Gigantic Brewing Tears it Up All Week in SE Portland!

Gigantic Brewing "Massive!"

The popular Portland brewers at Gigantic Brewing have announced that they are throwing their very own beer week. Huh? Yes, you heard that correct. From May 5-12, 2013, Ben Love, Van Havig and company will be partying and pouring their fine brews at some of the city’s best craft beer establishments.  There will also be some super limited releases including barrel-aged treats and rarities from breweries such as 3 Floyds, Piece Brewing, and Haymarket. It’s gonna be huge! Here’s the full details from Gigantic: Read More…

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VIDEO: Hopworks IPA Broken Down By Brewmaster Christian Ettinger

Charlie Herrin, The Beer Traveler continues his visit with Christian Ettinger, founder and brewmaster of Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) in Portland, Oregon. This time they discuss HUB’s Read More…

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Posted under beer events, Beer personalities, beers on film, brewpubs, Oregon beer

Cascadia on Overdrive! – 36 Hours in Portland for Craft Beer

Loading up the van with Cascadian craft beer

Brewpublic I don’t even know where to begin, but I suppose I will start somewhere… It really irks my bones when I can’t pump out some juicy craft beer fodder for the readers of Brewpublic, and the past few days have been lacking. I know it. I mean, Brewpublic prides itself of giving you a steady, daily glimpse into some of the many many goingson in and around Cascadian brewing and a little more. Being on planes, trains, and automobiles with a Smartphone, a thirsty palate, and a hankering to round up as many beers as possible makes the blogging a bit lacking at times, but it’s not because of will.

They say the road to hell is paved in good intentions, and we intended to scare up some goods for you the past few days, but we were short a laptop, a spare liver, and more daylight hours (heck, we can often muster just fine in the dark!). On Monday we scheduled details for rounding up as many kegs as we could while in and around Portland, Oregon. The reasons were many. SF Beer Week events, a new pub opening, and simply to blow Bay Area artisan beer enthusiasts’ minds. Spending much time in the East Bay of the San Francisco area, it has been my goal to inject as much of the Cascadian craft beer culture into the locals down here as I possibly can. With SF SF Beer Week 2013Beer Week about to pop off (February 8-17, 2013), I couldn’t think of a better way to exemplify what amazingness Oregon’s uniquely saturated yeast culture has to present. Don’t get me wrong, Northern California is home to some legendary breweries and beer halls that rival some of the finest in this world. Further, NorCal is booming with new breweries that vivaciously illustrate the significance of the modern day Post-Prohibition beer revolution. Thus, it makes perfect sense that while living here, I find myself working at an Oakland pub named Beer Revolution with the best selection of regional, national, and international fermented malted pours. Soon, the adjacent revamped train depot in Jack London Square will beef up the neighborhood’s selection almost two-fold. Looking to open very soon, the Olde Depot Taphouse will assert the community as an even more undeniably world class destination.

Hopworks Brewmaster Christian Ettinger (left) with Dan "Bully" BollwinkelAppointed to manage Olde Depot is seasoned professional Dan “Bully” Bollwinkel who has further inspired us to take things on the West Oakland craft beer scene to the next level. Bully and I jaunted to Portland on a plane, rented a modest Dodge Caravan and sought to stock up on as many different beers as we could safely drive back 600 miles south to Oakland. On our journey, we even went a little overboard and maxed out the payload to the point where the chassis began to woefully sag toward the earth. With just 36 hours to obtain an optimal variety of mostly 1/6-barrel kegs and a few bottles, we were focused on making the most of our precious time.

Immediately upon touching down at PDX International Airport with just the clothes on our backs and Read More…

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Posted under Bay Area beer, Beer & Art, Beer personalities, beer releases, beer reviews, Beer Travel, brewpubs, craft cider, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

The Beer Traveler – Sustainability with Hopworks’ Christian Ettinger


Hopworks Urban BreweryIn this webisode of The Beer Traveler, Charlie heads over to Hopworks Urban Brewery‘s main brewpub in Southeast Portland to sample some sustainable and organic beers from founder and brewmaster Christian Ettinger. Christian always has time for a beer and his is of the award-winning world-class variety. In the midst of winter, Ettinger discusses the new canned offerings from HUB, Oregon’s only 100% organic brewery. Mostl of the food served at HUB is organic, too. In fact everything in the brewery from the light fixtures to the reclaimed materials that make up the walls and bar tops is evidence of this ongoing effort for an optimally sustainable business. And as Ettinger states, HUB is “trying to lead by example”, and if the beer and ambiance of the two pubs is any indication, it looks like they’re doing a great job!

