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Portland Wows, Upright Stuns And Le Pigeon Haunts My Dreams
Four Play teases my better senses. Want to steal, need now.
Sunday was quite the trip. It lingered through Monday, but no regrets. Upright Brewing rocked my world. Le Pigeon made me redefine the word “burger.”
Upright Brewing was celebrating their 2nd Anniversary, so we made it a point to get their early to taste the new release. But, we couldn’t help but to shuffle around the city to visit some other favorites.
Top of the Morning with Imperial Workhorse
I won’t jump right into Upright’s display of greatness, because we had some other amazing visits that I’d like to share. First off, we visited Laurelwood’s production brewery in NE neighborhood of Hollywood.
Laurelwood Brewing recently released its first ever batch of Imperial Workhorse, a larger than life version of its iconic Workhorse IPA. The big brother is 9.9% and almost 100 IBUs. At first sip, it immediately wakes you from whatever slumber you might be residing within. The beer is incredibly flavorful, sharp and non-boozy. Lots to like about that beer, and the brewery will be bottling a limited amount in swing-top bottles that will be available at the brewery. Hint: Do not miss the Bourbon Barrel Aged Moose & Squirrel Russian Imperial Stout – I actually preferred this beer to the Imperial Workhorse.
Upright’s Rise to the Top
We left Laurelwood to head over to Upright Brewing, where we spent an hour crying in the last drops of each beer. Its that good. Watching it reduce to nothing was so incredibly painful.
Upright Brewing decided to release a sour version of its Four, a 4.5% wheaty farmhouse ale. The beer, appropriately named “Four Play,” uses a combination of fresh Oregon cherries, brettanomyces and lactobacillus yeasts aged in Pinot Noir barrels. This beer is right now, my beer of 2011. Drinking this beer reminded me of standing in front of Jean Van Roy in Cantillon’s tasting room, drinking one of their more celebrated Lou Pepe lambics – its that good. Incredibly smooth, yet refreshingly tart, the cherry flavor is subtle enough to keep this from being a kriek, but pronounced enough to not be forgotten. Do not miss, if you can find it.
To prevent a one-sided affair, Upright also decided to pour its last remaining portion of its christmas ale, Noel. This spiced farmhouse ale is aged in Pinot barrels and spiked with cherry juice. The wood really works well on this beer, because the alcohol is barely noticeable and it goes down very smooth. The spice is unforgettable, hitting you with concentrated dosages of black pepper and herb. Had Four Play not knocked me out of my boots, Noel would have stole the show.
To end our visit, we had a great talk with owner/brewer Alex Ganum. If you want to meet a great brewer and better guy, chat with Alex. Ganum hails from the ballyhooed ranks of Ommegang and certainly knows how to make incredible beer. Despite his incredible success (they made the Rate Beer Top 50 Brewers in year 2), he remains a normal guy, more than happy to stand and chat with his customers over a beer.
Some Old Favorites
The remains of duck wings, flanked by Fred.
After leaving Upright, we had quite the whirlwind trip around the east side. We visited renowned bottle shop Belmont Station, who was holding its 14th Anniversary sale (Congrats). There we got our first tastes of Corvallis brewers Block 15 and Flat Tail Brewing. Block 15 poured several bourbon barrel aged brews, including the rare Pappy’s Dark Ale. Pappy is a Strong Ale aged in 10 year old Pappy Van Winkle barrels for 2-4 months. While a few other Block 15 barrel aged beers were surprisingly unimpressive – this one blew our minds. The Pappy wood is noticeably more rich and flavorful than other bourbon barrels, and we agree its worth the extra dough.
After Belmont, a visit to Hair of the Dog was simply nostalgia and routine. Why the hell would you ever go to Portland and not get indulge in Alan Sprints’ craft? The house flight of Greg (a spiced pilsner?), Blue Dot, Fred and Adam, will warm the cockles. If you are lucky, Alan might be serving the duck wings, a stack of 3 full wings smothered in a rich gravy. Get it.
A Burger for the Ages
Last but not certainly not least – a visit to Le Pigeon. While we were waiting for this renowned eatery to open, we ran over to Burnside Brewing and tried the Oatmeal Pale. I was surprisingly impressed by that beer, as Pales typically do nothing for me. The oatmeal was absolutely noticeable and really changed the body of this otherwise simple beer. But, 5:00 PM rang and we ran back to Le Pigeon.
Nothing to say. Look and admire.
