Category : Uncategorized
Leftover Guinness
March 20th, 2009I had one can of Guinness left over from St. Patrick’s Day:
Black and tan
You can see I did much better this time around pouring a Black and Tan.
Incidentally, the other beer I’m using is Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic. Not a favorite, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment. Overall, not bad.
Weekend beer notes (March ’09)
March 2nd, 2009No formal reviews, but a couple of beers of note this weekend.
First was Laurelwood Brewing‘s Espresso Stout—actually its full name is Organic Portland Roast Espresso Stout. Our friends Paul and Sandi brought this over Saturday night. This one’s like drinking espresso, possibly the most coffee-infused beer I’ve yet tasted.
Sunday I finally had a chance to have Deschutes Brewery‘s Oregon 150, their sesquicentennial ale brewed with all Oregon ingredients. (It was back on tap after I missed it the first time around.) This is a very different beer—it’s magenta in color (I’ll have a picture up soon), sour and fruity—very fruity, almost like a fruit lambic, there’s almost no traditional “beer” character at all. It’s only 4.2% alcohol, as well, and extremely limited, so if you can try it, do so.
Top 10
February 24th, 2009Nothing new to be found here, but an entertaining diversion anyway: Holy Taco posted "10 Beers You Need To Try Before You Die" today, pretty standard stuff but nothing I can really quibble about. Of course, they culled the list from RateBeer, so at least they have reasonably good taste in beer! (Unlike some of these types of lists I’ve seen.)
Deschutes Brewery’s sesquicentennial beers
February 12th, 2009Following up on the Oregon Sesquicentennial beer notes, Deschutes Brewery posted on their blog today the details on the two beers they brewed for Oregon’s 150th:
Maiden Oregon Ale, brewed at our Portland Brew Pub by Cam O’Connor, is a Belgian amber ale that was brewed using Crystal hops from the Willamette valley, organic 2-row barley from Klamath Falls, water from Mt. Hood, Oregon beet sugar from Nyssa, and yeast from Wyeast labs in Hood River. At 8.0% alcohol by volume, this one will be best enjoyed sipped out of a snifter glass.
Oregon 150 Ale was brewed at our Bend Brew Pub by Paul Arney. This beer has a very unique color and flavor that makes it hard to categorize. Brewed with barley malt grown in the Klamath Falls basin (malted in Portland), blackberry honey from Yamhill County, Oregon marionberries and Crystal hops from the Willamette Valley we have created a beer like you’ve never tasted before. Our mash conversion took place at, you guessed it, 150 degrees!
Both beers were brewed using only Oregon ingredients, needless to say.
I hope I get a chance to try some of the Oregon 150 Ale! That sounds pretty interesting.
Some other Oregon Sesquicentennial beers
February 11th, 2009I mentioned several weeks back that Rogue is brewing an official Sesquicentennial Ale to celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday, coming up this February 14th. I also noted that Deschutes is brewing two as well, and I wondered what other Oregon brewers may be up to.
So I started emailing them. I haven’t gotten to all of them yet, but do have some results to report. Not surprisingly, most of them aren’t brewing anything special. But a few are.
- Hopworks Urban Brewery brewed a Sesquicentennial beer, according to brewmaster Christian Ettinger: "Our Sesquicentennial beer is an imperial IPA made with 150# of Cascade and Willamette hops for 20 bbl. The flavor is outrageous. It will be available just in time for the celebration."
- McMenamins has brewed a "special cream ale" for the event: they "are having a 150th Oregon Birthday Bash at the Crystal Ballroom on Saturday. The cream ale will be called Sesquicentennial Cream Ale in honor of Oregon’s 150th, and is only available there."
Several other brewers haven’t produced a beer specific to Oregon’s birthday, but will be serving up special beers (either as part of Zwickelmania or Valentine’s Day or something else):
- Pelican Pub & Brewery has their spring seasonal Riptide Red (the cask version of which is "dry-hopped a second time in each firkin").
- Full Sail is planning to tap a keg of Old Boilermaker and pair it with chocolate on the 14th. (That’s a barleywine aged in bourbon barrels, apparently.)
- New Old Lompoc didn’t produce a Sesquicentennial Ale, but did brew an Inauguration Ale—the first such beer I’ve come across brewed by an Oregon brewer.
More as I find them out.
