It's not the first time it's seen the light of day, but when was the last time you heard of an "India Pale Lager"?

Yeah, me neither—it's a new one to me too, but according to our local Central Oregon weekly, Silver Moon Brewing produced Noble India Pale Lager as a summer draft seasonal.

Tyler and the boys over at Silver Moon, though, went in the other direction for their latest specialty beer, the Noble India Pale Lager (N.I.P.L., for short). The crew used 30-plus pounds of hops on this beer, which clocks in at 5.3 percent alcohol. But this isn’t your average, palate steamrolling IPA, in fact, as its name implies, it’s not IPA at all. Silver Moon brewed the beer with lager yeast, which imparts a clarity and crispness not found in IPA’s, making it an ideal summer beer for hop heads. It’s also a good compromise for drinkers who can’t fathom their contemporaries’ love of face scrunchingly bitter beers. The NIPL arrives a transparent golden amber with a pillowy head and goes down smooth with a lager’s signature crisp delivery. It has a definite hop bite, but none of the cottony aftertaste of a true IPA.

Stuff like this just strikes the beer geek chord—tweaking styles to come up with something unexpected. Like I said, this isn't the first time an "IPL" has appeared—searching Google yields a bunch of hits, many homebrewing links but some commercial examples too (most recently from Ballast Point Brewing).

You just can't beat Oregon for cool beer happenings. And with this and things that Deschutes and Bend Brewing have been doing lately—not to mention all the others we have now—Central Oregon is (say it again) fast becoming a premiere beer destination.

The new local Three Creeks Brewing Company gets a nice write-up and review in the Sisters (Oregon) weekly "The Nugget."

The house brew master, Dave Fleming, has a dozen years' experience in the business, including the well-known (at least, to this correspondent) "Lucky Lab" in Portland and McMenamin's St. Francis School location in Bend....

Currently there are three house brews on tap: "Knotty Blonde;" "Old Prospector Ale;" and Fleming's own creation, "India Black Ale." Underwood promises more varieties once the dust settles. The ales that are on tap now take seven to 10 days to produce, but lagers take around 21.

"When you need beer," he said, "you don't make lager. Right now we've got a red, a rye and another Knotty Blonde in the tank; the rye should actually be hitting about the time (The Nugget hits the street) on Wednesday."

The more I hear, the more I like the sound of it. Good to know the names of their launch beers—and actually, their website is getting fleshed out and they have more beers listed on their new Brews page; here's what they have:

• Knotty Blonde
• Anvil Amber
• Stonefly Rye
• Firestorm Red
• 8 Second IPA
• Old Prospector Pale

This is the final post of links, I think.

• Jeff's final roundup
• Jay's post and pictures for Thursday (which he forgot to post at first)
• It looks like 2008 was officially the biggest year ever for the OBF

That does it (for now). I'm a little bummed that I missed it but there will be other years.

More links!

• Jeff has more notes, rants and raves about the Fest (interesting notes on avoiding post-drinking ravages, too)
• More from the Beer Geek blog, wherein they also volunteered at the Fest
• My Beer Pix persisted in running pictures in real time—and don't forget their wrap-up, either
• It's Pub Night has their write-up
  
• John Foyston posted pictures here and here
• Hops & Barley Blog has an economic take on the Fest
• Jay talks about Friday and posts pictures of his day
• Lots to read and good pictures from the Portland Beer Blog

Yes, I'm late getting back to this topic—in fact, I'm only just now starting to catch up on my blog reading to compile these links. Without further ado, the first of several link roundup on this year's Oregon Brewers Festival.

• Jeff at Beervana starts with an excellent breakdown of the numbers
• Portland Beer has pictures of the Brewers Dinner that took place the night before the fest opened
• Jeff again, offering his first impressions of several of the beers
• It's Pub Night offers a first glance
• The Beer Geek also offers a first look with some photos
• And speaking of photos, Jay at Brookston has photos of the beer parade and the start of the OBF

More as I go.

Today is Fermentation Friday, the group blogging meme dedicated to homebrewing. Homebrewing bloggers all collaborate on a single theme for the month, and the group writing day is the last Friday of said month.

This month's topic comes from Brew Dudes:

July’s Theme: What one tip would you give a beginner homebrewer before they brew their first batch and why?
Who’s Invited: All bloggers who have ever homebrewed.
Rules: Please keep it to just one tip. I think it will be interesting to see what you come up with as the ultimate suggestion for success. I better not get a lot of ‘Relax, have a homebrew’ tips!!