Why are we running? Rumors of Le Pigeon‘s incredible burger have haunted my dreams for weeks. I have seen glaring images of this burger in nightmares in the previous few nights. It was seemingly stalking me – and for good reason. Le Pigeon makes 5 of these bad boys each night. Thus, its incredibly important to get in there when they open at 5 PM. By 5:15 PM, all 5 orders had been placed.
Le Pigeon has an earthy, classic gastropub feel. Sitting at the bar, you feel part of the kitchen and the decor makes you feel right at home. It only took about 60 seconds to order our burgers with greens ($13) and our $4 Pilsner Urquells (they also have $2 High Life – got to love it).
The icon of glory arrived before me in less than 15 minutes. I had ogled at its creation, built from the implements of success, beauty and wonder. Its time. I sliced the perfectly charred ciabatta bun in half and dig in. What followed was a protein orgasm smothered in pickled specter. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the best burger I have ever tasted – and my companion agrees. The meat is top notch, cooked to a perfect medium rare, maintaining its juiciness. The pickled slaw on top is such an added treat that you barely notice the perfectly melted cheese that covers 100% of the burger mound. Perhaps most important is the fresh powdered ciabatta roll that was charred to perfected, giving the burger an “off the grill” flavor.
Its not often when a Sunday in March results in my favorite beer of the year and my favorite burger of all time (and that is saying a lot). This past Sunday, Portland floored me. Well played, PDX.
Hopworks Urban Brewery Releases The Iconic Ace of Spades
HUB is back in the saddle again - Ace of Spaces is back!
Portland’s Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) has released its new 2011 version of Ace of Spades. Hold on to your butts.
Ace of Spades is the former GABF Gold Medal winning Imperial IPA that blew the socks off Seattle back in 2009. During Brouwers Cafe’s Hopfest 2009, a keg of Ace of Spades spun my head around, made me Google HUB, and plan a trip to see more. Since then, HUB has been producing some of our favorite NW IPAs, as well as one of our favorite stouts – Survival Stout.
HUB released Ace of Spaces again last year, when it became a bit more accesible in bottle form. Beer Blotter ran a review of that beer back in December, which you can view by visiting this link. We cannot wait to try it again this year!
Here is the HUB press release. Be sure to look for it next time you are at the supermarket:
PORTLAND, Ore. – Hopworks Urban Brewery’s (HUB) award-winning Organic Ace of Spades Imperial IPA is now available on tap and in 22 oz. bottles at select bars, restaurants and stores across the Northwest. The limited release beer won a gold medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Fest in the Imperial IPA category and is an annual favorite with beer enthusiasts across the region.
Named in honor of rock n’ roll icon Lemmy Kilmister and his band Motörhead’s popular song and album, Ace of Spades prominently features Amarillo, Cascade and Centennial hops, added at every point of the brewing process: mash tun, first wort, kettle, and dry hop. All of the hoppy green goodness results in a beer with a huge citrus hop aroma, flavor and deep, clean bitterness.
Ace of Spades Imperial IPA is 9.5% ABV and more than 100 IBU.
Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) is Portland’s first Eco-Brewpub. HUB offers an assortment of award-winning, world class beers made from organic malts and locally-sourced hops on draught and in bottles across the Pacific Northwest. HUB incorporates a range of sustainable practices in the production of its beer and brewpub operations and makes every effort to protect “our” future with a thoughtful alternative. The 20-barrel brewery produces 6,400 barrels a year and provides the SE Portland brewpub with ten different HUB organic beers on tap and two cask ales at all times. In early summer, Hopworks will open its second location, Bike Bar in North Portland, expanding the company’s love of beers, bikes and the environment.
HUB is located at 2944 SE Powell Blvd. and is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. For more information, please visit Hopworks online at www.HopworksBeer.com or follow on Twitter @HopworksBeer.
Upright Brewing To Celebate 2nd Anniversary
Scandalous
Upright Brewing is one of the Northwest’s brightest young talents (to put in a sporting vernacular). In just 2 years they have managed to gain a much coveted spot on ratebeer.com‘s annual Top 100 Brewers In The World List (92 position) and they came in at number 14 in the top 50 breweries to visit list. I’m fairly confident that if rate beer had made a top 50 list of best beer labels in the world that Four Play label over there would be highly ranked as well.
Needless to say, these guys are doing some really fantastic things. They’ve effortlessly coupled innovation with pristine quality and impressive craftsmanship. If you’ve had any of Upright’s beers and you’ve visited their basement brewery, I know I’m preaching to the choir. It’s mostly just exciting that they have been acknowledged so quickly, especially since so many amazing NW breweries go under the radar.
