Bigger Badder Blacker Week Returns to Belmont Station

Belmont Station’s Bigger Badder Blacker Week begins today inside their Biercafé in Southeast Portland. Over the next seven days Belmont Station’s Biercafé will be featuring beers from the darker side of the brewing spectrum. There’s nothing better than to dive into the big, rich beers during the cooler winter days that are bound to show up here in Portland this season.

This year’s edition of Bigger Badder Blacker Week has some must attend events for fans of dark beers. Belmont Station will feature special nights devoted to California beers, celebrating the 145th birthday of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, a Deschutes and Goose Island Class of ’88 night, and a day of imports. But the biggest event is saved for the last night when flights of 2013 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Bourbon County Backyard Rye and Bourbon County Coffee Stout hit the taster trays. Looks like a pretty eventful week!

Here’s Belmont Station’s own survival guide to Bigger, Badder, Blacker Week:

Tuesday, January 21st – Bigger Badder Blacker Kickoff:
We’re getting the party started with special offerings from some favorite Oregon breweries:

• Block 15 Super Nebula
• Full Sail Black Gold Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 2011
• Full Sail Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 2013
• Boneyard Suge Knite
• Deschutes Black Butte Porter XXIII

Wednesday, January 22nd- Rasputin’s Birthday (5-8 PM):
The Russian mystic, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, would have turned 145 this year, so we are honoring him with a special keg of North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin VX. We also will be offering a special cheese and beer pairing flight featuring three of Steve Jones’ cheeses to pair with the Rasputin XV, Old Stock Barley Wine and Brother Thelonius Belgian Strong Ale. Even better: the first 30 patrons who purchase the cheese & beer pairing flight will get a special Old Rasputin glass to take home. Not a bad way to celebrate a 145th birthday!

Thursday, January 23rd – California Night featuring Green Flash Brewmaster Chuck Silva (5-8 PM):
Chat with Green Flash’s Chuck Silva and sip some Silva Stout as we explore the dark side of our southern neighbors. We also will pour The Bruery Cuir,  Stone Espresso Imperial Russian Stout and Bear Republic Old Baba Yaga 2009.

Friday, January 24th – Deschutes/Goose Island Class of ’88 Party + Bigger Badder Blacker Beers (5-7 PM):
To celebrate their concurrent 25th anniversaries, Goose Island and Deschutes brewed  Class of ’88 Belgian-Style Ale. And they are launching both versions of their beer right here at Belmont Station during Bigger Badder Blacker Week. While technically not Blacker, with a distinct oak boldness from being barrel-aged, this collabo should be considered Badder (in a good way), and at 10% ABV, it’s certainly Bigger! But to sweeten the pot, both breweries are bringing something Blacker to the table. Goose Island will be offering their famous Bourbon County Stout (the only keg in Oregon that we know of), and Deschutes will bring along their highly acclaimed Black Butte Porter XXIV. Brett Porter, who used to brew for Deschutes, and now brews for Goose Island, will be on hand for the festivities, along with a few of the great folks from Deschutes brewery, too! The biercafe will be CASH ONLY at this event and the beers are available starting at 5 PM.

Saturday, January 25th – Import Day:
We can’t go Bigger Badder and Blacker without enjoying some of the best from other parts of the world. We will be pouring Struise Black Albert, Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Natale and Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break.

Sunday, January 26th – Sunday Funday:
That’s Midnight Sunand we will be pouring two years’ of their Berserker plus, from a state with lots of sun to grow crops, we will be offering Nebraska Brewing’s Black Betty Russian Imperial Stout and Sexy Betty, the same RIS aged in cognac barrels.

Monday, January 27th – Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Day:
A very limited number of bottles of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and two other rare BCS beers recently was sent to Oregon for the first time in two years. Because of that, and the very high demand for this delicious beer, we want to make it so as many people as possible can enjoy it. So, instead of selling it to the few customers who were lucky enough to make it into the shop first, we will be pouring flights from bottles of the Bourbon County Stout, the Bourbon County Backyard Rye and the Bourbon County Coffee Stout on our last day of Bigger Badder Blacker Week. The flights will be available starting at 5 PM sharp, so come early — you won’t want to miss it!

Belmont Station
4500 SE Stark Street
Portland, OR