She gave birth to you, she clothed you, fed you, cleaned up after you, and possibly also had a day job on top of all that. If she was a stay-at-home-mom, Forbes.com estimates she should have earned $115,000 a year for all of the work she did. So at least get your mom a card for their special day, or better yet, a beer.

In honor of these unsung heroes who brave diapers, tee ball games, the angsty years, and your healthy obsession with hair metal, Blog About Beer has put together some brews that fit nicely with the Mother’s Day theme.

Moms work hard. They are cooks, cleaners, nannies, chauffeurs, counselors, teachers, and friends.  So, crack open a Lompoc Proletariat Red for these working class heroes to get this thing going!

Amber in color with plenty of bubbles, hops and caramel waft from the glass with also a light roasty aroma. These aromas carry through into the taste as well, along with just a touch of raisin and toffee. This beer is well-balanced and lingers a bit on the finish.

It is true that not all moms cook or enjoy working in the kitchen. But this next offering speaks to those who do, and those who like to bake.

The smell of banana bread baking is enough to send one’s Pavlovian response into a fervor that is sure to cause foaming at the mouth. They seem to be making all kinds of exotic beers these days and Wells Banana Bread beer is proof of that. Made with fair trade bananas, this unique beverage has banana and bubblegum on the nose. The carbonation is excellent on this beer. With some light breadiness in the taste, and finishing with a banana aftertaste, this particular loaf/bottle of beer may not be for everyone but it is definitely worth a try!

Rounding out this Mother’s Day is a beer simply named Mom Hefeweizen from Rogue Brewing. This beer is a Hefeweizen that is brewed with Oregon rose petals.

With plenty of wheat on the nose, this brew also has light citrus and floral character in the aroma as well. There is some light pepper and clove in the flavor as well. There is also a hint of rose sweetness on the finish, which means you double down on this one by getting your mom a brew AND roses on her big day!

So whether you’re getting flowers or beer or both for your mom this Mother’s Day, let her know you appreciate all that she does!

Happy Mother’s Day!

What will your mom be drinking on Mother’s Day?

Last summer I started working on a project writing a book that is a complete guide to the breweries and brewpubs in the wonderful state of Oregon. Today it was officially released and I was able to spot it at my local Barnes & Noble.

The book, titled Beer Lover’s Oregon, is part of a series published by Globe Pequot Press. I also just finished writing the Washington version, which is slated to be released in September of this year.

In the book I covered pretty much every brewery in the state that was open at the time of writing it. One of the cool things about Oregon and the Northwest in general is that the craft beer industry is moving fast. Because of that, breweries such as Base Camp Brewing in Portland, Worthy Brewing in Bend, and Sky High Brewing in Corvallis and a handful of others weren’t included since they opened after I submitted the manuscript.

If you know anyone who lives in Oregon, is visiting Oregon, or just appreciates beer from the state, have them check the book out.

Along with brewery info, it has multiple pub crawls, food recipes made with beer, and homebrewing clone recipes of a handful of Oregon beers.

You can find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell’s and most online book stores.

What are you waiting for, go order yours now (ok, shameless plug).

What’s cool to see is that craft beer is making a bigger and bigger dent in the overall U.S. beer market. This means more and more people are being turned onto drinking beer from smaller and independent companies.

While their list ranks them by size, I was curious as to how many were near me. My home state of Washington isn’t represented, however I only live 10 minutes from Oregon so I took some pride seeing 4 Oregon breweries represented.

I then took the list and split it up so others can see how their states are doing based solely on how many larger craft breweries are in the states. While sales numbers doesn’t really correlate with taste, it’s still interesting to see where the big craft brewers are located.

Here are the results with their overall ranking listed:

Alaska (1)

16 Alaskan Brewing Co.

California (11)

2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
6 Lagunitas Brewing Co.
10 Stone Brewing Co.
20 Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
21 Anchor Brewing Co.
34 Bear Republic Brewing Co.
38 Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe
39 Karl Strauss Brewing Co.
40 BJ’s Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc.
42 North Coast Brewing Co.
46 Ballast Point Brewing Co.

Colorado (5/6)

3 New Belgium Brewing Co.
27 Oskar Blues Brewery
32 CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc. (based in TN and CO. Which state wants to claim them?)
33 Odell Brewing Co.
41 Breckenridge Brewery
43 Left Hand Brewing Co.

