Recent Arrivals and Random Notes

We haven't had enough new arrivals on any given day to justify a full post, but I think we've received enough in the last 10 days to make it worth your time reading.

Many of you have been asking for the Laughing Buddha Beers, and it appears as though the brewery has been listening. We recently received our first shipment of beer from the Asian-inspired brewery, all of which are well-crafted and fairly unique. The initial line up contains 5 brews that run the gamut from light and crisp to dark and full-bodied:

• Purple Yam Porter - This is probably my favorite of the bunch. There's a hint of hint of candied yam flavor, but the thing that sticks with you is the subtle vanilla notes that linger on the palate after each sip. All the folks that keep asking for beers with vanilla in them owe it to themselves to give the Purple Yam a try.
  
• Ginger Pale Ale - A light-bodied, spicy pale ale with a ton of ginger zing. This beer is the perfect counterpoint to spicy dishes, or anything with wasabi in it.
  
• Mango Weizen - The whole "American wheat beer with fruit" thing has almost become a cliche; it seems like every brewpub has some mediocre example on hand to appeal to the non-beer drinking crowd. Thankfully, the LB Mango Weizen is a heck of a lot better than the insipid versions you so often find. The mango character is noticeable without being overwhelming, and the underlying beer is solidly constructed. If they brought this to the OBF I could see it giving 21st Amendment's Watermelon Wheat a run for the money.
  
• Dragon King Lager - This Asian-style lager is brewed with Saaz hops and crystal malts (no mention of rice) for that "Premium Lager" flavor. Added bonus: It's a heck of a lot fresher than the actual Asian stuff
• Pandan Brown Ale - To the best my knowledge I've never had anything with Pandan leaves in it before, so I wasn't not sure what to look for in terms of flavor, but I'll go out on a limb and assume it was the slightly sweet/nutty character. Combined with the slightly roasty malt character it makes for a wonderfully drinkable brown ale.
  

Other Recent Arrivals:

• Full Sail - Slipknot Imperial IPA
• Alaskan Brewing - Barleywine
• Nogne O - Dark Horizon (2nd Edition)
• Oskar Blues - Dale's Pale Ale
• Oskar Blues - Old Chub
• Oskar Blues - Gordon
• Cascade Brewing - Apricot

Coming (Very) Soon:

• Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot Barleywine
• Sierra Nevada - Torpedo Extra IPA
• Cascade Lakes - IPA

Last but not least, Fuller's London Pride, Porter, ESB, and Vintage Ale are back after a long absence!

Upcoming Events:

Imperial Stout Week in the Biercafe!

Each afternoon we'll tap a new limited edition Imperial Stout (or two). (many of the descriptions that follow are based on commercial descriptions from the brewery).


MONDAY JAN 26:
STRUISSE BLACK ALBERT - Brewed and crafted in Belgium with 100% Belgian ingredients. Aroma of bitter-sweet chocolate, fresh torrified coffee beans, barley, candy sugar, complex fruits, and floral hops. The after-taste is well balanced and shows a panorama of extreme sensations like chocolate and coffee bitters, a plum cake richness that covers the palate, and a crisp impression of hop bitters that brings elegance and freshness into this massive brew. 13% ABV Rated 100 on Rate Beer!

LAURELWOOD MOOSE & SQUIRREL - Dark as night, thick and rich. Big roast and coffee flavors dominate this beer. 8% ABV 55 IBUs O.G. 20º Plato

TUESDAY JAN 27:
ELLEZELLOISE HERCULE STOUT - Belgian Stout lagered for ten days in German oak casks. Very malty, but dry, with a hint of sweetness in the finish, and balanced hopping. It has a very distinctive and intoxicating spicy aroma of fresh spruce. This unique house character probably derives from the strains of yeast used by the brewery – and possibly from the fermentation in oak. Named for legendary detective Hercule Poirot. 9%ABV. Rated 98 on Rate Beer.

LAUGHING DOG DOGFATHER - 7 different malts and 4 hops give this big stout a complex flavor profile. Over 11 months in the making with a portion barrel aged. 11% ABV 71 IBU. Rated 98 on Rate Beer

WEDNESDAY JAN 28:
DESCHUTES ABYSS - You already know all about this beer. You just want more. 11%ABV.

VICTORY STORM KING - With a huge, Pacific Northwest hop aroma & character upfront, Storm King subsides into massive, roast malt complexity. Rich, substantial & complex. 9%ABV


Last Minute Cascade Lakes Tasting and Release Party:

Be the first to taste & buy this fine IPA from Cascade Lakes Brewing in Redmond, OR. Owning Partner Rick Orazetti will be on hand to offer samples of the IPA & Monkey Face Porter and give you the lowdown on the brews. Plus Skookum Creek Strong Ale on draught!

That's all for now, but if you catch this post in the next hour we're having an Alaskan Brewing tasting until 8pm. We'll be pouring samples of their full bottle line-up as well as serving 2007 and 2008 Smoked Porter, Barleywine, and White Ale on draught in the Biercafe.

New Arrivals For Tuesday 12.18.07

The Laughing Dog brews finally arrived, and we received a last minute addition to the mini-keg collection, but other than that there isn't much new to report today. We also got 15 more cases of Lagunitas Brown Shugga (the first 12 cases sold out in less than 24 hours) and this is likely to be all that we're alloted, so let me emphasize once more that if you want to have ANY hope of buying some Shugga this year you need to go out and find some today. Serious. That said, lets dig into todays' pile and see what we've got...


Laughing Dog - Cream Ale: (brewers' description) Our Cream Ale is a traditional Cream Ale fermented with both an ale and a lager yeast, which gives us the creamy smoothness of an ale with a nice dry crisp finish.

