Early Notice: Brouwers Cafe Hosts Big Wood on December 2nd!

A magnificent night of woody grog awaits...

Big Wood is coming. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

There is no secret that we are utterly obsessed with Brouwer’s Cafe’s Big Wood beer festival. Last year, we launched this site in the midst of Big Wood 2009. This year, we are giving you a 3 week “head’s up.”

Big Wood will be held on December 2, 2010. If I remember correctly (but I might stand corrected), Big Wood begins in the afternoon, sometime around 4 PM. The event is officially one day, but the beers will pour for several days afterwards.

What is Big Wood? Guess. Big Wood showcases wood-aged beers on more than 40 taps. Typically, you will see a plethora of massive scale beers pouring, including some of the most complex beers you will ever taste.

Last year – Hair of the Dog dominated. From beer nerds to beer newbs, Hair of the Dog shocked and awed the crowd. Alan Sprints delivered Fred from the Wood, Michael (Flemish Red), Matt (Bottleworks 10th Anniversary) and BOB (a barrel-aged lambic). Read our review of the event by following this link.

Brouwers has yet to release a list of this year’s beers. They will slowly begin to trickle in but we have already seen them announce that Midnight Sun is sending a keg of Berserker and heard, through the grapvine, that New Belgium is bringing something special!

Keep following Brouwers Cafe’s website and Facebook.

Fred Fest 2010: Hair of the Dog Showcases in hometown of Portland, OR

Fred Fest 2010

In celebration of world renowned brewer, Fred Eckhardt, Hair of the Dog will be hosting their 5th annual Fred Fest. Fred, known to many beer lovers as an American style barleywine is just one of many spectacular brews from Portland’s very own HOTD.

Below is a blurb from FredFestPDX’s blog regarding details about the event:

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.

Cost for the event is $50 in advance ($60 at the door for the few remaining tickets, if any) and includes a souvenir glass, free ticket for a raffle of bottled specialty beers and four hours of sampling, sipping and story-telling with Fred. Tickets *are* limited and they are going fast (they’ve sold out every year to date), so order yours today before it’s too late!

So get ready, Monday, May 10, 2010 from 6:00PM until 10:00 PM at Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.’s digs. You will be in the company of some amazingly unique and well executed beers.  As always, 100% of the proceeds from FredFest and the related auctions will go to a charity of Fred’s choice. This year, Fred has named the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as the 2010 recipient of the fest.

A quick side note- use the directions to the brewery that are posted on their website. Your GPS will bring you to a place that does not serve beer and that is very upsetting.

Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. makes several beers that are worth your time and pleasure. You have your attainable beers such as Blue Dot, a smooth IPA, Ruth, your quintessential American Pale Ale, Adam, first brewed in Dortmunder, Germany and Fred, a barleywine. Now, on to those HOTD beers that make my eyes pop out of my skull when I see them in bottles and, the unthinkable, on tap.  Fred from the wood is aged to perfection, Doggie Claws, a heavy, flavorful, seasonal barleywine and B.O.B (my personal favorite and a rarity that is not bottled to my knowledge) a lambic style beer aged in wine barrels.

HOTD is a highly respected brewery. All of their beers are easy to drink, entice your taste buds and encourage a greater love of beer. These are the reasons why we LOVE this brewery.

Big Wood Update: New Beers Added

Some very good adds on the new Big Wood list.

The Big Wood list has a few changes as of November 27. 2009. You can keep tabs on the beer lineup at Brouwer’s Cafe’s website and their Twitter feed.

New additions include Avery Beast from the Wood 2008, Double Mountain Terrible Two, Port Brewing Older Vicosity, Skagit  and Harmon Oak Aged Double Porter.

Of course, we are massive fans of the Beast! This is one of the most complex ales out there, rivaling Lost Abbey’s Angles Share.

There is also some clarification on the “…..from the wood” that HOTD was to be pouring at the festival. Hair of the Dog will now be pouring  Bourbon Fred from the Wood.

The mysterious Hales beer is Bucephalus. According to Rate Beer’s two ratings – this beer is 4/5. Should be something to try.