For me, being a huge fan of saisons, Upright has become a brewery that I would rank very highly in my own list of most exciting breweries, either new, old or in between. Their use of open fermentation is something that is most intriguing to me. I still don’t know much about it, but it’s clearly working very well for these Portland fellows. There is no doubt that Upright Brewing is a great inspiration to me and should be to anyone that has a dream of opening a brewery.
This anniversary party ranks up there in excitement levels (for me) with such recent Portland area events as the opening of the Cascade Barrel House and the opening of the Hair of the Dog Tasting room. The prospect of getting a few bottles of Four Play and Apricot Anniversary Ale are what cellar dwellers dream of. If anyone else is going down there let us know by adding a comment. Maybe we can hook up and chat beer.
Here’s the details from Upright:
What/Why:
Oregon’s only farmhouse inspired craft brewery Upright Brewing is turning 2 years old and celebrating with a party on Sunday March 20th from 1-6pm at the Tasting Room. The party will also mark the return of perhaps the breweries most anticipated annual release Four Play a sour farmhouse cherry wheat beer aged in Pinot Barrels.About Upright Brewing
During the last two short years the small production brewery just east of the Broadway bridge has been devoted to producing some of Portland’s most diverse range of beers, focusing on a French/Belgian inspired farmhouse-style, but brewing without inhibition as evidenced by their historic takes on English Old Ale and Oyster Stout or their authentic German Gose and Engelberg Pilsener.Upright recently added three new tanks, using one to produce a year-round hop forward German-style pilsener for draft only. It’s called Engelberg Pils, a nod to Mt. Angel where all of the brewery’s hops are sourced. The other two tanks will enable the brewery to produce more one-off draft beers and also allow production of at least eight annual seasonal bottled batches throughout the year. As always, the numbered beers that Upright has focused on since the beginning will continue to be fermented in our unique open-top tanks. The new year has also brought expanded distribution for Upright’s beers with Lime Ventures now bringing the bottles and occasional draft beer to the Northern California market adding even more west coast cities that include north to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
About Four Play
In celebration of the brewery anniversary, it’s becoming tradition to release Four Play, a very Belgian-esque beer based on Upright’s wheat beer (named Four) but barrel-aged for a year with cherries, souring yeasts and bacteria. Four Play is blended from former pinot noir barrels that yield a rosy looking sour ale with wonderfully complex aromas and flavors. It’s always a limited release and the 2011 batch is represented by only 67 cases and 3 kegs, all of which the brewers believe is their finest and suitable for cellaring up to 5 years.About the 2 Year Anniversary Party
In addition to the extremely rare Four Play one of only 3 kegs on draft Upright will also be releasing something even more rare in bottle, last years Apricot Anniversary Ale aged in Ransom Spirits Old Tom Gin Barrels of which there are less than 3 cases of 750ml bottles. To top it off look for a special cask of this years edition of the World Beer Cup award winning Gose stuffed Dry Hops and extra Salt.Follow Upright Brewing:
Website
http://www.uprightbrewing.com
http://twitter.com/uprightbrewing
http://www.facebook.com/uprightbrewingBlog
http://uprightbrewingblog.blogspot.com/
Events for Week of February 7, 2011
Spend V Day with some amazing brews at Saraveza- Pic courtesy of portlandmercury.com
What was your beer of choice during the Superbowl? Perhaps something to represent the Mid-West? For us, it was homebrew all the way- Hop Chocolate. But now for your week in beer…
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Silver City’s Whoop Pass Double IPA Event: Seattle, WA
4:00PM-10:00PM @ 74th St. Alehouse
Silver City, a brewery located across the Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula, is coming to the city to show off their Double IPA, Whoop Pass. Stop by the 74th St. Alehouse and grab a pint.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Dogfish Head Night: Limerick, Pennsylvania
6:00PM-12:00AM @ Craft Ale House
Get Ready! Go! DOGFISH HEAD!
60 Minute IPA
75 Minute IPA – firkin
90 Minute IPA
**120 Minute IPA ’09
**Red & White
**Black & Blue
Sah’tea
Theobroma
**Midas Touch
Indian Brown Ale
**World Wide Stout
Raison D’Etre (being poured through Randall the Enamel Animal filled with …)
and maybe more.
