The June Session has been announced over at Geistbear Brewing Blog: Beer Festivals.

As Summer approaches we are in full swing of beer festival season, so it seemed the perfect topic for the June Session. Do you have a favorite beer festival you like to attend or a particular memory of inspirational moment at a festival? Or perhaps talk about what you would like to see out of festivals or perhaps the future of them. All is fair game, I look forward to seeing where people take this topic.

First Friday of the month means it's time for The Session! That's when (beer) bloggers across the web all write about a selected theme having to do with beer.

This month's topic comes to us from London-based Boak and Bailey: How did it all start for you?

Continuing the “Beervangelism” theme, we’d like you to write about the moment when you saw the light. At what point did you realise you were a beer lover / geek / enthusiast? What beer(s) triggered the conversion? Did someone help you along your way, or did you come to it yourself?

In short; how did you get into good beer?

I have two answers, and I can't say for sure which came first because the mists of time have worked their magic on my memory and my chronology is a bit mixed up. Both answers related to things happening within a fairly short period of each other which is why I can't quite remember... it's a bit of a "chicken and egg" problem in that sense, I guess.

It was the mid nineties, we were living in Spokane, and—being in my early twenties and going to school—the cheaper the beer I could get, the better. Sadly, I was a big drinker of Keystone Light, mostly because it was available at Costco for $7.99 per case. But I wasn't overly particular; sometimes I'd "splurge" and pick up Miller Genuine Draft—in bottles!—and at some point I graduated to Molson Ice. (Had the higher alcohol content, natch.)

I was certainly aware of the existence of craft beers; Deschutes was a big thing in my home town of Bend, and I'd probably tried various micros from time to time. But—well, it's a familiar story, so I won't bore you any more with it.

One of the first things to raise my beer awareness and start me down the path was my friend Geoff insisting I try some microbrewed beer one night while we were at Ichabod's North, and he bought a pitcher of Widmer Hefeweizen. The beer was orange and cloudy and smelled like fresh bread. My first impressions: thick, yeasty, bready, crisp, bracing, and the most delicious beer to pass my lips ever, at that point. Seriously, it was that good, and it really opened my eyes to what was happening with craft beer.

The other thing that happened was my introduction to homebrew. This was around the same time, and my friend Justin—who was also getting into good beer—brought over some homebrewed beer that a friend of his had made. It was Toad Spit Stout, the Irish stout recipe from Charlie Papazian's New Complete Joy of Homebrewing. (Yes, I intentionally linked to the second-edition version knowing perfectly well there's been a revised edition released.)

That Stout was far better than I frankly expected it to be, and opened my eyes to homebrewing the same way that Widmer's Hefeweizen opened my eyes to microbrew. I was hooked. I bought Papazian's book and it became my bible. I started homebrewing—clumsily at first, naturally—and explored Spokane's tiny craft beer scene.

(A big help in this was Jim's Homebrew—the best beer and homebrewing store in Spokane. Not only a homebrewing store, they had (have) several big refrigerator cases filled with craft and import beers—so I got to try a lot more beer than I would have otherwise (there were no other stores in Spokane at that time offering a variety even remotely like Jim's).)

After that, I had the bug. Ever since I'm always looking to try new beers, new breweries, and learn something new. Back in 2004, I went online and "officially" launched The Brew Site... and the rest, as they say, is history.

The next Session—number 15, for those counting (I'm one of those)—is being hosted by Boak and Bailey and the topic is "How did it all start for you?"

Continuing the “Beervangelism” theme, we’d like you to write about the moment when you saw the light. At what point did you realise you were a beer lover / geek / enthusiast? What beer(s) triggered the conversion? Did someone help you along your way, or did you come to it yourself?

In short; how did you get into good beer?

If you can talk about a specific beer, so much the better — it would be good to see if there are any trends.

Sounds good! I'll be there.

It's the first Friday in April, meaning that across the interwebs, beer bloggers are all writing about a common theme: yes, it's The Session.

This month's topic comes to us from Stonch, across the pond in England: Beer People.

Enjoying beer is as much about people as it is malt and hops. The term "social lubricant" has always seemed a little too euphemistic to me, so lets be honest: having a few pints and getting merry is bloody good fun. That's why we do it.

It's ten times better when you're with good mates, or meeting interesting new people. I've made lots of new friends in my favourite pubs and through my involvement in the beer industry. From the most skillful brewers to the louchest boozehounds, they're the reason why I keep doing this.

On Friday 4th April, the date of the next Session, I'd like you to write about people. Choose someone you know personally. That person might be a brewer, a publican, someone who sups at your local, or maybe just a friend who is passionate about beer. Let's read some pen portraits of your companions on the path to fermented enlightenment.

I like what Stonch is getting at, but I'm actually going to deviate a bit. I want to write instead about the people I've encountered, not just because of beer, but because of beer blogging.

When I started beer blogging, it was mainly with "hobby intentions"; that is, I hadn't aspired to (or indeed even been aware of) the doors that would open and the contacts that would be made in the brewing world. But—especially over the past several years—I've been amazed at just that. It has enabled opportunities to contact and network with all sorts of interesting people I may not have otherwise.

Other bloggers and writers is the obvious first group I'm referring to. I read a ton of other beer blogs, and I've corresponded with, or linked to (or been linked to) a number of those other bloggers. People like Stan, and Alan, and Jay, and Sage, and Chris, and Jeff, and Bob, and Chris, and Ron and Al, and Rick, and Nate, and more (sorry if I missed a name or ten!). Without fail, every blogger I've had the pleasure of communicating with has been friendly, generous, enthusiastic, and a genuinely nice person.

Blogging has opened doors to people in the brewing industry that I wouldn't otherwise have known about, as well. "Behind the scenes" folks often involved with PR and marketing for a brewery—I'm sure there will be people who sniff disdainfully at me for calling out marketers as "legit", but oh well—to me they're as important as the rest of us in the beer world. People like Neal Stewart from Flying Dog, Marty Jones from Oskar Blues, and Jason Randles from local Deschutes Brewery (to name a few) are doing great jobs reaching out and making this an enjoyable field to be in.

(In fact, yesterday I met with Jason from Deschutes and got an insider's tour of the Brewery and talked a bit about beer, and blogging, and more. Really cool opportunity—more on that later.)

And the brewers? Well, the brewers are the rock stars of the beer world. Some are definitely more well-known that others—we all know who they are—but if it weren't for all of them—well, we wouldn't really be here, would we?

Do I sound like a fanboy? Well, yeah, that's largely because I am.

The beer world is really a tight-knit, friendly community—from the bloggers and writers to the brewers to all the rest of the industry people I've corresponded with.

And you know what? Nothing better illustrates this than The Session itself. Yes, The Session is about writing about beer with a common theme, but—even more importantly—it's about the people from all across the web collaborating and getting together (in a virtual sense) about beer. When I hosted The Session a couple of months ago, I was more excited to correspond with so many great people than worry about what they actually wrote (though the writing was good, too—don't get me wrong!).

And that is what it's all about.

It's the first Friday of the month, so here in the beer blogging world that means it's time for The Session! Also informally known as "Beer Blogging Friday", it's when bloggers—beer and otherwise—around the web all come together to write about a particular theme, the results of which will be compiled in a giant uber-post by that month's host (who also picks the topic for the month).

In fact, this month marks the one year birthday of The Session! To that end, a tip of the hat to Stan Hieronymus, who came up with the idea of the Session and ably launched it a year ago with Stouts as the theme. Cheers!

This month's topic and hosting duties comes to us from Chris O'Brien, the Beer Activist: Organic Beer.

Only beers verified by independent certifiers as meeting the legal organic standards are allowed to bear the USDA Certified Organic logo (the one up there to the left). Lots of brewers use Certified Organic malt and/or hops but have not had their facilities and processes certified. Legally and in practical fact these beers are not organic and are prohibited from being marketed as organic. But for this Session, it’s up to you to decide what to count as organic. Feel free to comment on beers that someone just tells you are organic, but be aware that just because someone has good intentions and seems trustworthy doesn’t mean that their beer is in fact organic.

For me, at the risk of (as I've said elsewhere) turning my Session posts into "all Deschutes, all the time", this was a no-brainer: in an interesting bit of fortuitous timing, Deschutes Brewery just recently released their first certified organic beer: Green Lakes Organic Ale. Moreover, as you'll notice from the link, they just went public with the announcement that Green Lakes has joined their line-up of year-round beers available in 12-ounce bottles; previously, it was a seasonal, one of their "Bond Street Series" in 22-ounce bombers.

