Day Trippin' with Craft Beer in Hood River

On a recent day trip to Hood River, Oregon, Brewpublic visited Double Mountain, Big Horse, and Full Sail. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and a lot of good beer was enjoyed. Some highlights included:

Double Mountain Brewmaster Matt Swihart (left) and brewer Kyle LarsenDouble Mountain Tripel Nipel – a new smooth and dry Belgian-style ale using Chimay yeast and a dose of Pils malt.

Double Mountain Spicy Brown – Yet another brown ale from the brewery. Bold spiciness from a kitchen sink of seasonings

Double Mountain Eve’s Revenge Apple Cider – made with five varieties of apples from brewmaster Matt Swihart’s Hood River orchard.

Double Mountain Bon Idee Saison – The “Boney Day” and Kriek are blended together for a special Valentine’s Day brew coming Feb. 13 to Saraveza for Brewpublic’s My Beer Valentine event.

Double Mountain Black Irish – This Guinness-esque Dry Irish Stout on nitro is distinctly refreshing and robust. Super session-worthy!

Double Mountain Devil’s Kriek – Aged since last summer, this fruity cherry ale is tart thanks not only to the fruit but the addition of Brettanomyces.

Look for a dark strong Belgian ale from Double Mountain at Portland’s Cheers to Belgian Beers in April.

Big Horse Brewmaster Jason Kahler (left) and Double Mountain's Matt SwihartBig Horse Over the Counter Pils – Not only a great name for a Pils, this snappy 5.6% lager really hit the spot.

Big Horse Mtn. Monk – Using Trappist 3787 yeast, this beer was inspired by a new monastery in the Hood. This dark 8% ABV strong ale with a lot of esters is a possible candidate for 2011 PCTBB in April.

Big Horse White Sheep Wit- A Belgian wit with refreshing presence of coriander spice and orange peel zest.

Big Horse Bitter Beginning – A new double pale/IPA using Columbus and Centennial hops. The result is one of Big Horse’s most popular tappings of late. Smooth and quenching; surprisingly 7.8% ABV. This beer has a magnificent floral aroma and lingering bitterness to match the balanced malt underpinning.

Full Sail Bump in the Night – A wonderfully floral and piny Cascadian Dark Ale with a hint of grapefruit and a touch of minty roast and acidity. Great example of the style!

Big Horse Brewpub in Hood River, OR

Enjoyed a wonderful tempeh sandwich at Full Sail, too. The adventure concluded back at Double Mountain before heading back to Portland. Thanks to Kyle Larsen, Charlie Devereux, and Matt Swihart of Double Mountain as well as Jason Kahler of Big Horse and the friendly staff at Double Mountain and Full Sail for a fun day. Also, thanks to Morgan for driving me out to Hood River. Sorry I fell asleep on the ride home!  -Angelo

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