Central Oregon Beer Week starts up next week! From May 21 through 27 it’s a week-long celebration of beer for the region—with 13 active breweries and even more on the way, we have a lively and hopping beer culture here! Take a look at the events and come on down anytime next week to Central Oregon to enjoy the beer!

This weekend the 6th annual Brewer’s Memorial Ale Fest is taking place in Newport, the dog-friendly brewfest held by Rogue “created in memory of Rogue Brewmaster John Maier’s faithful companion Brewer, who passed away on May 20, 2006.” Times and dates: Friday the 18th from 4 to 10pm, Saturday the 19th from noon to 10pm, and Sunday the 20th from noon to 4pm. (Facebook page.) The fest will be held inside Rogue’s Newport brewery and “includes 50+ Microbreweries, Live Music, Doggy Musical Chairs, Dog Wash, Dog Dancing and Celebrity dog look-alikes (Rin-Tin-Tin, Lassie, Benji and of course, Brewer).” Cost is $10 admission which gets you 4 taster tickets (with more available for purchase), and it’s 21+ only (except for the dogs of course).

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/16/2012” »

• BREWS & BANDS at the Broken Top Bottle Shop all week: BTBS is a major contributor to COBW, and they’ve lined up a week’s worth of meet the brewer events featuring different local brewers each night, paired with live music—all in their brand-new space! They’ve been working hard to get their new expanded space ready for the bottle shop portion of the business and it’s going to be a great venue for music and beer.
• Whole Foods is likewise doing a week-long series of tastings featuring beers from different local brewers each day which is definitely something to be checking out—not only for the tastings but also for one of the best bottled beer selections in town.
• An event I’m excited to have on the schedule is an exclusive “Pre-release Backstage Brew Bus Tour” from Wanderlust Tours, taking you on a visit to both The Ale Apothecary and Crux Fermentation Project: “Take a trip up to Bridge Creek to see Bend’s City water source in all its pure, clear glory. The best beers in the world spring forth from this excellent water source. The first brewery downstream is the new Ale Apothecary- our first stop at this behind the scenes tour! Owner and Brewmaster Paul Arney will share his eclectic, yet experimental craft with us in a gorgeous mountain forest setting. The tour will finish up with a stop at Crux Fermentation Project- Bend’s next great brewery in the making. Open fermenters, shiny copper, a true crossroads of traditional and upstart northwest flavors, seeing Crux behind the scenes is a special treat!”  The price is only $45 and they can seat 14 people—and there’s only going to be one! I’d definitely encourage you to sign up for this one—call 541-389-8359 for reservations.
• GoodLife Brewing has the grand opening of their Biergarten on Friday the 25th, along with the release of this year’s seasonal Sweet As Pacific Ale. There’s going to be music, games, food, a fire pit, and with the beautiful weather we’ve been having the Biergarten is going to be the place to be when they open!
• Mt. Bachelor’s Brewski Festival caps the week on Memorial Day weekend—it’s the Mountain’s closing weekend and from 12 to 3pm both days you can enjoy beers poured from Central Oregon’s breweries along with live music, skiing, and more. The cost is $10 for a beer stein and three tokens, with additional tokens available for $2 each. A full 14 ounce pour will cost three tokens, while a sample 4 ounce pour will cost one token. Even if you don’t ski, you can head up to the Mountain to enjoy the beer!
• The Bend Ale Trail during the Week will be giving out a special bonus prize to folks that complete the Trail: special limited-edition BAT koozies! I don’t know if or when these will come around again, so don’t miss out—plus you’ll get to see all our breweries in doing so! Win-win!

There are of course a lot more events taking place all week, and I’ll be doing my best to hit a good number of them (I’m definitely interested in the beer cocktails at 10 Below restaurant, which are going on all week). It’s going to be a good week!

Belmont Station (Portland): Today is the premier of the “Three Ring Circus” collaboration beer that Ninkasi‘s Jamie Floyd brewed with the Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton as well as Speakeasy Brewing and Schmaltz Brewing (yesterday I’d reported this as an “event” but it’s really a beer). Jamie Floyd will be on-hand to tap this keg (and reps from Speakeasy and Schmaltz will be there with beers too) from 5 to 8pm. The beer itself is a true “circus” beer, a “nut brown ale brewed with dulce de leche, popped corn and peanuts”!

Cascade Brewing (Portland): Tonight’s Tap It Tuesday event (starting at 6pm) is Live Red, a “NW style sour red ale that was aged for four months in Bourbon barrels. Dark red wine, raisins and red grape skin aromas are noticed up front. Sweet red grapes and caramel with hints of hazelnuts roll across the palate. Bright red currants and cherries linger in the finish. There is no fruit or spicing in this beer, it’s just a double red aged on oak. 6.5 % ABV, $6 per glass.”

And, for anyone who was waiting for some special bottle releases from Cascade this week, only Sang Noir will be out; the Figaro isn’t ready to go yet (which is both a risk and a benefit from aging sour beers—they take longer but they’ll be better in the end).

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/15/2012” »

Fruity and a touch of apricot which is a nice touch (it reminds me of Boneyard Beer’s Zwickelmania IPA sample after only 1 day of fermentation). Imperial IPA character with nice tropical fruit notes.

But earlier this year I had picked up a bottle to try so I can write up a more comprehensive review. Looking over those notes now, it’s apparent I liked the draft version better than the bottled (though the bottled version isn’t bad), but then very often draft (fresh) is better than bottled in most cases.

Frankenlou’s IPA is their first IPA, and they wanted to make a “hop monster” (hence the play on the name); it turned out to be 7% alcohol by volume and a whopping 105 IBUs (calculated).