That's the version I reviewed. You can see the image of the 22-ounce bottle there on the left, and the new 12-ounce one on the right. (And, a disclaimer: I also just received several of these new 12-ounce bottles from the Brewery as part of the PR on their release. Haven't drank any of those yet.)

Green Lakes is a classic American Amber Ale, and at 5.2% alcohol, very easy to drink and sessionable. More importantly, it is, as I said, certified organic:

After working with Oregon Tilth for nearly six months, Deschutes Brewery received organic certification for its 50 barrel brew house and can now brew tasty organic ales for year-round enjoyment.

Fish need cool clean water. So do you. That’s why we sourced Salmon-Safe certified Sterling hops for our first organic beer. The way these flavorful, rich hops are grown makes sure that streams are shaded and there is not runoff to nearby waterways. That way the rivers stay cool and clean for migrating salmon. Not only is our Green Lakes beer organic, it helps protect our rivers as well.

To read more about Green Lakes Organic Ale being the first beer brewed with Salmon-Safe certified hops click here.

So, my tasting notes:

Appearance: Nice reddish copper color that catches the light like a shiny new penny. Two gorgeous fingers of creamy, rocky head—very light tan.

Smell: Sweet malts, rich with a hint of sugar and syrup. Beets in the sugary sense... hops are spicy and Crystal-like, mellow and floral. Tasty-smelling.

Taste: Hops are the first note—earthy, with a peppery spice note, herbal and nicely bitter—but not overly so. A well-balanced red malt character follows closely behind, sweet and with a tang of roasted malt. A little dry astringency there. Very drinkable, nicely sweet despite the dry notes.

Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full-bodied... dry enough to be refreshing but leaves almost a sugary residue in the aftertaste—which is pleasant and leaves you reaching for more.

Overall: The American Amber style is one of my favorites—malty and sweet and firm-bodied, with hops but not too many hops—and Green Lakes fits that bill in spades. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first opened up a bottle—so many breweries these days interpret "American Amber" to mean "highly hopped"—but I was very, very pleased with this beer.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a letter grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.43 out of 5 and is in their 78th percentile.

Start looking for this to appear on the shelves next to Deschutes' other year-round beers!

This is a wrap-up to the Session wrap-up I posted last night and updated today... highlighting the extra links that came in since I'd first posted. (Updated)

• Beer at Joe's covers Mikkeller Big Worse with a unique slant: video blog (vlog?). Not quite in the way you think, either.
• Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin fights deadlines to get his Session post in: on Anchor's Old Foghorn. As usual, Jay's writing is lively and long and full of interesting tidbits; I didn't know, for instance, that Old Foghorn was the first barleywine brewed in America after Prohibition.
• Late entry! Greg Clow at Beer, Beats & Bites writes about Legacy Ale, from Victoria, BC.

The total number of bloggers participating, by my count, is 39. We wrote 41 entries (a couple wrote two), and over 65 beers were reviewed (along with three posts that weren't about a specific beer).

The most popular barleywines, by my count of reviews:

• Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (various vintages): 6
• Flying Dog's Horn Dog: 4
• Anchor Old Foghorn: 4
• Stone's Old Guardian: 4
• Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot: 3
• Talon True Style Barley Wine: 3
• Mikkeller Big Worse: 2
• Full Sail Old Boardhead: 2
• Clipper City Below Decks: 2

If I were to count the notes to the Thomas Hardy's vertical tasting Tomme Arthur posted, then that would win by a landslide: that's 32 beers!

And, the announcement for Session #13—the one-year birthday of the Session!—is up over at Beer Activist: Organic Beer.

At the risk of making my Sessions "All Deschutes, all the time!", I do have to say this is a well-timed topic since Deschutes Brewery just recently released their first certified organic beer: Green Lakes Organic Ale. It's quite good, and I imagine I'll be writing about it...

Wow, there sure are a lot of bloggers participating in The Session... I think my prediction about The Session (and beer blogging in general) taking off this year is on-target.

You've likely already read my Session contribution... so, here are all the rest. In order to be fair, I've tried to list the links in the order that I received them, or first came across them in the blogs if I didn't receive an email.

Updated! More below.

• Over at Beers, beer, beers, Craig reviews Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, and notes that he tends to avoid American-style barleywines as too hoppy. He finds Blithering Idiot well-balanced and "a fine choice" for his one barleywine of the year.
• Jeff at Make Mine Potato (great name!) reviews Three Floyds Behemoth. I also have to admire his taste in barleywines and the "six month rule" is giving me something to think about.
• Musings Over a Pint: David delves into Legend Brewing's 2007 Barleywine, and notes that in the U.S., barleywines are labeled "Barleywine Style Ale"—a governmental relic provided to avoid confusion with actual wine, no doubt.
• The Beer Nut: Masta blasta: The 'Nut reviews Brainblásta, Ireland's "only regularly-produced barleywine" and strong (for the country used to session ales) at 7% alcohol.
• The Dude at Akelas Biggins generally doesn't care for barleywines, considering them overdone, yet finds something to like with Flying Dog's Horn Dog. We won't hold a general distaste for the style against him, though. :)
• Kieran from Beer from the Motherland (down under—New Zealand!) writes about Gales Prize Old Ale from the now-defunct Horndean Brewery.
• Robert at Explore the Pour joins the party with a review of Real Ale's Sisyphus. No worries on that being a hard task, though; he finds it to be the "easiest to drink barleywine I've ever had."
• Rick Lyke at Lyke2Drink relates some nostalgic history behind his first encounters with barleywine, and reviews three: Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, Talon True Style Barley Wine, and Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine.
• At The Barley Blog, Ray reviews a classic: Anchor's Old Foghorn Ale. (And hints at a possible Part 2.)
• Ron at Hop Talk also picked Talon Barley Wine, finding that he liked it despite concerns over brewer Mendocino's past quality control issues.
• Meanwhile, Ron's partner in crime Al at Hop Talk reviews Blithering Idiot—and quite likes it... though he didn't the first time he tried it a decade ago. That's three so far for Blithering Idiot. I may have to look into acquiring some...
• Tim at Sioux Brew "overwrote, over analyzed and over drank" and came up with five reviews: Old Foghorn, Upstream Brewing's Batch 1000 Barley Wine, Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot 2006 and 2008, and Stone's Old Guardian. His top picks—Old Guardian and Old Foghorn.
• Wilson at brewvana also reviewed more than one beer: Flying Dog's Horn Dog (made him smile) and Bell's Third Coast Old Ale (a chore to finish).
• Over on Blog About Beer, Luke posts his very first Session entry—congrats! He (re)posts a review of Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale, which he quite likes. Welcome Luke!
• Eric at Eric's Brew Blog enjoyed his very first barleywine: Green Flash Barleywine.
• Roger from the Bottled Llama Brewing Blog picked Stone's Old Guardian and finds a lot to like in the glass.
• Stephen Beaumont manages to beat Stan to the punch with his first barleywine entry at On the House: starting with a well-informed breakdown of the style, he takes a good look at Full Sail's Old Boardhead. The verdict: highly enjoyable and welcome in front of the fireplace.
  His second blog entry over on That's the Spirit! reviews three barleywines: 2004, 2005, and 2007 vintages of barleywine from Toronto's Mill Street Brewery.
• The good folks at the Flying Dog News blog fill us in on their (of course) Flying Dog Horn Dog, which is turning out to be a popular beer today.
• On the Beercraft Blog, Mark reminisces about Anchor's Old Foghorn and names their current favorite: Rohrbach 15th Anniversary Barley Wine.
• Alan from A Good Beer Blog gives us three: Hair of the Dog's 2006 Doggie Claws (briefly), Sierra Nevada's 2006 Bigfoot, and Stone's Old Guardian.
• Lucy Saunders, author of The Best of American Beer & Food, writes, naturally enough, about pairing barleywines with food and provides a delicious recipe for Barley Wine Glazed Walnuts.
• Captain Hops at Beer Haiku Daily comes up with three haikus (naturally!) for three beers: Clipper City's Below Decks, Victory Brewing's Old Horizontal, and Criminally Bad Elf.
• Stan at Appellation Beer reviews Lost Abbey's The Angel's Share (a fantastic beer I can personally attest to) and passes along a short interview with Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur.
• Keith from Brainard Brewing doesn't cover any specific beer, rather has a great story about barleywine, cheese, and spending quality time with his son. (Keith followed up here with a late addition tasting post to supplement.)
• The guys at Flossmoor Station were invited to Three Floyds for their barleywine and strong ale tasting. If that doesn't make everybody jealous, I don't know what does. Of course, they took along some of their Sheol Barleywine as well.
• Flying Dog's Beer Dinners site has a post talking about a dinner pairing of their Barrel-Aged Horn Dog with "smelly Stilton cheese." They also include some HD video of the dinner.
• Bill at BEERJANGLIN' is learning to love barleywines, and writes about a number of his experiences, including Mendocino's Talon, Stone's Old Guardian, Clipper City's Below Decks, Brooklyn Monster Ale, Pittsfield Brew Works' Bees Knees Barleywine, and Berkshire Brewing's Barleywine.
• Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey writes (for "the Blogging Day") about a vertical tasting of Thomas Hardy's Strong Ale he attended back in 2004 and posts his complete notes. That's a vertical tasting of all the Thomas Hardy beers from 1968 until 2003... talk about jealousy...
• Nate at Nebraska Beer joins the Session for the first time (welcome!) and reviews the 2006 and 2007 vintages of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot and his own homebrewed barleywine, Old Krusty the Klown. I believe this is the first homebrew reviewed today.
• Over on the Pacific Brew News Blog, Rick discusses barleywines by starting out with, "I got nothing. Really. What more can be said?" Fortunately, he still manages to find something to say!
• One of the deans of American beer writing, Lew Bryson, has a head-to-head featuring 1999 Full Sail Old Boardhead  and 2003 BridgePort Old Knucklehead. Nobody writes quite like Lew... go read it and see.
• Matt at Southern Suds put together a vertical tasting of J.W. Lees Vintage Harvest Ale, 1998 through 2004 vintages. I'm getting jealous again...
• The Beer Philosopher, Shawn, starts late and reviews a 2006 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot.
• William Brand, of the What's On Tap California Beer Newsletter writes about Alaskan Brewing's Barleywine, which is bottled and available outside of Alaska for the first time this year.
• Bill from It's Pub Night up in Portland writes about Lucky Lab's Old Yeller. I haven't been to the Lucky Lab in ages and ages, but this sure makes me want to get up there, like, right now.
• Beer at Joe's covers Mikkeller Big Worse with a unique slant: video blog (vlog?). Not quite in the way you think, either.
• Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin fights deadlines to get his Session post in: on Anchor's Old Foghorn. As usual, Jay's writing is lively and long and full of interesting tidbits; I didn't know, for instance, that Old Foghorn was the first barleywine brewed in America after Prohibition.
• Late entry! Greg Clow at Beer, Beats & Bites writes about Legacy Ale, from Victoria, BC.

