Maharaja Returns and Caldera Unveils New Cans

One of the first posts I ever dropped on this blog was a short, glowing review of Avery's Maharaja Imperial IPA. It was accompanied by (at least in my opinion) one of the best photos I've ever taken. The original picture was lost at some point last year due to web hosting issues (I think), but thankfully I still have a copy on my work machine. I was simply going to repost it, but after seeing this wonderful shot on beeraroundtown I was inspired to tweak it a little bit. So, many thanks to Derek for the inspiration, and a hearty thank you to all the craft breweries out there who keep my taste buds, eyes, and nose inspired by producing beautiful beers like this:



In other exciting news, Caldera has released a third flavor in their canned line of killer craft beer. The Ashland Amber is now available in an eye-catching silver and purple can. Personally I was a little surprised they didn't got with the porter or pilsner as the next entry, but the Amber is great so I'm not complaining. I don't have my camera (or phone) handy, so no pics of the cans today, but I'll try and snap one later and edit the post.

Last but not least, some of you may be have noticed that we've started sending out twitter updates when new bottles arrive or when something new and exciting gets tapped in the cafe. Well, when I went to post today's tweet about the Maharaja I noticed that they now have little embeddable flash widgets that show your most recent updates. A few minutes (and a little code tweaking) later and suddenly we have our twitter feed on the right sidebar. Between our regular email newsletter, this blog, and now twitter, you've got no excuse for missing out on the latest brews or tastings.

Stout Patty's Day!

As you may recall, last year we tapped an Abyss in honor of St. Patrick and it was one of the busiest days in cafe history prior to last week's Pliny the Younger night. This year we decided to roll with a bunch of caffeinated stouts instead, and even though none of them have the cache or fervent following of the Abyss I can assure you that they're all world-class tipples.

The initial line up was going to feature three coffee-infused stouts from Laurelwood, Fort George, and Great Divide, but then I got a pleasantly unexpected phone call from Barley Browns out in Baker City, OR. As luck would have it, Shawn Kelso (BB's brewer) was planning on driving into town today and had called to arrange a meeting with Carl (the owner) regarding some as-yet-unplanned future event. Instead, I persuaded him to bring us several kegs of their award winning beer along for the ride, which is why we've got an incredibly rare treat to add to the line-up tonight. I don't recall ever seeing a Barley Brown's beer on tap in PDX, and I've never had the opportunity to travel out to Baker City and try their offerings, so I'm psyched to be able to knock one more Oregon brewery off my "must try" list.




If you don't feel like fighting the crowds at all the "usual suspect" bars this evening I'd encourage you to stop in and enjoy some dark roasted brew. Alternatively, you could make us the first stop of the evening, enjoy a couple pints of caffeinated goodness, and use that energy to fuel the rest of your adventures tonight.

Whatever you choose to do tonight please do it safely, don't throw any chairs through the windows (ask the folks at the Brass about that one), and for the love of Hathor don't drink and drive.

Seasonal Creep

This is one of those weird times of year in the beer world. Not many breweries make "spring seasonals", and those that do offer them seem to do it as an afterthought. This is evidenced by the fact that many of them only see about 1-2 months of shelf time before they get replaced with summer seasonals. For the chain stores it's an easy solution; they simply wait until one is gone before they bring in the new one. We don't have that luxury because people expect us to have new stuff right away, but they also expect us to carry the good seasonal offerings (like Celebration) long after they're out of season.

We've rearranged the store countless times in the two years we've been in the new location, and in that time we've devised a layout that allows us to carry roughly 1100-1200 beers. Generally there's an equal number of things going out of season (or limited stuff that simply sells out) as there are new things coming in, so it becomes a simple matter of "replace X with Y in the cooler", but when you're faced overlapping seasonals it presents a problem. The solution? Close outs. We currently have an entire rack filled with perfectly drinkable winter seasonals that got evicted from their homes by incoming spring/summer beers. If you're looking for one last 6pk of something like Laughing Dog Cold Nose then our loss is your gain.

Where am I going with this? I really don't know. I guess it's just something I've been pondering all day because we received a bunch of "summer seasonals" in the middle of March. That leads me to today's list of new arrivals...

New American Craft Beers:

• Blue Moon - Honey Moon
• Southern Oregon Brewing - Woodshed Red
• Alaskan Brewing - Summer Ale
• Capital Brewing - Blonde Doppelbock (Hooray, more Wisconsin beer!)
• Lagunitas GnarlyWine
• Deschutes Cinder Cone
• Lagunitas Maximus (now in 12oz bottles and 6pks)
  
• Cascade Lakes Blonde Bombshell

New Imports:

• Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour
• Wittekerke (returning after a lapse in distribution)
• Ename Tripel
• Kapittel Sampler 4 Pack

New Sake:

• Kikusui Junmai Ginjo - The world's first certified organic sake!

That should do it, have a great weekend!

24 New Bottles Plus Pliny the Younger

I love what's come to be known as "Shelton Brothers" days here at the shop. It invariably means that we'll receive at least a handful of exciting new bottles, the staff spends the day in a state of giddiness as they anticipate the end of the work day, and I get to tell people things like, "Yes, we finally got that Mikkeller beer with weasel poop coffee in it!" Occasionally the "handful of exciting bottles" becomes a pile of 2 dozen new beers sitting on my desk, which causes my wallet and liver to begin weeping (one weeps with joy, the other with sorrow).

The only drawback to all this beery goodness is that I end up spending more time than I'd care to think about sitting in front of the computer entering new things into the database and receiving the whole pile, which gets especially painful on days like this when customers keep wandering by with glasses of Pliny the Younger in their hands. I swear you can smell that brew from 6 feet away, and probably further if the wind is blowing the right direction.