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Posted under Beer personalities, Beer Travel, beers on film, brewpubs, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

12 Beers to Drink for Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Happy holidays y’all! Hope you are enjoying your day with family and loved ones. During these cold and dark days of winter punctuated with bright lights and delicious beer, we’ve come up with a list of twelve beers that we plan on enjoying to celebrate. Feel free to chime in with your favorites. Cheers! Read More…

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Posted under beer releases, beer reviews, Oregon beer

Scenes from Killer Pumpkin Fest 2012 at Green Dragon

Angelo De Ieso of Brewpublic prepares to squash some squash at Killer Pumpkin Fest 2012 at Green Dragon (photo by Allyson Riggs of Rogue)

Killer Pumpkin Fest 2012 at the Green Dragon was even bigger and better than it was last year. With more than 30 pumpkin beers to choose from spanning many base beer styles, there was a little something for everyone, provided you enjoy pumpkin in your brew. With the exception of Elysian’s Great Pumpkin Fest in Seattle, the Green Dragon event was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world.

L to R: Rogue's Brett Joyce, Brewpublic's Angelo De Ieso, and Elysian's Dick Cantwell at Killer Pumpkin Fest 2012 at Green Dragon (photo by Charlie Herrin of Beer Traveler TV)Speaking of Elysian, the Seattle brewery came with force with a dozen pumpkin brews of their own. Chief Pumpkineer, Dick Cantwell was in attendance for the event to spread the gourd-eous goods. The buzz beer of the event appeared to be Cascade Brewing‘s Smashed Pumpkin, a sour rum barrel-aged strong ale that disappeared quickly. There were pumpkin pilsners (Elysian, 10 Barrel Brewing), pumpkin porters (Oakshire, Beer Valley Brewing), and even a pumpkin IPA (Hop Squash made by Elysian and Ninkasi Brewing). Other highlights included Hopworks Urban Brewery‘s El Gourdo II: Electric Boogaloo, a pumpkin conditioned ale with vanilla, Walking Man’s Sass-Squash, and Rock Bottom’s Headless Horseman. But really, all the beers were at very least quite interesting.

Here’s a collection of photos from this year’s Killer Pumpkin Fest. Thanks to the craft beer lovers at Green Dragon and Rogue for their hard work in helping us put together on hell of an event: Read More…

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

Portland Beer Week presents Fresh Hops Workshop @ Saraveza’s Bad Habit Room

Portland Beer Week presents Fresh Hops Workshop

Saturday September 22nd $10.50 advanced tix at http://pdxbeerweek.com/
Sarav
eza’s Bad Habit Room
5433 N Michigan Ave
Portland, Oregon 97217

 

It’s Hop Harvest season and time to go back-to-school with Portland Beer Week for the Fresh Hops Workshop on Saturday September 22nd at Saraveza’s Bad Habit Room. Everyone loves hoppy beer and the Pacific Northwest is the central hops growing region in the entire world. But, how much do you really know about hops? September is harvest month for most of the country, the one time in the year when hops are picked and can be used to make unique fresh/wet hopped beer with the undried cones which makes it the perfect time to explore the art and science of hops.

Portland Beer Week, in the spirit of fresh hop harvest season and educating craft beer lovers worldwide has put together a one-of-a-kind Fresh Hop Workshop with the wonderful team at Saraveza. This casual event features 4 of the first fresh hop beers of the season – Total Crystalation from Ninkasi Brewing, Killer Green from Double Mountain Brewing, IPX – The Freshmaker from Hopworks Urban Brewery and Wet Hop Simcoe Pale Ale from Breakside Brewery. Each of the breweries respective owners/brewers will be in attendance to talk about their beer and brewing with fresh hops.
Interactive aspects of the workshop include a Randall stuffed with fresh hops, hop infused olive oils with bread for dipping and tasting each’s properties, hop oils that can be used to dose a beer for flavor/aroma as well as a control batch of macro lager dosed and undosed and even the opportunity to hand French Press your beer with fresh hops. Later in the evening organizers will lead a discussion on brewing with fresh hops, growing and packaging hops and new regulations on Organic Hops. To discuss these subjects and more is a lineup of experts on the cutting edge of the industry.

