Category : Events

The Little Woody: The beers

August 31st, 2010

The beer list for The Little Woody, Bend’s barrel-aged beer festival (more here), came out today, and it’s looking really good. There are actually two versions of the beer list: one on the official site, and another one released over on Bend Oregon Restaurants (it’s from the marketing copy that the organizing company sent out).

You can view those pages for more details on the style and making of the beers, but in the meantime I’ve compiled them all into an easy-to-read list just for you (all breweries are from Central Oregon except the two I noted from elsewhere):

• 10 Barrel Brewing
  • Dubbel Woody: 7.7%, Belgian Dubbel aged in cabernet barrels 8 months
  • Dry Hopped English Style IPA: 7.2%, aged in bourbon barrels 3 months
• Bend Brewing
  • Metolius Golden: 5.2%, aged in a pinot barrel 8 months
  • Sour Outback X: 9.5%, BBC’s Outback X aged and soured in a bourbon barrel
• Block 15 (from Corvallis)
  • Super Nebula: 11%, Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels
  • Wonka’s Wit: 5.5%, Belgian Wit (wheat) aged and soured in oak barrels for 7 to 14 months
• Boneyard Beer
  • Bourbon Barrel Black 13: aged in a bourbon barrel
  • Sour Girl: A soured version of their cherry wheat aged in a bourbon barrel
• Cascade Lakes Brewing
  • Imperial Stout: aged several months in Jim Beam oak bourbon barrels
  • Blonde Bombshell: 4% (not barrel aged?)
• Deschutes Brewery
  • Berliner Weisse: 5%, German-style sour wheat beer, aged in oak casks
  • Mirror Mirror: 11.5%, Barleywine aged in a variety of barrels and blended
• McMenamins Old St. Francis School
  • Barrel Head: 5.93%, their Hammerhead ale aged in a Hogshead whiskey barrel for 4+ months
  • Dark Ages Stout: aged in a Hogshead whiskey barrel 5 months
• Ninkasi Brewing (from Eugene)
  • Wood Aged Total Domination IPA: 6.7%, aged in pinot noir casks
  • Believer Double Red Ale: 6.9% (not barrel aged?)
• Silver Moon Brewing
  • Merlot Cask Amber: 4.4%, their Hounds Tooth Amber aged in a French merlot barrel for 6 months
  • Winter Moon Bourbon: 7.4%, their Winter Warmer aged in a bourbon barrel
  • “Also prepare for a surprise (or two) we may dig up from the depths of our cellar!”
• Three Creeks Brewing
  • Beechwood Blonde: 4%, their Knotty Blonde aged in beechwood
  • Woodcutter Barleywine: blended with their Firestorm Red and aged in a pinot noir barrel for 9 months
  • Patio’s Private Reserve: one barrel of this special beer will be served “sometime Saturday afternoon”

While the “big” beers are always popular, I can’t help but notice and be very curious about the lighter beers on this list: the Metolius Golden, Wonka’s Wit, Berliner Weisse, Merlot Cask Amber, and Beechwood Blonde. I’d classify these as must-trys, and in particular make for an easy-drinking start to your day.

Also note the prevalence of sour beers, four by my read of the descriptions (18% of the offerings). This is definitely a festival that’s going to appeal to the beer geeks.

Bend’s two beer festivals

August 17th, 2010

The two big beer festivals for Bend are just around the corner, and are nearly back-to-back: the Bend Brewfest is coming up this weekend, and The Little Woody is two weeks after that, on Labor Day weekend. Interesting how that worked out on timing; a little closer together and we almost could have had a Bend Beer Week.

The Bend Brewfest takes place Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st, from 4 until 11pm and noon to 11pm respectively. It takes place at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend’s Old Mill District. Admission is free but—as usual—the purchase of a souvenir tasting mug is required to drink beer, and tasting tickets (or tokens, I’m not sure which they’re using) are $1 each. (No mention of the mug price on the site that I can find.)

In addition to a pretty impressive brewery lineup (including all eight Central Oregon breweries) with some 67 beers, there will also be wine from Volcano Vineyards (one of Bend’s local wineries) and hard cider from Crispin Cider Company. There will be food vendors on hand, and children will be allowed up until 7pm (though parents will be required to sign a pledge “acknowledging the responsibility of preventing children from consuming alcohol and the penalties for the parent and child”—an OLCC holdover from last year’s cancellation).

