The Holiday Ale Festival at Pioneer Courthouse Square will certainly be at the front of every beer lover’s mind this weekend. Each year the event offers a vast array of specialty releases to warm the cockles of your liver while providing an excuse to head into the festive sights and lights of downtown Portland and catch up with family and friends. Here under the heated tents, merriment is shared amongst many, illustrating the collective Cascadian love for great craft beer, a signature element of our region.

For some, the weekend crowds of Holiday Ale Festival may be a bit intimidating, especially if you head out on Friday and Saturday night when things are in full swing. Thankfully, here in Portland, there are plenty of wonderfully enticing satellite events that may offer a bit more intimacy, if not just simply serve as a nice supplement to Holiday Ale Festival itself. In addition to the in-tents fest downtown, here’s a look at where we plan to be quaffing great beer: Read More…

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

Fire & Brimstone, an annual celebration of chili and smoke beers, is returning to Portland for a second go, this time in two locations. North Portland’s The Hop & Vine will be joined by street-mate Saraveza in presenting the event the weekend of September 15th and 16th. Tasting sessions will be Saturday 12-7pm and Sunday 12-5pm.

Both locations will offer special food pairings, the lion’s share of which will take place at Saraveza. Their “Smokin’ Bamberg Onion” plate will be a $20 all-encompassing meal, complete with a peach-chili dessert and tasters of all five smoke/chili beers they’ll be pouring. The Hop & Vine’s pairing will bring the magic of the chili to the plate via offerings of a coconut & garden chile-steamed plate of clams, prawns and scallops as well as a pair of harissa-rubbed lamb ribs and a smoked chile ice cream.

Local favorites like Burnside’s Sweet Heat and Breakside’s Smokey Porter will join offerings from national stars like Dogfish Head and Stone, who will be, in turn, be joining international heavy hitters like Mikkeller and the aforementioned Schlenkerla. Between them, the two bars will be serving 17+ unique and diverse chili and smoke (and, in some cases, both) brews from all over the globe!

Pedicab transport will be provided by PDX Pedicab to participants between the locations, but if participants choose to walk, they can easily follow the chiles on “the smoke trail”, a path of smokin’ chile peppers painted along the Killingsworth sidewalk to guide the way.

At both locations, $20 will get you 10 tasting tokens (all 5oz pours will cost 1 token). A Fire & Brimstone tulip glass can also be purchased by participants for $4 (or two tokens) while supplies last. Additional tokens may be purchased for $2 each.

Both venues will also be open for regular business.

The Hop & Vine, which recently celebrated its 4th Anniversary, is a bar & bottle shop servicing North Portland & beyond, offer a depth & breadth of libations & edibles both local and global. They are located at 1914 N Killingsworth St.

Saraveza is a Bottleshop & Pasty Tavern in North Portland and is recognized as one of the premier beer destinations in the country. They are located at 1004 N Killingsworth St.

TAPLISTS:

SARAVEZA:

• Aecht Schlenkerla Oak/Smoke Dopplebock
• Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen
• Breakside Smokey Porter
• Gigantic Hot Town, Summer in the City
• Burnside Sweet Heat

THE HOP&VINE:

• Mikkeller Chipotle Porter
• Oakshire Smokin’ Dubbel
• Widmer SxNW
• Widmer Smoke on the Lager
• 10Barrel Rauchbier
• Fort George Hellcat
• Wandering Aengus Chili Cider
• Dogfish Head Theobrama
• Heater Allen Smoky Bobtoberfest
• Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle
• Schmaltz/Terrapin Reunion ’11
• Alaskan Smoked Porter ’10
• Emelisse Rauchbier

Posted under beer and food, beer events, craft cider, events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

Fire & Brimstone, an annual celebration of chili and smoke beers, is returning to Portland for a second go, this time in two locations. North Portland’s The Hop & Vine will be joined by street-mate Saraveza in presenting the event the weekend of September 15th and 16th. Tasting sessions will be Saturday 12-7pm and Sunday 12-5pm.

Both locations will offer special food pairings, the lion’s share of which will take place at Saraveza. Their “Smokin’ Bamberg Onion” plate will be a $20 all-encompassing meal, complete with a peach-chili dessert and tasters of all five smoke/chili beers they’ll be pouring. The Hop & Vine’s pairing will bring the magic of the chili to the plate via offerings of a coconut & garden chile-steamed plate of clams, prawns and scallops as well as a pair of harissa-rubbed lamb ribs and a smoked chile ice cream.