I’ve double starred my favorites.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Heavy Seas Beer Dinner: Cambridge, Maryland
7:00PM-9:00PM @ Blue Point
For $60.00 you get a 5 course dinner paired with deliciously amazing Heavy Seas beers. Here is the menu- get ready to droooool.
he Menu (subject to change)
Heavy Seas Classic Lager paired with Oysters Bingo
Heavy Seas Gold Ale paired with Rock Shrimp & Corn Fritters, Smoked Paprika Aioli
Heavy Seas Marzen paired with Baked Ziti With Italian Sausage, Marinara and Parmesan
Loose Cannon paired with Loose Cannon Braised Short Ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Root Vegetables
Siren Noire paired with Chocolate Bread Pudding, Caramel Anglaise
Friday, February 11, 2011
Chocolate Beer Craziness: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
5:00PM-8:00PM @ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Check out Iron Hill Brewery‘s line up of chocolate inspired beers. Beer and chocolate, pretty much my two favorite things.
Overload Stout served on nitro
Shokolad Stout served on cask
Oompa Loompa Stout served on nitro
Cowabunga Porter
Bourbon-aged Cowabunga
Plus – complimentary chocolate treats from our kitchen for mug club members.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Pizza Port 2nd Annual Brewbies: Carlsbad, California
12:00PM-5:00PM @ Pizza Port Carlsbad
Pizza Port Presents its 2nd Annual Brewbies festival! Benefitting the Keep A Breast organization (a local breast cancer awareness organization)! Brewbies is a beer festival for boobies!! 25-30 local and regional beers February 12th, 2011 from noon to 5pm at Pizza Port Carlsbad. Buy your tickets online in advance for $25 or at the door for $30. Ticket includes (4)6oz tasters, collectors glass, I love Boobies Bracelet and (1) raffle ticket. Additional tasters and raffle tickets are $1 each. 100% of the proceeds are donated to breast cancer awareness.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Imperial Stout v. Imperial IPA: Plymouth, Massachusetts
12:00PM-5:00PM @ British Beer Company
This is a tough one- two amazing styles head to head- Imperial Stout vs Imperial IPA: a tag team match-up between Dogfish Head Bitches Brew and NE Brewing Co Imperial Stout Trooper vs Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and Dogfish 90 min IPA run through the Randall stuffed with fresh hops and grapefruit peel.
Monday, February 14, 2011
My Beery Valentine: Portland, Oregon
5:00PM-9:00PM @ Saraveza Bottle Shop & Pasty Tavern
Brewpublic’s 2nd Annual My Beery Valentine offers a variety of unique, specialty, and one-of-a-kind craft beers with sweethearts and sweettooths in mind.
Pouring on this night:
* Block 15 Love Potion #9
* Cascade Chocolate Raspberry
* Double Mountain Bonne Idée Avec Kriek
* Fort George Bourbon BBL Cavatica
* Fort George Murky Pearl Oyster Stout
* Ninkasi Vanilla Oatis
* Oakshire Heart Shaped Box
* Upright Blend Love
Saraveza will also feature special treats courtesy of Sugar Pimp to pair with these delicious brews.
This event is open to the public. No tickets sold, just show up. It is recommended that you arrive early. For full descriptions of the beers listed, visit http://brewpublic.com/events
If you would like us to promote an event or want to comment about an event that you went to, please leave a comment or email me at jess@beerblotter.com! Cheers!
100 Best Beer Bars: How About These Five Noted Absences
No Brouwers? Something went wrong there.
Washington Beer Blog reminded me that Draft Magazine put out their annual 100 Best Beer Bars this week. Thanks for the reminder, Kendall. Now let me go spend two unproductive hours ogling it!
Draft Magazine is a nationally published magazine focused beer culture. They have been around since 2006, sometimes featuring celebrities on their covers. All in all, its not the nerds guide to beer. Its more of a sassy celebration of all things barley pop.
Don’t let my description drive you away. Draft Magazine is good. In fact, all 3 of the Beer Blotter writers are subscribers. We enjoy the fact that Draft presents a global expose on happenings in the beer world. Its really a good way to locate beer venues from around the world.
Just this week, Draft released its annual Top 100 beer bars list. This list is sorted geographically into 4 regions. I was afraid that they were attempting to force options for each of these regions, but it appears that the selections are not equally divided (for example, the Northeast has many more than the South). So, it appears that the choices are without prejudice.
In scouring the list, I was very pleased to see places like Avenue Pub (New Orleans), Apex (Portland), Blind Lady Alehouse (San Diego) and our very own Monk’s hole – The Stumbling Monk (Seattle).
But, one cannot peruse the list without finding their own list of absentees. While less deserving pubs made it (i.e. Cooter Browns (New Orleans), Green Dragon (Portland), McNulty’s Bier Markt (Cleveland)), some of the nation’s most celebrated beer venues are missing.
