If you’re not one of the lucky lads or lasses who will be in attendance for the country’s biggest and baddest beer fests, aka Great American Beer Fest (aka GABF), fret not. The 29th installation of the GABF September 16-18 might offer over 2,200 beers to try which is more than you’ll likely find at any other single festival, but after all, who can drink 2,200 beers in three days (We’re imagining a few friends contemplating it).

This month, do what so many people around the country are doing, take a staycation. Yes, it’s that catch word you’ve likely heard promoted from advocates of living local, but it certainly is good for the economy, and in these rougher economic times, it might be just what you need to enjoy the fruits of the Pacific Northwest, in our humble opinion, one of the greatest places to live on the planet.

Here’s a look at some events coming up in September that you might consider attending if you love Oregon craft beer Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, Oregon beer, beer and food, beer to do list, brewpubs, places to drink beer

‘Tis the season for fresh hops. There’s no where else like the Cascadia and the Pacific Northwest when it comes to ripe citrus, piny alpha hops. To celebrate this year’s harvest, The Lucky Lab is encouraging you to get your savory homegrown strobiles together and bring ‘em over to their Hawthorne Beer Hall on September 2nd starting around 3PM. Hops supplied will be used to brew The Mutt, a special hop mix-up brew brewed by brewers Ben Flerchinger, Abby Sherrill, and Casey Lyons. This annual co-operative picking is a great gathering of beer and hops lovers. Complimentary pitchers of beer will be provided and wort-brined chicken wings will be ready around 5PM.It is encouraged that pickers wear long sleeves and gloves.

Help the Lucky Lab break last year’s record of 215 pounds of fresh picked hops (which doubled 2008′s total). Tell your friends and bring those hops!

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

Brewpublic’s Quebecer correspondent Marc Demeule recaps a malt-filled weekend in October where he returns to Portland for more of what he loves…craft beer. This time Marc does it fest-style with Brewpublic’s 1st Brewniversary at Saraveza, The Portland Fresh Hop Tastival at Oak’s Park, and the KillerBeerFest at Bailey’s Taproom. We just wonder if he will make it back for the Holiday Ale Fest. Well, there’s always something exciting brewing in Beervana.

Brewpublic 1st anniversary was a good opportunity for another great beer expedition. I don’t know if I’m dedicated, devoted or just addicted to Northwestern beers, perhaps a mix of all three. Well, I’ve been lucky to get vacation time in early October to fly to a city where hops are brewed fresh. Before reading this travel trip, please take note of that advice: If you bring beer bottles in your luggage, they will be opened by the security agency. Secondly, try to package your bottles as if they where porcelain vases. Consider that the carrier use them as wrestling partners and practice some “bodyslam” on it. I would like to thanks Delta Air Lines. Losing my luggage might be fine, but killing three of my precious beers was a hard and leaking experience to manage.

Anyway, it didn’t stop me. I had time to visit 22 different places during that six days’ trip. Of course, I could have probably drunk more than the 136 different beers I had, but I choose to have quality instead of quantity. Armed with a Tri-Met all zone seven day pass and a thirsty throat, I attacked this second pilgrimage, expecting to get the hop fever instead of the AH1NI flu.

- I did reconcile myself with Widmer Brothers. Nelson Sauvin hops is infused into the Half Nelson IPA, which is particularly resinous. This hop was a real revelation for me. Back home, we already made a homebrew with it, an IPA called the Tazmanian Devil. Simply awesome. Widmer’s Broken Halo did also impress me.

- I went to the Lucky Labrador on NW Quimby. Again, they use to offer plenty of great beers there, so I had the twelve tasters. It would have been bad to forget to taste one of those. Nitro Porter was excellent but the Bavarian Crystal Weizen won the top honours. Very fresh, with a little smoke taste.

- If I could live in Portland, I would regularly visit Rogue. Not for the omnipresence of the logo in their pub, but just for the beer selection. I could drink gallons of that Sesquincentennial. We can easily find Rogue products in Vermont, but it is always better on tap.

