February--not a month for beer?

'Tis the season, or at least it was.

The big warming beers during the months of little sunshine and cold micros is an annual connundrum. Monstrous doses of malty and hoppy goodness isn't always exactly what the doctor ordered. For instance, trying to appreciate the Winter Ale Festival's offering and several tasting bottled delectables like Eel River's Old Ale aka Triple Exultation, Mad River's John Barleycorn, or Deschutes' Abyss can put a strain on the evil* liver.

So, upon a conversation with my friend Michael who brews at Clinton Street Brewing (Portland's smallest micro brewer), I learned that February is a good month to give up drinking beer (gasp!). But why February? Well, for starters, it's the shortest month in the calendar year (godforbid leap year). Anyhow, why else? One hypothesis I heard is that there are less notable seasonals during the month of February. Really? Now on the second day of the month I found out about these new tid bits:

At Sellwood's Oak's Bottom Public House (a New Old Lompoc house with divine guest tappage) you can taste two vintages from San Diego's Stone Brewing including the Old Guardian Barley Wine. OB's Jim Parker ordered a keg of Stone's Anniversary IPA back in October, but instead got a keg of 2006's Old Guardian.

The Stone barleywine rolls in at 11% ABW and will be verticled next to this year's model. Did the ingredient-base mellow out at all? How did the hops' bitterness meld with the multitude of malts?

Monday February 5, 2007 7 pm @Oaks Bottom Public House, 1621 S.E. Bybee Street in Sellwood, OR for info call 503-232-1728.


Reason 2 to keep drinking Oregon craft beer during February:

Northwest Brewing New's people's choice award for best Oregon brewhouse, Laurelwood remains constant with new and innovative beers. Former brewer Christian Ettinger is in the process of redeveloping the old Sunset Fuels building on SE Powell Blvd. into a sustainable organic brewery. In the meantime, his old stomping grounds at Laurelwood are preparing the Portland's Hollywood District for their latest brewing locale, just up Sandy Boulevard from
the current spot.
Check out the new spot at Laurelwood's blogsite.

Check out the hottest new item at Laurelwood, the Imperial IPA # 7 in the latest series of new and innovative IIPA's (taken over right where they left off last year with six imperial IPAs side by side...what a madhouse that was!)

Here's what I know:

IIPA #7
7.5% ABW 107 IBU )G 17 degrees Plato
Brewed with Columbus, Amarillo, Simco, and Cascade Hops

also at Laurelwood while supplies last
Elvis Special Bitter
to honor "the King"'s birthday.

Keep your eyes peeled for the not too distant opening of Belmont Station's cafe next to the outrageous bottle selection (700 plus and growing!)

One last reason to drink handcrafted beer during February:

Like you needed it, beer geeks, all of you reading this far along. February is a good month to try something "non-seasonal" aka a perrenial treat. For example:

Adnams Broadside Original Ale--A fullbodied, carmellow beer with hints of roasty English malts and serene Euro goldings. Maintains a nice head despite the long journey it makes from its place of origin at Solebay Brewery in Southwold, England.
6% ABV, available in 12oz. bottles

Butte Creek Organic IPA--Some people are for some reason anti-Organic. Maybe it was a bad experience with gimmicky marketing involving items dubbed as "Organic". This Beer is no joke. Brewed with USDA certified organic malts and whole cone hops, this delicious sessionable IPA is any hippie beer snobs dream come true. Why did I give up beer this month?
7.1% ABW available in 12oz. bottles

Alba Scots Pine Ale--Claiming to be "an ale brewed with natural flavors" is the billing of this olde schoole brew from Scotland. Brewed and bottled by Heather Ale Ltd. buy the Williams Bros. Brewery, this gem is so damn smooth and worth mentioning for being so darn quenching. And to my total surprise this beer clocks in over 7%! You'd never never know. Vikings and cosmopolitans alike should feel very satisfied with this world class beer in their goblet.
7.5% ABW available in 11.2 oz. bottles



Thanks for reading!



*from a t-shirt I saw at OBF 2006 that read "The Liver is Evil and Must Be Punished"



l to r: Angelo, David and Mitzi at Old Belmont Station store 12/24/06