Laughing Dog - Pale Ale: (brewers' description) From out of the PAcific Northwest the Micro-brewers were born and with them came an ale that was unlike any other, the American Pale Ale. We brew our pale ale big, bold, and hoppy using five of the finiest hops from the fields in Yakima, WA. To balance the intense hop flavors, five different American grown malted barelys add malt flavor and smooth finish.

Laughing Dog - IPA: (brewers' description) A profound love of hops and big brews led to our IPA. A little over the top, it's a hophead's dream come true. An intense hop aroma and strong malt body are followed by a smooth clean finish.

Laughing Dog - Cold Nose Winter Ale: (brewers' description) After a romp in the snow on a cold winters day, this brew is just what's needed to warm you up. Dark and malty with a big hop presence, it is a great winter warmer

Full Sail - Slipknot Imperial IPA: Bracing. If I had to sum up Slipknot in one word, that would be the one. This is a serious IPA for serious hopheads. It's also a great way to get your Full Sail fix and tide yourself over until the Bourbon-aged Top Sail comes out in February...

Bayern - Dancing Trout: (Formerly known as Trout Slayer) I haven't had this beer in ages, but I seem to recall it nailing the style pretty well. If you're a fan of kristallweizen (aka filtered wheat beer) this one's definitely worth a try.

Monchshof - Weinachts Bier: What could be better for the holidays than a 5 liter mini-keg of tasty German beer? How about a 5 liter mini-keg with a picture of jolly old St. Nick on the side? A mini-keg of Bell's Two Hearted would top it, but I can't think of much else. Sorry if I got your hopes up (since Bell's isn't distributed in Oregon), but I just can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to have one of those mini-kegs in my fridge.

I think that's it for today. Remember, friends don't let friends drink crappy beer.

Random Notices

Last minute reminder; Shawn Loring from Lazy Boy Brewing will be here at 5pm today to answer questions and pour samples of his IPA and Mistletoe Bliss. We'll have special pricing on bottles of Lazy Boy beer during the event.

The Lagunitas Brown Shugga is FINALLY in stock. We've been getting barraged by requests, so tell all your friends to come and get it while it lasts. FYI, a little birdie informed me that there's only about 600 cases for the ENTIRE STATE, so don't hesitate to grab an extra six pack while you can.

The Laughing Dog beer failed to arrive on the delivery this morning, so we'll have to wait until Tuesday to give them a try.

We will be open on New Years Eve from 10-6. If you are planning on a hosting a party and need to order a keg, the deadline for special orders is Wednesday 12.26.07 by 3pm. We have a limited amount of space in the keg cooler, and if the number of special orders exceeds that I may have to stop accepting orders before next Wednesday, so please don't delay. Every major "drinking holiday" brings a string of last minute phone calls from folks who waited until the day of their party to line up a keg (and by that point the selection is pretty thin), so don't say I didn't warn you...

That's about it for now, but check back later this afternoon for a quick list of new arrivals.

Laughing Dog Arrives

Here's the sample bottles, the rest should be in tomorrow. We should be receiving the Cream Ale, Pale Ale, IPA, and Cold Nose Winter Ale. If I have a chance to drink some or all of them tonight I'll try and post an update, otherwise you can stop in tomorrow and try them for yourself.

New Arrivals For Tuesday 12.04.07

The flood of holiday brew has finally slowed to a trickle, and only a handful of new things appeared today, but when the newbies carry the names of such respected brands as Roots and Victory it's definitely worth mentioning.

New American Craft Beers:

Roots - Organic Island Red: Big, hoppy reds are perhaps the only style indigenous to the PNW, and Roots' entry is no slouch. They take a slightly different tack than Laurelwood (and others) by adding a fair amount of oats to the mix which helps give it a creamier mouthfeel and dampens some of the hop presence. The toasty, toffee malt carries a lovely grassy hop nose and some bitterness in the finish, but it's distinctly different than the "red IPA" that you expect when ordering a Free Range Red or IRA.

Victory - Old Horizontal: This reddish copper beauty falls squarely on the hoppy end of the barleywine spectrum. A sweet doughy body is propped up with massive amounts of hops to give the brew adequate balance. A good dose of alcohol burn helps to increase the illusion of dryness and keeps the "Old Ho" from coming across as a cloying malt bomb. Good stuff, and rarely available this far west, so stock up while you can.


Sam Adams - Winter Collection: This 12 pack contains 2 each of the following brews: Boston Lager, Winter Lager, Cream Stout, Holiday Porter, Old Fezziwig, and Cranberry Lambic. Personally I think the Cranberry Lambic is one of the most foul "beers" I've ever had the displeasure of tasting, but the others are all solid. The Old Fezziwig and Holiday Porter are only available in this package (at least in Oregon), so if you're curious to try them you'll have to take home the whole set. Despite my feelings on the "lambic", the rest of the stuff is tasty enough to justify buying this pack, and if you discover that you enjoy the Cranberry Lambic please let me know and I'll gladly trade you mine for a bottle or two of something else from the set.


New Imports:

Duvel - 3 liter (Jeroboam): Same delicious Duvel, now in a devilishly large bottle. Snag one for your holiday party and blow people's minds with 3 liters of Belgian goodness.


Coming Soon:

Laughing Dog beers from Idaho. I just received word from one of my reps that they expect the first shipment to arrive "this week", so there's a small chance it'll show up on Friday, but realistically I expect it to come in Tuesday the 11th. Ratebeer lists 12 different beers from Laughing Dog, but my rep wasn't able to tell me which ones are going to arrive, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I think that's it for now. Enjoy our brief respite from the rain and go outside for a beer while you still can!