to get our head around a significant number of CDAs starting with Barley Browns Turmoil, 21st Amendment Back in Black, Pelican Bad Santa, and Deschutes Intergalactic. We even jumped on a chance to try the jewel of Maxim and the 2009 GABF Bronze medal winning Tumble Off Pale.

After some great beers with great folks at Belmont Station, headed over to Laurelwood Public House for dinner. At Laurelwood a great benefit was underway to benefit the Haitian Relief Fund. A portion of all beer sales were going directly those displaced by the terrible earthquake. To further encourage folks to partake in the happenings of the night, Laurelwood brewer Chad Kennedy was on hand to unveil his Imperial CDA dubbed Arctic Armageddon. A wonderfully lush monster of a beer hopped to high heaven, this beer featured a ridiculously citrusy, piney character that a true NW Hophead can really appreciate. I have to say this was probably one of the best beers of the weekend for me. Most normal beer drinkers would have stopped there, but we had to get our lips on the new Elvis Special Beer and, of course, a glass of Workhorse IPA.

It’s not everyday we get to see the Baker City brethren, so we felt it necessary to enjoy a night cap or two. BrewDog’s overpriced Atlantic IPA ($26 for 33oml) was a very enjoyable beer with notes of wood from barrel aging and a unique marriage of hops and malts. We also sampled a test batch of an new Oakshire Red IPA heisted from the brewery on a recent visit. The true nightcap came in the form of a Deschutes Experimental Hop Henge IIPA, a big boisterous brew with a magnificent flowery snap and big malt backbone that reached our dulled taste buds.

Saturday: CDA Symposium

While not being much of a morning beer drinker, it is sometimes dutiful to rise and shine in the name of good beer (see: Hair of the Dog dock sales, “Up and Adam”). This morn was such a hoppenstance. A small gathering of Oregon craft brewers and media made their way to Belmont Station for the CDA Symposium, a discussion of the evolving beer style anchored by Abram Goldman-Armstrong. The mission was to generate and delineate guidelines for this wonderful style unique to the Pacific Northwest and to allow brewers to experience and compare one another’s offerings.

In total, nearly twenty beers were on tap at the symposium. The discussion stemmed from the style guidelines proposed by Abram. It was quite interesting to see the variations and commonalities amongst these various brews. Key discussion points of the event included ingredients, appearance, and labeling. While there was expected variance of the recipes of the different CDAs, there were some obvious outliers like Rogue Mogul. As Abram mentioned, brewer John Maier himself did not see this as a true CDA. A wonderful beer, it was agreed that Mogul was little too light in color and a bit sweeter and with more caramel flavor than the others. Having a beer like this was important for the symposium to get a feel for what actually constitutes a CDA and to provide some more comprehensive perimeters for the style. Elliott Bay’s Belgian Black IPA, like Brewdog/Stone’s bashah exhibited what a variant yeast strain can bring to the table. Besides an unfortunate diacytel presence in the EB brew, there was a distinct gingery, spiciness that gave this interpretation of the CDA its own personality. Amongst four wonderful imperial renditions on hand, one particular styling, Southern Tier Iniquity was most outside the bounds from the others flavor-wise. Since no ingredient notes were provided it was hard to determine what lent itself to the creamier, sweeter, more barleywine-esque flavor of this brew. From Upstate New York, Southern Tier sets itself apart from most other breweries with a unique style of brewing that delves into many dessertif imperial styles. The only information I could find from the brewery is “It uses four different hops and 2-row pale malt along with debittered black malt in it’s brewing.” Could it be the yeast? Hard to say.

