PuckerFest - The (Almost) Complete Line Up

OK, here's the deal. I can't really tell you when any of these things are going to go on tap because we only have 8 faucets to run the sours through (we need to keep some "normal" beers on), and we have close to 20 different offerings lined up. There's also a couple of local breweries that have promised kegs, but have yet to deliver them (you know who you are!) and I don't want to get people's hopes up unnecessarily. That said, here's an almost complete list of puckertastic beer.

Currently On Tap:

Cantillon - Vigneronne: Light and delicate, yet aggressively sour. Malted grain meet pressed grape. This is a beer of incredible contradiction that somehow transcends both beer and wine to become something which can only be called Vigneronne. Judging by sales, this was the most popular pour last night, and the keg is already 1/3 gone. I'd give it until Thursday at the latest.

New Belgium - La Folie: New Belgium's Brewmaster, Peter Boukaert, previously helmed Belgium's classic Rodenbach brewery, so it's no surprise that NBB's barrel-aged Flemish sour is amazingly close to the traditional example. Truly wonderful stuff. At the current pace the keg will probably kick on Thursday.

Dogfish - Festina Peche: Described as a "Neo-Berliner Weisse", DFH has once again taken something old and put an extreme spin on it. In this case "extreme" doesn't mean alcohol, just an extremely delicious combination of tart, fruity sourness wrapped up in a 4.5% package. Lots of flavor, not a lot of booze. I want to see someone drink a boot of this.

Cascade - Flander's Red: Ron and Curtis from Cascade Brewing (aka Raccoon Lodge) have been blending, aging, and generally having fun with barrels for a couple of years now. Their take on a Flemish sour is a little softer and sweeter than New Belgium's, but still loaded with woody, funky goodness.

Full Sail - Belmont Blend #1: I'll be perfectly honest; this beer is not for everyone. The initial aroma has been compared rather unfavorably to acetone (nail polish remover), and it's sure to turn a lot of people off before they even take a sip. I would encourage you to make an effort, and not give up on it too quickly. Once the nose and palate desensitize to the sharp aroma, a bevy of interesting things start to rise out of the glass. In the mouth it has a slightly full bodied feel and a little sweetness on the tongue, and the sour, woody notes are lightened considerably by the fruity Belgian yeast character of the base beer into which it was blended. Since this wouldn't be a proper Full Sail beer without some hops, we mixed in a portion of Prodigal Sun for good measure. The result is that the sweet and sour fades from the mouth as you swallow and then get overtaken by a long trail of bitterness in the throat. Like I said, most definitely not for everyone, but I hope you'll give it a chance.

Verhaeghe - Echte Kriekenbier: Verhaeghe is best known for their Duchesse de Bourgogne, a rather acetic Belgian red ale. The Echte Kriekenbier is essentially barrel-aged Duchesse that has had a second fermentation on cherries. Tart and sour, but still approachable and fruity. This one is also going quick, and probably won't last through Wednesday.

Lucky Lab - Belgian Sour Cherry: This is one of the only beers in the line-up that I haven't previously had, because someone drank the sample bottle that Ben Flerchinger was kind enough to drop off last week. I'll update this part after work when I've had a chance to try it.


Coming Soon:

Please note: All tapping times listed below are approximate. The faster the initial line up goes, the faster we can get the rest of these tasty treats on tap. Conversely, if things last longer than expected we may have a couple sour beers left for a few days after the event. If you have any questions about what's on tap please check the front page of our website. I promise we'll keep it updated all week long.

Double Mountain - Devil's Kriek: According to Charlie Devereux, this is the very last keg of their intensely fruity kriek. At 8% abv, it's also one of the strongest entries in the line-up. The kriek was made by aging a batch of the Devil's Kitchen on hundreds of pounds of local cherries for several months. The resulting beer is strong, tart, full-bodied, and bright freaking red. Serious Crayola red. It's pretty cool to look at, and even better to drink. Expect this to go on later in the week.

BJ's Portland - Enfant Terrible: This brew started life as a fairly mild mannered Belgian blonde ale, but like Superman in a phone booth it underwent some serious transformation during a year of barrel aging with lambic yeast. It's funky, dry, and chock full of fruity yeast character. Since BJ's is no longer brewing in town, and Vasili has moved to Rock Bottom, there's no telling if or when we'll ever see this beer again. The Enfant will probably go on tap Thursday or Friday.

Rock Bottom Portland - Ned Flanders: This sour ale was a huge hit at OBF 2006 and Puckerfest #1. We squirreled away the very last keg and have been sitting on it since last year, eagerly anticipating one last chance to taste this. Expect it to be on tap over the weekend.

