This post is guest-posted on Dave Knows Portland as well. When Dave asks, it is imperative that you do the right thing. Especially when it’s “Hey, Rick, would you like to checkout this new restaurant that serves tasty BBQ and delicious grown-up beverages?” So, I did the right thing: show up to Southland for a preview of their tasty menu. Southlandis a new project by the folks who brought the Casa del Matador to Portland located just a couple doors down at 1422 NW 23rd.

I’ve always enjoyed Lompoc beers. Many sunny afternoons have been misspent sitting on the porch at New Old Lompoc, and I’ve had quite a few pleasant cool-downs from soccer and riding at Hedge House and the brilliantly named 5th Quadrant. Tuesday the good people of Lompoc held a tasting event for their holiday beers, and it did not disappoint. Eric and I arrived early and snagged seats at the bar. From there I was able to snag good glassware and chat up the bartenders (who also happened to be brewers, owners, or Dave).

Nice little audio blog piece on beer in Portland, OR. Go ahead and take a listen. It covers the whole gamut from enjoying to making in our little beer mecca.

Just a reminder that the NAOBFis happening this weekend, starts at noon Fri-Sunday at Overlook Park. This is my favorite brewfest of the year. It doesn’t get crazy crowded, there are tons of fun beers to try, and it’s always an all-around good time. I’m helping Dave Knowswith his story about it this year, so double-stoked. See you there.

My brother and his sweet gf showed up at my place today. Wisely, they came bearing gifts. Wiser, they came in the form of tasty and interesting beer. His lady is from Long Island, NY, home of Blue Point Brewing Company. And a town called Blue Point. Anyways, I’m quite impressed with the first beer I’ve tasted from them. Personally, I prefer calling it Cascadian Dark. But we know what they’re talking about.

Lisa the beer goddess has called my attention to an article in which GQ calls out the 50 best beers. These things are such a matter of opinion and experience it doesn’t make sense to argue much, but I think they hit a lot of good ones. I’ve previously mentioned the Duchesse as a favorite. I’m also a fan of Southern Tier who didn’t make the list. Que sera.

Over the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some outstanding homebrewers on some barrel projects. Basically, we get 10 or so people to each brew a batch(es) of a particular beer, then we get together to siphon it into a bourbon barrel. The beer then ages over a month to many months, changing in character and gaining oak and bourbon flavors. So far I’ve reaped the benefits of a baltic porter and an imperial IPA.

The process of turning raw ingredients into delicious beer is an extremely complicated one. It involves chemistry, biology, physics, and magic, plus a potentially infinite budget for copper, stainless, and rubber whizbangs. I have only scratched the surface of the possibilities. That is by design. So, completely neglecting the science involved, and getting to the sequence of events that need to take place to make beer, here is the brewing process in a nutshell.

I cannot believe how long it took me to build my mash tun. In then end I think I was a bit intimidated, partly because I didn’t really understand what a mash tun was. Whenever I set down to research it, I’d end up on some long-winded analysis of manifold efficiency and sparge mechanics. What I’ve since learned is that a mash tun is a container that keeps water and grain at a stable temperature.

Like Jeff, I recently followed a thread at the OBC about the price of beer. It was surprisingly heated, considering that nobody was forcing people to drink specialty beers, and these are people who spend a lot of time making beers of their own and promoting the craft. Jeff’s article is very thoughtful and reasonable (as usual) , and we both draw similar conclusions. But I wanted to toss in a few more pieces.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about writing a series on homebrewing. By no means am I a great homebrewer…in fact I am only beginning to dabble in brewing all-grain beers. However, after surveying the various writings on the internets about the subject, I have found that most have one flaw in common: they go too deep. To make good (often very good) beer, it doesn’t take a deep understanding of flocculation curves or the dynamics of viscous fluids.

My old college buddy Tiffer brought me a few bottles of this choice ale. It serves along the lines of of hoppy amber. It is hazy, and despite the head fading quickly, it maintains its carbonation nicely. Not particularly balanced, it remains unoffensive, and is quite nice for fans of the western style IPA. Jolly Roger does open up during the course of consumption, sweetening a little, and smoothing out from the earlier faceoff.