While that absentee list will differ for each of us, here are my Top 5 Absentees:
- Brouwers Cafe (Seattle) – They must have pissed off a Draft Magazine writer. Many of us know that Brouwers can sometimes rub the wrong way (and its been stated by commenters here on the site), but there is no better selection of ale in the NW. Brouwers routinely procures 60 taps of rare beer, one of the best bottle lists in the country and an unprecedented number of unmatched in-house beer festivals (See Sour Fest, Hopfest, Big Wood, and Hard Liver). Again, they must have pissed someone off.
- Bangers & Lace (Chicago) – This might simply be too early for Draft to call this place a winner. But, Bangers & Lace has quickly ascended to the top of the Chicago beer world. Presenting an unmatched selection of rare beer, along with phenomenal food, B&L deserves a spot. Guest writer For Whom the Bell Toales agrees that this is the #1 beer venue in Chi-town.
- Small Bar (San Diego) – Ok Ok, they got it mostly right. Hamilton’s Tavern, Blind Lady Alehouse, and O’Brien’s Pub should all be on the list. But, Small Bar gives that Top 3 a run for their money. Mixing a spectacular beer selection with epic food and spunky surroundings, I think it deserved a spot above many of the LA selections.
- Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH) – Draft picked one of the many Cleveland suburb favorites – Buckeye Beer Engine. But, I think they got the wrong one. The Brew Kettle blends an incredible draft lineup (thank god for the connection with Founders), house made ales, and some spectactular bar grub. Get drunk enough? Go brew a batch in the back. Beyond that – its just a cool dark place to grab a beer.
- New York’s Forgotten Trio – Ginger Man, Mug’s Alehouse and d.b.a. (NY, NY) – They picked a lot of NY spots. I can understand that its pretty tough to run into your editor’s office and say we picked the Top 100 – 20 of them are in NY. Its a tough job to pick between the excellent spots in NYC. In my mind, they got the top 3 on the list – Rattle N Hum, Blind Tiger and Spuyten Duyvil. Those three are iconic, and the three places that I spend the most time while in NY. But, the above three all deserve a shot at the list. The Ginger Man is just a few blocks from Rattle N Hum – many would say its the cooler bar. Mug’s is tucked away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But unlike the uber-hipster crowd at Spuyten Duyvil, you will find comfort at this grog spot. d.b.a. is the lone East Village fave. d.b.a. has been pouring beer for a long time and has an excellent wide spread selection.
I will say, writing the Top 5 absentees was pretty tough. All in all they did a great job finding the appropriate bars. The Top 100 is a worthy list and you should take a glance.
What else is missing!?
Bomb Threats? Weak. Nothing Stops 15th Annual Holiday Ale Festival
A great shot of Holiday Ale 2009 (Photo: Matt J Wialter, Flikr)
Last week, a bombing attempt shut down Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland. Yep, its real. The best part though is that it could not lead to the surrender of Portland’s famed Holiday Ale Fest.
Holiday Ale Fest hit its 15th Anniversary this year with over 60 beers flowing from the taps. We didn’t get the opportunity to go, but from the comments we have read – we missed out. Next year.
Check out the Festival’s press release for more recounts of the famed weekend. Hoppy Holidays!
 
Neither bomb threats nor Civil War kept crowds
away from this year’s Holiday Ale FestivalPORTLAND, Ore. – Dec. 9, 2010 – A thwarted bomb attempt at Pioneer Courthouse Square less than one week prior didn’t stop beer lovers from attending this year’s 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival. A crowd of more than 17,000 gathered in Portland’s Living Room over five days to raise a mug to the big, bold craft beers of winter. The Northwest’s most prestigious winter beer festival took place Dec. 1 through 5 and featured more than 60 winter craft beers during its five-day run.
The beers served were either made or blended specifically for the event or were vintage offerings not commonly served in the region. In some cases, the kegs tapped were the last known kegs available of a particular beer.
New features to this year’s festival were well-received, including the addition of a printed map of the five different bars on the required festival tasting mug; a real-time mobile interface that listed the beers, their location on-site and their descriptions (m.holidayale.com); and a VIP ticket, which cost $45 in advance and allowed users to bypass long lines at both the entrance and the bars.
The Belgian Beer and Brunch, an auxiliary event held on the Sunday of the festival, sold out, with more than 120 people sampling prestigious beers and noshing on pastries, meats and cheeses in an area overlooking the main festival tents.
The People’s Choice winner, as determined by the beer that sold the most kegs, was Moore Holiday Ale. A Collaborator beer (Collaborator is a project where homebrewers submit recipes and the selected beer is brewed commercially by Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.), the Imperial Bohemian Pilsner was made with Saaz hops and smooth Pilsner malts that refreshed the palate.