There will supposedly be “activities and music” but that page on the site still says “info coming soon.”

The site for The Little Woody, on the other hand, lists just about everything except exactly what beers and food are going to be served up. This year’s Little Woody still takes place on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Society, and it has expanded: in addition to Central Oregon’s local brewers (plus newest Boneyard Beer), Eugene’s Ninkasi and Corvallis’ Block 15 will also be represented. Plus, there will be a bourbon tasting: six tastings of five bourbons (not sure how that works) for $30.

It takes place Friday, September 3rd and Saturday, September 4th, from 5 until 10pm and noon until 10pm, respectively. Admission is $6 and includes the commemorative glass; tasters should be $1 (like last year), but I’m not finding that specific fact on the site.

The event details page lists the live music schedule for the two days, as well as the bourbon offerings. I have an email out to the organizers to see if I can get a beer list (and food list), which I’ll post if I get.

Update: I forgot to mention that The Little Woody is not kid friendly, it’s a 21 and over event only. And besides the beer and bourbon, there will also be cocktails from Bendistillery, wine, and soft drinks.

Oregon Brewfest

July 21st, 2010

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 year should be a thumbs up: the 31st falls on a Sunday, so the OBF—always the last full weekend in July—should be the 28th through the 31st, which moves it out of “alternate commitments” territory.

Oregon Craft Beer Month

July 1st, 2010

Welcome to the first day of Oregon Craft Beer Month; as someone said on Twitter, we have so much beer in Oregon we need more than just a week! It’s our month-long celebration of Oregon’s craft beer, culminating in the Oregon Brewers Festival from the 22nd through the 25th.

You can check out the giant list of related events to find something going on near you; and there is (of course) a Twitter hashtag that you can use if you want to talk about them: #ocbm.

Me, I’m drinking some homebrew right now—Oregon-brewed, naturally.

What are you all drinking?

Beer Bloggers Conference!

June 10th, 2010

You may recall a while back I was calling for a Beer Bloggers Conference that sparked some good commentary including some info from the organizer of the Wine Bloggers Conference, indicating they were looking to get a BBC started.

Good news! Beernews.org broke the story earlier this month that the Conference is a go!

It’s taking place in Boulder, Colorado from November 5th through 7th (Friday through Sunday). There is room for about 150 people and there is already a skeleton of an agenda posted; here are some more details:

Who Should Attend

• Citizen Bloggers who write about beer or the beer industry.
• Industry Bloggers who have a blog related to their brewery or other beer industry business.
• New Media Innovators who work in the world of blogging and social media.
• Beer Industry members who would like to learn about new media or interact with bloggers in attendance.

Cost, Payment, Cancellation, and What is Included

The cost of the conference is $95 for citizen beer bloggers (those unaffiliated with a business or organization), $195 for industry beer bloggers (those whose blog is affiliated with a brewery, retail store, or other business or organization), and $295 for non-blogger participants (industry, media relations professionals, friends and family, etc). We are able to offer a lower price to citizen bloggers and beer-industry bloggers because it is for these folks our sponsors underwrite the conference. Payment is required in advance by credit card.

The conference includes multiple beer tastings, two dinners, and outstanding content. Not included in the conference price are your hotel and transportation to and from Boulder.

I’m in, in some way, shape or form.

American Craft Beer Week 2010

May 17th, 2010

Today is the first day of American Craft Beer Week, which runs from the 17th until the 23rd. Of course, if you’re online and read beer blogs, you’re already aware of it, but just in case, here’s the blurb:

Beer lovers, craft brewers, homebrewers, beer distributors, retailers, and even U.S. Congress are all making special plans for the annual American Craft Beer Week taking place across the country May 17-23. The “Mother of All Beer Weeks,” organized by the Brewers Association, celebrates small and independent craft brewers and highlights all that America loves about craft beer. In 2006, the week became the largest national effort focusing on American craft brewers and remains so today.