- I do admit that McMenamins isn’t my preferred brewery, but if like me you’re not excessively fond of their brews, you will certainly find a location within the 30 (maybe more) pubs they own in the city that you will like. I did enjoy the McMenamins theatre close to my hostel where you can have a movie for 3$ and watch it while you sample beer. This association is perfect when you travel to few pubs during the day and want to have a little break.

- Angelo did resume (very well) the first Brewpublic party we had at Saraveza in an earlier post. Again, thanks to everybody who came and support. Thanks to our host and to all the brewers who came and give us a bunch of stuff for the mighty mighty raffle we did. I think that nobody understands any French there, so calling the numbers in the two official languages of Canada didn’t accelerate the distribution. Brewpublic also released its brand new and exclusive t-shirt for the event. Hurry up, soon it will be sold out! The Lagunitas Hop Stoopid was one of the best taps there, but I had the chance to have a glass of Russian River Temptation. You know, that beer that makes you feel like you are in outer space for just a while…

- Saturday, October 10th, was quite a busy day. I attempted to the Fresh Hop Tastival in the Oaks Park. When you realize that you can have 15 samples and a souvenir pint of the event for 20$, you just don’t believe it. You are just spoiled. It is unfair to have such incredible beers. I had brews from Old Lompoc, Upright, Pelican but the discovery of this tastival (and “ze” beer of my whole trip) was the Beer Valley Black Flag Imperial Stout, hop harvest edition. I must also give an extremely good mention to the Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale.

- A couple tastings later, the bus drop me at Bailey’s Taproom. You know that place? Well if you don’t have enough time for beer trekking through Portland, just go there. They have sampled the best taps just for you. This is a noble mission, isn’t it? Bailey’s generously hosted the first Brewpublic KillerBeerFest. I had a promotion and became a tourist-busboy for the evening. The beer listing was impressive and I discovered new breweries like Double Mountain, Vertigo and BJ’s (new to me, though no longer brewing in Portland) with the Belgian sour Enfant Terrible…kind of a liquid paradise. Thanks to everyone who came to this event and thanks for your patience. The line was a little bit long, but the beers were so fantastic…

- To bring back Portland’s best brews, a stop at the Belmont Station is necessary. I took as much I could and had to make heartbreaking choices (airport limitations). What is wonderful with the Belmont, is the Bier Cafe side. I had the pleasure to discover there another fresh hop festival in a bar with 16 taps and a cask. I noticed the sentence written on the menu: “Due to rarity & expense we do not provide free tastes of any beer costing over $3 per glass.” Only one of sixteen was over 3 bucks for a glass! And pints are 4$ !! Do you realize how cheap it is for a tourist? I would have another glass of that New Belgium Trip III anytime.

- I went to HUB, too… Excellent Bike IPA. Excellent service with qualified staff. Do I need to add anything?

- Deschutes Brewery is also an institution you need to visit. The quality of their beers is unique (The Abyss, Black Butte… ). I had my best tasting panel there. Fresh cereals, fresh hops and excellent food. Inversion IPA in cask and the Twilight Ale were simply wonderful.

- Angelo drove me (thanks brother!) close to Beaverton to the Cascade Brewery/Raccoon Lodge where I had a full tour of the brewery, most notably, the oak barrel section. I would like to thanks Curtis who welcomed us and let us taste almost everything available in the place. It is really an art to blend all those aged beers and to get such great results. Couldn’t decide which one is the best between Sang Noir, Sang Royal, Mouton Rouge or Bourbonic Plague.