That's what I've gathered so far... 39 bloggers, 41 entries, over 65 beers reviewed, and three non-beer-specific posts. Wow. That's a lot of work! I imagine there will still be a few more entries trickling in this weekend, and I'll update accordingly.

What a great Session! Thanks to all for participating (and to those who may yet participate).

According to my notes, next month's Session will be hosted by Chris O'Brien of the excellent Beer Activist blog. Look for his topic announcement soon. I'm looking forward to it!

It's the first Friday of the month, which means it's time for The Session, where bloggers (beer and otherwise) all over the web write on a given beer-related topic, and the results are all compiled. I'm very pleased to be hosting The Session this month, which means I'll be collecting links to all the posts on the topic I had chosen: Barleywine.

Barleywine is one of my absolute favorite styles. One of the notable characteristics of the style is its high alcohol content: ranging from 7%-9% (by volume) on up. But that's not what lands the style on my list of favorites; rather, these are intense and complex ales made for sipping and reflection, much like a cognac or a Scotch. What better time of year to approach it than the dead of winter, when the snow blankets the ground and the nights are long?

(A quick note about the style name... traditionally it's written "barley wine" but a more recent trend is to combine these into the single "barleywine." I myself prefer the latter, as I think it distinguishes itself better from "wine" and just, well, seems to flow better. But both are correct and I won't quibble.)

Of the various beers I considered writing about, I ultimately chose Mirror Mirror from Deschutes Brewing, for several reasons. For starters, I have—or rather, had, since I'm now short one bottle—two bottles of this beer, vintaged 2005... which means it's nearly three years old and I've been eager to try it.

For another, it was the first in Deschutes' Reserve Series of beers, of which the most notable recently has been The Abyss. But in 2004, well before The Abyss appeared, the brewers crafted a draft-only barleywine: Mirror Mirror. The name came from (if I'm remembering the story correctly, which I may not be) the fact that they based the beer on the recipe for the Brewery's popular Mirror Pond Pale Ale—only doubling the malt bill. It was a big hit at the pub.

When they brewed this beer again, in 2005, they aged it for four months in French Oak wine barrels before releasing it in bottles as the first of their Reserve Series.

When it came out, I loved it, and realized that for a limited run on a beer like this, storing a few extra bottles away could be a good thing. So I bought two.

And what a good thing it was!

It sits at a warm 11.5% alcohol by volume, and only came in 22-ounce bombers. You'll notice the "Mirror Mirror" glass in my picture, too... I picked up a pair of those snifters at the annual Garage Sale Deschutes holds, for something like $1 each.

Appearance: Thick tawny-amber, approaching brown. Creamy, wood putty-colored head.

Smell: Wonderfully sweet and fruity and complex; a touch of (charred) wood coupled with sweet alcohol heat; sour black cherry; black licorice; leather; plummy Scotch.

Taste: Sweet wash of alcohol strength and dark fruit (prunes, dates, black currants) followed by a dry oak character that blends it all together nicely. This is very, very nice... no harsh notes, it's warming and sweet and malty with a hint of Belgian rock candy—darker sugars. A hint of toasted honey malt paired with brown sugar and molasses... there's a bit of rum, even bourbon, here. A cognac of a beer for sure.

Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and smooth and chewy (but creamy), and that effect that starts syrupy sweet and finishes dry (with woody notes) is amazing.

Overall: Perfection. I love love love this beer, and while I'm glad I have one bottle left... I need to find more of these!

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of A-. On RateBeer, it scores 3.64 out of 5 and is in their 91st percentile... high marks all around.

But wait! The Session's only just begun! I'll be collecting all the links to the other Session posts I can find today (and this weekend, as they trickle in), and be posting the roundup later today (or tomorrow).

While you're waiting... open a barleywine.

A reminder to everyone that The Session is coming up this Friday (February 1st). The topic is Barleywine, and since I'm hosting, send me a note after your blog entry is up:

You can notify me of it in several ways. First, leave a comment here at the Brew Site, either on the announcement post or my own Session entry for that day.

Second, you can email me at jon (at) chuggnutt (dot) com, with a pointer to your entry.

Third, you can use the contact form here on the site to let me know.

Also, I thought I'd point out that The Session is open to all bloggers—you don't have to just be a beer blogger. I received an email earlier in the month asking just this question. It's all-inclusive!

Go figure that I'd forget the most important detail behind my Session announcement... how to participate!

On Friday, February 1st, after you've posted your Session entry, you can notify me of it in several ways. First, leave a comment here at the Brew Site, either on the announcement post or my own Session entry for that day.

Second, you can email me at jon (at) chuggnutt (dot) com, with a pointer to your entry.

Third, you can use the contact form here on the site to let me know.

Late in that day, or on the weekend, I'll post the roundup of all the posts I get sent (or that I can find).

Cheers!

Hard to believe we're up to the 12th Session already, but it's my pleasure to be hosting it for February. The first Friday is also the first of the month, so it may well sneak up on some of us.

I also find it interesting that Stan noted that the first is only two days before the Super Bowl... is there a hint there? I (briefly) considered going with an "American football" theme which would consist of, what, ice cold American lagers? Miller/Bud/Coors?

But no, don't worry, I wouldn't do that to any of us. Instead, think of it as a warm up for the Super Bowl... and a warm up for the deep winter months, too. The February Session topic is going to be Barleywine.

Whether you spell it "barley wine" (conventional) or "barleywine" (my preference), this is definitely the season for it. It's a style with a wide range of interpretations and possibilities, so I want to leave this Session open for the same: whether it's a tasting review, or a food pairing, or an experience, or a (homebrew) recipe—it's wide open, and I can't wait to see what people come up with.

Update: D'oh! Forgot the posting and notification details! Get them here.

First Friday, which means in the beer blogging world that it's time for The Session!

This month's Session and topic comes to us courtesy of brewvana: Doppelbocks. The only rule is, there are no rules:

I don’t feel like coming up with a bunch of rules and restrictions. I want to learn about doppelbocks, and so the sky’s the limit: write about doppelbocks however you see fit. History, reviews, pairings, pictures, poetry and experiences. All of it.

