Breakside Fresh Hop Citra IPA Release Events
|The latest in fresh hop beer releases comes to us from Breakside Brewery with dual release events on Thursday in Southeast Portland. Breakside Brewery’s Fresh Hop Citra IPA will be making its official draft debut on September 26th at The BeerMongers and Double Dragon.
The kickoff event begins at The BeerMongers with a Breakside Tap Takeover from 4:00 – 7:00pm. Beyond the new Fresh Hop Citra IPA, The BeerMongers will also be tapping several rare, experimental beers of Breakside’s. These include Birra Minestra, a golden ale made with sungold tomatoes, Oregon basil, and pluots; Beach Saison; and the wheat-based Grapefruit and Chamomile Sour Ale.
This past Friday while visiting Breakside Brewery’s Milwaukie taproom I was able to sample their new Birra Minestra. This was one of the most interesting beers I have sampled this year. The three unique ingredients add a nice subtle taste to this beer. Just a slight herbal flavor along with the sweetness of the pluot, a hybrid of a plum and apricot.
As the fun continues on at The BeerMongers, the party moves across the street to Double Dragon for delicious Asian soups, sandwiches and burgers as they unveil a special Breakside beer and food pairing menu from 6:30 to close. At Double Dragon, they’ll be pouring Breakside’s Pilsner, Newport Summer Ale and Amarillo Wheat to accompany dishes such as a foie gras and pork belly banh mi, Green Papaya Kobe beef hot dogs, and Szechuan burger sliders. All the items on the menu are available à la carte; suggested beers are purchased separately, and there is no coursed menu or prix fixe option.
Beyond these two release events, Breakside will also be releasing bottles of Alan from the Wood, the latest release from their barrel-aging program. Alan from the Wood is a 10.3% ABV dark red ale made with smoked wheat malt and aged for seven months in rye whiskey barrels. It’s a tribute beer to Alan Sprints, founder and brewmaster at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co, one of the first craft brewers in the US to focus on making strong ales that were suitable for extended cellaring. This beer is Breakside’s effort to make a beer in Alan’s style–rich, intensely flavored and complex. It is available in limited amounts in 22 oz. bottles in the Portland metro area.