So yeah, I know I'm very late, posting into the wee hours of Friday night. It's been a busy day (week). But it's a good topic, and I definitely wanted to participate.

I've covered similar things before (see my 5 Tips for Extract Brewing, for instance), but I've never really considered the question based on "before they brew their first batch." And since John at Brew Dudes doesn't want a ton of "Relax, don't worry" tips, it's a challenge.

Casting myself back to when I brewed my first batch of beer, I think the tip that would have helped me most would have been, "Read The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing." Or, really, "Read any competent brewing manual/instructions." The process for that first batch of homebrew was based on two sources: the brewing pamphlet I picked up at the brew shop and the directions on the label of the can of malt.

Neither were clear at all—nor even proper instructions for brewing a decent beer! (Somehow the beer still turned out fine.) There was a lot of uncertainty and a fair amount of confusion on my part, and it wasn't until I picked up Papazian's Homebrewing that I really got it; understood what was going on, and what I should have been doing, and why.

So my tip would be the one I wish I had gotten: Read New Complete Joy—or any similarly good book—at least the part on "your first batch" they all have, and disregard any directions from pamphlets or "kits" or malt can labels. You'll know what you're doing and won't be nearly as freaked out—and your brewing life will be that much easier.

It started today, and I'm sad to say I won't be making it this year. That's okay though, I'll still find things to blog about it and I'll be following along online.

For instance, John Foyston has video online already of the "beer parade" kick-off and ceremonial tapping of the keg. Looks like beautifully perfect weather, too.

My Beer Pix is running on-the-scene photos, and Rooftop Brew has the first report write-up that I've seen.

Can't wait for more!

This is an interesting PR piece to come my way; it's not quite a full press release but it's definitely worth running. Mark your calendar's for August 11th.

There’s a day to celebrate moms, dads, grandparents, and even Irishness, but what about brothers?

Brothers are a proud clan. They flush each others’ G.I. Joe’s down the toilet, they sucker punch each other and run away claiming self defense, and when they “grow up” they drink lots of great craft beer. Kurt and Rob Widmer, being the proud, hard working, craft beer making/guzzling brothers that they are, took this matter into their own hands. Turns out the hard work paid off – Portland’s Mayor Tom Potter agrees that brothers should have their own day, and is proclaiming August 11th to be Brother’s Day in the City of Roses (prost to that)!

There’s more good news – Widmer has partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest to raise money in support of kids who aren’t so lucky to have a cool (and obnoxious) big brother in their life. You can celebrate your brother and raise money for BBBS at the same time by sending an awesomely hilarious Brother’s Day e-card from the Widmer Brother’s Day Web site – for every card sent $1 will be donated.

So a good cause and a good excuse to drink beer. Maybe take it one step further and drink beer brewed by brothers (a là Widmer).

Redhook Sweepstakes Celebrates Draft Day, Fantasy Picks and Trash Talk

Fantasy football players across the country are preparing for the most important event of the year: their draft day party. As players delve into intense stat checking and hours of ESPN watching, Redhook is offering fantasy football teams the chance to win a draft day party even NFL players would show up for. Beginning July 22, fantasy football fanatics can enter to win a Redhook ultimate draft day party at www.RedhookFantasyFootball.com. Entries must be submitted between July 22 and Aug. 8.

Click through to read full press release

I received a couple of emails today regarding Central Oregon's newest microbrewery, Three Creeks Brewing Company, located in Sisters. The first was from Wade Underwood, the owner, letting me know that they are officially open for business (a few weeks early).

The other was from Geoffrey of AllAroundBend.com, with a mini-review:

Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters is open as of today!

They had a real nice black ipa, a so-so blonde, and a good pale ale. Half a dozen other beers to come in the upcoming month.

Food was decent, staff was kinda green though. Overall a great addition to the beer scene. Definitely a good thing for Sisters.
Best part is they have a mug club where for $75 a year all pints are upgraded fro 16 to a 21oz, free merchandise, special pairing dinner initiations, etc. Looks like a great deal for locals.

(Emphasis mine. Naturally, I'm most interested in hearing about the beers.)