Wilson has chosen an apt name for the theme, too: Illuminator. I say "apt" because it's traditional for Doppelbocks to be named in such a way as to have the "-ator" suffix: Salvator, Celebrator, Liberator, for example. This is, in fact, naming homage to the first Doppelbock: Salvator.

(So learning about something == being illuminated, hence the "illuminator" pun... right? Get it? [stop beating a dead horse!])

Two good pages to learn about Doppelbocks are on Wikipedia and the German Beer Institute. It's best to go read those sources directly, but if you're looking for the quick summary: the name "Doppelbock" means "double bock" and refers to a lager beer that is stronger and darker than a Bock; alcohol percentages range from 6-7% up to 9-10%, though some stronger ones are out there, too. They are typically malty, sweet, and rich, with little or no hop character, and the nickname "liquid bread" accentuates this.

As it happens, I received a bottle of Flying Dog's Collaborator Doppelbock in December, just in time for the Session. You may recall that this is the result of the Open Source Beer Project, which Flying Dog launched last year in order to create a beer with the larger community in an open process. (Similar to the Free Beer project in that the recipe, artwork, etc., is open source, but in the case of Free Beer, it's simply a source for the recipe for other brewers to brew, whereas Flying Dog is brewing the OSBP beer themselves.)

I'm all about open source; this blog is built on open source technologies and I use open source software where possible. I also like the open web community approach Flying Dog is adopting here (and elsewhere), it's fairly forward-thinking for a company. So this beer is interesting to me beyond just being a "Wild Dog" series beer from the brewery.

In addition to telling you that this beer is 8.3% alcohol by volume and how it tastes, looks and smells in my notes below, I can pull up the final recipe they used and tell you they used German malts and American hops in the kettle and Bavarian Lager yeast in the fermenter. And perhaps someday I'll make a version of this beer myself.

Appearance: Cool bottle presentation; champagne bottle, corked and caged. It pours a nice mahogany brown and clear; there's a finely-bubbled tan head on top. Deep copper highlights at the edges.

Smell: Malty—brown malts and brown sugar. A bare hint of sourness (acidity). Maltiness is prominent, not much I can detect in the way of hops.

Taste: Malty and rich with a roasted malt bitterness cutting through it. Like I detected in the nose—it tastes to me like there's (a lot of) brown malt in there... like a kicked-up brown ale, sweet and strong. Hops are subtle with a touch of spice. A touch of the alcohol heat up front, but has the clean finishing profile of a lager.

Mouthfeel: Clean and nicely medium-bodied... a little thicker than medium, actually. Well-presented on the palate.

Overall: I like this, it's tasty and rich and while 750ml of 8.3% ABV beer might be a bit much for one person in a single sitting, I took my time enjoying it and didn't have any problems.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a letter grade of B+ ("very good"). On RateBeer, it scores 3.24 out of 5, and is in their 62nd percentile.

Did we learn something? I think we learned a bit about Doppelbocks themselves... and a bit about Flying Dog and their brewing process... and that "collaboration beer" can be a good thing. I'll be interested to see if anyone else is reviewing Collaborator Doppelbock for this Session.

First Friday of the month, that means it's time for The Session again! The Session is where bloggers far and wide all write on a particular topic or theme, related to beer of course.

This month's theme for The Session is brought to us from Barley Vine:

The theme for this month is Winter Seasonal Beers. This can be any style you want as long as it’s a Winter Seasonal. Don’t limit yourself to just the big heavy beers as so many breweries put out so many different styles there something for everyone.

This month's topic goes hand-in-hand with my Advent Beer Calendar feature I'm running up until Christmas, so I decided to combine the two topics (so to speak) and review the same beer for The Session that I selected for today's Advent Calendar beer: Wild Goose Brewery's Snow Goose Winter Ale.

The other reason I selected this beer was that Wild Goose very graciously sent me a six-pack of Snow Goose last month, when I had contacted them about their Pumpkin Patch Ale in regards to my Pumpkin Beer Week feature that ran in November (they were out of Pumpkin Patch and sent the Snow Goose in its stead). Since I couldn't fit Snow Goose in with the pumpkin beers I was writing about, I decided it would be a perfect fit for today's Session (and Advent Calendar). So, that was a disclaimer in a roundabout way.

Snow Goose is a classic Winter Warmer, an English-style ale brewed strong and malty for the holidays (and colder winter months). At 6.2% alcohol by volume, it doesn't have the strength of, say, a barleywine, or some of the stronger holiday brews many American brewers have been putting out in recent years—but you won't even notice. In fact, you might think the alcohol content is even higher; as I wrote on today's Advent Calendar entry:

Snow Goose is malty, hoppy, sweet and spicy that all blends together into a brandy-like character, something that's difficult to achieve without higher alcohol levels. It's a bold beer, very well suited to the cold winter months.

(I added the emphasis here.)

This is a distinctive, delicious Winter Warmer to savor for the holidays. Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance: Nice mahogany brown laced with orange, and a light tan head piled up on top.

Smell: Warm and toasty Crystal malts along with brandied sugars. Alcohol, caramel, dark fruitcake.

Taste: Nicely malty and hoppy both; maltiness is rich with a sweet though not cloying background, hops are dry and spicy and herbally bitter. Alcohol heat, with oaky notes... thinking brandy again. Earthy, a little steely, rock candy, burnt sugars, dark maple (?), charcoal, tannins...

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, dry and warming. Aftereffects are not unlike a cognac.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 84 out of 100, with 98% of reviewers giving their approval. On RateBeer, it scores 3.48 out of 5, and is in their 83rd percentile.

This month's Session is hosted by Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey fame, and his topic selected was "Beer and Music - The Message in a Bottle."

For this session, I am looking towards my fellow bloggers to share a music and beer moment with.  It could be that Pearl Jam show I attended 7 years ago where I was forced to drink 5 Coronas to stay warm.  But more likely, it could be an album or song that you’re always listening to.  I, for my part, will be writing two blogs.  One will be about a particular memory and the other will be about musical stylings and my beers.

(I have to admit, this month's Session snuck up on me. I mostly forgot about it as this time of year is always a busy one for us, with myriad other things going on—I only remembered at the last minute.)

This is a tough topic for me because music is not something that I spend a lot of time on; most of the music I listen to is whatever happens to be on the radio while I'm driving and while I own a few handfuls of albums (and MP3s) I don't listen to them all that often. If there's music in the background of a place I go to (brewery, restaurant, etc.), I usually pay no attention (unless it's live). So, sad to say, music and beer is not something I can really speak to.

Now having said that, there have been a few exceptions. A number of years ago my brother was living in Portland in an apartment building at 7th and Yamhill, and behind him, on the other side of the block, was the Speakeasy Tavern. (He could enter the alley behind the building and cut through to the Speakeasy; it was very handy.)

The Speakeasy (still there; it's located at 609½ SE Taylor Street) is a classic hole-in-the-wall dive bar at the bottom of an apartment complex, half underground. It's small, dark, smoky, and being Portland, they have good beer on tap. And, they have (or at least, had; I haven't been there in years) a jukebox.

One weekend in Portland, my brother, my dad and I popped into the Speakeasy—first time I'd been there, I think. We had Black Butte Porter and loaded up the jukebox with a variety of music: Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, AC/DC, Vanilla Ice—just stuff that for us is fun to listen to. It was a good night, drinking dark beer in a smoky bar with the music we wanted to hear.

Other times when music and beer will make a noticeable impact on me is when it's inextricably appropriate to the beer and the setting. Biddy McGraw's, for example; the Irish-est Irish pub I know of in Portland. Way back when they were located on Hawthorne Avenue (they're currently at 60th and Glisan), they were always packed to the gills and each time I'd been there (only a handful of times), they had an honest-to-god Irish band playing live Irish music. (This I know for a fact because one of the band members, Seamus, was my brother's landlord at one time and was truly Irish—and yes, same brother as at the Speakeasy.)

Now that I think about it, could there be any more appropriate beer music than Irish music? Particularly when what you're drinking is Guinness?

Well, perhaps, but it's definitely worth exploring.

This month's Session is brought to us by Captain Hops: Beer and Food.

I am looking for posts about pairing beer with food or using beer as an ingredient in food. I hope to see recipes, pictures, tasting notes, stories, menus, reviews or anything else that fits the bill of fare. Whether you write about which beer goes best with chili dogs or give your family’s secret recipe for vegan stout stew or post pictures of those ale braised lamb shanks you had last week, I want to know every mouth watering detail.