Appearance: Clear, brown-copper color, tan head that has a tint of orange to it.

Smell: Some green hop character, and lots of crystal malts giving it a sweet toffee nose.

Taste: Big earthy bitterness that’s woody and grassy, and drowns out the other characters (malts)—it’s not 105 IBUs though, not really. [Often what's calculated doesn't match actual levels, particularly with high amounts of hops and alcohol.] A bit muddled, I can’t distinguish what hops are in here except to say “earthy” ones.

Mouthfeel: Medium-to-full bodied, with a chewy feel to it (Imperial IPA-ish).

Overall: I suspect hopheads will like this beer, but I’d look for a cleaner handling of the hops myself. Drinkable!

Frankenlou’s IPA on Untappd. BeerAdvocate: 78/100. RateBeer: 3.08/5, 52nd percentile.

Deschutes Brewery (Portland) has their Collage Beer Dinner in Portland tonight at Wildwood Restaurant: celebrating the release of their first collaboration beer (Conflux #1) with Hair of the Dog Brewing with an amazing menu pairing not only with Collage but also with each of the four constituent beers that make up the Collage blend: The Dissident, The Stoic, Fred, and Adam—each specially aged in different barrels. Tickets are $85 (with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Oregon Food Bank), and there are 10 left—if you want reservations you can contact Special Events Director Shelly Jones at 503.225.0130 or shelly@wildwoodrestaurant.com.

The Bend Collage Beer Dinner is this Friday the 18th, with a slightly different menu but the beers are the same. Tickets are also $85 (benefitting NeighborImpact of Central Oregon) and there look to be 30 tickets remaining—so don’t wait!

(And, the general brewery release for Collage is tomorrow, Tuesday the 15th.)

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/14/2012” »

Breakside Brewery (Portland) is celebrating their 2nd Anniversary Block Party tomorrow, pretty much all day (from 1 to 7) with live music, food specials, amazing beers, “celebrity” chefs and much more! Cost is $15 for a glass and 5 drink tickets for the outside tent. If you’re in/around Portland, this is on your must-do list for tomorrow!

And Sunday, the 13th, is FredFest! Your chance to drink with Fred Eckhardt to celebrate his birthday and enjoy some amazing beers—Lisa Morrison has posted an incredible beer list! Tickets are $60 and it looks like there are still some available; and it takes place at Hair of the Dog on Yamhill from  2 to 6pm. Be there!

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/11/2012” »

Oakshire Brewing (Eugene) has a big pub crawl going on tonight for Eugene Beer Week, starting at 6pm and going to… whenever! “Meet the Oakshire Team at Hot Mama’s Wings at 6p- then join us as we bike to Cornucopia’s Maize Lounge (7p), Max’s Tavern (8p), The Webfoot (9p), Rennie’s Landing (10p), and ending at Wild Duck Cafe (11p). See you there!” This would be a blast and you get to hang out with some of the Oakshire folks—win-win!

This Sunday, May 13th (and Mother’s Day) is FredFest! One of those premier Portland events that celebrates writer Fred Eckhardt. “What started as a small surprise 80th birthday party for world-renowned beer writer Fred Eckhardt is coming back around in its seventh year as one of the most anticipated beer events of the year. Attendees will be treated not only to a rare assortment of hand-selected beers, but also light fare cooked in beer and a birthday cake — complete with a round of “Happy Birthday” — just for Fred. Cheeses, chocolate, candy and even cereal will be offered in abundance so attendees can experience some of Fred’s famed beer-and-food pairings.”  Tickets are $60 and it looks like there are still some available; and it takes place at Hair of the Dog on Yamhill from  2 to 6pm.

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/10/2012” »

This year’s Hop in the Dark CDA. 6.5% abv, 70 IBUs, and if you’re interested they also have a homebrew version of the recipe online: just remember to get the same results they do, you need to cold-steep the black barley overnight to extract the color without the astringency. And you should toast your own oats too.

“We want people to think ‘craft beer’ when they hear ‘Central Oregon,’” said Garrett Wales, COBG President and partner of 10 Barrel Brewing Company. “We have this amazing camaraderie and talent among the Central Oregon Brewers, so a local Guild makes perfect sense for our region. We’re creating a craft beer culture because we’ve become one of the industry’s flourishing brewing communities in the United States.”

According to Wales, The COBG will serve as the Central Oregon voice for the industry, providing local representation, education, promotion and collaboration. The Guild is set up to advocate for local brewers’ needs and establish positive partnerships with industry leaders, community members, retailers and legislators. The brewers of Central Oregon will continue to support the Oregon Brewers Guild while building the local organization to help cultivate and strengthen the region’s craft beer culture.

The COBG website is here, and is still being fleshed out.

Long-term implications? I don’t know yet. More events, more advocacy certainly; more beer I’m quite sure!

Gigantic Brewing (Portland): Today is the grand opening day for their new Taproom and Champagne Lounge in southeast Portland! Doors are opening at 3pm until (roughly) 9, and they plan to have their two new house beers on tap as well as the various collaboration beers they’ve been brewing with breweries around the state. Should be an awesome time!

The Bier Stein (Eugene) has a “Sour Beer Funk Fest” going on for Eugene Beer Week, and today is the second day into it with some really great beers: “If you missed it yesterday, there is still a little Cantillon left! As kegs kick we will have some pretty great back-ups, including Russian River Supplication 2009 and Block 15 ‘Veruca’, a German style Berliner weisse matured 13 months in Syrah Port barrels with Oregon blueberries!”

Continue reading “Oregon Beer News, 05/09/2012” »