Anyway, I can't possibly write a review for everything on today's list because I a) haven't had most of them, and b) the post wouldn't be done for a few days, and several of these are likely to be gone by then.

That said, here's the list of new arrivals and long lost favorites that have made their way back into our coolers. The bolded beers are things which are likely to be in high demand, and may sell out within the week, so don't delay if something strikes your fancy.


New US Craft Beers:

• Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale
• Stone/Mikkeller/Alesmith Collaborative Tripel
• Sam Adams Double Bock
• The Bruery Saison de Lente
• Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
  

New Imports From:

Denmark:

• Amager Sudby Stout
• Amager Hr Frederiksen Imp. Stout
• Amager Batch One Strong Ale
• Mikkeller Warrior IPA
• Mikkeller Simcoe IPA
• Mikkeller It's Alright!
• Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch (weasel poop coffee edition)
  
• De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis (Imperial Stout)
  

Finland:

• Huvila ESB
  
• Huvila Porter
  
• Huvila Arctic Circle Barleywine
  

Norway:

• Nogne O Toshi Dobbel IPA (collaborative brew between Nogne O and several Japanese brewers)
  

Belgium:

• Kerkom Bink Tripel
• Struise Black Albert Stout
• Struise Pannepot Reserva

Italy:

• Panil Bariquee Reserva 2008

Japan:

• Baird Natsumikan Ale (pale ale made with Japanese citrus fruit)
  
• Baird Dark Sky Stout

Ireland:

• Curim Irish Wheat Ale (Ireland)

Returning Favorites:

• Panil Bariquee (vintage 2007)
• Urthel Hop-it
• Achel Bruin
• Achel Blonde
• Olfabrikken Porter
• Thiriez XXtra

If you have any specific questions about any of these feel free to leave a comment and we'll answer it as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll try and drink this pile of deliciousness as fast as we can and write individual posts for the exceptional beers.

Oh yeah, in case you've missed it, we're celebrating imperial IPAs in the Biercafe this week. In addition to several other amazing hoppy brews, Pliny the Younger was tapped at 3pm and I'd be surprised if it lasts through tomorrow. In an effort to stave off some phone calls I feel compelled to mention that we will NOT be filling any growlers, jars, or boots with the Pliny. Sorry, but we want to spread it out to as many people as possible.

Now go forth and drink! (responsibly, of course)

Widmer Bros Celebrate 25 Years of Beer

I just received a great email/press release from Widmer with a brief history of the company and a little tease regarding their special 25th Anniversary brew. (emphasis added by me)

WIDMER BROTHERS BREWING PROSTS 25 YEARS OF GREAT BEER

- Brothers’ quarter-life crisis venture hits its own quarter-life mark -

PORTLAND, Ore. – March 3, 2009 – On April 2, two ordinary brothers from Portland, Ore. who set out in 1984 to brew beers that people loved as much as they did will be celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of their dream – Widmer Brothers Brewing – which has become an established and revered name in the world of craft beer. The company’s humble founders, Kurt and Rob, have been instrumental in shaping the American craft brewing industry and earning Portland the well-deserved nickname “Beervana.” Here are just a few of the contributions they have made over the past quarter-century:

Widmer Hefeweizen: In 1986, Kurt and Rob took a risk and created the first unfiltered beer in the US, creating a new beer style – American Hefeweizen – and introducing what would become the company’s signature brew. Today, Widmer Hefeweizen remains one of the best selling wheat beers in the country and the standard by which all other American-style Hefeweizens are judged.

Seasonals: Widmer Brothers was the first US brewer to launch a seasonal offering when Festbier was introduced in the winter of 1985. Building upon its success, Widmer became the first US brewer to produce a year-round line up of seasonal beers, a practice which is now commonplace.

Oregon Brew Fest: In 1988 the Oregon Brewer’s Guild, of which Kurt and Rob were founding members, launched the Oregon Brewer’s Festival. Today, the event is the largest outdoor craft beer festival in the country, drawing more than 70,000 attendees.

After 25 years, Kurt and Rob Widmer continue to be hands-on in the creation of beers and the brewery’s day-to-day activities. In addition, the brothers have been supporting home brewers through the Collaborator Project for more than a decade. Each year they identify the best Oregon-made homebrew, then allow the creator to produce it at the Widmer brewery and sell it on tap at a number of Portland-area bars, including the Gasthaus.

To celebrate its milestone, Widmer Brothers will be releasing a commemorative 25^th Anniversary limited-edition brew, a double alt dubbed 84/09. Though inspired by the brothers’ very first offering, Widmer Alt, 84/09 will provide drinkers with a whole new beer experience at a whopping 9.8% ABV. The 25^th Anniversary 22 oz bottle will be available in 12 select West Coast markets* in May, with an SRP of $5.99.

About Widmer Brothers Brewing

What started as a dream for two ordinary brothers who just loved beer has now become a reality for two ordinary brothers who still just love beer. Kurt and Rob Widmer helped lead the Pacific Northwest craft beer movement in 1984 when, in their twenties, they dreamed of brewing American interpretations of authentic European style beers. In 1986, Widmer Brothers Brewing introduced the first American-style Hefeweizen; today, the unfiltered cloudy beer is the company’s signature brew and one of the best selling wheat beers in the country. Based in Portland, Ore., the brewery currently produces a variety of beers including Drop Top Amber Ale and Broken Halo IPA. For more information about Widmer Brothers Brewing, visit www.widmer.com.

Mmm...Double Alt. There's no info regarding a release date for the 84/09, but given that their official 25th Anniversary is on April 4th, I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the shelves at somepoint in the next 4-6 weeks.

My apologies if the formatting on this post is screwed up; it can be difficult to copy/paste press releases without dragging a bunch of funky html tags along for the ride. I'll fix it ASAP if it looks weird.