Double Mountain, one of the best breweries in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, has just informed us of their third anniversary party (you have to say “par-tay” when it’s this cool).

Double Mountain co-founder Charlie Devereux says “Come on down to Double Mountain and help us celebrate three years of fantastic beers, tasty fare and good times with friends. We pay homage to our great family of fans every March with a big blowout party… It’s our way of saying thanks for supporting us all the year round.”

Lisa Morrison, aka the Beer Goddess, is hosting one of her popular women-only beer classes at Fort George Brewery & Public House on Feb. 20. It’s called Hoppy Housewives. You don’t have to be a housewife to attend, but you do have to be a woman! The two-hour afternoon class takes ladies on an entertaining and educational tour of several beer styles, as Lisa shares tips on pairing beer with food, cooking with beer — participants even get a take-home recipe book — and great stories about beer’s HERstory (instead of history). Light fare in the form of finger food and tapas will be provided so students don’t get hungry!

Don’t forget, it’s also Stout Month at the Fort George, with rotating stouts on draft from countless different breweries all month! Class attendees and their escorts are encouraged to make a weekend of it by booking a room at the newly opened Commodore Hotel, nearly right across the street from the brew pub! Details: http://www.commodoreastoria.com/

Here’s a look the scene at the Upright Brewery on Sunday January 10, 2009. Lots of fun and delicious brews enjoyed by all.

Brewpublic visits Upright Brewing from Brewpublic.com

It’s not very often that I start drinking in the A.M.   But when it comes to events like this and beers like these, drinking in the early morning isn’t out of bounds either.  By the time 9 o’clock rolled around, I had experienced several rare beers that I had never had before.  I spoke with Preston Weesner, an organizer of the Portland International Beerfest and the highly anticipated Holiday Ale Fest.  Weesner informed me of seemingly endless wonderful beers coming up at this event  I was feeling almost overwhelmed with craft beer…if that is at all possible.

Crowd reacts to the posted beer list

My beer brewing friend Shane Walz and I compiled this list of ways to determine if you are a beer SNOB/geek.

You might be a beer snob if:

Cerveza says:

1. You’ve paid as much or more to ship beer as you have for the beer itself.
2. You take pictures of your beer.
3. You’ve actually returned beers.
4. You choose an eatery based upon taplist.
5. When you hear the name “Michael Jackson”, your first thought isn’t about a pop star.
6. Your vacations are planned around beer spots.  (This could mean you’ve never been to places like Alabama or Mississippi)
7. You become agitated if forced to utilize what you consider to be “improper glassware.”
8. You wear craft brew t-shirts to rock concerts.
9. You could spout off five beers with “dog” in the name in less than thirty seconds.
10. Your guests’ itinerary revolves around “must have” beers.
11. You call bars in advance to find out what they have on tap.
12. You’d pour out a beer just to try a different one.
13. A typical conversation for you and your friends involves the terms “IBU”, “ABV”, and “GABF.”
14. You consider telling a brewer how his/her beer could be better.
15. You possess a hops or malts tattoo.
16. “The Reinheitsgebot” are fightin’ words.
17. Every meal involves a pairing.
18. You’d consider spending time around someone you do not particularly care for in order to try a beer you consider hard to find.
19. You attempt to justify a night night out as “research” or “field work.”
20. You know how to spell Brettanomyces, Lactobaccilus, and Saccharomycetales.
21. You’ve paid more than $1 per ounce for beer.
22. Your favorite party accessory is a mixed-six.
23. You check the Dow Jones or market report for hops trading stock.
24. You whiff your beer before most quaffs.
25. The last word alphabetically in your common vernacular is “zymurgy.”
26. You’ve sought out fungus beers.
27. You care more about the barrel empty.
28. You have beer holidays marked on your calendar.
29. You know the exact dates of beer festivals 4-6 months in advance.
30. You look forward to the change of seasons due to new beer releases.
31. You have a favorite distributor.

That’s it for now.  Happy sampling!