- A new brewery I discovered is the Upright Brewery; located in the basement of a commercial building, they brew and fill kegs for distribution in the Portland area. Thanks to Alex for letting me visit the installations. I tasted The Fresh Hop of Bel-Aire, the chili-chocolate (Turkey on Rye) during my trip, and a bottle of Saison #4 for a tasting session back in Montreal. I’ve been surprised to see open fermentors there. I don’t think anybody does it in Québec. As Alex told me, you only have to keep it clean. Yeah, sure…

I did visit other places that I described in an earlier post of the PDX airport. I will just use few lines to list some of the best beers I had during that drinking week.

Beer Valley Black Flag & Leafer Madness

Rock bottom Swan Island lager

Cascade brewery Sang Rouge, Sang Royal, Quad Bourbon

Deschutes Twilight Ale

Lompoc C-Note

HUB Bike IPA

Vertigo Midnight Harvest

Upright Fresh Hop of Bel-Air

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

Rogue Dry-Hopped St-Rogue Red

Widmer’s Half Nelson IPA

À la prochaine !

marc@brewpublic.com

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

On a Friday we left Portland heading eastbound toward the Southeastern corner of Washington State. As previously mentioned, any trip along the gorge demands a stop at Double Mountain Brewpub in Hood River. Here we visited our friend Charlie Devereux who shared a hoppilicious pint of Killer Green and a sweet and sour snifter of Devil’s Kriek. After this needed pit stop an hour or so out of town, we continued on our way east along the I-84. Hood River is the dividing line where you can see the climate change from temperate rain forest to high desert. Douglas-Fir trees are replaced with Ponderosa Pines and wet green terrains evaporates into pillowing glacial pastels. The town also marks the end of craft beer abundance in Oregon. Dispersed along the Interstate are some great pours such as Barley Browns in Baker City and Beer Valley in Ontario, but for the most part, once you pass Hood River, you will find your self in Bud Country where cowboys and ranchers are as commonplace as tumbleweeds and livestock.

Beyond The Dalles, we crossed the Columbia River into Washington and headed up US-97 toward Yakima past giant wind turbines through a surreal country of breath taking views and rolling colorful hills. From afar the white windmills look minuscule and unimposing, but up close, they are truly domineering and appear as though they are straight out of a sci-fi movie. Jagging through no man’s land past small towns like Goldendale, many familiar names of towns and streets appeared on roadsigns and on our trusty road map. Names like Simcoe and Ahtanum make the mouth water. There was even the idea of the town of (Hop)Zilla being related to a once produced Bert Grant’s double IPA.

Eventually the landscape leveled out as we headed east on the I-82 near Topponish. From here more agricultural impact became evident. Sights of barren hopyards, unharvested corn crops, and the smell of pumpkins and peppers were quite nice. However, further east, the stench of cow and chicken manure was not nearly as pleasant.

As the sky drew its curtain for a fall evening to set in, we approached Sunnyside, Washington, a blue collar farm town with an overwhelming cowshit odor.  We were at least rewarded with the most fabulous and daring beers of our entire journey. Snipes Mountain. Situated in a large log hunting lodge, Snipes Mountain is home to some of the best beers in the Pacific Northwest. Brewer Chris Miller, formerly of the now defunct Pacific Rim Brewing Company in Seattle, has an uncanny talent for concocting some of the most innovative beers we’ve ever had the pleasure of wrapping our palates around. Miller’s Coyote Moon Brown took home a bronze medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest. The low alcohol mild ale is a perfect session beer with a full-bodied character. Even better, we came at the right time to quaff on Miller’s Harvest Ale which won 1st Place at this year’s Yakima Fresh Hop Festival after finishing second in 2008 (This is especially noteworthy considering the Yakima Valley is the country’s number one producer of hops). With a delicious bouquet of Simcoe and Citra hops, the highly drinkable floral ale was the zenith of an incredible day.

We were giddy with craft be delight as Miller gave us a special tour of the brewhouse where barrel-aged specialties like an Imperial Coyote Moon aged in oak left a creamy residual on our tongues. There were even some other experimental hop beers we were grateful to sample out of the brite tanks.

Coming soon: Interview with Snipes Mountain brewer Chris Miller.