Hopworks Urban Brewery Kentucky Christmas came in second, while four breweries tied for third: Deschutes Streaking the Quad, Lompoc Franc’ly Brewdolph, Stone Smoked Porter and Ninkasi Unconventionale.
Two fundraisers for the Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) were deemed a success: the Crater Lake Soda Garden, which poured root beer for designated drivers and accepted tips for donation, and a coat and bag check that ran at capacity much of the time. The festival matched the monies raised by both projects, bringing in $2,500 for the charity. The CCA also held a raffle that raised an additional $2,000.
Festival attendees stayed warm and dry under a large clear-topped tent that covered the venue while allowing for views of the city lights. Gas heaters created a cozy ambience under the boughs of the city’s Christmas tree. In addition to beer tasting, the Holiday Ale Festival also featured on-site food, event merchandise, organic cheeses, roasted nuts, mead sampling, and seasonal background music.
The 2011 Holiday Ale Festival will take place November 30 through December 4. For more information, visit http://www.holidayale.com or call 503-252-9899.
 
Photo Credits: Matt J Wialter on Flikr
 
Today in Portland: New Old Lompoc Throws a Holiday Beer Release Party
Lompoc is seriously underrated.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or choose to not partake in religious festivities- you can still drink damn good beer. This holiday season, New Old Lompoc is releasing 8 beers.
The Lompoc brewers have been as busy as elves preparing for the holiday season. This year, they are releasing eight different holiday beers – including two for Hanukkah. Come join Jerry, Dave, Bryan, Zach & Sam at the Lompoc Holiday Beers Release Party today – Tuesday, Nov. 30th – from 4 to 10 pm at the Lompoc Sidebar, located at 3901 N Williams Ave. next to Pix Patisserie.
This year’s offerings include Blitzen Golden Ale, Brewdolph Belgian Style Red, C-Son’s Greetings Imperial IPA , Holiday Cheer Porter, Jolly Bock German Style Bock, Old Tavern Rat Barley Wine, 8 Malty Nights Chocolate Rye, and Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights.
All beers will be on tap at all five Lompoc pubs (New Old Lompoc, Hedge House, Oaks Bottom, Fifth Quadrant and Sidebar) November 30. Two of the beers, C’son’s Greetings and Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights will also be available in 22 ounce bottles – great stocking stuffers!
Also, Lompoc will be pouring a special brew at the Holiday Ale Festival in Portland this Wednesday through Sunday. If you go, try the Franc’ly Brewdolph, a Belgian style red ale brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain in October ’09 and aged in Cabernet Franc barrels for 13 months. It was then blended in a tank with the this year’s Brewdolph. It has a malty and creamy body, a mild fruitiness, and a spicy, oak flavor.
What better gift than the gift of beer? None. Below is the list of beers being released:
Blitzen is a holiday golden ale brewed with figs, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s light bodied with fruity and spicy flavors and an aroma reminiscent of bread pudding (4.9% ABV). Brewdolph Belgian style red ale features a malty and creamy body. Brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain, it boasts a mild fruitiness and a spicy clove character (7.7% ABV).
C-Son’s Greetings is the big brother to the brewery’s popular C-Note. It features a rich caramel malty body with an endless developing hop presence from all seven of the “C” hops – Crystal, Cluster, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus and Challenger (8% ABV). Holiday Cheer is a robust vanilla porter that combines big chocolate flavor and a full body with mellow vanilla notes, compliments of whole vanilla beans in the conditioning tank (6.8% ABV).
Jolly Bock is a lager brewed with a generous amount of Munich malt to develop the deep amber color and rich malt flavor. The malty flavor is balanced with a spicy hop bitterness (7.3% ABV). Old Tavern Rat is a dark amber colored barleywine that was aged for almost a year prior to its release. The beer’s strong bitterness is balanced with the sweetness of caramel and toffee flavors (9.4% ABV).
Portland’s first Hanukkah seasonal, 8 Malty Nights is a Chocolate Rye that features a roasted chocolate flavor and a sweet finish. It is dark brown in color and lightly hopped with English style hops (6.5% ABV). Bourbon Barrel Aged 8 Malty Nights was brewed for Hannukah 2009 and aged in bourbon barrels for nine months. It features a roasted chocolate flavor with hints of bourbon and oak (6.5% ABV).
We’ll also be pouring a special brew at the Holiday Ale Festival this Wednesday through Sunday. If you go, try our Franc’ly Brewdolph, a Belgian style red ale brewed with the Belgian Ardennes yeast strain in October ’09 and aged in Cabernet Franc barrels for 13 months. It was then blended in a tank with the this year’s Brewdolph. It has a malty and creamy body, a mild fruitiness, and a spicy, oak flavor.