Liefman's - Kriek: Another Belgian classic, Liefman's Kriek (based on a sour brown ale) has a more pronounced malt flavor than the other Flemish sours in our line-up. Given Leifman's financial difficulties, and recent acquisition by Duvel Moortgat, this could be one of the last kegs we'll get from the "original" company. This should be on tap by Thursday or Friday.

Cascade - Brewing Cuvee: This is an evolving, experimental creation blended from several different barrels. Tart apple character meets earthy, barnyard funkiness. It's fairly strong, yet dry and light bodied, a true testament to the sugar digesting abilities of our tiny microbial friends. This will replace the Cascade Flanders Red when it blows; if I had to guess I'd say Friday.

Walking Man - Blootvoeste Bruin: This very special brew is made by blending Walking Man's Barefoot Brown with a batch of Kombucha. This is the one other beer I haven't had a chance to try (not for lack of trying), so here's a great description from after4ever, a ratebeer.com member from Washington:

Opaque dark brown with thinnish tan rim and light lace. Pungent sweet and sour nose that somehow seems to come and go. Rich, creamy body on the high side of medium. Nutty, sugary, cinnamony, red-apple-y mid-palate. Long clinging apple finish. Really beautiful once it warms up a bit.

You can expect this one to be on tap over the weekend for the grand puckering finale.

Cantillon - St. Lamvinus: St. Lamvinus is created by blending Cantillon's gueuze with French wine grapes. The grapes generally come from Bordeaux, but they pick a different winery every year which makes each batch a unique creation. There's a wonderfully enlightening description of the history and process on the importer's website, and it's well worth the read if you have a couple minutes. This will go on tap this weekend for the finale.


Like I said up top, there's still a few kegs that haven't been delivered yet, so check back for more surprises if and when the stragglers get delivered.

Cheers, and pucker hard!

Roll Out The Barrels on Monday June 30th!

We've finally gotten the new walk-in finished, the system is dialed in, and we've got 16 glistening new Perlick taps just waiting to dispense some delicious beer. If you read the previous post you may recall that I said 12 taps, and maybe you're wondering where the four extra taps came from. It's simple; taps 1-12 will be filled with interesting, eclectic, rotating beers all year, and the other 4 are set aside for future growth and special events like the one you're reading about.

Anyway, enough jibba jabba; here's the details:

Join us Monday June 30th as we celebrate the Grand Opening (grand tapping?) of our new draught system. We'll have at least 5 oak or barrel aged beers on tap and perhaps some other surprises too! The event kicks off at 5pm, and the kegs will run until they're gone.

The Beers:

Ft. George Bourbon-aged Cavatica Stout: This was the centerpiece of Ft. George's Stout Month back in February, and we're happy we squirreled away a keg. It's rich, full bodied, and leaves a long trail of vanilla, bourbon, and oaky tannins as it glides across your palate and down the hatch.

They describe it as "an immense, bold, black as night, American-style beauty; there's nothing dry or Irish about it. The name reflects the brewer's affinity for arachnia. Be forewarned: this beer WILL stain your clothes."

Ft George Bourbon-aged Illuminator Doppelbock: A couple kegs of Illuminator have popped up around town, but this is quite the rarity. I've haven't had a chance to try it yet, so I called Chris Nemlowill (brewer/owner) yesterday to get a little more info. It was brewed last fall and modeled after the classic German beers that created and defined the style; Salvator, Celebrator, Optimator, but adds an extra dose of hops to help brace all the malt. Chris took it one step further and gave it the barrel treatment for several months and basically ignored it until spring.

He wanted the bourbon to integrate rahter than overwhelm the beer, so he used barrels that had previously held a batch of Cavatica, hoping that the first beer would have absorbed the bulk of the sweet brown liquor. However, after 6 months in the barrel he discovered that the Illuminator had become a bourbony beast of it's own, so it was blended with the remainder of the batch that had been resting quietly in stainless kegs all winter. The result: a malt-lovers dream come true. Waves of caramelly, fruity malts carry the subdued bourbon essence across the tongue, and a solid blast of hoppy bitterness keeps all the sugar in check.

Stone Oaked Bastard: This is the only beer that hasn't actually spent time in a barrel, but it's so good that we'll forgive Stone for simply using oak chips instead. Becoming a year-round bottled product hasn't dampened people's enthusiasm for the arrogant brew, but kegs of OAB are still a rare treat and we're happy to have one here to help us celebrate summer with our new system. On most days this would be a heavy hitter, but at only 7.2%abv, this will probably be the most "sessionable" beer in the line-up.