There are a ton of related events all over the country, so definitely get out to your local brewery and see what they’re up to. For Oregon events (naturally), the Oregon Brewers Guild has a big list up, and are pretty on top of the events statewide.

I also like the “Beer Weeks” page on the ACBW site listing the various City/Region Beer Weeks that have cropped up lately; there’s getting to be a good number! Of course I’d like to see a Bend Beer Week on that list.

Oregon Garden Brewfest

April 19th, 2010

The Oregon Garden is located in Silverton, Oregon (outside of Salem), some kind of combination of naturalist gardens, event centers, and resort, and this coming weekend (April 23rd and 24th), it is hosting the Oregon Garden Brewfest as well.

Join us for the 6th annual Oregon Garden Brewfest. This Oregon craft brewfest will feature many local beer brewers and will offer the chance to sample or enjoy a full glass of a wide variety of specialty beers. There will be live music to dance to and great food.

It’s $15 admission, which includes the commemorative glass and five tasting tickets (the usual drill). The times are Friday the 23rd from 4pm to 11pm, and Saturday the 24th from noon to 11pm.

Pretty nice looking lineup of breweries in attendance, including (I think) all of the new(ish) Salem brewers (Pale Horse, Gilgamesh, and Seven Brides).

World Beer Cup Oregon winners

April 12th, 2010

The World Beer Cup was this weekend, and the winners list is posted. For a quick rundown of the stats, though, Jay has a good post that shows Oregon as the #2 state (California is first) in the U.S. (Overall, the U.S. won 204 medals, while Germany came in second with, er, 16.)

Big congrats to the Oregon winners! Here’s the list:

• Barley Brown’s Brewpub: Gold for Shredders Wheat, American-Style Wheat Beer
• Bend Brewing: Gold for Outback X, Strong Ale
• Caldera Brewing: Gold for Caldera Rauch Ur Bock, Smoked Beer
• Caldera Brewing: Silver for Caldera Pilot Rock Porter, Brown Porter
• Deschutes Brewery: Gold for Bachelor Bitter, Special Bitter or Best Bitter
• Full Sail Brewing: Gold for Session Black, American-Style Dark Lager
• Hop Valley Brewing: Bronze for DD Blonde, American-Style Wheat Beer
• Hopworks Urban Brewery: Silver for Organic Velvet ESB, Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter
• Pelican Pub & Brewery: Silver for MacPelican’s Scottish Style Ale, Scottish-Style Ale
• Rogue Ales: Silver for Smoke Ale, Smoked Beer
• Upright Brewing: Bronze for Gose, German-Style Sour Ale
• Widmer: Gold for Drop Top Amber, Ordinary Bitter
• Widmer: Bronze for ALT, German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier

(Listed by brewery, medal, beer, category in case you were wondering.)

Double Mountain 3rd anniversary – today

March 13th, 2010

Double Mountain Brewery is celebrating their 3rd anniversary today with a big party at the Hood River brewery and taproom: they’ve closed off the block in front of the brewery and erected a big tent, and are featuring live music, food and reserve beers all day.

Kölsch
Alpenbrew
India Red Ale
Hop Lava
Black Irish Stout (on nitro)
Porter A-Go-Go
Imperial Chaos Imperial Stout
Nitro Pale (on nitro)
Empire Strikes Back All-English IPA
Devil’s Kriek
Terrible Two Bourbon-Barrel Aged Brown Ale
*Li’l Red Pils ‘09
*Jumpin’ Jack Flash Pub Cider
*Fa La La La La ‘09
*The Vaporizer ‘09 Dry-Hopped Pale Ale

*These last four are one-and-done, we’ll only be tapping one keg of each on Saturday.

2:30pm: We start with a bang: Paris Slim and his band will be kickin’ some killer West Coast blues.

4:30pm: Next up we detour down the country-folk highway with Garrett Brennan and the Great Salt Licks, featuring Lewi Longmire and Paul Brainard (on pedal steel!).
7:00pm: A hot set as always from the incredible one-man supergroup Tony Smiley, with a little help from his friend The Bird. If you’ve never see Tony lay it down, you’re in for a special treat.
9:00pm: We wrap it up with some crucial reggae from Chronicle, a Portland band that knows how to make a party.