Events for Week of November 29, 2010
Mug's Alehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Oh Thanksgiving – I miss you already. Alas, there is one heck of a week ahead.
A first pouring of our 1st Anniversary beer met a quite amazing meal on Thursday. We followed that up with a journey out to Kitsap, stopping by Silver City Brewing, Der Blokken Brewery and 7 Seas Brewing, along the way. I have got to say that Kitsap is one heck of a trip. The beer gets better each time I visit.
After a day at Mt. Baker on Saturday, we got our first ever taste of the Beer Shrine – North Fork Brewery. Later this week, expect some write ups on some of these wonderful excursions.
Lets embark on a new week in beer:
Monday, November 29, 2010
21st Amendment Beer Dinner: New York, New York
6:00PM-9:00PM @ Spring Lounge
The first of these events features 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat (in a can!), the newest winter seasonal by 21st Amendment Brewery of San Francisco, and is catered by Jeff Maslanka, head chef of Black Shack Burger in midtown and 67 Burger in Brooklyn. He’ll be serving up short ribs braised in Fireside Chat, along with some seasonal sides that will both highlight and be highlighted by the taste of the beer.
The food is complimentary, the beer is not. So bring your wallet and your appetite.
We’ll also be featuring these great brews by 21st Amendment on draught – Brew Free or Die IPA, Back in Black, and Hop Crisis
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Yeast Strains with Mikkeller: New York, New York
7:30PM-9:30PM @ Jimmy’s N0. 43
Join in the sampling of 6 different beers from Mikkeller‘s Yeast Series. This will only cost you $10 and these beers are not only delicious, but will provide insight into this innovative, international brewery.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Holiday Ale Festival: Portland, Oregon
2:00PM-10:00PM @ Pioneer Courthouse Square
Its that time of the year, so gear up for some Christmas beer drinking fun!
The 15th annual Holiday Ale Festival will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 1, and continue through Sunday, Dec. 5 at Pioneer Courthouse Square, located at 701 SW Sixth Ave at the intersection of SW Broadway and Yamhill Streets, immediately on the MAX Light Rail line.
Hours:
Wednesday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.Admission & Costs:
*FREE* re-admission into the Festival all 5 days with wristband and current year’s mug!To enter and taste beers, the purchase of an initial tasting package is required. Advance tickets cost $20, or $25 at the door. This package includes a souvenir mug and 10 beer tickets.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Big Wood Barrel-Aged Beer Festival: Seattle, Washington
11:00 AM-Close @ Brouwers Cafe
You’ve read about it here on BeerBlotter.com. This is one of those “can’t miss” beer events that happen in Seattle. The initial tap list has already been handed down by the good folks at Brouwers Cafe. We are astonished at some of the iconic names, including a rare appearance by the elusive Russian River Deviation (a Bottleworks Anniversary beer from several years back).
The event begins at 11:00 AM and will continue through the weekend. If you are trying to sample the big guys (HOTD, Russian River, The Bruery, Lost Abbey), I would suggest getting there early on Thursday. See you there!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Founders Brewing Co. Sampler: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4:00PM-6:00PM @ Bell’s Beverage
As you might already know, Founders is a Beer Blotter favorite. Although I do not know what beers are pouring- Founders will not disappoint!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Strong Ale Festival: San Diego, California
11:00AM-11:00PM @ Pizza Port Carlsbad
The 14th San Diego Strong Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad will be held Friday and Saturday, December 3rd and 4th. The festival will feature more than 75 beers all over 8% alcohol from all over the United States. Admission is $30 and includes 8 taster tickets each good for a 4 ounce pour. If you can’t make it today, Pizza Port always has stellar beers on tap!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Belgium to Brooklyn: Brooklyn, New York
11:00AM- 11:00PM @ Mugs Ale House
Oh my- this is epic and actually begins on Saturday, December 4th. 5th Annual Belgium 2 Brooklyn Mug’s Ale House Belgian Style Beer Festival: Saturday 12/4/10 & Sunday 12/5/10 from 11 AM onwards. No entrance fee, pay as you go. Over 40 Belgian Style Ales on draft + Mug’s Ale House usual enormous bottle selection.
Check out beeradvocate.com for a full tap list! Highlights include, ‘t Smisje Speciaal 2009 10.5% ; Struise Tsjeeses 10% ; Mikkeller Santas Little Helper 10.9% and Dogfish Head Au Courant 2003 7% among so many more!
If you have an event you are going to or have an event you want us to post about, please email me at jess@beerblotter.com. Cheers!