Also in question at the Symposium was the character of a “standard” CDA. Some brewers like Pelican’s Darron Welch would like to see hop varietals be open to more than those of the Northwest persuasion. Pelican’s Bad Santa includes the use of citrusy Fuggles, a variety native to Europe. Lompoc brewer Dave Fleming noted that the subtle roast character coupled with the piney hop profile produces a unique sort of mintiness or medical twang. A very low roastiness as exhibited in Lucky Lab’s Black Sheep IPA and Laughing Dog’s Dogzilla lends itself to a more astringient, dry mouthfeel. The question came up whether the purpose of the style was to serve as a “trick” (you wouldn’t know it was a dark beer unless you looked at it) or is a subtle roastiness essential. The room felt it was a bit of both, providing even further argument for the CDA to be set apart as its own officially recognized style. As for what to call this new beer style, some mentioned alternatives like IBA, Black IPA, or NWDA. The once purported “Texas brown ale” (believed to be coined by Randy Mosher due to the fact that everything is big in Texas) was generally scoffed at. “Sounds like a poisonous spider” said John Foyston of The Beer Here. As Fleming pointed out “IBA” was regularly confused with “IPA” by the bar staff at Three Creeks where he used to brew. The issue many folks have with Black IPA is the oxymoronic nature of the title. (How can a pale ale be black?) As for NWDA, the thought was that it was too many syllables and Widmer already came out with a NW Pale ale (that and it kind of sounds like an airline or a gangster rap group). The consensus was to go with CDA.  Got that BJCP, AHA, and GABF?

After several magnificent tasters of these dark delicious doggies, it was great to finish things off at the Symposium with two of my all-time favorite brews: Walking Man Big Black Homo and Barley Browns Chaos. The BBH remains simultaneously one of the most drinkable and dank brews of all time. Over 100 IBUs bursting with cannabis-like CTZ hops and a well-masked, hardy 9% ABV body…wow! And, speaking of “wow”, Chaos truly is a clusterf… marriage of uncompromising farsightedness on behalf of Shawn Kelso. Blasting with huge quantities of Columbus and Amarillo hops, this beer jumps over 100 IBU easily and crushes with an ABV over 11%. HFS!

Stay tuned for more on this exciting new beer style and words from the brewers who make them.

After the Symposium, a little lunch was in order. We found ourselves at the Hawthorne Lucky Lab for a relaxing pint of Ludwig’s Alt, an old staple. At the pub, we found fellow Lab rat, John Foyston doing the same. It’s good to see we drink alike.

No rest for the wicked…or the geeks lovin’ craft brews, apparently. At Bailey’s Taproom, the place was hopping at their 2010 CellarFest. Stuffed to the gills, people were gettin’ what they can always expect from the taproom: killer beer. On this day, however, the killer beer was specialties for proprietor Geoff Phillips secret stash. Kegs like an ’04 Fish Leviathan, ’07 Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws, and ’06 Alaskan Smoked Porter were on hand, plus many more.

After departing the mayhem at Bailey’s we headed over to Deschutes Portland Pub for a pint and some grub. I thought “Why end the Cascadian Dark Ale fun now?” and ordered an Intergalactic CDA.

After a quick stop at the Alameda Brewpub to try a glass of Carston Haney’s Cascadian Farmhouse Ale. A bodaciously hopped brew employing the same saison yeast well known locally at Upright Brewing.

After this, we headed over to Abram’s house for his Robbie Burns poetry party. Here, many turned out to shared in merriment inspired by the man known as the Bard of Ayrshire. Whiskey poured alongside a wonderful selection of homebrews. Many a kilts were adorned and the procession of haggis was christened by Abram’s reciting of the 18th Century poet’s work (there was even a bit of veggie haggis, too!). Wonderful music by Rendezvouz String Band and Coin in a Coffer really set the mood. Thanks to Abram for a great day!

*In the February ’10 issue of the mag that we only read for the articles, Barley Browns’ Tumble Off Pale Ale was named one of the top 25 beers in America. Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale, Deschutes Green Lakes Organic Amber Ale, and Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen also made the list.

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

Pelican Brewmaster Darron Welch

Brewpublic ventures out to Pacific City to visit Pelican Brewery, where brewmaster Darron Welch talks about life in coastal Beervana, the award winning beers of Pelican, his love for craft beer, and an exciting new bill legalizing self-distribution of beer in Oregon.