As always, the tunes are 100% free. Come early, come often…

Our food offerings for the day will feature our regular fare plus some fresh down-home Mexican food too. Silvia (one of our wonderful servers) asked her mama to make some of her famous tamales and killer salsas. Kitchen jockeys Mark & Jonny Face will be knocking out some tasty tacos too, piled on fresh tortillas from Tortilleria De Leon in Gresham.

A quick reminder that the gig is kid-friendly until 8pm, per OLCC regs. Our big tent will be heated, but bring something warm & dry regardless.

There’s still time to head over to Hood River to enjoy the festivities—you’re only a short hop away if you’re in Portland, and just a couple hours away from Central Oregon and similar.

Empire Strikes Back

March 3rd, 2010

I’m sure the movie is the first thing you think when you see the title of this post, but in fact it’s the name of the latest limited-release beer from Double Mountain Brewery. In fact they’re holding release parties tomorrow and Friday, and thanks to the Bend Beer Blog I know that Friday’s release party is being held here in Bend, at Brother Jon’s Pub.

(I’d completely overlooked this, since I saw the “Moon & Sixpence Pub” in Portland as the first location and assumed it was all Portland.)

I had to read this line about the beer from the Double Mountain blog and smirk, though:

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is a concept beer that answers the question, “what happens when you make a big Northwest-style IPA with all-English malt and hops?”

Um, you have a traditional English IPA?

Yes, completely snarky because it’s a silly concept question. But to be fair, it’s Double Mountain, so I’m sure the beer will be very good.

The release party at Brother Jon’s is from 5 to 9pm Friday, the 5th.

Oregon Brewers Festival 2010 beers

March 2nd, 2010

The beer list for this year’s Oregon Brewers Festival has been posted, and it’s pretty impressive! There are all the usual suspects, of course, but there are a few standouts that caught my eye:

• Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale from Boulevard Brewing
• Hibiscus Ginger Beer from Caldera Brewing
• Dogfish Head (TBA)
• Exit 4 from Flying Fish Brewing
• Sofie from Goose Island
• Le Freak from Green Flash Brewing
• Strawberry Cream Ale from Laht Neppur Brewing
• Coconut Porter from Maui Brewing
• 7 Grain Saison from The Bruery
• Reggae Junkie Gruit from Upright Brewing

Seems like a lot of new appearances in this group, and it’s always nice to see far-reaching breweries making an appearance at the Brewfest.

There’s a nice showing of some of the (relative) Oregon newcomers as well: Hop Valley, Mt. Emily Ale House, Natian Brewery, Seven Brides Brewing, Southern Oregon, Upright, and Vertigo. (Did I miss anybody?)

All in all, based on the list in place so far, looks like it’s shaping up to be a great ‘Fest this year.

Update: PDX Pipeline is giving away a $50 package to the OBF here. (The OBF is going on as I write this update; the PDX Pipeline blog asked if I would include a link from this page, and it sounded like a good deal.)

Great Arizona Beer Festival

February 16th, 2010

I did not know that Arizona has had a “Great Beer Festival” that’s been going on for more than two decades—Arizona not generally being known as a big brewing state—but indeed they do: early next month the 22nd annual Great Arizona Beer Festival is getting underway in Tempe. (I also just posted the press release about it, which caught my eye.)

March 6th and 7th is the Festival, and $40 will get you in and get up to 23 three-ounce tasters. It’s all for a good cause, too: 100% of the proceeds will benefit Sun Sounds Foundation of Arizona, a reading service for people who are blind.

There are a ton of other events besides just beer tasting, too—look at the press release for the list. And you can take a look at their beer list; while there are some big names on that list it looks like there is a very good amount from Arizona brewers (and possibly other Southwest brewers—I’m not as well-versed in my U.S. Southwest brewer geography as I am for the Pacific Nothwest. For obvious reasons).