I have to confess, this isn't a topic I've spent much time focusing on, beyond a casual interest. I've not attended any formal beer dinners, nor do I generally select a beer based on what food I'm eating.

So I was wondering what I'd be able to contribute this month when I realized that I did, in fact, cook recently with beer—not something I often do, either. So I'll talk about the two recipes I made.

First, though, I have to mention Michael Jackson's awesome Ultimate Beer, because it has an extensive section on beer and food pairings—it's my go-to source on the subject (what I do know about it). He has style recommendations for most categories of food (smoked foods, fish, beef, pizza, desserts, etc.) and ones I wouldn't have otherwise thought of (salads and starters, pickles and pâtés). It's also just a beautiful book. Go buy it.

(I'll give a plug to Garrett Oliver's The Brewmaster's Table, too, because I've heard good things about it—though I've not read it yet.)

Anyway, on to the recipes.

The first of the two recipes was this one I blogged about: beer cupcakes. I followed the recipe verbatim, and they turned out to be delicious: rich and moist, the Guinness and the cocoa worked to give it a velvety, dark chocolate flavor, very decadent. I highly recommend this recipe; it's easy to follow and I promise the cupcakes will be a hit.

Beer Pairing Suggestion: Stout or Porter, particularly a chocolate variety.

The second foray into beer cooking was Sunday dinner last week and I was thinking along the lines of an Oktoberfest flair, so I went with a pot roast—using Spaten Oktoberfest as the braising liquid.

I followed a basic recipe as a guideline, but I improvised a bit as well. Here's what I did:

• 3.25 lb. beef chuck roast, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper
• Chopped onions, carrots, and celery—about 1/2 cup each
• 1 cup beer
• Seasonings (I used thyme, oregano, parsley, and a dash of sage
• Several small whole onions, potatoes (cut into chunks), baby carrots

You'll need a Dutch oven or other similarly heavy pot with a lid for this.

First I browned the beef over medium-high heat on all sides, about 10-15 minutes worth. Remove from heat, add several tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the chopped veggies for about 5 minutes, then add the beer and seasonings. Bring to a boil, add the beef back to the mixture. Cover the pot tightly, and turn the heat down to low. Now leave it for about 2 hours, then add the whole vegetables, cover and leave it for another hour. (Add more liquid as needed—do not let the pot dry out.)

When it's done, take the roast out and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then slice it up. Serve with the whole vegetables. Additionally, you can make a gravy out of the remaining liquid in the pot, but I didn't do that (this time).

Verdict: It was good—you can't go wrong with pot roast!

Beer Pairing Suggestion: Well, an Oktoberfest goes well with this, obviously. But I think any malty, more-sweet-than-hoppy beer would pair well with this; it's comfort food and deserves a "comfort beer."

The next Session (October 5th) is being brought to us by Captain Hops of Beer Haiku Daily: Beer and Food.

Don’t worry, I won’t make everyone write haiku or limericks or sonnets. I have chosen the theme “Beer and Food”. Mmmmmm… Beer and Food.

I am looking for posts about pairing beer with food or using beer as an ingredient in food. I hope to see recipes, pictures, tasting notes, stories, menus, reviews or anything else that fits the bill of fare. Whether you write about which beer goes best with chili dogs or give your family’s secret recipe for vegan stout stew or post pictures of those ale braised lamb shanks you had last week, I want to know every mouth watering detail.

Sounds good—already the gears are spinning, thinking of something to write about. Captain Hops also links to a bunch of books and websites to help potential Sessioners get started, which is a great idea.

Looking forward to it!

This month's Session is being hosted by Rick Lyke, who came up with the "Brew Zoo" theme:

Have you ever noticed how many animals show up on beer labels? We have lions and tigers and bears, plus various birds, reptiles, fish, assorted domesticated and wild animals, plus a few mythical creatures. For whatever reason brewers have a tradition of branding their beers using everything from pets to predators. The Brew Zoo will celebrate these lagers and ales.

Your assignment for The Session #7 is to go on a beer safari and help stock our Brew Zoo with animals large and small. This is one hunt that even PETA should not protest.

[The basic rule is that either the brewery or the beer must have a real live creature in its name. We will also allow beers with prominent animal label art (think Geary's Ale from Maine and its Lobster) to be added to the Brew Zoo.]

It's also being dedicated to Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter:

With the passing of Michael Jackson, Beer Blogging Friday founder Stan Hieronymus and I have decided to dedicate next week's event to Michael's memory. His influence on beer journalism and beer appreciation is a great gift that he gave to all. Here's to The Beer Hunter.

Hear, hear. It's safe to say that without Michael Jackson, much of this whole beer-blogging-writing thing wouldn't exist as it does today, and I doubt whether such a thing as The Session would have taken off as well as it has. Here's to Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter.

For the Brew Zoo, I'm focusing the spotlight on Cascade Lakes Brewing, for several reasons. First, many of their beers feature animal names in them, and their labels have stylized, anthropomorphic-cartoony depictions of those animals, so they are perfect candidates. Second, I haven't really shone the spotlight on Cascade Lakes as much as I have other local breweries (particularly Deschutes, who has been the subject of two previous Sessions)—it's time they get highlighted.

Three of Cascade Lakes' beers are bottled for general distribution, and they are all "Brew Zoo Beers": Rooster Tail Ale, Pine Marten Pale Ale, and Monkey Face Porter. The names of all three have a dual definition (aside from being animal-themed) as well, which I'll mention with each beer.

The Rooster Tail Ale is a what I would classify a Blonde Ale at 5.2% alcohol by volume and is the brewery's flagship beer. It pours extremely clear with a fluffy white head over a light, golden yellow body. On the nose there's hints of toasted biscuit, raw wheat, corn, and what seems to be a slightly skunky hop—in fact it reminds me of a European lager more than an ale. The taste is toasty, a little doughy, and wheat-like light malt. Bitter in the hops—a tad earthy, a tad spicy, and understated.

It's light and crisp with an edge, and is a nice, drinkable session beer, and it's been part of the brewery's lineup since 1994. The "Rooster Tail" name refers, of course, not just to the animal but to the descriptive term given to the "tail" or plume of water kicked up by boats and water skiers—or snowboards in powder, for that matter. Both activities are found in abundance in Central Oregon, known for its outdoor recreation opportunities.

Pine Marten Pale Ale is named after the animal—but it's also the name of the mid-mountain lodge on Mt. Bachelor, the local ski resort. This ale is a light copper-orange color, also very clear with nice white head riding atop it. Aroma-wise, it's malty and full of caramel and toffee, with a fruity undertone.

The malts are light and toasty and are the defining flavors with this beer; there's toast, biscuit, light caramel notes throughout. This is not nearly as hoppy as a "typical" American Pale Ale; this is much more in the English style with an emphasis on the malt and sweetness—perhaps like a Mild, although the 5.1% alcohol tips just above the Mild classification. Pale Ale will do. The hops are there, soft, pleasantly floral, in the background. Pine Marten is light, smooth, and effervescent on the tongue.

Even though Monkey Face Porter has a monkey on the label, it is in actuality named for a prominent landmark and climbing feature at Smith Rock. This Porter is 5% alcohol by volume—slightly lower than the other two—and everything about this beer says chocolate and coffee.

Its color is a nice, inky dark brown—opaque and the color of dark roast coffee. It smells of heavily roasted malts and oily dark bittersweet chocolate with a tinge of smoke. When you take a sip you immediately notice this is a dry ale, full of roasted coffee beans and burnt chocolate malt and dark cocoa, and possessing a little bit of an oily, smoky character. It's medium-bodied and well-balanced and very dry, but not too bitter. This Porter screams "social beer," meant to be enjoyed with friends on the deck in the evening—or in around the fireplace during the winter.

I've reviewed Monkey Face Porter before, too; you can read that here.

So, we have a rooster, a marten, and a monkey to contribute to the Brew Zoo. I'm sure a rooster and a monkey will show up elsewhere, but I'd venture to say a marten is fairly unique, so I think this was a successful "hunt" overall. Hopefully one the Beer Hunter would appreciate.

Rick Lyke is hosting next month's Session, and today he's announced the topic:

So what is the topic for September? Welcome to the Brew Zoo.

Have you ever noticed how many animals show up on beer labels? We have lions and tigers and bears, plus various birds, reptiles, fish, assorted domesticated and wild animals, plus a few mythical creatures. For whatever reason brewers have a tradition of branding their beers using everything from pets to predators. The Brew Zoo will celebrate these lagers and ales.