Special Guests:

Jamie Floyd, Founder/Brewer at Ninkasi Brewing

Gayle Goschie, hop farmer and owner of Goschie Farms

Charlie Devereux, co-owner at Double Mountain Brewing

Jim Solberg, co-owner at Indie Hops

Ben Edmunds, Brewmaster at Breakside Brewery

Tom Bleigh, Brewmaster at Hopworks Urban Brewery

Only 50 tickets for sale at $10.50, beers individually priced. Purchase your ticket now as they will likely sell out in advance. Tickets at: www.pdxbeerweek.com

About Portland Beer Week

In addition to having more breweries than any other city in the world, Portland enjoys one of the most advanced beer cultures — and a thirst for fun and educational craft beer events. Portland Beer Week aims to celebrate and expand that culture, not just by promoting Portland brewers and breweries, but tap houses, restaurants, food, and underexplored beer styles. Craft beer culture is not just about the beer itself but about the people, food, camaraderie, and education that comes along with this art form. The 2013 Portland Beer Week will take place June 6 through 16th.
About Saraveza’s Bad Habit Room
Bad Habit Room is a private and public event space that shares the love of beer with its craft beer neighbor, Saraveza Bottle Shop & Pasty Tavern.  Both venues focus on the celebration of craft beer, eating well & the enjoyment friends & community. http://saraveza.com/
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4TH ANNUAL BiKETOBEERFEST @ HOPWORKS URBAN BREWERY

4th ANNUAL BiKETOBEERFEST ROLLS IN ON AUGUST 11

Bikes, Beer & Live Music Event Benefits Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Friends of Trees

Nothing sums up the culture and spirit of Portland like local craft beer, bikes and live music.  And all of those are coming together at Hopworks Urban Brewery’s (HUB) BiKETOBEERFEST on Saturday, August 11.

BiKETOBEERFEST is a family-friendly, bike-in Oktoberfest celebrating Portland’s bike culture. The event features 15 organic Hopworks beers, local bands, bicycle-themed entertainment, bike builder demonstrations, BMX stunt riders and the famous “Huffy Huck” bike toss competition.

Bands scheduled to appear include The Builders and The Butchers, Casey Neill & the Norway Rats and Fault Lines.

BikeToBeerFest is taking place at Hopworks Urban Brewery, located at 2944 SE Powell Blvd. and runs from 2 to 10 p.m.  HUB is closing the parking lot and encouraging everyone to ride their bikes to the event. For more information, please see www.BiKETOBEERFEST.com 

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BiKETOBEERFEST

The World’s Only Bike-In Oktoberfest Party

      

4th Annual BiKETOBEERFEST

Saturday, August 11
2 – 10 P.M.

All ages all day long!
$5 admission includes four hot bands on the main stage, plus activities all day long. Kids under 16 are free.

Bikes, Bands & Beer

MUSIC LINEUP

Builders and the Butchers (9:10 pm)
Ramona Falls (7:30 pm)
Casey Neill & the Norwary Rats (5:00 pm)
Fault Lines (3:30 pm)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • 4 live bands
  • Bike Builders and Cargo Bike Demo
  • 15 Hopworks Beers
  • Huffy Toss Competition
  • Breakdancers
  • Goldsprints (roller races)
  • Flatlanders (BMX trick riders)
  • Great food
  • And oh so much more!

BiKETOBEERFEST Video

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Posted under beer events, brewpubs, events, Oregon beer

Hopworks BiKETOBEERFEST Returns for 4th Year

Hopworks BiKETOBEERFEST

Nothing sums up the culture and spirit of Portland like local craft beer, bikes and live music.  And all of those are coming together at Hopworks Urban Brewery’s (HUB) BiKETOBEERFEST on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

Hopworks BikeToBeerFest

BiKETOBEERFEST is a family-friendly, bike-in Oktoberfest celebrating Portland’s bike culture. The event features 15 organic Hopworks beers, local bands, bicycle-themed entertainment, bike builder demonstrations, BMX stunt riders and the famous “Huffy Huck” bike toss competition.

Bands scheduled to appear include The Builders and The Butchers, Casey Neill & the Norway Rats and Fault Lines.

BikeToBeerFest is taking Read More…

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

25 Must Try West Coast IPAs for International #IPADay

Portland U-Brewster Aaron Gillham with some fresh hops that we grew.

International #IPADayAugust 2, 2012 marks the second annual International #IPADay in which beer lovers from around the planet unite to toast one of craft beer’s most iconic styles. The most entered beer style in many major craft beer competitions, the American India Pale Ale is a beer with a unique history that has evolved from a means of preservation during beers’ arduous travels to that of desire. Today many new hop varietals have been discovered and developed to provide a range of subtle to bold spicing notes.

With IPAs, harnessing the bold character of a heavy hop bill is an art and a science that is continually being understood as the modern palate continues to be redefined. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with access to about 20-percent of the world’s hop supply, with varietals unlike any others grown abroad. Here’s a look at some wonderful IPAs from the West Coast available in bottles/cans that we think you’ll enjoy on this hoppy day. Read More…

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Posted under Bay Area beer, beer reviews, California Beer, Oregon beer