Zwickelmania 2010

February 1st, 2010

Zwickelmania in Oregon is back again this year:

This President’s Day weekend, dozens of Oregon breweries and brewpubs will open their doors to visitors for the state’s 2nd annual Zwickelmania. Zwickelmania, hosted by the Oregon Brewers Guild (OBG), is a free statewide event that offers visitors a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers and sample their favorite beers.
When: Saturday, February 13th, 2010 from 11-4 pm

It’s a celebration of Oregon’s brewers, and there’s an impressive list participating this year (be sure to check out the details to see what each brewery has planned), including:

• Heater Allen Brewing: “Release of Hugo Bock, free tastes of Smokey Bob out of the lagering tank and $1 tastes of everything else.”
• Oakshire Brewing: “Tours on the hour and 10, that’s right, TEN different beers on tap! Devour will be on hand selling their grilled sandwhiches, soup and tater tots.”
• BridgePort Brewing: “$2.75 pints between 11-4pm along with brewery tours on the hour”
• Deschutes Brewing (Bend): “Guided brewery tours from 12 to 5, samples of 2009 Super Jubel+brewer on hand to answer questions.”
• Full Sail Brewing (both locations): “Take a tour and sample a pairing of “Collin’s Dark Secret” the newest Brewers Share beer and artisian chocolate, a great Valentine’s weekend treat. Guided Brewery Tours at 12, 1, 2, 3 and 4PM”
• Pelican Pub & Brewery: “Meet 3 brewers who will be offering brewery tours and beer samples from the fermenter.”
• Raccoon Lodge: “Sampling beer from the Zwickel+beers from the barrel and promises of alchemy demonstrations as well.”
• Southern Oregon Brewing: “Tour and complimentary flight of tasters for people who take the tour at 4 pm.”
• Three Creeks Brewing: “Brewery tours on the hour and the Brewer will be on-site with tastings and beer discussion all day.”
• Widmer Brewing: “Widmer Brothers Brewing will have free tours of their state-of-the-art brewing facility, offering complimentary tastings and appetizers paired with the beers. They will offer special release beers not available anywhere else along with their standard beers. Kurt and Rob and their brewing staff will be on site giving tours. They will have t-shirts, pint glasses, and other gear for sale.”

Holiday Ale Festival

November 29th, 2009

The Holiday Ale Festival up in Portland (Oregon) kicks off this week: from Wednesday, December 2nd through Sunday the 6th, Pioneer Courthouse Square will be overrun by beer seekers anxious to try out 50-plus wintertime beers. This is one of those festivals I’ve never been to (the timing isn’t so great for me) but I really want to go; in recent years this has grown to be one of the Oregon beer fests to attend.

In addition to the “standard” taps that will be pouring—most of which look frankly incredible—they also offer special “limited release” pours which are always the talk of the Fest:

In addition to the 45+ winter seasonals at the event, each year we go deep in to the cellar to bring out a few rare kegs. In most cases, these are rare or vintage brews typically limited to just a single keg, so timing is of the essence if you want to get your tastebuds on these. We hope you are here for them all.

These limited release beers are only tapped at set times each day and when they’re gone, they’re gone. And “limited release” means just that—some of these, like Hair of the Dog‘s Commemorative Jim blend is made exclusively for the Fest and is simply not available anywhere else.

The Holiday Ale Festival will cost an initial $20 for the required tasting package: commemorative mug and 10 taster tickets. Additional tasters are $1. Pretty standard pricing for Fests these days—and note, the limited release beers will cost two tickets for a taste instead of one.

News and link roundup

October 23rd, 2009

Odds and ends in review for the end of the week.

• Canfest was today. I first mentioned Canfest last month: held in Reno by Buckbean Brewing, the “International Canned Beer Festival”  brought microbrewers from all over who can their beers. There was judging and a $35 entrance fee. I was hoping for some judging results but since they lasted until (at least) 10:30pm tonight, I doubt they’ll be online before sunrise.
• Here in Bend, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (there’s a mouthful!) is holding their Northwest District fall meeting today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday). Looking over their schedule makes me wish I could have attended (if I was a Brewer, of course). How did I not know this was taking place?
• John Foyston had a nice piece online last Friday that I forgot to link to: The OGs of Oregon Brewing. Nice rundown of, as he calls it, Oregon beer’s “Old Guard.”
• I know I said next week’s Theme Week was going to be Bière de Garde, but I’m switching gears and going with French Beer instead. Once I’d posted that the wheels started turning and kept coming back to beers from France.