Your assignment for The Session #7 is to go on a beer safari and help stock our Brew Zoo with animals large and small. This is one hunt that even PETA should not protest.

So beers with animals on the labels... that's probably the most creative idea yet. I'm fortunate in that local brewery Cascade Lakes features animals on several of their beers, so I'll likely take the easy road and blog about them. But I'll be keeping my eyes out for others, too.

This month's Session topic comes to us courtesy of Greg Clow over at Beer, Beats & Bites:

With all of this fruit on the brain (or more accurately, in my belly), it gave me the idea for a theme for Session #6. Therefore, I hereby declare that on Friday, August 3rd, 2007, beer bloggers the world over will be writing about Fruit Beer.

Aside from the stipulation that it be a beer brewed/augmented with fruit (or fruit juice or extract), there are no other rules or guidelines. Anything is fair game, from a tart and funky Kriek or Framboise, to a sugar-laden "lambic", to a Blueberry Wheat or Raspberry Ale from your local brewpub.

I'll just get this right out: I love fruit beer. Well, I love fruit beer when it's done well, but I suppose that goes without saying. Not everyone does, though; it seems to be one of those beer types that has a polarizing effect. People either love it or hate it, there's not much in between.

Sadly, my current beer pantry is devoid of the fruit, nor are any of the local breweries producing a fruit beer right now, so instead of any specific beer, I thought I'd wax rhapsodic about fruit beers in general. Oh, and there are some pointers to some of my past fruit beer reviews, too.

(Actually, I just realized that that's not entirely true... I have a bottle of Cuvee de Tomme at home, but I've been saving that, and already had most of this post written when I realized it.)

The very first fruit beer I had (back in the mid-90s, this was, when I was first being introduced to microbrews) was Pyramid Apricot Ale (back before it was their Apricot Weizen, this was). It was on tap, not the bottled version, and this was at Ichabod's North in Spokane (how's that for memory?), and it was utterly fantastic. Crisp and yeasty from the wheat base, the fruit exploded into a perfectly balanced, drinkable ambrosia that opened a world of possibilities before me.

(Or at least, that's how it seemed at the time; since then, my experience with Pyramid's flagship fruit has been that of a tasty, passable beer, but not the world-changing experience I seem to remember. I have no doubt that the beer was better on tap than the bottled version, but still, memory is a fleeting thing. Thankfully, I remember it as a good experience!)

Another memorable beer—I think my second-ever, also at Ichabod's in Spokane—was Bert Grant's Apple Honey Ale. Also amazing, to my memory, lighter than the Apricot Ale, and probably more of a cidery character to it. It further cemented in my mind that you could do amazing things with fruit and beer.

I've actually brewed a couple of fruit beers myself, an apricot ale and an apple ale. They were wheat based, used fresh fruit, but unfortunately weren't great. Drinkable. My friend Justin brewed two fruit beers that I remember for being much better—and more unusual: a mango wheat ale, and a banana wheat. Both were, in my opinion, good—and the banana was very good, very subtle.

I've been toying with the idea of brewing a rhubarb wheat sometime, as I can get (seasonal) fresh rhubarb from my mom's garden. The thing about rhubarb is that it's so sour; perhaps a lambic-ish type of beer would be appropriate with it.

Of course, no talk of fruit beers can occur without mentioning the King of Fruit Beers: Lindemans lambics. These are the beers that don't look or taste like beer; the ones that people who ordinarily hate beer will drink and like. My wife, for instance. She hates beer, but loves the Framboise. No other fruit beer stacks up, in this regard.

(Yes, I know that certain folks look down upon Lindemans as not being "pure" in the context of Belgian wild ales, or being too "popular" and losing their way or somesuch. I'm not one of them. I think Lindemans has done a wonderful job of bringing lambics to the general public consciousness, and they make a pretty fine beer, to boot.)

Incidentally, my least-favorite of the Lindemans line is their apple (Pomme). It's not bad, not at all, but for all the excitement I remember at hearing the news that they were coming out with a new flavor, it was a bit disappointing to finally get a bottle and realize it tastes just like sour apple Jolly Rancher.

Oh well, they can't all be knocked out of the park.

Finally, for those looking for reviews and opinions on specific beers, here are some of my past reviews:

• Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic
• Christmas Cranberry Ale
• Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale
• Wild Raspberry Ale
• Dogfish Head's Aprihop
• Melbourn Brothers Strawberry
• Bend Brewing Apricot Ale

And for those interested in what my favorite fruit beer might be? Well, I'll just borrow a page from Lew Bryson and say that it's the one that I have in front of me at any given time...

This month's Session is being hosted by the Hop Talk guys, and Atmosphere was the theme they came up with:

So, we want to know about the “Atmosphere” in which you enjoy beer. Where is your favorite place to have a beer? When? With whom? Most importantly:

Why?

Weighty topic, and one I'm quite sure I have multiple answers to, so I'll be rambling a bit.

In general, my favorites places to drink beer are the brewpubs themselves—especially when I get the chance to sample beers I haven't had before. A good brewery puts a good amount of thought and effort into their drinking space, though naturally some are more successful than others.

Portland is a great place for drinking beer, there are many great places that range from a hole-in-the-wall niche up through the large full-production restaurant. Many of the McMenamins are somewhere in between, and invariably have a great atmosphere—places like Ringler's Annex (speakeasy-style narrow basement bar), the Blue Moon (full service restaurant and pub with pool tables), or O'Kane's (intimate, dark, cozy old building with a cast-iron woodstove) here at the Bend McMenamins.

Likewise such places as Widmer's Gasthaus (Portland classic) or the Lucky Lab (beer hall style camaraderie).

But my very favorite place for atmosphere in Portland is the Tugboat Brewery. It's a tiny brewpub located on Ankeny just behind Burnside and just a few blocks down from Powells Books. If it's not the smallest brewery in Portland, it's in the top 3 for sure. Extremely limited seating, only two or three beers on tap at any given time, a small stage, and books lining the walls all give a comfortable ambiance that is equally conducive to shooting the breeze with friends, poring over your finds from Powells up the street, or relaxing with a beer and a book from their shelf. More importantly, it's extremely friendly and the kind of place that strikes you as being quintessentially Portland.

Outside of Portland, the Pelican Pub & Brewery is unmatched for location and atmosphere. It's right on the beach in Pacific City—how much better a location can you get than that? I reviewed Pelican a year ago. It's a modern brewpub, lots of wood, brick, and concrete, and sports an unparalleled view of Haystack Rock and the Pacific Ocean. Fantastic! I've been tempted to move to Pacific City just to have regular access to the Pelican Pub.

Imagine—sitting in the brewpub with two or three good friends, enjoying the beer on warm afternoon overlooking the beach. Watching the Dory boats come in—in Pacific City, they launch right from the beach at high tide. Kids are flying kites, adventurous individuals are body surfing, sea birds of all kinds are flocking and flying around Haystack Rock. After you've finished the last of your beers—perhaps an India Pelican Ale or Tsunami Stout—you can walk out the door directly to the beach and perhaps to a driftwood bonfire where a party is getting started.

On the local front, here in Bend, I rather like all of our breweries—they all have strong points—but my favorite for atmosphere is the Bend Brewing Company. I think it's the decor as much as anything; it's a hybrid of brewpub and ski lodge style, with lots of natural wood and large brick, accented with outdoor winter gear, and very airy. I think it best fits the vision of what I think a brewpub should look like, among the local places.

It's authentic, and inviting, and the good beer and good food are a plus. I like to think that it's the most local of the locals, and that's the vibe I get when I'm there.

Of course, good company is what it's all about, too. I can sit out on a patio with my brother or my best friend, drinking beer, with nowhere to be, and that's as good as any brewpub visit. Beer is a social drink, after all, and some of the most enjoyable beer drinking sessions I've had have been with both of them—both at brewpubs (the Tugboat in particular) and just hanging around the apartment or house or wherever.

As to the "why" of all this, I don't have an easy answer, but I hope some of it is self-evident. Why not? Better writers than I have expounded on beer's long history and it's social aspects and more... I kind of like to think that sometimes I just let the beer speak for itself and enjoy what I've got.

The other blogs have noted this already, too... I seem to be falling behind these days. The folks over at the Hop Talk blog are hosting the July Session and have announced the theme: Atmosphere.

Beer is about more than flavor, IBUs, and the debate over what is a craft beer and what isn’t. It’s about Life. It’s the proverbial icing on the cake.

So, we want to know about the “Atmosphere” in which you enjoy beer. Where is your favorite place to have a beer? When? With whom? Most importantly:

Why?

