New Arrivals

The flow of new beers dropped off for a while, and it seemed as though everyone was simply trying to survive Craft Beer Month. Or, maybe everybody was simply planning ahead and saving tank space for the cornucopia of fresh hop beers and other fall/winter seasonals we all love so much.

Thankfully that's changed in the last few days, and between new releases from local Oregon breweries, popular recurring seasonals, and new imports we've got a solid list of new arrivals.


New American Craft Beers:

• Oakshire Brewing - Overcast Espresso Stout: An oatmeal stout infused with cold-brewed espresso. Mmmmm...breakfast beer.
  
• Oakshire Brewing - Watershed IPA: A big, bold, west coast-style IPA with a solid malt backbone.
  
• Beer Valley - Gone Fishin' Mild Ale: A 4% English-style mild ale for less than $4 per 22oz bottle? If it's any good you'll probably see it on the employee picks board next to Jimmy's name.
  
• Mactarnahan's - Lip Stinger Farmhouse Ale: (commercial description) An effervescent and rustic farmhouse ale. This limited release ale is fermented with cracked peppercorn to introduce a spicy nose and warming mouth feel that will deliver a flavor sensation that is endlessly interesting. Enjoy the heat….and no pouting!!
• Blue Frog - DIPA 3: Blue Frog reformulated their double IPA to make it more hop-forward and slightly less malty. They also lowered the price, so it's a double win.
• Widmer - OKTO: Even though it's an ale rather than a lager, Widmer's popular fall seasonal is a malty, amber-hued refresher that captures the spirit of the classic German festival beers.
• The Bruery - Papier: a 14.5% monster of a beer brewed in honor of their first anniversary. Partly aged in bourbon barrels, it blurs the lines between Belgian Quad, American Barleywine, and English Old Ale. It's tasting great now, and it should age well for several years if properly cellared.
  

New Imports:

• Scaldis - Refermentee (75th Anniversary Ale): I haven't had a chance to dip into one of these yet, so here's a great Ratebeer. com review from BeastieFan2k: "It pours with a medium thick head. It is a dark and murky thick orange color. Aroma is full of ripe fruits (and slightly overripe fruits for that matter as well), only lightly alcoholic, which is surprising. Basically a nice meld of fruit, alcohol, and lots of Belgian yeastiness. Taste chugs right along. There is a nice orange aspect in the flavor as well. Nice thick mouthfeel that plays perfectly with the structure of the beer. Usually Scaldis can be unpredictable with the high alcohol content becoming undrinkable (think Scaldis Prestige) but I thought this brew pulled it off well."
• Dupont - Biere de Miel: A refreshingly light, dry saison with subtle honey flavor. Deceptively easy drinking for 8% abv.
  

New Ciders:

• Ace Cider - Apple and Honey Cider: A smooth, fairly dark cider created by blending a small amount of honey into the fermenting cider. Fans of the Spire Dark and Dry should give this one a shot.

That's it for the new stuff this week. Be sure to join us next week as we host a Mad River tasting on Monday (6-8pm) and an Oakshire Bottle Release/Meet the Brewer event on Tuesday (also 6-8pm). In addition to free samplesd of the bottled products w'e'll have several special kegs flowing in the Biercafé. Check the events page for more info on these and other upcoming tastings.

Holiday Ale Fest Recommendations

Well, considering the fest started at 11am I'm a wee bit late, but for those of you who haven't made the trek down yet I'd like to offer a few thoughts on beers you really need to try. Extra special thanks to Preston Weesner (GM of the fest) for inviting me down for a preview tasting last night.

My Top 5 from last night:

Hair of the Dog - Jim II: Wow. Just wow. The story behind this brew is almost as great as the beer itself. Here's the low down from Alan Sprints (via Beervana):

"This year's Jim is a blend of Adam, Fred and Doggie Claws, all barrel aged for 6 weeks. Along with the base beers I have added about 10% of a German Pilsner (Spaten), a 9 liter bottle of Val Du Trippel, 1989 Thomas Hardy's--the year I met Jim--a 1991 Rodenbach Alexander that I bought from Jim, and a 1994 Maredsous 10 that Jim enjoyed drinking. I am drinking a glass now; I smell Plums, Almonds and Oak, the Beer is a deep copper color and the lace sticks to the sides of my glass. The beer has a strong hop backbone with notes of chocolate, wood and crusty bread, a firm mouth feel and a complex finish that continues to evolve after the Beer is gone. I am guessing it is 8% abv. I made 16 kegs for the festival this year, only four last year.

Some of you may remember the frenzy caused by last year's version of Jim, hopefully the increase in production will allow the beer to make it through a couple days of the festival before blowing. Cross your fingers, and make sure to hit this one early.

Scaldis - Noel: Unless I'm mistaken, they aren't having the spendy "Big Boy Bar" this year, which means you can score a full mug of this ridiculously delicious Belgian delight for only four tickets. Just for perspective, an 8.4oz bottle retails for just under $5, making this the best value under the tent. It's incredibly nuanced and delicate for a beer that comes in at 12-14% abv, so you'll want to quaff this one before you start hitting the hop monsters.

Speaking of hop monsters, Max's Fanno Creek has sent O'Holy Hops, an aged IPA that tastes like it's fresh out of the brite tanks. I haven't had too many of Max's beers, but this is easily the best thing I've ever had from the nascent Tigard brewery. This is off the charts hoppy. So hoppy that the finish is almost minty. I don't mean mint flavor, I'm talking about the cool, refreshing feeling that hits you after eating something minty. That might not makes sense, but try the beer and I think you'll understand.

Ft. George "North": Billed as a "red wheat wine", and brewed with 11 different malts, this is a hard brew to wrap your brain (and palate) around. It's sweet, wheaty, slightly boozy, and chewy. I was suffering a bit of palate fatigue by the time I got to try this one, so I can't offer any more tasting notes, but it's far enough off the beaten path that I'd suggest getting a sample first before you commit to a full mug of this nectar. Fans of extreme experimental beers should definitely give this one a shot.

Golden Valley - Oaked Tannenbomb: I was looking forward to this one, and even though it didn't taste anything like what I was expecting, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The delicious roasty malt base is still there, but some of the hop presence was exchanged for a bit of oaky goodness. Seems like a good trade to me.

Stay tuned for more as we have a chance to sample them. Also be sure to check back tomorrow for a list of truly exciting new beers.