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.

New Arrivals and Event Notices

There's been a slow, steady trickle of new beers over the last few days, and a couple of exciting special releases, so I figured it was time for a new beer round-up. We've also added a couple fun events to the calendar; details on those follow the list of new beers.

New American Craft Brews:

• Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine - Arguably one of Deschutes' first (and some would say best) forays into "extreme beer", the first batch of Mirror Mirror was released back in the spring of 2006. Clocking it at 11.5%abv (up from 10% last time) and aged in a variety of barrels, it has been an elusive, sought-after beast ever since it first hit the market, causing almost hyperbolic raves on the local BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer forums. Supplies are limited, so we've instituted a 6 bottle per person limit through Saturday. If there's any left on Sunday it'll be fair game. They state on their website that it will be "best after April 2010", so try and save a bottle or two and see how it evolves...
  
• Deschutes Red Chair IPA - The newest release in the 22oz Bond St. series is big on hop flavor and aroma, but low on the bitterness. It's perfect for those times when you want to satiate a hop craving without totally blowing out your palate for the rest of the day.
  
• Widmer 84/09 Double Alt - This imperialized version of the Brothers' original brew is big, bold, and yet still refined. They didn't make much, and it won't last long, so grab it while you can.
  
• Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale - A pale hoppy beer from Lagunitas? Who'da thunk? Seriously though, this is a great little (big) beer. Pale, clean, and with a nice fruity hop note. Call it Hop Stoopid Light, call it a tweaked version of Kill Ugly Radio, but whatever you do, don't call it an Imperial IPA.
  
• Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - This is Leinie's take on the beer/lemonade concoction known as a radler or shandy. In Germany this blend is especially favored by bikers (radler is German for Bicyclist) and other outdoor enthusiasts because if it's light refreshing character and lower alcohol content. The Leinenkugel's version is a 4.2% lightly filtered hefeweizen flavored with lemonade and "natural flavors." While not a true 50/50 blend of beer and lemonade it hits the mark pretty well and will make a nice light yard work beer.
  
• Boulder Sweaty Betty - Boulder summer offering is a pleasant, unfiltered wheat beer with a slight citrusy character and a smooth finish.
  
• Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat - This was one of Lost Coast's offerings at the 2009 Spring Beer and Wine Fest, so some of you may have had it on tap. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but ratebeerian GodOfThunder describes it thusly, "The aroma is light and full of sweet tangerine fruitiness. The flavors are the same. Thin mouthfeel, light, refreshing, fruity and actually comforting. Reminds me of a tangerine mimosa. I like this a lot, and I am surprised. This would be great for a day at the beach. Nothing bad about it." Sounds good to me...
• Bison Single IPA (Willamette) - I can truly appreciate what Bison is trying to do with this series from an educational standpoint, but this is probably my least favorite of the single hop series thus far. Willamette hops have a very grassy, earthy, herbal aroma which usually works pretty well in understated British-style IPAs, but in this case I think the excessively grassy character is poorly suited to the Werst Coast-style base beer they've created. That said, I would still recommend that anyone with a passing interest in brewing try a bottle of this, if only to gain insight into the nuances of this classic American hop variety.
  
• Widmer Hefeweizen 5 Liter Minikegs - The same classic hefe that started the "American Wheat Beer" trend, now in a 5 liter "minikeg" that's perfect for barbeques, beach parties, or a long day of home brewing in the sunshine...
  

New Imports:

• Kostritzer Schwarzbier - This classic Schwarzbier dropped off of the distribution lists for a couple of years, but it's beack and just as delicious as always. If you've never ahd a Schwarz, this is a great into to the style. It's also a fun beer to hand someone when they give you the old "I don't drink those dark beers because they're too heavy" screed. Light on the palate, with just a hint of hops and roasty malt.
• Guinness 250th Anniversary - Speaking of schwarzbiers, Guinness has unveiled a new beer to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the lease on their flagship brewery in St. James Gate. It's supposedly a "stout", but it's actually more of a brown ale/schwarzbier hybrid with a transparent brown hue and only the slightest hints of roasty malt character.
  
• Saison 1900 - This is a pretty nice little saison. A little "bubblegummy" yeast character sets it apart from some of the others in the style, but it's pretty light and easy drinking. At roughly 5%abv it's a bit easier on the liver than some of the stronger saisons as well.
  
• Three Horses Lager - Canned beer from Madagascar. Again, it's probably a typical tropical yellow beer, but how often do you see beer from Madagascar?
  
• Saigon Lager - I haven't had this one yet, but I assume it's a typical hot weather lager. It does add one more country to the list, and we've already had a few customers snatch some up to fit their Vietnamese dinner plans.
• Rialto Lager -Tropical lager from El Salvador. It's got a cool looking silk-screened bottle with Incan ruins on it, but there's not much going on inside.
• Sam Smiths Organic Fruit Ales - We received three new "organic hand-crafted fruit ales" from the venerable British brewer today: Strawberry, Raspberry, and Cherry. I haven't had a chance to try any of them yet, but Sam Smiths is known for high quality brew, and I wouldn't expect them to put these out unless they were solid.
  

Events and Stuff:

Monday May 4th 6-9pm: Trade Route Tasting/Meet The Brewer: Join Chris Castillo as he offers samples of Dragon King Lager, Mango Wiezen, Ginger Pale Ale, Panden Brown Ale, and the Brand new Infidel Kaffir Lime IPA. Choice Trade Route Draft in the Biercafe.

Wednesday May 13th 6-9pm: Barley Browns Tasting/Meet the Brewer. If you've ever been out to Baker City you know how great their beer is. Brewer Shawn Kelso will bring us some very special drafts for this big night in the Biercafe: WFOIPA, Tank Slapper Double IPA, 18 Month Aged Double Whiskey Malt Ale, and Armstrong Double Golden. Barley Browns beer on special in the Biercafe all day.


