Christmas in July: Climax Noel

Christmas in July: Climax Noel

My local Whole Foods still has bottles of Eel River Brewing‘s Belgian Christmas beer, Climax Noel, in the cooler (albeit on sale) so I picked one up to review this week. According to the label it’s a Belgian Imperial Red Ale, 9% alcohol by volume, and is certified organic. Appearance: … Continue reading

Christmas in July: 2 Turtle Doves

Christmas in July: 2 Turtle Doves

Even though they’re only a couple of years old, The Bruery in Southern California is the current darling of the Brewinati (did I just make up that word?), and everyone online was raving about their 2 Turtle Doves over the holidays—the second in their ambitious “12 Days (Beers) of Christmas” … Continue reading

Christmas in July: 25 Dodici

Christmas in July: 25 Dodici

25 Dodici is another beer I’d featured on last year’s Advent Calendar: a strong Winter Warmer from Birra del Borgo in Italy, which I speculated had not been actually brewed since 2008. I must have been wrong about that, because imagine my surprise when this beer popped up at Whole … Continue reading

Christmas in July: Goose Island Christmas Ale

Christmas in July: Goose Island Christmas Ale

This past holiday season was the first year I remember seeing Goose Island Christmas Ale available here in Bend, and was also the first beer I picked for last year’s Advent Calendar—needless to say, it was one I knew I had to try (and had been wanting to for a … Continue reading

Christmas in July: Winter Hum Bug’r

Christmas in July: Winter Hum Bug’r

Portland’s MacTarnahan’s holiday offering is Hum Bug’r: an easy-drinking Porter wrapped up in packaging reminiscent of something you’d see in an indie graphic novel. The “hum bug” part of the name naturally makes you think of Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol—though MacTarnahan’s has someone else in  mind: You know … Continue reading

Christmas in July Week

Christmas in July Week

It’s the last full week of the month so that means it’s time for Theme Week here at The Brew Site! This week I’m being a little rebellious (and a bit lazy) and declaring it Christmas in July Week: all week I’ll be writing up reviews of Christmas beers—yes, some … Continue reading

Next week is Theme Week

It seems like I always forget to mention when a Theme Week is coming up and what the actual theme will be… with that in mind, this next final week in July, starting on Monday the 26th, will be Theme Week here at The Brew Site, and I have decided … Continue reading

BrewDog, No.

I’ve pretty much ignored the PR stunts of Scotland’s BrewDog because, well, they’re just that—stunts. But this is just offensively crude, in my opinion. I will never drink beer (or anything, really) from a bottle packaged in taxidermy roadkill.

Oregon Brewfest

Sadly I’m not going to make it to the Oregon Brewers Festival this year, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it: my last two posts on Hop Press were “field guide” articles, including my annual beer picks. So while this year is no good for me, next … Continue reading

Roots Organic Brewing is closed

I’ve been remiss in writing about this earlier, but this week Roots Organic Brewing in Portland closed its doors suddenly; John Foyston has the story. [Craig] Nicholls had been trying to sell the pub and brewery for a reported $450,000, but a couple of deals fell through and he said … Continue reading