Events for Week of November 15, 2010
Roman's Pub in Milwaukee, WI
My excuse this week. A little thing called San Diego Beer Week. So much more about that to come, on Alpine Brewing, Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, Stone Brewing Co., Allagash Night, Green Flash at Toronado and so much more.
But now for your week in beer.
Skipping Monday. Sorry!! Re-coup day.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Smuttynose Rare Beer Night: Greenville, South Carolina
7:00PM-10:00PM @ Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria
Tonight, some rare Smuttynose beers will be on tap. The list includes:
-Rouge d’Shire (Short Batch #9)
-Vunderbar (Short Batch #11)
-Wheat Wine Ale // 2007
-S’Muttonator Doppelbock // 2008
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Dogfish head and Three Floyds Collab Release: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
8:00PM-10:00PM @ Roman’s Pub
Release of this super rare collaborative brew by Dogfish head and Three Floyds along with special tappings of DH Worldwide Stout ’09, DH Bitch’s Brew and bottle sampling so far. Poppaskull is described as an “Old School, German Brown Ale with Palo Santo Wood and Botanicals.”
Thursday, November 18, 2010
VictoryBrewing Night: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8:00PM-10:00PM @ The Devil’s Den
Join us as we tap a selection of beers from Victory Brewing Company.
Victory people will be on hand pouring the following –
On Tap:
-Yakima Glory (Black IPA)
-Harvest Ale (Wet Hopped Pale Ale)
-Golden Monkey (Tripel)On Cask:
-Storm King Stout (Russian Imperial Stout)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dissedent Release Party: Portland, Oregon
5:00PM-12:00AM @ Deshutes Brewing Co.
Event details were too epic to reiterate.
For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our 2010 The Dissident, wait no more! After almost 2 years in isolation our distinctive sour brown ale has finally been bottled. Our only wild yeast beer, brettanomyces and lactobacillus impart its characteristic sour taste. Lavished with whole western Washington cherries – pits and all – It’s our wildest, most extensively pampered beer.
Alcohol By Volume: 10.0%
International Bitterness Units: 25We have very limited bottles available.
Our Bend and Portland Pubs will begin selling 22oz bottles of The Dissident after 11:00am on 11/19 and there will a 6 bottle limit per person. Check out the special dinner menu with 3 specialty food items paired with different sour brews including The Dissident, our Benderweisse, a sour cherry wheat and a sour cherry porter (Portland Pub sour brews may vary).
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Hair of the Dog’s 17th Anniversary Celebration: Portland, Oregon
10:00AM-8:00PM @ Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.
To celebrate 17 years of brewing, Alan Sprints, owner and head brewer of Hair of the Dog will be having a release party for Batch #2 Matt and the seasonal Doggie Claws. Check out our write up of this event here.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Alligator and Allagash Beer Dinner: Blue Island, Illinois
2:00PM-6:00PM @ Maple Tree Inn
In honor of this amazing brewery, Allagash and some delicious gator, I present a unique menu and a beer pairing not to be missed.
First course:
Maple Tree Inn’s famous “Swamp” Alligator Soup paired with Allagash White
Second course:
Fried Alligator Po’Boy with Cajun fries paired with Allagash Tripel
Third course:
Alligator & Andouille Sauce Piquante paired with Allagash Black
Tickets on sale now at the Maple Tree Inn — $35 in advance; $40 at the door (if tickets remain). Limited seating only!
If you go to an event, want me to post about an event or just want to tell me a beer related story, email me at jess@beerblotter.com. Cheers!
Hair of the Dog Celebrates Its 17th Anniversary!
The best taster glasses on earth. Only HOTD.
Wow! 17 years. Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. and owner/head brewer Alan Sprints have been up and running for quite some time. Through the boom of the micro-brewing industry, Hair of the Dog continues to impress and grow.
From November 19th through November 21st, HOTD will celebrate with all of its loyal patrons (and maybe some newcomers) at the new tasting room.
A direct message from Alan reads:
I am pleased to announce my 17th anniversary celebration. This year it will be November 19th thru the 21st. We will have special Beers on tap all weekend long and two Beer releases. I will be selling 2010 Doggie Claws and 2010 Matt starting on November 20th, at 10:00 am.
There will be a limit of six, 12oz bottles per person on the Matt, no limit on Claws. Hope to see you here – Alan
I almost have to laugh at the “we will have special beers on tap…” as I truly feel that ALL HOTD beers are unique and a cellar worthy addition.
So stop by and celebrate this momentous occasion in Portland as HOTD tacks on another year of success!
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