Today I received another promotional beer package, this time being Beck’s Oktoberfest—which will be perfect for next week’s Oktoberfest Week. Beck’s is of course the German beer which is imported and managed by Anheuser-Busch here in the States, but I didn’t know they made an Oktoberfest (although in retrospect it should have been obvious). I received two bottles, and one of them has an enormously amusing and clever gimmick attached: a plastic handle that looks … Continue reading →

The end of last week I received a package promoting Kona Brewing, for their seasonal Pipeline Porter. In it were two bottles of the beer and a package of Kona coffee. (Picture below, of course.) The connection being, that Pipeline Porter is "brewed with freshly roasted 100% Kona coffee grown at Cornwell Estate Plantation, just a few miles from the Kona brewery on Hawaii’s Big Island." The coffee was very good; I haven’t tried the … Continue reading →

We had family come into town this weekend for the holiday and ended up spending a fair amount of time visiting the breweries; here are some observations and notes. We didn’t make it out to Sisters for Three Creeks Brewing or over to Cascade Lakes Brewing (based in Redmond but with a strong Bend presence on the westside). On the other hand, we did visit every other one in town; for those counting, that’s Deschutes, … Continue reading →

Chronicling a couple of the recent PR packages I’ve received, one which actually came two weeks ago while we were in Florida and one that came yesterday. First up is the Michelob beers… which, for some reason, I didn’t take a picture of. Two bottles: Michelob Pale Ale and Michelob Dunkel Weisse. I’ve reviewed their Pale Ale in the past, but I’ll definitely pass along further impressions on this one. The Dunkel Weisse is new, … Continue reading →

Speaking of Deschutes (right on the heels of the previous post press release), they twittered last night—and have an update on their home page—that The Dissident is bottled, waxed, and will be available on September 2nd: After much anticipation, Deschutes Brewery is proud to introduce its wildest brew yet – The Dissident. Arguing for more time in the cellar, this Reserve Series beer is anything but conventional. Fermented for more than 18 months in isolation … Continue reading →