Off Site Events:

May 1 and 2: Portland Cheers to Belgian Beers at the West Side Lucky Lab. Full beer list and details are available at the Oregon Brewers Guild site.

Saturday May 9th 2-6pm: Fredfest 2009 takes place at the Hair of the Dog brewery. Join 250 of Portland's beer community in celebrating Fred Eckhardt's birthday. Details and tickets available at the Fred Fest site.

That's all for now. Have a safe and happy weekend!

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.

Widmer Drifter Coming Soon

Last night one of our loyal customers was kind enough to drop by with a sample of the Brothers' latest creation, the new Drifter Pale Ale. It's hard to get excited about a simple pale ale, but I gotta say I thought the stuff was delicious. So good in fact that I forgot to take any notes while I was drinking and it was gone before I knew it. Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to wait until it comes out (in late January I'm told) and try it again.

In other news, we're open for business at the moment, but if you're planning on coming this evening I'd suggest calling us at 503.232.8538 before you head out.

Cheers!

The End Is Important In All Things

Last night I went to the Laurelhurst theater to see Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai with a friend. I've probably seen it a dozen times, but the final scene seems to lodge in my brain and affect my actions for a few days after every viewing. I won't go into the details and spoil it for those who haven't seen the movie (it's amazing), but it centers on a modern day samurai, brilliantly portrayed by Forest Whittaker. At several points during the movie he's shown reading from the Japanese tome Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai. The following quote is the final excerpt from the book to be shown in the movie:

"In the Kamigata area, they have a sort of tiered lunchbox they use for a single day when flower viewing. Upon returning, they throw them away, trampling them underfoot. The end is important in all things."

To bring this back around to beer, I got home after the movie and saw an empty 4 year old bottle of Fantome Printemps that we'd consumed a couple nights earlier. I wasn't sure why the bottle was still sitting on the counter, and not with the rest of it's brethren in the recycle bin, and it struck me that perhaps there was some subconscious attachment to the bottle based on my fond memories of the beer that was preventing me from letting go of something I'd never get to experience again. That final quote was still rolling around in the back of my mind, and I made a conscious decision to "let go" and dispose of it. Was it a monumental, life-changing realization? Certainly not, but it brought to mind other things, both physical and mental, that I should have let go of a long time ago.

Anyways, its something to ponder next time you're looking in your cellar and trying to decide whether or not you should drink that last bottle of something special. Sooner or later you'll have to drink it, and when you do it should be consumed with the joyful realization that all things must end. That, and you've just created an empty spot in the cellar which can now be filled with a new bottle that will have a story and journey all it's own.

As one final beer tie-in, the Laurehurst features several tasty things on tap; last nights' list included Caldera Porter, Lucky Lab's No Pity Pale and ESB, and some "Oregon Classics" like Full Sail Amber and Widmer Hefe. Where else can you get a pint of tasty brew, a bag of popcorn, and admission to one of the greatest movies ever made, all for under $10?

Lemon Your Widmer?

Alright, I'm going to put aside whatever feelings I may have about extraneous fruit slices garnishing my beer because this is pretty darn cool.




You can check out more videos, or submit your own, at the Lemon Your Widmer homepage.

Beer List For FredFest 2007

You may recall my previous post about FredFest 2007, and I promised an update when I knew which beers were pouring, so without further ado I present the initial list of beers scheduled to make an appearance during the fest.


1- BridgePort Brewing - Cask Old Knucklehead
2- Deschutes - Coffee infused 20K Imperial Bourbon Porter
3- Full Sail - TBA
4- Hair Of The Dog - Cask Fred
5- Laurelwood - TBA
6- Lucky Lab - Russian Imperial Stout
7- New Old Lompoc - Oak aged LSD
8- Max's Fanno Creek - Belgian Dubbel
9- Pelican Brewing - Gran Cru
10- Racoon Lodge - Sour Wild Blackberry aged in oak
11- Rock Bottom - Ned Flanders Red. ( the original!)
12- Rogue - Dad's Little Helper Malt liquor
13- Roots Organic - Pinot-barrel aged Epic
14- Widmer - Collaborator Continuum Brown

Whoa. Seriously, if that list doesn't get you excited enough to drop $20 I don't know what would. Remember, all the proceeds from the event go to help longtime craft-beer supporter Merle Gilmore, who has been battling leukemia and faces astronomical medical and prescription bills. Gilmore has been an inexhaustible volunteer at beer fests and often assisted Hair of the Dog owner Alan Sprints in bottling and other duties around the brewery.

Cost for the event is $20 in advance or $25 at the door and includes a souvenir glass. To get on the list for advance-purchase tickets, e-mail fredfest@comcast.net.

Go. Buy tickets. Now.

Special Thanks to John Foyston for the great picture of Fred!

EDIT Tuesday, May 8, 2007: Just Announced! Laurelwood is featuring Green Elephant Organic IPA (2006, I believe) and Full Sail will be pouring the 2006 GABF silver-medal winning Black Gold Imperial Stout.

Quick Note: Widmer W'07 and Copperhook

I just got a heads up from the fine folks at the Craft Brand Alliance (Widmer/Redhook/Kona) informing me about upcoming specials for the spring. There were a couple interesting tidbits to be gleaned from the marketing materials:

~This years' addition to the Brewmaster Collection, simply called W'07, is a Summit-hopped Pale Ale. Look for it to hit shelves in late January or early February. It will most likely be included in the variety packs later in the spring as well, but that's speculative...

~Redhook is releasing (you could say re-releasing) Copperhook, a re-branding of the popular Chinook Copper Ale. Look for it to be included in the variety pack and in 6 packs beginning in February.

---