One of the finer plots of coastal land in Oregon is that of Pacific City. With magnificent sand dunes rolling amidst a forested backdrop and majestic views of the imposing Haystack Rock, the winding roads leading in to the town are “a double-edged sword” explains Jeremy Strober of an area development group called Kiwanda Hospitality Group. Strober explains, “While is keeps this area a hidden gem, a secluded piece of paradise, it also makes it hard for businesses to survive in the winter time.” Just a few miles off Highway 101 between Lincoln City and Tillamook, Pacific City offers touring attractions of great surf, turf, and phenomenal beer brewed at Pelican Brewing Company. High prices are justified by a dramatic swing in seasonal business. A large majority of tourism dollars derrived in Pacific City comes during the height of the summer and judging by our last trip there in late June, the hefty cost of hospitality was hardly relating to any slowdown during the country worst economic hardship in years.

The beers of Pelican have won boatloads of awards and the brewery itself has been recognized at the Great American Beer Festival as the country’s best brewery of the year twice. With a recent expansion in 2004 the brewery increased production to about 1500 barrels annually making it fall in the category of a large brewpub. If you’ve ever had the piquant India Pelican Ale, the robust Tsunami Stout, or the one of a kind Doryman Dark Ale, you can understand how spectacular this little 15-barrel brewery is. So is $5.50 a pint and $6 for an imperial (20 ounce) pint too much to ask for in these tough times? “Certainly I do get that feedback with our bottled IPA. We price it so that we’re actually making a little bit of money” said brewmaster and partner Darron Welch in a recent interview. Welch, Pelican’s original brewer is the man responsible for much of the recipe development at Pelican. “When we sell it to the distributor, the distributor needs to mark it up. The retailer needs to mark it up. So we do get feedback about ‘Why is your bottle of IPA $7.00?’ It’s an expensive bottle of beer. I think when we’re able to distribute it ourselves, we’ll see that price go down a little bit.” Welch continued “I’ve always admired what Jack Joyce has done with Rogue. He’s always had this philosophy that ‘We’ve got really good beer and it’s worth paying for. We’re going to charge a price that we feel is fair.’ And, honestly, they’ve had a lot of success with that. I hope that we’re able to replicate that in a small way.” In addition Welch joked “Plus you have this exorbitant head brewer’s salary that you’ve got to pay.”

Self-Distribution

Not all Oregon state bills regarding beer are bad. Despite some politicians trying to squeeze craft brewers for big taxes, a few bills actually serve to benefit the craft brewer making his or her livelihood from within the brewpub walls. “We had a lot of support on this issue.” said Welch “We had a lot of support from the Oregon Brewers Guild board of directors, from folks like Ben Love (Hopworks Brewery), Van Havig (Rock Bottom), and Jamie Floyd (Ninkasi), just to name a few. Other brewers that were really pushing for this and needing this: Roots Brewery gave us a lot of support. The Wild River group gave us a lot of support. Multnomah Brewery. We got a lot of support from the McMenamins group.  They’re called 10 Barrel now, but they used to be called Wildfire-they’ve been hugely supportive as well as Silver Moon, also over in the Bend area. We got support from Cascade Lakes Brewery. And just a lot of support for this issue from brewpub membership as a whole.”

Obviously this is a big deal and everything will be changed from here forth. Before the self-distro law took effect, Pelican was limited to Mid-Willamette Valley, primarily Portland. Said Welch “(F)or bottled beer our India Pelican Ale is distributed in Portland, as well as the populated coast. 99% of our distribution was through Portland. The coast here doesn’t take very much beer. The number of specialty stores is just (places thumb and index finger very close together).” As for seeing kegs of Pelican on tap in the Portland area again, Welch said kegged beer will not be the focus of distribution. “You may see one here or there” said the brewer.  Being in a secluded area during the winter months “means the brewery doesn’t have a steady business volume to depend on” according to Welch. “I think that’s a huge difference from being in a place like Eugene or Portland where you have this base of population, you reach your customers and they keep coming back” he said. “They come back in December, they come back in February, they come back in the summer, they comeback all year long!” The majority of sales for Pelican are in July and August, like most of craft brewers in the state, but on a much more dramatic scale. “It’s like a madhouse here and then, all of a sudden, it’s like you can hear a pin drop in January” said Welch. “After thirteen years, we’ve figure out one or two things. We wouldn’t still be here if we hadn’t learned to make some adjustments to survive. Our business model is truly a feast or famine”

