The Brew Site
The headline says it all, which I lifted directly from my latest article in The Bulletin—although, these local ciders are great any time of the year. (But particularly refreshing in summer!) I profiled three packaged ciders from three of the four local cideries: Avid Cider, Bend Cider, and Tumalo Cider. … Continue reading
Here’s a different spin on “brew”: I received samples of Cask & Kettle hot cocktail mixes last week, which are ready-to-brew coffee cocktail kits designed for Keurig coffee makers. Three flavors were included in the shipment: Mexican Coffee, Mint Patty Coffee, and Irish Coffee. Each box contains five Keurig-compatible pods … Continue reading
Double Mountain Brewery is marvelously consistent with its beers, particularly its hoppy ones, with solid hop presence and balance with characterful malts for a satisfying experience. I’d received two such examples not long back, which I’ve got reviews for here; let’s go: Hi Friend! IPA Double Mountain collaborated with Tacoma’s … Continue reading
This was an interesting one. I haven’t really had too many “smoothie” beers of the fruited sour variety, but I’d received a can of Pineapple & Mango Smoothie Gose Sour from Public Coast Brewing a little while back, so it was a chance to try out the style (substyle? variant? … Continue reading
I finally tackled the topic of non-alcoholic beer for The Bulletin in my latest article, which came out this week. Of course I’ve been covering NA beers here for the past year and a half, but with the availability of two local near beers from Deschutes Brewery and Crux Fermentation … Continue reading
The Bend Ale Trail launched in 2010 by Visit Bend, featuring seven breweries in what (at the time) was among the first-of-its-kind adventure maps taking visitors on something of a brewery scavenger hunt around Central Oregon. It served as a self-guided tour by which participants collected stamps from each brewery … Continue reading
A bit over a week ago I received the latest beers from Hopworks Urban Brewery, the summer seasonals: Ace of Spades Imperial IPA, When Life Gives You Blueberries Sour, and Sunset Fuel IPA. Note, however, that HUB announced the release of Evelyn Sunshine West Coast IPA, so I don’t know … Continue reading
Last week, I received a sample kit of Easy Rider Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Hood River Distillers. The distillery is promoting the relaunch of the whiskey with a new label design, and the PR kit arrived in a toolbox, containing the bottle, a branded flask, a branded bar towel, … Continue reading
The past week I received a sample package from Island Brands, a South Carolina-based beer/marketing company offering up “clean, better-for-you, super premium beer” — presented in four light lagers (or lager-based beer cocktails). The flagship is Island Coastal Lager, followed by the 88-calorie Island Active, a lemon shandy (Island Lemonada), … Continue reading
My latest article for The Bulletin, out this week, touches on smoked lagers with a profile of a nice one brewed up at McMenamins Old St. Francis School: Bamberg Obsession, a helles-style lager brewed with beechwood-smoked malt. I asked [head brewer Vance] Wirtz what inspired the beer. “The inspiration for … Continue reading