TCBC is located on the east side of Sisters, near the town's (only) movie house in their FivePine development. It's facing Highway 20. The theme is rustic, Old West livery stable. Some details from one of our local papers:

[T]he 6,000-square-foot facility will provide a full restaurant, a 10-barrel brewing system, a large bar area with large screen plasma TVs, two pool tables and a large patio.

I've said it before, Central Oregon is definitely becoming a beer destination; with Three Creeks we're up to seven breweries now. I'm hoping the Sisters location will be successful because it's definitely a town where a brewery could do well, I think.

In case it's not obvious by this point, I'm skipping Theme Week for July. No particular reason other than a kind of "summer vacation" and this month has been kind of all over the place—and this week in particular, there's a lot going on.

Blogging will otherwise continue as normal.

I can't believe I missed blogging about it (yesterday turned into a really busy, hectic day), but yesterday was International Brewers Day. Haven't heard of that holiday yet? Don't worry, you will—even though it's not an official holiday yet, I suspect that will change.

IBD is the brainchild of Jay Brooks, and here's the idea:

Ever since I saw this “Have You Hugged A Brewmaster Today?” sticker on the door to the brewery at San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery & Restaurant, the idea of starting a holiday to honor the men and women who make the great beer we love has been percolating in my brain. So I’m proposing now that we set aside a day as International Brewer’s Day, a day to raise a toast and honor all the brewers in the world. For the date, I’m proposing July 18, which is the feast day for St. Anou of Metz (also known as Arnulf, Arnould, and most famously as St. Arnold), one of the patron saints of beer. This is the way holidays begin, just by a group of people deciding to start one and spreading it from there. The real trick is acceptance as a holiday. So I suggest we start out small and on July 18, similar to the Sessions (but only once a year), as many who are interested write about a brewer you feel is worthy of recognition.

I don't have a specific brewer in mind other than pointing out the many excellent brewers we have here in Central Oregon. Like Larry Sidor and Jimmy Seifert (the latter who I met) at Deschutes. And Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing Company. And Tyler Reichert of Silver Moon Brewing. And Mark Henion of Cascade Lakes Brewing. And Paul Cook of Wildfire Brewing. And Mike White of McMenamin's Old St. Francis School.

(Is that everybody? I think that's everybody...)

Happy belated International Brewers Day.

I don't know if I'd call starting a small brewery a "start-up" (like a Bay Area tech company or something) but I like it. Joey of Cigar City Brewing writes:

I'm opening a small batch brewery in Tampa, FL and when I started I decided that I'd blog the entire process from start up on into production. We are currently about 3 months from opening and I think the blog is interesting both for people who are into craft beer and for people who have ever dreamed of opening a brewery. We have documented a lot of the major steps along the way which we think would be of interest to both craft beer fans and brewers.

I think I fit into both categories (into craft beer and (pipe)dreamed of opening a brewery), and since there seems to be a dearth of breweries in Florida this is doubly interesting. They're already brewing test batches, too (I presume in somebody's kitchen somewhere; I haven't read that far yet).

The first link I posted above is to their actual website, which is still under construction; the blog itself is here. I've subscribed, you should too.

Christmas in July? No, not really, just the review—I drank this back in March. Regardless, this was the 2007 vintage of Anchor's Christmas Ale (formally known as Our Special Ale), which, as many doubtless know, is a seasonal offering brewed from a different recipe every year. Shockingly, I think this was my first ever Christmas Ale from Anchor—doubly shocking since it's been brewed since 1975 and I'm supposed to be all about the beer.

C'est la vie, I suppose.

This 2007 version has an alcohol strength of 5.5% by volume and its recipe, as always, is secret.

Appearance: Deep amber-brown color, very deep red when held to the light. Thinnish light tan head that fell quickly.

Smell: Dark, roasty, licorice, some molasses. Some spices—ginger(?), maybe nutmeg.

Taste: That spicy winter warmer character with a bit of heat and some nice dry roasty notes. Nutty character... a roast hazelnut? Turns into a dry finish, which leads us to...

Mouthfeel: Light of medium-bodied, with a thin presentation and a long dry finish.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores high accolades with a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.57 out of 5 and is in their 88th percentile.

Also, with this review I'm also adding a link to the beer (still available) on Liquid Solutions. As I'd mentioned already, I'm now a LS affiliate so if you click through the link below and buy some of this beer, I'll get a percentage.