Delaware (1)

13 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Georgia (1)

t. 24 SweetWater Brewing Co.

Louisiana (1)

14 Abita Brewing Co.

Massachusetts (2)

1 Boston Beer Co.
9 Harpoon Brewery

Maryland (1)

29 Flying Dog Brewery

Maine (1)

15 Shipyard Brewing Co.
48 Allagash Brewing Co.

Michigan (2)

7 Bell’s Brewery, Inc.
30 Founders Brewing Co.

Minnesota (2)

23 Summit Brewing Co.
28 Cold Spring Brewing Co./Third Street Brewhouse

Missouri (2)

12 Boulevard Brewing Co.
44 St. Louis Brewery, Inc./Schlafly Beers

Montana (1)

47 Big Sky Brewing Co.

New York (4)

8 Matt Brewing Co.
11 Brooklyn Brewery
36 Blue Point Brewing Co.
37 Southern Tier Brewing Co.

Ohio (1)

19 Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Oregon (4)

5 Deschutes Brewery
22 Rogue Ales
31 Ninkasi Brewing Co.
t. 24 Full Sail Brewing Co.

Pennsylvania (2)

26 Victory Brewing Co.
50  Tröegs Brewing Co.

Tennessee (0/1)

32 CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc. (based in TN and CO. Which state wants to claim them?)

Texas (2)

4 The Gambrinus Co.
45 Saint Arnold Brewing Co.

Utah (1)

49 Uinta Brewing Co.

Vermont (1)

18 Long Trail Brewing Co.

Wisconsin (2)

17 New Glarus Brewing Co.
35 Stevens Point Brewery

I recently received an email from Widmer Brothers Brewing which merely had a tracking number in it…no explanation, just a tracking number. Oh how the imagination raced! The excitement of what was being sent to me was exhilarating!

Then, it showed up.

A blue box adorned with half of a Widmer “W” on it, which was inverted, making it look almost like an “A”, and a taunting, beckoning line of text that reads, “Unlock the Mystery.”

And unlock it I shall.

Was it SWAG? Was it glassware? Was it the liquid gold that is beer? Turns out, it was all of that.

What was inside was an Alchemy kit. Not a kit to help me turn lead into gold, but an aroma kit of sorts, a glass, and a bottle of the new Alchemy Ale by Widmer Brothers!

Corked bottles of purified water, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (yeast), Hordeum Vulgare (malt), and Humulus Lupulus (hops), showcase the ingredients that go into the making of this new and exciting brew.

The Alchemy hop blend was developed by a local hop merchant and Widmer Brothers brewers in 2006, and has become a key ingredient in every Widmer Brothers beer.

Alchemy hops are a blend of choice hops from the Pacific Northwest which are hand-selected by Widmer Brothers brewers each year. After the annual selection of hops, they are blended during the pelletization process which creates a unique, blended pelletized hop exclusively for Widmer Brothers Brewing. (Pelletization is the processing of a material, in this case hops, into the shape of a pellet.) This magical blend is the cornerstone for all Widmer Brothers beers and is the “golden” secret behind Alchemy Ale.

This new brew will be replacing the Drifter Pale Ale that is currently offered by Widmer.

Pouring a light amber color from the generously donated bottle, Alchemy reaches to the brim of the glass with a clingy one-finger-of white foam head. With a fruity aroma and some grassy hop notes, this beer also had some citrus aromas on the nose. The malty taste and light hop presence culminate in a light crisp beer with subtle hop flavors and just a touch of sweetness.

Overall this was a nice, well-balanced beer. This is a mystery worth “unlocking” to be sure, so give this new offering from Widmer a try and make your own call as to whether Alchemy Ale is truly liquid gold.

What do you think of Alchemy replacing Drifter?

If you follow me at all on Twitter, you may have heard me talk about a new book that I wrote on Oregon beer, simply called Beer Lover’s Oregon. Well the time has finally come where it’s starting to hit store shelves and available to order online. Finally! I started working on it last May and most of the content was submitted to my publisher by September. It takes a while for editing, layout, and all of that fun stuff. The book covers most of the breweries and brewpubs in the state, along with a handful of craft beer bars, festivals, beer recipes, food recipes made with Oregon beer, and pub crawls throughout the state. With the fast growth of the industry in the state, multiple breweries have opened up since I submitted my final manuscript, however most are listed in the book giving readers an overview of what’s available in the state. Whether you live in Oregon or the surrounding states, or plan on visiting, I believe everyone can learn something from the book. In researching I found some small breweries in the far reaches of the state that I had never experienced before, and believe me, they make some amazing beer. So what about the chance to win free beer? I thought you’d never ask (ok, I knew that was the reason you are probably even reading this post.