This yo-yo of a business model will likely be supplemented by the new self distribution law that will allow for breweries like Pelican to forgo employing a distribution company in selling their beers to retailers. Optimistically, Welch admits “If we are the ones driving the truck, calling on accounts, and making those contacts, and pushing those sales, then we’re in control instead of the distributor. It’s their job to sell as much beer as possible. When people in the summertime buy more beer, that’s what they want to do. But in the summertime, we’ve got all we can handle (at the brewpub). And what we need to do is offset our seasonality. By self-distributing our beer, we feel we have a little more control over that and we’re not going to be pushing product and posting things off in the middle of the summertime when we can barely keep up as it is. But come December, January, February, we’ll probably have something on post off every month. In fact, we’ve already written the post-off plan, so I can tell you that we will be posting something off every single month during those winter months to drive sales. And since we are deeply staffed, our guys can be out reaching accounts and building sales in the off-season.” In the early days of Pelican, Welch says the difference between the peak and lowest production months was 400%. “That was pretty tough to manage” he said. Nowadays those numbers are down to only about a 100 or 150% differential. “If we had constant demand, we’d probably be producing 3000 barrels per year” said Welch.

More on Pelican

Up until 2004 the brewery was just a cramped little strip adjacent to the restaurant, a run down old pizza joint with blown sand covering much of the roof. Since Pelican and company took over the property, quite a bit has changed. The look and feel of Pacific City has undergone a dramatic face lift over the past decade.Once a somewhat desolate fishing town, the driving force behind today’s economy here is tourism. Time share condominiums were built on the dunes overlooking the ocean in 2007 and much of the look and feel of the town seems quite different from much of Oregon. The Pelican Brewery hosts the annual Brewers Summer Games each June where industry craft brew folks test their athleticism and enjoy the great bounty of beer the Northwest has to offer. Pelican, is just another shining example of why Oregon is the best state in the country for beer.

More on Brewmaster Darron Welch, his passion for beer, and what’s coming up from Pelican

“When I was a young man, I took a year off between high school and college. I had an opportunity to live overseas and I just couldn’t pass it up. I was an exchange student in German. When I left, I thought I liked beer. When I got to Germany, I realized that I was completely mistaken. I actually loved beer. It just had to be great beer. When I came back (to America) I was, of course, disappointed with the regular issue American beer that was available in the mid-80s. So, I’d heard of homebrewing so I thought I’d homebrewing because I thought the worst thing that can happen is that at least it will still have more flavor. It may not be perfect beer, but it will still have more flavor than what’s commercially available. So, I took up homebrewing, and my father was instrumental in that because I was still under 21. So he would go and buy the ingredients and I would make the beer. Half of it was his and half of it was mine. That was a good deal for everyone involved. I did homebrewing all through college and my first career. I got to be a pretty accomplished homebrewer. When I was out in Wisconsin for my previous work life, I had an opportunity to sign on at the local brewpub so I did. So, that was my jump into the ranks of professional brewers. It’s funny, the beer that really opened my eyes…there were actually two beers…that opened my eyes to the potential of flavor in beer and the qualities that a good beer could have. That was a good German Pilsner and a South German Hefeweizen. Neither of which I brew (laughs). For Welch his previous attempts at brewing a Pilsner for Pelican sold slowly and took longer to ferment. “I am happy to see Hopworks making some headway in making some top notch lager in the Pacific Northwest” he added. “As far as craft beer goes, this has been a lager-free zone. There’s been lots of us trying to get people fired up about lager, but so far, not a lot of success. My trouble is, I have time to brew a Pilsner in the winter. But when people really want Pilsner is (in the summer). It would be fun to have a lager strain going and enough tanks to dink around with it…do a Dortmunder, do a Pilsner…”  Pelican will be brewing their special Saison this month and packaging it in early August for release in early September. Look for it in 750 ML bottles.

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, brewpubs