Little Woody day 2

We followed up the first day of The Little Woody by heading down early on Saturday, arriving about 12:15 just after they opened. (My usual MO for beer fests.) It was already a beautiful day, and already getting hot, so while the crowd was light we snagged a table in the back that was in the shade, and stayed there with our group for the time while we were there.

Day 2 went much the same as day 1: drinking lots of good beer, running into friends, and generally enjoying a well-put-together beer fest. For most of the day while we were there, the crowd was not nearly as busy or packed as it was the previous evening—but I’m quite sure it got very busy in the evening again (we left about 6:30).

Here are the beers I sampled that day:

  • Super Jubel 2012 (Deschutes Brewery): Just a really good beer, this version partially aged in Pinot Noir barrels. Great starter beer for the day.
  • Raven Baltic Porter (Bend Brewing): This was a fantastic beer, and in retrospect might have been my favorite of the Woody: super mellow, excellent bourbon character, amazingly smooth, super rich. Great, great beer, hopefully there’s still a bit left that we can see more of…
  • Rye Barrel-Aged Doublecross (Crux Fermentation Project): A special barrel of Doublecross Belgian Strong Dark Ale “banished” to a Templeton Rye barrel, and this was all about the rye—probably the most rye-infused beer I sampled this weekend. Quite good, and enjoyable listening to Larry Sidor talk about the beer during the special stage presentation and pour.
  • Silverback Imperial Stout (Cascade Lakes): Nicely sweet and malty Imperial Stout, bourbon character was mellow and enjoyable.
  • Blanton’s single malt whiskey: Yes, not a beer, I had to at least check out the whiskey selection being offered in the Museum. Blanton’s was the most expensive (6 tokens) but I figured it would be a good splurge, and it was, a very nicely smooth single malt.
  • The Stoic (Deschutes): This has thinned out a bit and gotten more complex from what I remember, and I’m quite sure this was one of the most complex beers you can likely find. Anyone who passed this up while at the Woody missed out.
  • Demolition Man (Silver Moon Brewing): This is another great beer to come from Silver Moon, one I’ve had more than once before. It keeps getting better with age, though I have to think it’s almost all gone now.
  • Bourbon in da ‘skys (Central Oregon Homebrewers): This was a special stage beer from the local homebrew club: a rye barleywine (or “Ryewine”) aged 15 months in a rye bourbon barrel. It was really good, mellow but strong with a great bourbon character. Because it’s homebrew, they can’t sell it so they were pouring samples for free; so I got three(!).
  • Bon Voyage (Block 15): Block 15’s Caribbean rum aged take on a Baltic Porter, enjoyable and a bit of an edge to it (I’m hesitant to say “harsh”) but honestly I can’t really compare to BBC’s Raven Baltic Porter which was my favorite.
  • NBB Loves Leopold (New Belgium Brewing): More tart and sour brown character than I remembered from the brief sip I’d had the night before. Very nice beer, tempered by the blackberry whiskey aging.
  • Pinot Noir Aged Outback X (Bend Brewing): Another great BBC beer, their quite lovely strong ale with a well-paired subtle wine character from the Pinot barrel.

Overall, a great event this year, with great beers. I had a great time, and have more pictures from the day:

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