The Contest

To celebrate the launch of my new book, I’m going to giveaway a copy of the book. Not only that, but the winner will get a $25 gift certificate to buy beer at LetsPour. So while reading about Oregon beer, you can be drinking beer from Oregon (or wherever you choose). Sounds cool right? Free beer and a free beer book.

Who Can Enter The Contest

Ok, before I get into how to enter, I wanted to touch on who can enter.

• First off, there is no purchase necessary, just follow the rules below.
• The contest is only open to those 21 and over.
• The contest LetsPour gift certificate isn’t available to those in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah (sorry, they don’t ship to these states because of your states laws. Contact your state governnment to have them ease up on the beer shipping laws). In exchange, if you live in one of these states I’ll replace the $25 gift certificate with one from either Amazon.com or if any of your local beer joints allows for buying gift cards online, I’ll do that instead.

How To Enter

Entering the contest is pretty simple (but does take a little creativity on your part). You must complete the following 2 tasks to enter:

1. You need to “Like” the Blog About Beer page on Facebook (if you already have liked our page, you can skip this step). Do that here:
2. You need to comment below with your answer to the following question. If you could create your dream 6 pack (mix and match) of Oregon brewed beers, what would it consist of? (If you haven’t had any Oregon beers, just write down 6 you’d love to try)

That’s it. And don’t worry, your answers have nothing to do with who wins. They just count as your entry. However you do need to list 6 beers for it to be counted as an entry.  Make sure to list your best email address in the comment form below as that is how I’ll be contacting the winner. The entries will be numbered and I’ll be using a random number generator on Monday, April 15th to select the winner. All entries must be submitted before 11:59pm PDT on April 14, 2013. Oh, and if you’re interested in buying the book if you don’t win (or can’t wait), you can order it here on Amazon. You can also find it at many book stores in the coming weeks, as well as Powell’s if you’re in the Portland area. Best of luck.

Thanks to all who entered. The contest is now closed and the winner is being contacted by email.

Their latest collaboration is one of the most unique and interesting they have put out, a coffee IPA that is offered in 22oz bottles and on draft for a limited time.

The recipe comes from 3 friends Jim Moorehouse, Nate Albrecht and Brad Zeller, who are planning on opening up a brewpub in Chicago named Aleman. They won first place in last years Iron Brew homebrewing competition, a comeptiion judged by Jason Ebel of Two Brothers Brewing and Greg Koch, founder of Stone brewing.

With the recipe coming from Aleman, freshly roasted java from Two Brothers Brewing, and brewing completed at Stone, the 3 companies crafted Dayman Coffee IPA.

Check out this video produced by Stone talking about it.

What’s interesting is the name Dayman, which will have meaning for fans of the show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The recurring Dayman theme has really taken off among fans and makes for a fantastic name for this beer.

Here is a quick video from the show of the creation of Dayman.

Dayman Coffee IPA was released in March and just hit stores here in Oregon. For those outside Oregon and California, they are distributing it to the following states for you to get your hands on: AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, MD, MA, MO, NC, NM, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, VT, and WA

Weighing in at 8.7% ABV, this doesn’t appear to be a sissy IPA.

What’s your thoughts on Dayman Coffee IPA?

This renewal which takes place every year transforms the barren into bounty and signals the rebirth of the nature that surrounds us. One part of this nature that I’m sure we are all appreciative of is hops!

So as the hop plants begin anew, another kind of “hopping” is occurring as the Easter Bunny starts to make his rounds!

Having a beer while coloring Easter eggs has been a tradition for me and my friends for quite a few years now and I have no plans on changing that. But before the white vinegar comes out and the hard-boiling begins, check out the amazing Easter basket Blog About Beer has put together!

Alameda Brewing Bad Bunny

With a pink wax seal and a label adorned with a surly looking bunny being booked at a police station, this brew is Easter with an attitude!