Posted under beer reviews

Hood River, Oregon on the Columbia Gorge was a terrific backdrop for the weekend’s Fresh Hop Tastival. The quaint picturesque town is home to three breweries (Full Sail, Double Mountain, and Big Horse), all of which are at the upper echelon of Oregon’s rich brewing community.   This years hop fest in its 6th year, was the biggest Hood River tastival yet. The organizers of Double Mountain Brewing did a really nice job making sure to include a little something for people of all ages.

Despite early vigorous rains and chilling winds to announce the departure of warmer summer months, the festival provided an impressive array of deliciously wet hopped brews to make up for it. There was even some much needed sunshine that poked its head out to aid in making this one of the best fresh hop events ever.

Talking to people through out the fest and going by our own lupulinized palates, most of the brews on hand were winners. Our favorites being Double Mountain Killer Green Fresh Hop IPA, Oakshire Fresh Hop Harvest Ale, Pelican Elemental Ale, Lucky Lab’s Das Moot Fresh Hopped Pilsner, Upright Fresh Hop of Bel-Air, Big Horse Vernon the Rabbit Slayer Imperial IPA, and the buzz brew of the event, Walking Man’s Hopalong IPA. In total, more than 30 freshly hopped beers were available at this kick ass fest!

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events

Here’s a look at Belmont Station’s Bier Cafe beer menu from this week.  Note: the names in green are fresh hopped (except for Klamath Basin’s Migration Destination barley wine). If you haven’t gotten down to Belmont to try some of these…do it now!  The Laughing Dog Hop Dog won the people’s choice award at this year’s Yakima Fresh Hop Fest in Washington.  Several others definitely worth trying are on this list.  Belmont also carries a bunch of other Fresh Hop beers in bottles in their store side, such as this year’s Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale, BridgePort Hop Harvest, and Hales O’Brien’s Harvest Ale to name a few.

Posted under places to drink beer

We salute you!

Belmont Station Fresh Hop Night! Woo Hoo!

Posted under beer events

Here’s a few beers from Belmont Station that I recently tried that might be worth your time and money to check out:

HaandBryggeriet Haandbaak:  Forget all the double A’s in the name (unless your Aaron). This wonderful Norwegian sour ale aged in oak barrels is a Nordic exposure to the Flemish. Pouring a deep chestnut-brown body with an attractive tan head, the Haandbaak possesses a welcoming cherry tartness coupled by a musky, tannin-laden nose.  This is not a beer for the weekend warrior.  This beer is complex and sophisticated.  Okay, it’s really purposefully infected with the Wild Yeast that you’ve grown to love in beers like Panil Barriquée, Rodenbach Classic Red, and even the Deschutes Dissident.  Give this one a whirl.  If you are a fan of the style, you shan’t be disappointed. RIYL: Deschutes Dissident, Panil Barriquee, Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red

HaandBryggeriet Doppel Dram:  Double IPA all the way.  And all the way from Norway, this feisty beer has traveled quite well.  Upon first whiff, a sense that this beer is dutifully hopped.  Northwest flowery hops and English Goldings/Fuggles give this brew a striking citrus nose.  Lemon, orange, grapefruit esters jump out of the bottle and entice the hop zealot.  The flavor, however, tells another tale.  A deep, chalky malt underpinning give the palate a tenacious shift in opinion.  Molasses, toffee grit indicative of the 9% ABV in this spicy brew. The alcohol is carefully masked and the flavor intricacies unfold a new interpretation upon each sip.  Enjoy with a friend who appreciates bold and unique hopped beers. RIYL: Southern Tier Un*earthly, Nørrebro North Bridge Extreme, Three Floyds Dreadknaught

Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel Weiss:  This dark wheaten lager from is from Munich, German and a brewery that has been around 99 years longer than the Reinheitsgebot purity law of 1516. Pouring a mild brown body with a fluffy off-white head, this beer is quite easy drinking considering how rich it is.  Robust malty caramel flavors pair with a citrus hops bite, while the wheat and yeast play creates a creamy phenolic presence. Try it on tap at Belmont while you still can.  It’s quite delicious. RIYL: Erdinger Dunkel Weiss, Michelob Dunkel Weiss, Franziskaner Dunkel Hefe-Weisse

Heater-Allen Bobtoberfest: This McMinnville (Oregon) Marzen is the perfect treat for theRIYL: Snoqualmie Harvest Moon Fest Beer, Paulaner Oktoberfestbier, Baron Oktoberfest cool harvest season.  With a bright caramel/dark orange body and a small wispy white, swirling head, this brew screams “Autumn!”  A sweet malty nose preludes a back of the tongue bittering bite.  Lots of snappy Munich/Viennas pair with Two-row malt to deliver a familiar yet authentic West Coast style.  “In memory of Bob Allen  Brother, teacher, brewer, and Friend.” Bob has got to be smiling about this beer!

Firestone Walker Pale 31: Recently this pale ale medaled at the Great American Beer Festival along with a grip of other Firestone beers.  The key to this brewery is they know how to meld English and West Coast styles to create super drinkable ales.  Their specialty is perhaps the pale ale.  Alongside a more English-tasting counterpart in the DBA (Double Barrel Ale), the Pale 31 is a light, bubbly sessionable brew.  At 4.8% ABV, 31 is generously hopped with Cascades to give it a spicy, floral, and mildly piny nose.  Sharp on the tongue up front before creamily making its way down the gullet, this brew finishes with a faint bready maltness and a lingering full-on NW hops bitterness. RIYL: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Marin Mt Tam Pale Ale, Moylan’s Tipperary Pale Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale

Cascade Kriek Ale:  Another GABF medal winner, Cascade Brewing (known to many as the Raccoon Lodge on the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway) won a bronze in its inaugural year of entry into the acclaimed festival.  A barrel-aged sour ale flavored with cherries, the Kriek pours a murky, carbonic amber with tones of brown and purple beneath a spotty beige thin head.  Spicy fruitiness and tingling effervescence combine with a pronounced tartness.  Spry, spritzy, and crisp, there is a hint of yogurt-like creaminess from the Lactobacilus yeast having its way in this party beer. Available in 750 ML bottles. RIYL: Cantillion Kriek, Oud Beersel Kriek, Boon Kriek

BridgePort Hop Harvest Ale: The 2008 BridgePort wet hop beer is quite amazing.  Steeped with a generous dose of whole cone Centennials, this is one fresh hop beer to rival all others.  According to BridgePort brewmaster Karl Ockert, the base recipe for this beer is an amped-up rendition of the original 1980′s Blue Heron Amber.  Dark copper-chestnut hues and a lavish creamy off-white head present a peppery hops nose and a chewy, mildly caramel malt spine.  Waves of hops approach the palate and start the taster off with a bitter tongue lashing before unfurling a flowery bouquet.  Quite complex for a hoppy beer, the Hop Harvest also possesses a distinct earthiness and sugary acidic bite.  The 7% ABV brew finishes with an awareness of biscuity grains and lingering nuttiness as well as an obvious piquant resinous spice.  This beer is also quite affordable at under $5 for a 22-ounce bottle.  If you get the chance, make sure to try it on cask at the brewpub as well. RIYL: Roots Hoppipotimus, Hopworks Fest of Fury, Ninkasi Believer Red, Double Mountain Killer Green

Posted under beer reviews

Fresh hops ripe for the picking

One Hop Festival (Hood River Hop Fest) down, and two to go. October 18 at Hopworks, 2944 SE Powell Blvd., and October 25 at Ninkasi, 272 Van Buren St. in Eugene.   Admission to the events is free; glasses/mugs cost $5, and are required for tasting beer.  Tastes of the individual beers are $1 each.  Hours are Noon to 9 p.m.