DRAFT’s best 25 beers of 2008
January 27th, 2009There’s lots to like with DRAFT Magazine’s Top 25 Beer of 2008, which is perhaps the best "Best Of" list that I’ve seen in a while. It has the usual suspects—The Abyss from Deschutes (yay), Dark Lord by Three Floyds, The Angel’s Share by Lost Abbey—but it balances the list out by including things such as Witbiers, fruit beers, and Pelican Pub’s Kiwanda Cream Ale.
Any idea how good a cream ale has to be to make a top 25 list? As excellent as this one. This brewery may have one of the most beautiful views in America, with a backyard that butts up against the Pacific Ocean, and that beauty soaks into the beer.
Tasting Notes: Kiwanda begins with a slightly sweet, delicately bready malt character. It moves into a firm floral hop presence with mild bitterness and delicate malt character. This is easily one of the best light-bodied beers in the country and is bright, flavorful, and wonderfully easy to drink.
I don’t remember the last time I saw a 5.1% alcohol beer on a "Best Of" list—much less a Cream Ale. That’s awesome.
Rogue for Oregon’s 150th
January 26th, 2009I was preoccupied when this news first came out, but Rogue is brewing the semi-official beer for Oregon’s 150th birthday coming up next month. Oregon’s sesquicentennial is on February 14th—Valentine’s Day—and Rogue was selected
to brew a special commemorative ale for the state’s 150th birthday. Sesquicentennial Ale will be available starting Feb. 14—Oregon’s birthday – on draft and in limited edition 22-ounce serigraphed bottles. Sesquicentennial Ale will debut at Oregon 150 celebrations in Salem and Portand. It will also be featured at the Oregon Brewers Guild open houses at Rogue’s Newport and Eugene breweries that weekend.
You can read the full release here (PDF).
I don’t know much about "Oregon 150"—the non-profit apparently responsible for "planning the state’s sesquicentennial celebration—and how official they are, but it seems to be this would be a great opportunity for other Oregon brewers to get in on. (Jeff expresses similar sentiments.) Indeed, Deschutes already is:
Brewing 2 beers this week with 100% Oregon ingredients to celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday on Feb 14th.
And though I haven’t done the legwork (yet), I’m willing to be that other brewers are following suit.
And actually, I think I’ve already decided to do "Oregon Beer Week" for February’s Theme Week to celebrate Oregon’s 150th. The timing is just too good not to.
Beer of the month
January 3rd, 2009For my birthday again this year I received a subscription to a Beer of the Month Club (three months’ worth), and I received my first package just before the new year. I already mentioned the Pickled Santa from Ridgeway Brewing; the other three beers are:
- Christian Moerlein‘s Over the Rhine (OTR) Ale
- Wild Goose Brewery’s Oatmeal Stout
- Brasserie Duyck‘s Jenlain Noël
I’ll write about them as I drink them.
Beery New Year’s
January 1st, 2009We had a very low-key New Year’s Eve last night, due to our kids getting sick this week, but we still had a couple friends come over and enjoy drinks and a movie while we waited for midnight. The drinks were beer, of course, and mixed drinks made with a new Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker we got for Christmas.
But, this is a beer blog, so just a rundown of some of the beers we tried as we counted down until the New Year:
- Sam Adams Winter Classics mix pack; I had Boston Lager, Winter Lager, and Old Fezziwig last night, and enjoyed a Holiday Porter today.
- Pickled Santa from Ridgeway Brewing; this came in my birthday beer of the month club package that I just got, and we split a bottle among three of us.
- Raven Mad, BridgePort‘s Imperial Porter—three of us split a 22-ounce bottle that our friends Paul and Sandi brought over.
- Hibernation Ale from Great Divide.
- Brown Shugga from Lagunitas (I’m enjoying one even as I write this).
- Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale (cheap six-pack from World Market).
And of course, the night finished with champagne, too.
The list looks a bit long for a "low-key" evening, but it was spread out about 7 hours, with lots of water consumed also.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Deschutes news
December 15th, 2008I just posted a Deschutes Brewery press release over on the Press Releases page (did you notice? It’s where I’ve been posting those press releases being sent to me—just like I threatened) that I thought was interesting and worth a closer look.
(Of course, I’m pretty partial to Deschutes Brewery. But you already knew that.)
The press release is regarding the imminent release of Hop Henge and its new label, coming up in January, and interestingly, this new batch is being dubbed an "Experimental IPA". It’s a new recipe this time around:
The new formulation is the epitome of the brewery’s experimental style and commitment to innovation, while gratifying their unquenchable thirst for beautifully balanced hoppy beers. The newest incarnation of Hop Henge uses several new hop processes and techniques to create a truly unique and unexpected beer.