Allagash Curieux: This is another special treat. Bottles of Curieux only come out once or twice a year, and this is the first time any kegs have made it this far from Maine. Curieux started out as Allagash's deliciously complex Tripel, and 8 weeks in a Jim Beam barrel added several more factors to the equation. Spices, wood, bourbon, caramel, fruity yeast esters; this brew will have you scratching your head as you pull flavor after flavor out of the glass. If you're hoping to try this one I'd suggest getting here as close to 3pm as possible. We only received a 5 gallon keg, so this will be the first keg to blow on Monday.

BJ's (Portland) Whiskey Barrel Stout: We're still a bit upset about BJ's corporate and their decision to cease brewing in PDX, but hopefully this beer will leave us with a fond memory of the place. Fresh, "unwashed" whiskey barrels are used to age this beast, so this will be the most intensely boozy brew of the bunch. If you like your whiskey with a beer back, this is the one to reach for. To the best of my knowledge, this is the last keg of Whiskey Stout in existence, so enjoy it while you can.

To recap (feel free to cut, paste, and copy):

Who: You, me, and as many other beer lovers as we can squeeze into the cafe.
What: 5 deliciously potent examples of brewing excellence, aged to perfection.
When: Monday, June 30th, from 5 to 11pm
Where: The BierCafe @ Belmont Station - 4500 SE Stark St PDX, OR 97215
Why: Because we've been waiting a long time for the new taps.
How Much: Free (as always) to get in, beer prices will vary.

Cheer, and enjoy the long-awaited sunshine!

Vasili's Tasting Notes For Wednesday's Tasting

Vasili was kind enough to provide some insight into the beers we'll be pouring on Wednesday, April 24th. The following was slightly edited for readability, but otherwise everything is straight from the horse's mouth.

Redrum (7.2%abv, 25IBUs): This beer debuted at Portland’s Cheers To Belgian Beers 2008. Made with wort from the Jeremiah Red and fermented using the famed “La Chouffe” yeast strain. Nice and spicy with dark fruity flavors.

Grand Cru 2008 (10%abv): A spiced tripel, modeled after our champion Belgian strong ale from 2002. This batch fermented faster than any beer I’ve ever brewed, but without the “higher alcohols” known for causing headaches.

Enfant Terrible (~7.8%abv): This brew began life as the unblended base beer from our 2007 OBF entry which was racked into clean whiskey barrels and fermented with a lambic yeast/bacteria blend. It’s well attenuated and has become quite funky over the last year.

IPA (~7%abv): I like to make drastically different IPA’s every chance I get, and this is the most recent experiment. A classic northwest-style IPA, loaded with local hops. I made this for my wife who loves red, bitter beers.

Comet (9%abv): Crafted using a one year old pale barleywine as the base, this beer was “built” with additions from our Jeremiah Red, IPA, and just a touch of Chocolate Stout. This hoppy winter warmer debuted at the 2007 Holiday Ale Festival.

Chocolate Stout (5.5%abv): A delicious stout made with a couple additions of organic dark cocoa nibs. It’s silky and smooth, with dark chocolate aromas and a great body.

For what it's worth, we put the IPA on tap yesterday, and it's been getting great reviews so far. We encourage everyone to stop down, toast Vasili, and wish him well in his new position at Rock Bottom.

Speaking of Rock Bottom, brewpub chains aren't typically known for pushing the envelope, but Van Havig has been quietly crafting some great "under the radar" beers for the last couple years now. With Vasili joining him I expect more great beer (Ned Flanders, PLEASE!?!) to come rolling out of this under-rated brewery in the near future.

Now On Tap at the BierCafe

Just a quick heads up to let you know what's on tap...

The Gouden Carolus has blown and was just replaced by a keg of La Chouffe from 2005. This keg has improved dramatically over the flavor of a fresh bottle. Spicy, citrusy, and a little funky; this beer has it all. It's only a 20ltr keg, so don't expect it to be on tap for long.

Midnight Sun IIPA also died last night and has been replaced by Deschutes Hop Henge. Get it while it's fresh and hoppy.

The Pelican Doryman's Dark is also on it's last legs. As soon as someone comes down here and orders the last couple pints it will be replaced by Golden Valley Tannenbomb, one of my personal favorite winter beers. It's dark enough for the porter/stout fans, and hoppy enough that those who are craving some bite won't be dissapointed.

We've still got a little bit of the BJ's Whiskey Barrel Stout as well. If you feel the need for a shot of the hard stuff you'll have to go elsewhere, but the BJ's has a solid whiskey flavor and should go a long way towards slaking your thirst for the brown nectar.

Stay tuned for more event notices and other fun stuff as the cafe gears up...