Anchor Christmas Ale 2007

I don't know whether Brouwerij De Troch's fruit lambics are any more "authentic" than Lindemans, but I picked up a bottle of their Chapeau Banana Lambic when we did our last trip to John's Marketplace earlier in the year simply because it intrigued me.

Apparently they have an extensive line of these fruit lambics, some of which are of the usual variety (apricot, cherry, raspberry) while other are decidedly not-your-everyday-beer-fruits: pineapple, lemon, plum. They all seem to be in the neighborhood of 3.5% alcohol by volume (like this banana).

It's unusual, but I rather liked it, as it turned out.

Appearance: Pale yellow-orange—golden, almost—bubbly. White head was fizzy but didn't last long.

Smell: Delicate notes of sweet banana, slightly clovey. There's a musty, horsey tang of Brett yeast... very delicate.

Taste: Tart green apple thing going on with sweet, very ripe bananas playing the background. Crisp. Pretty tasty. I want to say "Jolly Rancher" but not in the annoying way that Lindemans Pomme is. Nice interplay of sweet and tart.

Mouthfeel: Light, but a tad puckery, leaves a bit of a cloying aftertaste behind, but very drinkable.

Overall: Yum! Unusual but I like it.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of C+. On RateBeer, it scores 2.3 out of 5, and is in their 12th percentile.

You can't hardly swing a dead cat around the beer blogosphere the last couple of days without running into chatter about the InBev takeover of Anheuser-Busch. (Latest news: A-B accepted the offer at $70/share, or about $52 billion.) I've avoided writing about any of it (until now) because, frankly, I'd rather write about beer than about the business of giant corporations. And I really have nothing to add.

If you want the quality coverage, check out Jay Brooks' tireless efforts; he's been staying on top of the entire deal and even provides this eye opening thought:

Once the takeover of Anheuser-Busch by InBev is completed, a curious thing will happen to the landscape of American brewing. It’s certainly something I never expected to be writing in my lifetime, but it’s true. The Boston Beer Co., who brew the Samuel Adams line of beers, will be the biggest brewer in America.

All the largest, corporate brewers are (will be) owned by foreign interests: InBev/A-B by a Belgian company; MolsonCoors by a Canadian company; and SABMiller by a South African company. The largest American-owned and operated brewers will now be Samuel Adams, Yuengling, and Sierra Nevada.

That's awesome.

I've written a few times about Deschutes Brewery's traveling barrel, "Woody"... I think the thing is endlessly amusing and a great marketing tool. This weekend, at the Bend Summer Festival, I finally saw it, and snapped off a few pictures.

(I also had a couple cups of their 20th Anniversary Wit at the 'Fest. From the Barrel, of course.)

I've briefly mentioned Liquid Solutions in passing in the past; it's one of the best online beer stores out there—indeed, it's one of the only beer stores that I've found online. (Which, in this day of ubiquitous ecommerce, you'd think there would be more of...)

Liquid Solutions has an impressively large inventory, and carries mead, wine, cider, and more (not just beer). What helps is they also have a physical store location—here in Oregon, natch. I haven't been—yet—but having a brick-and-mortar as well as a good online presence allows them to do some cool things like their vintage auctions.

Plus, they offer an affiliate program (which ultimately is the point of this post). Affiliates can link to products on the Liquid Solutions site and if a purchase is made, they get a commission from the sale—much in the same way that the Amazon.com affiliate program works. I'm pleased to announce that The Brew Site is now a Liquid Solutions affiliate.

What this means is that on posts where I'll review beer, I'll also be directly linking to the beer (if available) on Liquid Solutions, to give the option of purchase. And at some point I might be building out an online "beer store" with LS affiliate links, but that's down the road—if it happens at all. For right now I'll just be playing around with the program and seeing how much it might generate.

The next Session (#18) is coming to us August 1st courtesy of The Barley Blog:

For August, the theme is “Happy Anniversary”.

Use this as an excuse to celebrate. Open a limited release anniversary beer from your favorite brewer. Enjoy that special beer you normally only open on your wedding anniversary or birthday. Either way, tell us about it. Why is it a beer you may only drink once a year? Why is that brewery’s annual release the one you selected?

Going along with the press release about new packaging for Redhook's Long Hammer IPA, I received a package from their PR company containing, naturally, beer.

