Archives for July, 2010
I’ve had this beer twice on tap (once at the brewery in Springfield, and last week at OBF), and enjoyed the hell out of it both times. I think it’s a bit better on draft, but the bottled version is only slightly less delicious. Alphadelic is a big, bold IPA that demands your full attention [...]
This was a nice pairing with a dinner of “leftover quesadillas,” comprised of random ingredients hanging around the fridge: grilled chicken, sharp cheddar cheese from Tillamook, pinto beans (my son’s favorite), salsa and cilantro. This is not a mellow beer that takes a backseat when paired with food, but instead one that holds up to [...]
Most craft breweries have something light on the menu for the occasional Bud Light or Miller Lite drinker who ventures in with a family member. Usually this falls into an innocuous pale ale or inoffensive wheat ale category, but a few breweries satisfy that market demand with something a little more interesting. Double Mountain has [...]
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this beer, because, to be honest, I haven’t had a lot of beer from Cascade Lakes. I enjoyed the Rooster Tale Pale Ale, although I didn’t fawn over it. Someone brought a six-pack of 20″ Brown to a party, but then took the remaining beers with them when [...]
I’m going to miss Roots, but I won’t do a eulogy here. If you haven’t yet heard, Oregon’s first organic brewery is closed indefinitely. They’re an old favorite of mine, and seemingly a lot of people, having brought great beer to inner Southeast Portland. Sure, there was a Lucky Lab on Hawthorne, but the dark [...]
I’m still at the beach, but getting ready to head back … physically, but not mentally. How can you be ready to leave this view (taken from our rental’s porch at sunset last night)? I went to Pelican Brewing in Pacific City, Oregon yesterday and had a pint of their delicious India Pelican Ale with [...]
The label on this can extolls one of the biggest virtues of canned craft beer: portability. The label also encourages all manner of extreme sports, from snowboarding to mountain biking. You might break a bone, but you won’t break any glass. And yet I am consuming it beachside, in a rental house with more amenities [...]
I pass Natian Brewery (pronounced “nay-shun”) almost every day on my way to work, but I hadn’t had the chance to try their beer yet. The signage is prominently displayed in the windows of the Pepsi Plant on Sandy Boulevard, so I’d always imagined a story in my mind about the son of the plant [...]
Gosh, I love living in Portland. I enjoyed this beer sitting at the sunny front tables of Bailey’s Taproom, which has a constantly rotating tap list of Oregon’s (and the nation’s) finest beers. Cascade is a favorite brewery I sometimes forget about. Their “stock” beers (Amber, IPA, etc.) are nothing special, and the brewpub on [...]
If you haven’t seen the hubbub about homebrew consumption in Oregon, you are either: Not reading other beer blogs (thanks for choosing this one) Not an Oregonian (but you should visit soon), or … Just back from 4 weeks in Mongolia. For the last group, I’ll quickly recap: Deschutes Brewery wanted to host a homebrew-tasting [...]
Wow, 200 beers! I’m a teensy bit more than 1/5th of the way done. That’s 20.02002% complete for the more decimal-oriented folks in the audience. Not bad! I thought of pulling something “special” from the archive to commemorate the milestone, but this month’s goal of trying 31 different Oregon breweries has limited my selection due [...]
Is this supposed to be a British-style IPA? It has some of the toastiness I expect in those examples, and is seriously missing the big hop flavors I expect in a Northwest IPA. With its ham-handed, double-entendre title, I was expecting an equally brash beer, with a sticky, resiny quality, but it perhaps should have [...]
Another great setting in which to enjoy a beer – a 22 ounce bomber of farmhouse ale consumed from the bottle in front of a fire. I’m a bit of a MacTarnahan’s skeptic, to be honest. They were among the first Oregon craft breweries to “go corporate,” merging with Saxer in 2000 (just before I [...]
Is there anything more Oregon than IPA, enjoyed from a blue enamel mug, set against a backdrop of Douglas Fir trees? I picked up a growler at Fearless Brewing on my way into Mt. Hood National Forest last weekend. I had the Jeep with me, and two friends in the car, which didn’t leave much [...]
Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago, I gave a presentation at Portland’s annual WebVisions conference entitled “33 Lessons about Beer, Life and Building a Business.” In the presentation, I explained the origin of the 33 Beers books, which are the reason behind this blog (and of course, the fact that I love beer, especially new [...]
Coalition Brewing is one of Portland’s newest brewpubs. So new, the website doesn’t even have a phone number listed (and don’t call the one on Google Maps unless you want to draw the ire of the number’s owner, who is in no way related to the brewery). Still, the brewpub seems like it’s off to [...]
After sampling two beers at PuckerFest last night, I couldn’t resist taking home a third, but unfortunately, I forgot all my growlers at home. To be honest, I’m not sure Belmont Station even fills growlers. But they do sell and fill 64-ounce mason jars. Not all beers are available in this take-home format (due to [...]
After a bit of a confusing start, my second taste of Belmont Station‘s annual PuckerFest was much improved. Initially, I received Bear Republic’s Sour Grizz, but was told it was BJ’s Enfant Terrible. The menu described the Enfant Terrible as a Belgian Golden, but the liquid in my glass was decidedly dark. I called it [...]
Hey, see anything new in this review? Look carefully. With your eyes. There’s a new flavor wheel! After reviewing hundreds of beers, and selling thousands of beer-tasting books, I made a change to the review pages, most notably on the flavor wheel section (I also added a checkbox for “cask” beers to the “serving type” [...]
Portland has a lot of difficult to pronounce names. Couch Street (pronounced “cooch”). The Willamette River, which bisects the city (WillAMette). Heck, even the state is commonly mis-pronounced (It’s OreeGUN). Say any of those terms the wrong way, and you’ll quickly be identified as an outsider. I never considered this beer as a member of [...]
I think Rogue is one of Oregon’s more creative breweries. Last week, I poured their Chipotle Ale at my “ReinheitsgeWhat?!” blind beer tasting (blog post on BS Brewing coming soon …), and was surprised at how distinct the smoky pepper flavor came through. Similarly, they have beers that include hazelnuts, chocolate, and other oddball elements, [...]
I think I would call this beer “Not Bad Henry.” Its flavor is unlikely to inspire devotion, but it is just as unlikely to create a lot of enemies. It’s right there in the middle – a good, but not great, IPA. It’s Guam. A non-voting member. Its only attempt at greatness was its aroma. [...]
I’ll be the first to admit I’m a “big flavor” guy. I like my coffee really roasty and I take it black. I like hoppy IPAs and I like big, barrel-aged stouts. I like really funky cheese, and I love a double-smoked bacon. But I do have taste buds, and I dare say I’m developing [...]