The weekend was wickedly winning as we welcomed The Beer Wench aka Ashley Routson to the Pacific Northwest. This was her third visit to Portland and there was still many great beer spots which she had not yet been to, so we had to try and knock these out. Granted, hitting up all the best Portland craft beer bars is somewhat of a daunting task that requires an intense commitment. But, we knew it was imperative to at least get a few of the essentials out of the way. Ashley’s trip was to be brief – only 36 hours in the Portland area, so every minute had to count.

First, let us preface the telling of our adventures with more about Ashley. Known widely in the craft beer world as The Beer Wench, she is first and foremost a wine sommelier with extensive knowledge of the many tiers of the craft beverage world. She has worked on many levels within the industry from bar managing, tap crafting, event coordinating, and product inventory to writing her world renowned “Drink with the Wench” website and more recently her attention-grabbing and palate wowing “BeerMixology” site that tackles the emerging trend of beer cocktails. Perhaps most impressive about Ashley is that on top of all this, she also works for Bison Brewing as their official “Director of Awesomeness”, a title well deserved. Her presence is felt vertically integrated throughout the entire brewery from the most simple and essential of tasks to those most complex and labor intensive. She has even helped to brew beers such as the popular seasonal Saison de Wench that will be released again soon.

So, as you can imagine, this wasn’t just any beer geek that we were striving to entertain. Our journey logically began at our favorite Read More…

Posted under beer reviews, places to drink beer, weekend in review

Laurelwood Brewing Co. is holding a one of a kind collaboration brewer’s dinner on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. The dinner will feature collaboration beers brewed by Vasilios Gletsos of Laurelwood Brewing Co., Alex Ganum of Upright Brewing, Van Havig of Gigantic Brewing Co., and Tom Bleigh of Hopworks Urban Brewery. These exclusive handcrafted ales will be served with a five-course dinner prepared by Laurelwood’s Executive Chef Aaron Nichols. Tickets are $50 per person and available at the NE Portland and Battle Ground, WA Laurelwood locations. The menu is as follows: Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer and food, beer events, brewpubs, places to drink beer, press releases

One of Oregon’s most beloved India Pale Ale has returned! Work Horse IPA from Laurelwood Brewing of Portland is back on the menu after going away for several months. The brewery’s pub favorite, Workhorse disappeared due to a shortage in the floral hop varietals available to make it happen.

More from Laurelwood: Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer news, beer releases

Laurelwood Public House & Brewery is hosting a Collaboration Brewer’s Dinner Tuesday, November 15, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. A fantastic night of food prepared by Executive Chef Aaron Nichols paired with some great beers from Breakside Brewery, Cascade Barrel House, Heater Allen, and Laurelwood. Brewers will be on hand to walk you through their creations and talk beer all night! Only $35 per person. Get your tickets now at the NE Portland and Battle Ground Laurelwood locations.

The menu & beer pairings are as follows:

Amuse: Duck confit with cranberry jus & nasturtium gremolata; Cascade Barrel House Cranberry Sour Ale

Appetizer: Tarragon & Oregon bay shrimp cakes with arugula pesto; Breakside Golden Farmhouse Ale

Salad: Spiced pepitas & duck breast over warm spinach salad with garlic dressing; Heater Allen Sandy Paws Baltic Porter

Entrée: Hanger steak with lemony potato salad & braised greens; Laurelwood Deranger Imperial Red

Dessert: Apricot upside-down cake with whipped cream & dried pear; Cascade Barrel House Apricot Sour Ale

About Laurelwood Brewing Company

Laurelwood is a family owned brewery that creates one of the most recognized regional craft beers. Owners Mike De Kalb & Cathy Woo-De Kalb are dedicated to sustainable and organic practices, and first began producing certified organic beer in 2001. Laurelwood’s product line is known for its creativity and quality therefore winning many national and international beer awards. Laurelwood’s handcrafted beers can be found on draft and in bottles throughout Oregon and Washington. To find out more about Laurelwood Brewing Company go online at www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com.

Posted under beer and food, beer events, events

Where to begin? KillerBeerWeek 2011 was the biggest series of events that Brewpublic has put forth in our three years of existence. Eight days at eight venues with more than 95 curated specialty craft beers throughout.

As previously mentioned, it all kicked off for us at Roscoe’s Pub on Sunday October 16, 2011, where Jeremy and Quyen and company hosted our KillerBeerSummit, and helped us to wrangle up sixteen special beers on tap. Read PortlandBeer.org’s write up of the Summit here.