Local favorites like Burnside’s Sweet Heat and Breakside’s Smokey Porter will join offerings from national stars like Dogfish Head and Stone, who will be, in turn, be joining international heavy hitters like Mikkeller and the aforementioned Schlenkerla. Between them, the two bars will be serving 17+ unique and diverse chili and smoke (and, in some cases, both) brews from all over the globe!

Pedicab transport will be provided by PDX Pedicab to participants between the locations, but if participants choose to walk, they can easily follow the chiles on “the smoke trail”, a path of smokin’ chile peppers painted along the Killingsworth sidewalk to guide the way.

At both locations, $20 will get you 10 tasting tokens (all 5oz pours will cost 1 token). A Fire & Brimstone tulip glass can also be purchased by participants for $4 (or two tokens) while supplies last. Additional tokens may be purchased for $2 each.

Both venues will also be open for regular business.

The Hop & Vine, which recently celebrated its 4th Anniversary, is a bar & bottle shop servicing North Portland & beyond, offer a depth & breadth of libations & edibles both local and global. They are located at 1914 N Killingsworth St.

Saraveza is a Bottleshop & Pasty Tavern in North Portland and is recognized as one of the premier beer destinations in the country. They are located at 1004 N Killingsworth St.

TAPLISTS:

SARAVEZA:

• Aecht Schlenkerla Oak/Smoke Dopplebock
• Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen
• Breakside Smokey Porter
• Gigantic Hot Town, Summer in the City
• Burnside Sweet Heat

THE HOP&VINE:

• Mikkeller Chipotle Porter
• Oakshire Smokin’ Dubbel
• Widmer SxNW
• Widmer Smoke on the Lager
• 10Barrel Rauchbier
• Fort George Hellcat
• Wandering Aengus Chili Cider
• Dogfish Head Theobrama
• Heater Allen Smoky Bobtoberfest
• Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle
• Schmaltz/Terrapin Reunion ’11
• Alaskan Smoked Porter ’10
• Emelisse Rauchbier

Posted under beer and food, beer events, craft cider, events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

Two of North Portland’s favorite craft beer venues, just blocks away from one another, celebrate two days (September 15 and 16, 2012) of some to the best, if not most interesting smoke and chili beers. Fire & Brimstone was a huge hit last September at The Hop & Vine and now returns as an annual tastival the includes Saraveza Bottle Shop & Pasty Tavern, just across the I-5 overpass on North Killingsworth Street. Paired up with an assortment of food pairings, Fire & Brimstone is a dream come true for those who seek out the likes of smoked porters, rauchbiers, chili beers, and a wide range of craft beers that are smoky, chili, or a combination of the two.

Here’s the full rundown of beers, food items, pricing, and other specific details of Fire & Brimstone from the organizers: Read More…

Posted under beer and food, beer events, craft cider, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

Once a year the stars align over North Portland as the cosmos prepares for an exaltation of fermentation, fire, friends, and loud ass music. If you had not yet sensed it… The Hop & Vine is turning four!!!! We are pleased to invite you and yours to this year’s anniversary party to be held Sunday, August 5th. As always and forever, there will be a host of special beverages, delicious grillibles, and fine conversation for revelers of all tastes. We’re also ratcheting things up a notch this year with a bombastic array of local musical talents doing their thing out on the patio. Performers include the Johnny Connolly Trio, Steak Knife, Bison, Bison, and Fruit of the Legion of Loom. If you don’t know, you should; and if you do know, we’ll have the drinks waiting. Festivities kick off at 3pm and go all night. Tell your friends, brace yourself, and join us in celebrating some of our favorite things!