Because while life isn’t all about beer, beer is all about life.

Interesting choice, I like it. It's a much more "anecdotal" topic than previous Sessions.

It's that time again: first Friday of the month, time for The Session! This month the theme is Local Brews, hosted by Gastronomic Fight Club, with the goal "to create a guide book of tasting notes to drinking local":

The idea here is to be as helpful as possible for visitors to your area. What is the beer/brewery/brewpub that you feel is quintessential to your city? What do the locals drink? What could a tourist drink that would make them feel like they've found something special; something that they're going to miss when they go home?

I'm very fortunate to live in Central Oregon in the Pacific Northwest, and have six microbreweries or brewpubs here in Bend alone. For all that, though, the quintessential brewery to Bend is, without a doubt, the Deschutes Brewery. Not only is it the largest brewery in town, it's been here the longest, and among locals is simply known as "The Brewery." And their beers? Sublime.

Founded in 1988, Deschutes bottles and distributes six year-round beers, at least four regular seasonals, and a variety of special 22-ounce "Bond Street Series" beers. In addition, their Public House in Downtown Bend also has at least eight or nine other specials on tap (a mix of the current seasonals and specialty batches).

Since The Session is about the beer, I'll hold off on doing a longer review of Deschutes (the Brewery) for another time. As for their beers, though... it's going to be tough to limit myself. I'll cover what I consider to be their four "core" beers—three regulars and one seasonal—then I'll cover a few of the others.

The absolute first beer you should drink when you visit the Brewery is Black Butte Porter. This is Deschutes' flagship and best-known beer, brewed since their founding in 1988. The bottled version is good, but the tap version is unmatched; inky black with ruby edges, creamy smooth, with rich notes of chocolate, coffee, charcoal, and rich dark malts, it has an acidic tang and balances sweet and dry without veering into harshly astringent. Its body is firm yet drinkable and refreshing, and it's a wonderful session beer at 5.2% alcohol by volume.

It's garnered a slew of awards, deservedly so, and if you visit the brewery and find yourself drinking only the Porter, you'll still walk away satisfied. It's that great and that drinkable. My all-time favorite Porter.

I already covered Obsidian Stout for the very first Session. It's worth reading again. I'll wait.

If you're looking for lighter beer, then Mirror Pond Pale Ale is a must-try. An exemplary American Pale Ale, Mirror Pond is malty and flavorful, full of caramel and bready grain notes, with just the right amount of Cascade hops—you know this is a Northwest ale for sure, without the puckeringly bitter hop character that many "extreme beers" are trending for these days.

I find that it complements almost any meal very well; it neither overpowers nor is overwhelmed by the cuisine—it's Just Right. In fact, when I go out to eat locally, I almost always select Mirror Pond when I'm drinking beer, unless they have something on tap unusual that I want to try. Even though Black Butte is Deschutes' flagship, I think Mirror Pond is better represented on the local dining scene.

The next beer is a seasonal, but in many ways I consider it to be the seasonal: Jubelale. It was the first beer bottled by Deschutes (the regulars were only available on tap at the time), and each year's bottle features a label created by a local artist.

Jubelale is a traditional Winter Warmer style of ale—darker, maltier, and stronger than the regular lineup, with a hint of spice and a rich, warming character. Dark crystal malts give the beer a roasted-but-sweet malt flavor, and this is well-balanced by a generous use of hops.

I consider it one of their core beers—as do the locals—but since it's a seasonal, you can only get it from October through January. (Their site says December, but you usually see it hanging around a bit longer.) You'll need to time your visit just right to try this one.

Once you've worked your way through the core brews, you might want to tackle some of their other regulars—in particular, Cascade Ale if you're looking for a very light session beer, and Inversion IPA for the signature Pacific Northwest offering—but you should definitely try one or more of the other seasonals or specialties that you'll only find on tap at the Public House downtown.

Current seasonals you'd enjoy are the Buzzsaw Brown and the just-released, ever-popular (particularly with the locals) Twilight Ale. Buzzsaw is a traditional English Brown Ale that's tasty and easy to drink, and Twilight is a summertime Pale Ale with an extra hop kick.

As for the specialty, brewpub-only batches? They rotate all the time; check out the Brewery's Now Pouring page to find out what's current and drool over the choices. If you're not sure what you'd like, they're happy to bring you tasters. Just to give an idea of what they offer, I've had a Saison, a Pilsner, various types of session ales, fruit beers, barleywines, and more.

Hopefully I've been a good tour guide/evangelist for Deschutes for this month's Session. However, if you have time to visit more than one brewery while you're in Bend, then I have some more recommendations for you...

Next month's Session is being hosted by the Gastronomic Fight Club and is a departure from the usual theme of tastings by style: Local Brews.

The idea here is to be as helpful as possible for visitors to your area. What is the beer/brewery/brewpub that you feel is quintessential to your city? What do the locals drink? What could a tourist drink that would make them feel like they've found something special; something that they're going to miss when they go home?

Here are the rules:

• You can pick anything commercially made within 150 miles of your house, but try to pick the brewery or brewpub closest to your house (NOTE: the average American lives within 10 miles of a craft brewery).
• You can select any beer or even a sampler if you want.
• If you select a single beer, let us know why you choose this beer (e.g. favorite,seasonal,limited edition, best seller).
• Preferably you'll shy away from beers with wide distribution outside your immediate area.

I like it already. I have six local brewers just in town alone, and I know just the one I'll write about. (Regular readers can probably guess.) Actually all the local brewers deserve to get the full review treatment, but that's too big a project for one Session, unfortunately.

Via Stan.

Again this month I feel compelled to offer up my own subtitle: "Mild Meanderings." Largely because I wasn't able to find an actual Mild Ale locally—though I came close, and I'm hopefully there at least in spirit—but also because I'll be segueing a bit as I write this.

The problem with finding an actual, honest-to-goodness Mild around here is that this is the Pacific Northwest, and that means Hop Country. The Northwest has (rightly) acquired a reputation for brewing and liking hoppy beers, even so much as to be able to (rightly) dub this the "Pacific Northwest Style." When shopping for beer, there is always an abundance of Inda Pale Ales, double/Imperial beers (particularly IPAs, porters, and stouts), American strong ales, extreme beers of one sort or another, and generally strong and dark beers.

The store I like for my beer selection (Newport Avenue Market) also has a very good selection of Belgian beers and a decent selection of German beers. Of the British beers, they carry the usual minimum: mainstream Samuel Smiths, some Fullers, some Youngs. No Milds, though.

In essence, I was looking for a beer that would fit the characteristics of a Mild so I could at least kinda sorta be on-topic. It's a shame that none of the local breweries produces a Mild, although I seem to remember that at one time the Deschutes Brewery had indeed brewed a mild as part of their tap rotation at the brewpub. The closest they come now is with their Dehlia Falls Session Ale and their Buzzsaw Brown.

The Dehlia Falls, though, is much too light to be considered a proper Mild: a pale golden yellow with a light malt bill. It's only 4.6% alcohol but a bit too hoppy to count as well—coming back around to the Pacific Northwest Style of brewing yet again.

The Buzzsaw Brown would be more promising, as Milds evolved from Browns and are closer in "family" than the rest. But I'd just reviewed Beertown Brown as well, and I wanted to try something new in the same spirit.

(Actually, on our San Diego trip I apparently did have a Mild: the Dawn Patrol Dark when we visited Pizza Port in Solana Beach. Their sign said "English Brown" but all online indicators I've seen say it's actually a Dark Mild; I wish I had more that a couple of quickly jotted notes: "On cask, so very smooth and creamy. Malty, a hint of fruitiness... a bit dry. Sweetish and a bit roasty. Yes, I know 'sweet' is the opposite of 'dry' but that's my impression.")

So the beer I finally settled on at Newport Market was a new one they hadn't had the last time I was there: Old Speckled Hen. Now, I know this is technically an English Pale Ale and is just outside the alcohol range at 5.2%, but for me it was more in the spirit of The Session: Mild Ale is a traditional, sessionable English style, and so is Old Speckled Hen. Plus I've never tried it before, so why not select it for the tasting? (Especially considering most of the other suitably low-alcohol beers I can find that might be comparable are lagers.)

This particular beer is the canned version, the one that contains the nitrogen widget that injects nitrogen gas into the beer when it's opened—much like the canned Guinness, or Beamish Stouts. This simulates a cask/nitro tap and arguably contributes to the "authentic" draught experience.