The 22-ounce bottle of Long Hammer came in a neat wooden box with a copy of the press release and a glossy press kit pamphlet. The irony? The bottle doesn't have the new package design—instead, there was a note saying the new ones weren't available yet but they didn't want to send out materials without a sample (I'm paraphrasing). Suits me; I'll drink the beer and write a mini-review. (Maybe in real time.)

Meanwhile, here's a picture of what came:

The beer lineup for this year's Oregon Brewers Festival is out; you can view the summary list here but earlier this week full specs (stats and description) were sent out to media contacts. Many of the beers are the standard fare but there are a few that I would really like to try; unfortunately this is a year that I won't be able to make it. (I'll just have to content myself with living vicariously.)

I've included the expanded list here (below), so everyone can read through and pick their ultimate tasting list.

Click through for full beer lineup

Time for some more Deschutes love. You all knew it was coming, right? It's been my thing for a while now. Tonight it's the review of their Reserve Series Black Butte XX (which the Brewery sent to me as a PR sampler).

You probably remember (by now) that this is their 20th anniversary Reserve Series, "double" version of their Black Butte Porter, brewed with chocolate and coffee, partially aged in whiskey barrels, and 11% alcohol by volume. It's exclusively bottled in 22-ounce, wax-dipped bombers and on sale for $10 a bottle. I've tried this beer (in various incarnations) and written about it several times; and finally (finally!) I've got my "official" review.

Appearance: Pours coffee-black, thick, with a dense, creamy brown head.

Smell: Coffee, dark chocolate first. Then dark roasted malts, something like black patent paired with licorice.

Taste: Creamy coffee and dark notes of alcohol—"dark" as in dark fruits and oaky. Lots of coffee going on. Bittersweet dark chocolate. It's not really heavy though—to me it still has the lightness of Black Butte Porter with all the dry, roasted, smoky notes. (Maybe a Baltic porter thing going on.)

Mouthfeel: Chewy and syrupy but paradoxically not too thick. Full and smooth and finishes nicely dry with drawn-out coffee notes.

Overall: I love it, but I'll just repeat what I wrote here:

holy crap this is a seriously awesome beer.... It's absolutely outstanding. Coffee, chocolate, black licorice, all right there immediately, then you get the oaky smoothness of the barrel aging... oh my. This is like The Abyss, and I could drink it all the time.

A note on the inevitable Abyss comparison. If these beers were going head-to-head, I'd pick The Abyss. But fortunately, they're not; these are two different styles of beer and by that measure, Black Butte XX is just as good—different, but good.

On BeerAdvocate, it's already garnered an A grade. On RateBeer, it scores 4.17 out of 5 and (holy smokes) it's sitting at their 100th percentile... that was fast.

It's the first Friday of the month, and that means among the beer blogosphere it's time for The Session! Beer bloggers everywhere get together (in a virtual sense) and write about a given theme which is selected by that month's host. Said host will then round up all the various Session writings and link and summarize them in one place.

(I haven't yet downloaded the new Session logos that you'll see elsewhere today.)

This month's hosting duties fall on Rob DeNunzio of the amusingly-named Pfiff! blog: Drinking anti-seasonally.

Up here in the Northern hemisphere, we're fast approaching the summer solstice, when the sun opts to beat down on us for as long as possible, and the marketing eye of brewing's Sauron becomes firmly targeted on light, easily quaffable, lawnmower beers, which we're all supposedly to dumbly chug down after demonstrably wiping our brows with the brim of the sweat-beaded can (cuz it's hot!) while wearing our mothball-scented aloha shirts and comically over-sized, personalized suede bbq mitts.

The subject for July's Session could be summed up thusly: Drinking anti-seasonally. Think of this as the unorthodox cousin of such topics as "beer and food" and "beer and music". Beer and weather, perhaps? More like beer despite the weather, I guess. Cracking open a Guinness on the beach, finishing a day of yardwork with a Speedway Stout, or whatever else you do that raises an eyebrow (again, beer-related, please), do us all a favor and take a few moments to share your non-conformist tale (again, you kangaroos and lemurs down there, your take on this could be even more peculiar, so do chime in, please).

I thought about this one for awhile. I mean, it's not exactly hard to come up with an "anti summer beer", but making it too easy would feel like cheating somehow.

I first considered taking this opportunity to review the Black Butte XX from Deschutes Brewery; after all, at 10.5% alcohol and a thick, dark, chocolate-nibbed, coffee-infused beer, this is right up there with being as anti-seasonally summer as you can get.