A whopping 8.2% ABV Imperial Cream Ale, this beer has large quantities of Pilsner malt and candy sugar. With honey and sweet malts on the nose, there are also strong notes of fruit. The higher ABV makes itself known on the back end meaning this bunny got back for sure! This beer has a medium, creamy mouthfeel and enough sweetness to let imbibers know it belongs in an Easter basket.

The Bruery Saison De Lente

With mint green bunnies spinning in a vortex around a pink and green Easter egg in the middle of the label, this beer is a thematically perfect addition to the Blog About Beer basket.

Raspberries, orange peel, and a touch of farmhouse funk dominate the nose of this 6.5% ABV brew. Medium-bodied with a fair amount of carbonation, this beer has nice Brett, spice, and coriander notes that are all well-balanced in this dry-finishing offering.

Touted as being perfect for Easter celebrations, this saison delivers on its promise!

Granville Island Chocolate Imperial Stout

No Easter basket would be complete without a little chocolate…well maybe some big chocolate. How about 8.4% ABV chocolate?

Granville Island’s Chocolate Imperial Stout delivers with their beer that is made with organic fair-trade chocolate. With chocolate-heavy aromas as well as roasted grain, this medium-bodied stout finishes with tons of sweetness with a noticeable amount of booziness. Very little chocolate bitterness is present in this incredibly well-balanced chocolate treat.

Regardless of how you celebrate the beginning of spring, help out our “hoppy” friend and put together an Easter basket of brew for one of your beer-loving “peeps” this holiday!

During this time, nothing leavened can be eaten, which means no bread, beans, rice, anything that puffs up. Matzah crackers and bread are some of the foods traditionally eaten during the week-long holiday.

But what about all the left over Matzah after all of the celebration is over? You can’t just toss perfectly good “bread of affliction” away! Thank goodness the good people at Ambacht Brewing are on it. Based in Hillsboro, Oregon, Ambacht ales are Belgian-inspired and showcase the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. All of the ales from Ambacht are naturally carbonated by bottle conditioning with Pacific Northwest honey.

After Passover, Ambacht brews Matzobraü, which is a Golden Ale with Matzah added to the mash, which makes it wheat ale. This seasonal beer is made right after Passover and weighs in at 6.5% ABV.

Light fruit with some spice on the nose, this brew also has some malt sweetness in the aroma as well. With sweet malts and light fruit showing up in the taste also, the matzah makes its subtle presence known right before the dry finish. The flavors blend well to create an almost saison-like experience.

Although the label on a bottle of Matzobraü state, “not Kosher for Passover,” I paired this brew with something that is…chopped liver. That’s right, you heard me.

Chicken livers turned into a pâté, chopped liver is a traditional dish often served during Passover. Garnished with diced hard-boiled egg, minced parsley, and spread on a cracker, the history of chopped liver goes back to Medieval Germany, where Jews bred and raised geese as the poultry of choice. The first Jewish chopped liver recipes weren’t made with chicken livers, but were actually made from goose liver. Eventually Eastern European Jews began using chicken and beef livers and these recipes “migrated” across the ocean with immigrants to Ellis Island in the late 1800′s.

This made for an interesting combination indeed. The beer was an amazing brew, but the liver is not something I’d eat all of the time, but I’m glad I tried it!

So don’t “Passover” a chance to try this beer from Ambacht!

Mazel tov!

One of the cool things about getting shirts from Craft Brewed Clothing Co. is that you get shirts from all over the US. They don’t just stick with large breweries, so you get to experience multiple breweries you may not even know existed.

That is exactly what this months shirt was for me. It comes from Hawcreek Brewing Co. out of Hope, Indiana. Before I got the shirt, I’d never heard of them (since I’m a west coaster).

Looking at their Facebook page it appears that they are a pretty small operation (I’m guessing it’s about a 1bbl system). If I’m ever in Indiana I’ll definitely look for their beers to give them a try. Until then I’ll just wear their shirt around.

Have you had anything from Hawcreek Brewing Co.? What do you think of their beer?

Since St. Patrick’s Day is this Sunday, I figured I’d post one of the nerdiest St. Patrick’s Day beer songs you’ll probably ever hear.

It’s a unique blend of chemistry, biology, and beer. Watch and enjoy.