Appearance: Pour was super-dense creamy foam (from the nitro widget inside) that visibly settled into an attractive amber-orange, slightly hazy beer. Remaining head is beige-white and very thick and fine.

Smell: Clean and mild. Whiff of nitro foam gets in the way. Hops and caramel.

Taste: Bitter—hops are first—a bit woody, a bit spicy, herbal. No fruit or citrus at all (a nice change). Base is a nice pale malt—a bit sweet, a bit dry (from the hops)... no roasted character here or off-flavors or tricky malt combos. It's an excellent pale ale.

Mouthfeel: Extraordinarily smooth and creamy, from the nitro widget. Body is a bit shy of medium, but has nice weight on the tongue. Refreshing.

Overall: Okay, it's no Mild—it's too hoppy and higher in the alcohol—but I think it's as close as I'm gonna get around here, adhering more to the "traditional English pub" experience. It's a good, well-balanced pale ale, and the nitro flair is a bonus that I haven't had in awhile.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 81 out of 100 with 87% approval. On RateBeer, it scores 3.17 out of 5 and is in their 58th percentile.

So I didn't help to clear up the "Mysterious Misunderstood" part of the Mild Ale mythos, but I enjoyed the tasting at least and got to try something new. I think my best bet for a Mild is to brew my own, so that will likely be my next homebrew project (whenever that happens).

The next Session is coming up this Friday, and it's all about Milds. (Previously.) Jay (who's hosting) posted a good piece about Mild Ales today, worth reading.

The BJCP organizes milds under their Style #11, English Brown Ale, with 11A designated mild and two additional sub-styles, northern and southern English brown ale. They suggest IBUs of 10-25, SRM of 12-25, and ABV of 2.8-4.5%, with most falling between 3.1-3.8%. The only American example they list is Goose Island PMD Mild.

For the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, The Brewers Association will for the first time include milds as a separate category in the style guidelines. Two categories, actually, as they’re dividing them into two separate styles, English-Style Pale Mild Ale and English-Style Dark Mild Ale. These appear to be the same as Category 56 for the World Beer Cup. For the BA, Pale Mild has IBUs of 10-20, SRM of 8-17 and ABV of 3.2-4% and for Dark Mild, IBUs of 10-24, SRM of 17-34 and ABV of 3.2-4%.

The color distinctions between the two are described as “golden to amber” for pale mild and “deep copper to dark brown (often with a red tint)” for dark mild. Both are dominated by malt favors with very low bittering discernible and allow for some low levels of diacetyl (butterscotch). The dark mild may also include some licorice or “roast malt tones.”

I imagine I'll be loosely following these guidelines with my selection rather than drinking an "authentic" Mild—only because I can't seem to find a Mild around here anywhere, short of brewing my own. And I didn't have time to do that.

That's okay, I can be creative and come up with something...

Jay at the Brookston Beer Bulletin is hosting the next installment of The Session, and today he's announced the topic for May: Mild ales. More specifically:

The theme will be “The Mysterious Misunderstood Mild” to coincide with CAMRA’s May promotion Mild Month. Saturday the 5th will also be National Mild Day on the other side of the pond. For those of us here in the colonies, we may have a harder time finding a mild to review. But several craft brewers do make one, even if they don’t always call it a mild. So you may have to do a little detective work to find one, but that should prove to be half the fun.

I like the choice, though as Jay said, acquiring a Mild will be interesting, since I don't live in England. It occurs to me that I could brew a Mild this weekend and have just enough time in the bottle (a week or two, almost) to drink and review it. If I were to do that, I'd follow Al Korzonas' "Wolverhampton Mild" recipe from his Homebrewing Vol. 1.

Don't let the name fool you, Milds have a long and varied history in English brewing. For some style notes, BeerAdvocate lists two, Dark Mild and Pale Mild. The Dark Mild is the traditional version most people will be thinking of. Wikipedia's article is also very good.

Looking forward to it!

I wanted to subtitle today's Dubbels Session, "Dubbel Dubbel Toil and Trouble," but out of respect for Alan's running the show this month I abandoned my Bardly-themed title and went with his title. Mine was probably too nerdy, anyway.

Dubbels are somewhat under-represented in my beer repertoire, so when I was at the store I decided to do a (wait for it...) double tasting (har) and picked up two: New Belgium Abbey and St. Bernardus Prior 8.

(When is San Diego I looked for a locally-brewed Dubbel but had no luck; Stan had informed me that The Lost Abbey brews one but sadly I never made it up there to try it out. Next time!)

Some references for the style: BeerAdvocate, Wikipedia. Let's get to my tasting notes.

New Belgium Abbey

Appearance: Nice clear brown with red tints. Thick big dense off-white head, slow to break.

Smell: A hint of fruit, lots of sweet candy sugar, some gamey aromas that remind me of a farmhouse ale. Sour cherries or currants.

Taste: Sugary-sweet (not cloyingly saccharine, though), a bit of brown sugar, honey-ish, biscuit malt, a bit of alcohol warmth. Some plummy fruit, maybe some under-ripe cherry. Wet cut grass. More complex than I would have guessed. Herbal, almost.

Mouthfeel: Nice and chewy without being overly thick; still a nice lightness from the carbonation.

Overall: As I said, this was more complex than I would have guessed, and I was pleasantly surprised. Enjoyable. New Belgium's page suggests this pairs well with dessert, and I'd believe that.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 88 out of 100 with 99% approval. On RateBeer, it scores 3.7 out of 5 and is in their 93rd percentile.

St. Bernardus Prior 8

Appearance: Chestnut brown with deep amber red when held up to the light. A tad murky. Beige head is big and thick, though not quite as big as the New Belgium.

Smell: Malty and sweet, but less of a candy sugar sweet and more of a honey sweet. A bit of fruit... musty grape. Raisin? Spicy and herbal.

Taste: Belgian all the way. Candy, alcohol, musty dark berry, herby, some spices, some peppercorn, raisins, figs. Very nice, very complex.

Mouthfeel: Nice thick yet medium body—not as chewy as the New Belgium but not as light in the carbonation either. Feels like a nice sipping beer.

Overall: Though a bit higher in alcohol than the New Belgium, this one is both mellower and more complex at the same time. More subtle, and very drinkable.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores 90 out of 100, with 99% approval. In fact, it's the #3 beer in their Top Dubbels list. On RateBeer, it scores 3.88 out of 5 and is in their 97th percentile—high-scoring there as well.

Alan over at A Good Beer Blog is hosting April's Session and has announced the topic: Dubbels. Good choice, but one I didn't really see coming. It's all good.

References: BeerAdvocate, Wikipedia.

Welcome to the first edition of The Session (or Beer Blogging Friday, or whatever the ultimate name will be—probably "The Session"): a group blogging effort on the first Friday of each month where individual beer bloggers will post on the that month's tasting theme, and one person compiles all the links in a "centralized" posting. Whosoever does this compiling will rotate each month, and they will select the theme.

This first month's theme is "Not your father's Irish stout," suggested by Stan. So I figured it's the perfect opportunity to write about something I haven't covered yet and keep it local: Deschutes Brewery's Obsidian Stout.

Obsidian has been a mainstay at Deschutes since they started in 1988, and you can usually find it on the nitro tap at the downtown brewpub in Bend, Oregon. At 6.4% alcohol by volume, it's stronger than your session beers but doesn't tip the scales into "Imperial" territory. Which is good, since it seems like every other brew out there these days does!

This is an exceptional stout, all around. You don't have to take my word for it; check out the awards the brewery has garnered for it on their page, for one thing. For another, Obsidian Stout currently sits at number 88 on BeerAdvocate's Top 100 Beers page—no mean feat.

Let's hit my tasting notes:

Appearance: Inky coffee black, with a nice thick brown head, frothy and rocky.

Smell: Roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate. Creamy and smoky.

Taste: Smooth and dark—slightly burnt astringency. Roasted grains, dark roast/espresso coffee, bittersweet chocolate, creamy sweetness, burnt biscuit (good), clean hops.

Mouthfeel: Velvety smooth, nice full body without being overwhelming in strength. An oily chocolate afterfeel, but very clean-feeling.

Overall: An amazing, smooth, drinkable stout, an excellent example of the style. Truly one of the best stouts I've had. Good thing it's from my hometown!

On BeerAdvocate, I already discussed this beer's placement on their top 100; it scores 91 out of 100 with 100% approval in the reviews. On RateBeer, it scores 3.8 out of 5 and is in their 96th percentile.

This is one beer that's worth finding—if you're not in the Western states already. If you are and you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for?