Thanks to Chris Crabb, here is the lineup of the freshest beers on tap that will be available at both events.  These two festivals will be the only place where hopheads can find all these beers in one location!

Astoria Brewing Co., Hoptimus Prime, Fresh Hop Ale
BridgePort Brewing Co., Hop Harvest, Imperial Pale Ale
Cascade Lakes Brewing Co., Warrior Fresh Hop Ale, Fresh Hop Pale
Deschutes Brewery, Sodbuster, Golden Ale
Deschutes Brewery, Mirror Pond made with Fresh Hops, Pale Ale
Deschutes Brewery, Hop Trip, Pale Ale
Double Mountain Brewery, Killer Green, IPA
Eugene City Brewery, Fresh Hop Pale, Pale Ale
Fort George Brewery, Ft. George Cohoperative, Pale Ale
Full Sail @ Riverplace, Lupulin, Fresh Hop Ale
Golden Valley Brewery, Tour De Willamette, Pale Ale
Hopworks Urban Brewery, Fest of Fury, Organic Oktoberfest
Hopworks Urban Brewery, Parsec Pale, Strong Pale
Laurelwood Brewing Co., Hop Bale Pale, Pale Ale
Laurelwood Brewing Co., Fresh Nugs, Pale Ale
Lompoc Brewing, Proletariat Red, Organic Red
Lompoc Brewing, Octobock, Bock
Lompoc Brewing, Hop Press, Organic Pale
Lucky Labrador Brewing, the Mutt, Fresh Hop Ale
Ninkasi Brewing Co., Mt Hops, Pale Ale
Pelican Pub & Brewery, Elemental Ale, IPA
Rock Bottom Brewery, Hop Harvest, Fresh Hop Ale
Rogue Ales, Independence Ale, Pale Ale
Roots Organic Brewing Co., Hoppapotamus, ESB
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Teaser, Xtra Pale Ale

Posted under beer events

Brewer Ben Flerchinger gets hoppy at the Lucky Lab Mutt Hop picking.

The Lucky Labrador is the kind of place where beer lovers and friends alike congregate in a true public house atmosphere.  Boldly hoppy beers adorn the vast selection.  With three locations each with unique wide-open gathering halls, the Lab is perhaps the of friendliest down home pubs in Portland.  On September 17, 2008, a group of Lab Lovers along with staff joined in an annual ritual of picking hops for the autumn Mutt Hop Brew.  I showed up at the Hawthorne location about 1:45PM to find brewer Ben Flerchinger and about ten others picking away.  They had been picking several varietals of vine ripened hops since noon in the back beer garden.  With warm and muggy air, the crop was at its peek.   Hops growing out back of the Lab and from the NW Quimby location were being harvested right before my eyes.  The smell was wonderful, and the mood was that of community and friendship.  Not only were the hops from the Lucky Lab being used, but Lab Lovers were bringing in their own supplies in attempts to make 2008′s harvest the biggest yet. According to Flerchinger, 2007′s Mutt Hop event yielded 73 pounds of sticky lupulin-laden fruit.

By 3:45PM, a new record was in place.  By this time about 15 folks were picking away.  Despite itchy arms (from little humulus lupulus prickers on the vine) for those who didn’t come equipped with long sleeve shirts, the mood was festive, and the duty at hand appeared to be a backdrop to the conversation.  The BBQ was fired up and several delicious Lucky Lab brews were offered to the pickers.  By 5:45PM over 125 pounds of hops were harvested, nearly doubling the previous record.  According to Flerchinger “(The community picking) became an event with people coming six years ago or so.”  Once again, beer has done its job in bringing people together.  Keep an eye out for the Mutt Hop beer, being brewed as I type this.  According to the brewers at the Lab, the base beer for it will be either a pale ale or a bitter.  I can’t wait!

Bag of fresh hops @ Lucky Lab

Posted under beer events