Archives for February, 2010
I intended to open this beer for the opening of the Canada games, seeing as this beer was brewed in that general area. Ended up being in Eugene during the opening ceremonies, and it’s just as well. A trip to Vancouver in fall 2008 didn’t impress me much with Canadian brewing, and I probably would [...]
I messed up my flavor wheel. I was managing a lot of elements as I sipped this beer at the just-opened Migration Brewing, the first brewpub anywhere near my neighborhood. I had my 9-month-old son on my lap and a plate of pulled pork in front of me. So you’ll forgive me if I marked [...]
I put this beer in the fridge sometime before the start of the new year, and confess, I didn’t think about aging this at all. In fact, I barely glanced at the label before putting it in the fridge, thinking only that it might be a fun one to enjoy over the holidays. I never [...]
I picked this little number up at 33 Beers retailer By the Bottle up in Vancouver, Washington. It’s fun sometimes to cross the border and see what beers distributors don’t care to bring over the bridge. Port Brewing is one of those brands, for what reason I don’t know. Every Port beer I’ve ever had [...]
I had the chance to visit Caldera Brewing in Ashland in February 2009, and I was very impressed by the brewery, who must be the hardest-working brewers this side of Bolt Minister, and their impressive canning line. While talking to the brewers, they mentioned they were considering bottling some of their beers in 22 ounce [...]
I religiously attend Hair of the Dog Brewing’s twice-yearly dock sales, in which I typically spend far too much money on a small amount of well-made beer. In recent years, the additional incentive has been the informal beer tasting party that seems to get bigger each year, with beer geeks from the Northwest showing up [...]
I want to like this beer. It’s a cool label design, hand-drawn and full of Portland funk. The bottle itself is re-usable, too, a flip-top (Grolsch style) that claims it saves “as much energy as it takes to power a 60 watt bulb for a week.” That’s good, because the bottle is a dollar-deposit. I [...]
Holy crap! 50 seems like some kind of milestone, right? Through sore throats and a few visits from the hangover fairy, I’ve toiled on and on and on, and can now assure you that I am fully 5% of the way through this 999 beers in 999 days beer tasting project. I hope the other [...]
Went around a few times about the meaning of the name of this beer, the type of conversation that can only make sense in a bar (especially true at the Horse Brass). In French, the word means “bath” or “swim,” and Bruges does have a lot of canals, so a water-based meaning makes sense. But [...]
This is the first home-brewed beer I’ve sampled as part of this project, and in fact, it’s a nearly two year old bottle of my first all-grain beer attempt. Typically, I name these beers following a B_____ S_____ format (Bird Shit Stout, Bone Saw Bitter, etc), but since this recipe was created by David Hayes [...]
I’m not a huge “bourbon barrel aged” fan. I like bourbon, and I like beer, and while I respect the mix, it’s not something I seek out. But a few days before heading down to Corvallis* to visit Block 15 and a few other breweries, I was told to bring growlers, because February is “Bourbon [...]
I think I’m in love. With my wife, of course. And my son. And the steak you see in the foreground. But right now, my newest love is Block 15 Brewing in Corvallis.* I’m not prone to frequent hyperbole, but if you’re reading this in your RSS reader, I’m going to cut right to the [...]
The beer-tasting trip* in Oregon’s central valley continued Sunday with Oregon Trail Brewing, the soon-to-be-opened Flat Tail Brewing (will open with brews from Calapooia and guest taps, and start brewing on-site in April), and concluding with Block 15 Brewing, all in Corvallis. I had to drive back to PDX in the afternoon, so my samples [...]
Kicked off Zwickelmania 2010 with Bruce and a cadre of other beer writers* at Springfield’s Hop Valley, with a sample of Natty Red taken directly from the conditioning tank through the “Zwickel” after which the annual “brewer’s open house” event is named. According to writer Abe Goldman-Armstrong, “Zwicken” is the German verb for “to nip” [...]
Bruce and I arrived late to the KLCC Microbrew Festival in Eugene, the result of some last-minute car-swapping, a delicious stop for burgers in Salem (Burger Basket!) on the way down, and an unexpectedly long walk from our hotel to the Eugene fairgrounds where the event was being held. Despite all this, we entered the [...]
Ahh, darts at the A&L Tavern. On the one hand, the bar has a pretty large selection of taps, and is home to some of Portland’s best chicken strips. On the other, choosing a beer here can be a bit of a crap shoot – you want to choose something popular so you can be [...]
I was told by a real Polish person about this beer, and I’m really glad I tried it. It’s unlike almost any other porter I’ve ever tasted, and if you told me there were 100 secret spices added during the boil, I would believe you. It’s crazy complex, and every sip seems to reveal a [...]
It was hard to concentrate on this beer. My 33 Beers books (part of the reason for this blog) were featured in “The Tasting Table,” an until-yesterday unknown to me e-mail newsletter. And the sales just poured in all day. I was up until 11:45 last night stuffing envelopes, but it was a pretty joyous [...]
I had such high hopes for this beer. I loved the Imperial Pils they did a few years ago, but honestly – this is nothing like that. It’s so light on flavor … my tongue is bored. I think I will open a non-counting Sierra Nevada Celebration to liven up my taste buds. Beer Name: [...]
Superbowl! Had a great time this afternoon with friends watching the Saints win. One of my best friends has been a diehard Saints fan for 30 years, and I thought I’d try finding a tasty New Orleans brew to root the team on. Alas, Belmont Station had been cleaned out of both Dixie (not brewed [...]
Enjoyed this hoppy delight with some friends at (New Old) Lompoc’s North Williams “Sidebar.” I’d never been, due to the odd hours (only open Friday and Saturday evenings until 10 PM), but it’s a treasure of a place. It’s a storeroom for their barreled beers, but it’s also a cozy little bar with some of [...]
This can has been sitting in the fridge since our “Yes We Can” canned beer and inauguration party, and I’ve never felt like opening it. “Too cold for such a summery beer.” “Fruit beer? Not really my thing.” “I feel like something hoppy.” Tonight, this beer was my savior. I may have had one beer [...]
Went out with some friends to quasi-celebrate my birthday, but really it was just an excuse to hang out and watch the Blazers beat the Spurs. We’ve been visiting the Driftwood Lounge on NE Sandy lately, as it’s a good mid-way point between several friends’ houses. The bar you’re probably picturing is nautical in nature [...]