But I figured, the heavy, strong, dark beers are the obvious choice for going anti-summer, and those are likely the ones many people will write about. Not that there's anything wrong with that—but I expect to read a lot of reviews of stouts (Imperial and otherwise), barleywines, strong barrel-aged IPAs, and so on. Instead, I settled on another beer (and style) that fits the theme perfectly: Elysian Brewing's Night Owl Pumpkin Ale.

Regular readers know that I am all about the pumpkin beers: I brew a pretty good one, I've tasted a fair number, and I definitely know a good one when I taste it. And pumpkin seemed like a great "anti summer" style to tackle: these are almost only brewed in the fall and early winter (when pumpkins are available) and—depending on the beer, of course—tend towards heavier, spiced brews.

Elysian's version is the real deal. They brew it with 150 pounds of pumpkin in each batch, which (according to their info) goes into the mash, the boil, and the fermenter. Not only that, they use real spices (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger and allspice) during conditioning. And not only that, but they do something else I've not seen anyone else do, including myself: add roasted pumpkin seeds. The end result is a fantastic pumpkin ale with 6.5% alcohol by volume.

(To add to Elysian's pumpkin cred, they also host an annual Pumpkin Beer Festival wherein they provide several of their own different pumpkin beers, including a "pumpkin conditioned" one—secondary fermentation inside a giant pumpkin.)

I also really like the label on this beer. Simple, but eye-catching.

Appearance: Hazy amber-brown with a minimal head. Reminds me of my homebrewed version.

Smell: Nice pumpkin ale aroma—sweet malts and caramelized sugars, that sweet-earthy pumpkin aroma, and subtle spices.

Taste: Now that is a delicious beer... right off the bat there's caramelized sugar and roasted pumpkin—sweet and just a tad cloying. Spices follow without being overwhelming, tangy cinnamon and allspice, veering into almost peppery territory. Very tasty, very "pie" without overdoing it.

Mouthfeel: A bit thicker than medium-bodied and nicely chewy and crisp at the same time. Great aftertaste.

Overall: This might well be my new favorite pumpkin beer—it's really, really good.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.45 out of 5, and is in their 81st percentile.

Happy Session, and Happy Fourth of July everybody!

Jubelale Turns 21 This Year

A winding, abstract river runs through the open spaces of Central Oregon’s desert, surrounded by fluttering snowfall… this is the 2008 label of Deschutes Brewery’s wildly popular holiday ale, Jubelale. Each year the brewery commissions a different Central Oregon artist to capture the essence of this winter seasonal beer. Pam Jersey Bird, based in Sisters, Oregon, created the resist-style painting that will grace this year’s packaging, available exclusively for the holidays from October through December.

“Because Jubelale is 'A Festive Winter Ale,' I wanted to portray a scene that was lively and colorful but also captured Central Oregon’s snowy climate,” says Bird. “I decided to focus on the river that is the namesake of the brewery and also inspired the name of our town. Emphasizing the curve of the bank, I added snowflakes and ice crystals, which surround the blue moving waters of the Deschutes River.”

Jubelale is made with dark crystal malt and whole flower hops that provide a rich flavor perfectly matched for the cold weather and hearty foods of winter. The team at Deschutes recommends pairing Jubelale with strong flavored foods like roasted beef, root vegetables and pumpkin pie. Being the first beer ever bottled by Deschutes Brewery, 2008 marks the 21st version of this award-winning, seasonal favorite.

“Jublelale is one of our most anticipated releases of the year,” says Deschutes Brewery Founder and President, Gary Fish. “The beer is always amazing, but part of the appeal is seeing the new label for the first time each year – it’s like unwrapping your first holiday gift of the season.”

Jubelale is one of four seasonal beers produced by Bend’s Deschutes Brewery, and is available in 6-packs, 12-packs and on draft in 12 Western States beginning in October. MSRP is $7.99 for 6-packs and $14.99 for 12-packs.

6.7% Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
60 International Bitterness Units (IBU)

We visited Rogue in Newport, Oregon, this past weekend, and while I didn't do the full review treatment, I did snap a few pictures and have some things to write about.

Aside from Rogue's Dead Guy Ale being on tap around town (naturally), there are three primary Rogue locations you can visit: their Public House on Newport's Historic Bayfront; their main Brewery, which also houses their Brewers on the Bay tasting room, gift shop, and restaurant; and their Rogue House of Spirits just across the way from the main Brewery.