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

It’s been a wild week. Five of the eight KillerBeerWeek events are in the books. Each night has been a great success with lots of people in attendance. It has been so great to see friends and family and those who support craft beer out each night. So far three individuals have that we know of have made it out to each event. Thank you, Dean, Axel, and DJ! Last night’s Killer Washington Beer Night at By The Bottle in Vancouver was off the chain! Dave and Arlene Nunez poured some of the best beers from our neighboring state to the north. Black Raven Trickster IIPA, Fremont Harvest Ale, Naked City Fleur D’ Elise Saison, Iron Horse Brewing Mocha Quilter’s Irish Death, Diamond Knot 666 Industrial Bavarian, Chuckanut Helles (GABF gold), Ice Harbor Fresh Hop IPA (1st Place at 2011 Yakima Fresh Hop Fest), and a surprise keg of Elysian Idiot Sauvin IPA. It was so great to see so many Portlanders make the trek across the river, too!

Here’s what you can look forward to at our last three events: Read More…

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

Join the talented and lovely staff at The Hop and Vine for a special KBW recovery brunch featuring a four course food and beer pouring (with a vegan option as well). Breweries will include Upright, Oakshire, MacTarnahan’s, and Laurelwood. More details to come soon or call (503) 954-3322.

Posted under beer and food, beer events, events

Combining two of Portland’s favorite things Beers and Burgers Portland Beer Week is proud to team-up with The Hop & Vine to present the Brewers Burger Brawl. Inspired by a similar event at Seattle Beer Week the Brewers Burger Brawl pits 5 of Portland’s best brewers in a head-to-head smackdown of who can combine their own burger recipe best with a beer of their choice from their respective brewery.

The gladiators who have been chosen: Ben Love (Hopworks Urban Brewery), Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing), Jason Mcadam (Burnside Brewing), Ben Edmunds (Breakside Brewing) and Vasilios Gletsos (Laurelwood Brewing).

The burgers and beers will be judged Iron Chef-style by both the public and a lineup of food and drink experts:
Jacob Leonard, Brewer at Widmer Brothers
Jessica Pierce, Sommelier/ Manager Ned Ludd
Sam Reed, Chef at Cassidy’s
Brian Yeager, rapscallion Writer & beer enthusiasts

Brewer’s Burger Brawl

August 23rd 6-10pm

Breakside’s Ben Edmunds

Put a Burger on it & IPA

Ciabatta roll, Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar, iceberg lettuce, spicy mustard, pickled cucumbers & fried shoestring potatoes

Burnside’s Jason Mcadam

Hot Damn Burger & Oatmeal Pale

House French bread w/ chili rellanos stuffed with Burnside house made bacon, grilled onions & cheddar

Hopworks’s Ben Love

Chip & Dale’s Burger & Batch 1000

House French bread w/ grilled Tail & Trotters Porkstrami, Gouda, Onion, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle & Secret Sauce

Laurelwood’s Vasilios Gletsos

Mad Brewer Burger & Tree Hugger Porter

House French bread w/smoked mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, baby arugula, crispy onion, smoked tomato bacon jam, & Tree Hugger mustard aioli

Upright’s Alex Ganum

Biber Burger & Six

Rye bun from Fressen & Turkish chile mayo

Judgment: This will be done Iron Chef style @ 7pm

Judges:

Jacob Leonard, Brewer @ Widmer

Jessica Pierce, Sommelier/ Manager Ned Ludd

Sam Reed, Chef @ Cassidy’s

Brian Yeager, rapscallion Writer & beer enthusiasts

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

Inventive cocktails made with beer are what you can always find at Brewing Up Cocktails events. Test out new flavors that will open doors into what you might never have imagined. All this is going down at the Hop & Vine (1914 N. Killingsworth Street, Portland, Oregon). Join the crew including Ezra, Jacob, and Yetta for some back yard sun soaked fun and even a frozen margarita machine. Here’s the details: Read More…

Posted under beer events, Beer personalities, beer releases, Distilling, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

It was a weekend filled with brews, birthdays, and beer bashes.

To keep the alliteration rolling, Friday was a Bend beer ball at The BeerMongers. Brewers and representatives from around the Bend and Central Oregon region made the trek to Portland to share some of their finer offerings. Highlights included having Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing, Jimmy Seifrit of 10 Barrel, Tyler Reichert of Silver Moon, Ryan Schmiege of Deschutes, and Tony Lawrence of Boneyard Beer in the house.

The taps were loaded with some Bend’s best, ranging from sessionable to extreme. On the light side, Three Creeks of Sisters brought their Golden Ale, Deschutes supplied their Portland brewed Armory XPA (an American Extra Pale Ale), and Silver Moon tapped their GABF medal-winning Read More…

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