I can’t wait to try it. It’s 8.75% alcohol and will be available in 22-ounce bottles.
That’s not all! There are a few other interesting tidbits floating out there. The same press release mentions Red Chair IPA, to be bottled and released in June; it’s commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Mt. Bachelor ski resort, and I can say, after having a preview of it, it’s really good.
And, also appearing in January (from this earlier press release) is Buzzsaw Brown. It seems like Buzzsaw just keeps getting earlier and earlier; didn’t it used to get released in March? At 4.8% alcohol, it’s just over half that of Hop Henge, but it’s still a tasty session beer.
Finally, check out that new Hop Henge label:
Spotted in the wild: Costco’s beer
December 14th, 2008I was at Costco the other day and spotted their own line of beer: Kirkland "Handcrafted Beer." I attached my cameraphone picture below.
Grainy, but what they have is Hefeweizen, Amber Ale, German lager, and Pale Ale.
I wrote about the possibility of Costco beer nearly a year ago; I’m surprised that it took this long to show up, but now I’m definitely curious to try it. The downside, of course, is that you have to buy it by the case.
Beers for Thanksgiving (my pick)
November 26th, 2008Since Thanksgiving is looming, I’ve seen a few beer posts here and there for what people would pick for their Thanksgiving beers. I figured, what the heck, I’ll throw my hat into that ring too.
- Coors Original (not Coors Light!): You always have someone who doesn’t (or won’t) drink craft beers, so having some American Macro Lager on hand is necessary. Coors Original (the "banquet beer" which seems somehow appropriate) is one of the best options out there. Backup: Pabst Blue Ribbon.
- Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale: Big, bold, hoppy IPAs complement the Thanksgiving dinner nicely. Sierra Nevada’s seasonal will definitely brighten up the day. Backup: Stone IPA.
- Dogfish Head Punkin Ale: Because having a pumpkin beer at Thanksgiving is a natural. Malty, sweet, and pumpkin-pie spicy, this beer would be great as both a dessert and a main course beer. Backup: Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale.
- Saison Dupont: Simply a fantastic beer that will pair well with most anything found on the Thanksgiving table. Backup: Ommegang Hennepin.
- Young’s Double Chocolate Stout: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. One of the first beers I think of when I think "dessert beer." Backup: Rogue Chocolate Stout.
And, as a bonus, the digestif, the after-dinner beer: Doggie Claws from Hair of the Dog. A barleywine, of course—something to sip and savor and relax with after a big meal. As a backup, let’s go with Horn Dog from Flying Dog.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Bend Brewing bottling HopHead this week
November 24th, 2008Bend Brewing Company has posted on their website that they’re bottling their HopHead Imperial IPA for release this Friday, November 28th. Needless to say, this is a pretty limited release and while it might not be up to Abyss proportions, I expect they will sell out fairly quickly.
HopHead, you may recall, won the Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival two years ago, and won the Bronze medal this year. It’s 8.8% alcohol by volume and will be available in 22-ounce bottles.
CHOW on canned beers
October 27th, 2008Going back through the various links and PR that I was sent and didn’t get to for a week while I was Halloween blogging, and I see CHOW has an article on canned beer. It fits nicely with what I was writing about earlier this year when I did Canned Beer Week.
It’s a good, informative article that covers the angles. For instance, here’s the history of craft canned beer in a nutshell:
A major impetus behind the recent microcanning trend is a change in canning technology, which for decades was geared toward large producers. The Buds and Millers of the world utilize massive industrial canning machinery and purchase blank aluminum cans by the billions every year, according to Hoover. The landscape changed, however, in 2001 when Canadian company Cask Brewing Systems began offering a manual, two-at-a-time canning system designed specifically for small brewers.
(Oskar Blues was their first customer.)
And they have a nice summary of the advantages of canned beer:
Cans are much lighter to carry around, which means less gas used during shipping; plus they require fewer resources to manufacture, they’re more commonly recycled (the Container Recycling Institute claims that the can recycling rate is almost twice that of glass), they’re quicker to chill, and they can go places bottles can’t (beaches, parks, stadiums).
(Not to mention they completely protect the beer from being lightstruck.)
Overall, it’s a fairly quick read, and worth it.
Received: Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale
September 25th, 2008Late yesterday I received a sample bottle of this year’s Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, the fall seasonal offering from Anheuser-Busch. I reviewed this beer last year as was lukewarm on it, but even so, I get all excited when the pumpkin beers come out and yes, I’m anxious to crack this one open and see how it is.