Monday night (October 17, 2011) witnessed one of the best Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, Uncategorized, beer events, beer reviews

‘Tis the season to get down with some gourd-eous brews. On Monday October 17, 2011, the Green Dragon Pub & Bistro and Brewpublic have teamed up to present one bad-ass pumpkin party with more than 15 pumpkin brews on tap, including two pumpkin “casks” that will be tapped. Highlights look to be one-of-a-kind pumpkin ales from Hopworks, Breakside, Elysian, Rogue, Laurelwood, and so many more. In addition, there will be a pumpkin menu, a pumpkin smashing contest, and a pumpkin seed spitting competition. This will be utterly killer!  See you there.

The Green Dragon is located at 928 SE 9th Avenue in Portland, Oregon. For a complete list of events occuring during Brewpublic’s 8 day KillerBeerWeek, visit http://brewpublic.com/events Cheers!

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

Laurelwood Public House & Brewery is having it’s 10^th annual Laurelfest celebration this Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The brewery will have a special seasonal beer release of Laurelfest Bier; a Vienna lager style fresh hop beer, a wonderful food menu consisting of dishes from a fresh Albacore tuna salad to house made double smoked pork & cheddar sausages, and a fantastic live music line up. In addition to the great food, beer, and music, we will have fun kids activities all day.

The music schedule is as follows:

3:30 p.m. Popular Demand

5:30 p.m. Rubella Graves

7:30 p.m. Keegan Smith

There will also be a Laurelfest celebration at our Battle Ground, WA location from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the same day. Special BBQ menu will be $16.95 for adults and $6.95 for kids. Live music will be provided by Matt Brown starting at 3:30 p.m. Join the Battle Ground crew for fun, food, and great beer.

About Laurelwood Brewing Company

Laurelwood is a family owned brewery that creates one of the most recognized regional craft beers. Owners Mike De Kalb & Cathy Woo-De Kalb are dedicated to sustainable and organic practices, and first began producing certified organic beer in 2001. Laurelwood’s product line is known for its creativity and quality therefore winning many national and international beer awards. Laurelwood’s handcrafted beers can be found on draft and in bottles throughout Oregon and Washington. To find out more about Laurelwood Brewing Company go online at www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com.

Posted under Beer & Music, Oregon beer, beer and food, beer releases, brewpubs, events, places to drink beer, press releases

Laurelwood Public House & Brewery is having it’s 10^th annual Laurelfest celebration this Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The brewery will have a special seasonal beer release of Laurelfest Bier; a Vienna lager style fresh hop beer, a wonderful food menu consisting of dishes from a fresh Albacore tuna salad to house made double smoked pork & cheddar sausages, and a fantastic live music line up. In addition to the great food, beer, and music, we will have fun kids activities all day.

The music schedule is as follows: Read More…

Posted under Beer & Music, Oregon beer, beer and food, beer releases, brewpubs, places to drink beer, press releases

Where there is smoke there is fire and The Hop & Vine is boiling with anticipation to be bringing them to the first annual Fire & Brimstone: A celebration of smoke & chili beers. Join us in our garden patio on Saturday, September 24th (3-10pm) & Sunday, September 25th (3-8pm) for a tasting of over a dozen beers of the spicy and smoky variety. Burnside, Emilisse, Alaskan, Deschutes, Breakside, Upright, Schlenkerla, Stone, Oakshire, Heater Allen, Lucky Lab, Migration, Coalition, Lompoc, 10 Barrel, Laurelwood & Calapooia will all be representing. Come experience these demonically delicious concoctions from the cauldron’s of the underworld. All Sinners welcome!

As a bonus, on Saturday at dusk we will be screening clips from the late great Bill Hicks a man who appreciated smoke and never backed off a chance to turn up the heat. We’ll be tapping a Smoked Porter made in honor of him by fans Ben Edmunds, Alex Ganum & Yetta Vorobik. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

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

Where there is smoke there is fire and The Hop & Vine is boiling with anticipation to be bringing them to the first annual Fire & Brimstone: A celebration of smoke & chili beers. Join us in our garden patio on Saturday, September 24th (3-10pm) & Sunday, September 25th (3-8pm) for a tasting of over a dozen beers of the spicy and smoky variety.

Burnside, Emilisse, Alaskan, Deschutes, Breakside, Upright, Schlenkerla, Stone, Oakshire, Heater Allen, Lucky Lab, Migration, Coalition, Lompoc, 10 Barrel, Laurelwood & Calapooia will all be representing. Come experience these demonically delicious concoctions from the cauldron’s of the underworld. All Sinners welcome!

As a bonus, on Saturday at dusk we will be screening clips from the late great Bill Hicks a man who appreciated smoke and never backed off a chance to turn up the heat. We’ll be tapping a Smoked Porter made in honor of him by fans Ben Edmunds, Alex Ganum & Yetta Vorobik. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

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