Oops, I should say four—they also run the Wolf Eel Cafe at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

We had dinner one evening at the Bayfront Public House. This is a pretty standard brewpub-style eat-and-drinkery, though they also have a no-minors section of the bar that features video poker, and a billiards room with two pool tables. The full lineup of Rogue's many beers are on tap, as are several from both their Eugene City Brewery and their Issaquah Brewhouse.

Food was good, service was helpful and we sampled one of their spirits for the first time: Hazelnut Spice Rum. It was deliciously, dangerously drinkable and smooth—so much so that we ended up buying a bottle the next day (at around $35!).

We didn't eat at the main Brewery, but we stopped in briefly to find out if we could purchase that bottle of rum (and to see if there were any limited edition beers to find). To get to the gift shop/tasting room/et al, you pass through the brewery and warehouse itself (watch out for forklifts), following a yellow-taped path.

The picture to the right, the red tower, is the main entrance. Other pictures are below.

The gift shop has bottles of nearly every Rogue beer for sale, plus the various types of breweriana you expect to find. Unfortunately, they don't sell the spirits there—instead, we were directed to the House of Spirits across the lot in the South Beach marina.

Here's the description:

The Rogue House of Spirits in Newport, Oregon opened for business on June 10th, 2006! Distiller John Couchot is teaming up with Rogue Brewmaster John Maier to produce Rogue Gin, Wasabi Vodka, and Cherry Vodka. The House of Spirits will feature fine wines, outhouses, lottery, cheeses from Rogue Creamery, apparel, beer to-go, hand made root beer, and of course, our very own Rogue Spirits, artisan distilled on premise!

Inside, they have a micro-distiller (picture below) and a small-ish bar and seating area (though nice). The bartender was extremely helpful and nice, giving us a sample of Rogue's Spruce Gin (interesting), and was happy to ring up a bottle of the Hazelnut Spice Rum for us. They also have beers and some odds and ends available (shirts, glasses).

All right, you've been patient through my notes long enough, here are the other pictures I took:

From Central Oregon where I sit, you just can't get enough of Deschutes. (I know, I'm sounding like a broken record with all that I blog about them.) Tonight's no different; I opened up the bottle of 20th Anniversary Wit that the Brewery sent me last week, and enjoyed it thoroughly—enough so that I shamelessly included a blatant promotional photo of the beer below the review.

They've released it under their Reserve Series of 22-ounce bottles, and it should be available throughout the summer (until September). Here's what they say about it:

This unique Belgian-style wheat beer was brewed with zested Curacao orange peel and just enough spices to keep your taste buds guessing. The Deschutes brewers tinkered with the recipe for months at the original Deschutes Brewery and Public House in Bend, Oregon.... A test batch of the Wit was sampled at Portland’s Spring Beer and Wine Festival in March where it won a gold medal.

With its slightly citrus taste and spices, the 20th Anniversary Wit pairs well with spicy Thai dishes like Pad Thai, garlicky Caesar salad, rosemary chicken or smoked cheeses such as Gouda.

It's only 5.5% alcohol by volume, and I like the fact that for their 20th anniversary, they chose to go with something lighter like this—not that there's anything wrong (by any means!) with The Abyss or Black Butte XX, but special beers don't always have to be big beers, you know?

Appearance: Pale golden, slightly hazy, with a thick pure white head reminiscent of beaten egg whites.

Smell: Delicate floral nose punctuated with coriander—though not too strong—and Belgian-y yeast phenols.

Taste: Bitter orange peel, the grainy slightly peppery spiciness that I've come to associate with grains of paradise, a character that reminds me of edible flowers—clover or bachelor buttons or something. Very bright on the tongue. It's tasty and subtle and enjoyable.

Mouthfeel: Light with a firm presence, delicate and open and refreshing.

Overall: I'm drinking this at about 7:15 in the evening and it's still in the mid-80s outside; this tastes really good and goes down well—it's a winner.

On BeerAdvocate, it only (already?) has 5 reviews, but those tally up to a grade of A-. On RateBeer, there are only 2 reviews, but those average 3.45 out of 5 so far.

Finally, there's that blatantly promotional image I was talking about. I took it myself, it's not something provided to me. But hey, I couldn't resist. (The hops in the background are my own meager vines.)