This is brilliant! props chris h from the OBC

Rob L of the Oregon Brew Crew posted this to our listserv in a conversation about a new beer tax proposed in Oregon. He makes a number of lucid points. And doesn’t just complain but proposes action. Oregon HB2461 surprised me. Actually, at first it was shock, then disbelief and anger. Now I’m ready to do something about it. Jim P wrote: Cost of producing each keg (tax is production cost) would go up $25.

The North American Organic Brewers Festival is this weekend, beginning tomorrow at 3pm. I had a great time last year, but I generally go to these events early and leave early. This is one of my favorites. I’m surprised that they picked this weekend since at least one of the organizers is a huge soccer fan and the Euro cup final is Sunday. His boys aren’t in it this time around, though Spain vs Germany should be a pretty awesome match.

At the HUB grand opening. Sounds like it’s going to be hopping. While their beers have been pouring at better local pubs for awhile now, they haven’t had a place to sit down and enjoy the full spectrum of their goodness. The brewpub and restaurant sounds like a monsterous undertaking. It’s a huge space, and they are going green. Very bike friendly. Lots of organics. Recycled this and that. Hopworks brews are big, bold, and tasty, and I’m excited to see them taking on this ambitious task.

After leaving the Mendenhall Glacier, we drove immediately to a beerdrinker’s mecca, the Alaskan Brewing Company, home of the delicious Alaskan Amber and a number of other tasty beers. I was surprised that the Alaskan brewery had no brewpub. From the sound of conversations (though nothing explicit or even really implied), they’ve chosen to respect local pubs who supported them as they grew. It’s a sensible division of labor.

Off to the winter beerfest. Personally, I find it too crowded and the beer too strong to stay long, so I try to get in early before it’s completely packed. But gotta get a few tastes in.

Alaskan Amber is an easy-drinking amber that tastes good. Light on hops, and full of sweet malt without being sticky or thin, this gorgeous amber-hued nectar is a pleasure. The head pours thin but full and dissipates quickly, but the body remains consistent. I wouldn’t call Alaskan Amber spectacular, it isn’t riddled with layers of flavor or surprising subtlety, but it is a fantastic go-to beer. Which is nice because I often find it at pubs and pizza joints as the only non-Bud, non-Hef offering on draught.

Blonde and a bit cloudy, with a resilient head, Delirium tremens is a very tasty Belgian. It drinks smooth and crisp. Well, it’s smooth, trails slightly yeasty but not in an offensive way, and I like it. Other than that I’ve been totally distracted during this so that’s all I’ve got. I’ll update with a photo when I get a chance to upload it. rick

The Alameda Brewhouse has released their ales in bottles to ease general consumption. Which is really nice because that way I don’t have to actually go to their brewhouse to enjoy their tasty beers. The brewhouse is a family-friendly joint on NE Fremont in Portland. Sometimes a bit too family-friendly for my taste, a fact that may change someday, but its foundation remains solid so far. The East Village Amber pours a thick but temporary head out of the bottle.

Something’s wrong with NE Broadway. There are a lot of cool little businesses along there. I love the Rose and Thistle. But for the most part, they are underperforming. Almost every stop along NE Broadway is a bit too…bland. I gave this some thought awhile ago, and my conclusion then was that Broadway and its surrounding area is the westside invasion. A few weeks later the Broadway Brewery and Grill opened up.

Fredbeer. That’s how I’ve always known this classic Portland microbrew. You could easily swap classic for potent because holy crap this baby’s got bite…it’s tempting to order Fred on the rocks. The aroma is rich and amazing, scented smoothly of light malts. Fred pours a rich, beautiful head that lasts and lasts. The body is a a bit heavy, giving it a slightly syrupy character. My first tastes of HOTD’s Golden Special Ale, I find that the strength is a bit of an affront.

St. Peter’s English Ale comes in a sweet old-style medicine bottle. This organic ale from England opens with a nicely rounded bitterness and has an interesing fruity finish. It drinks clean, not syrupy at all, and has a nice light carbonation with the medium body. This beer is less sweet than typical English ales, and a bit more bittered than I typically find in the genre. No complaints here.

Lazy Boy…just jumped out at me tonite as I picked up some veggies to make a lentil curry. “Locally Brewed,” they claimed. Where the heck is local because I’ve never heard of you. Everett, WA. I guess it’s kind of local. But what about those guys getting their Vermont bottle deposit back? Enough of that crap…I’m caring about what’s inside the bottle. A lightly amber-hued IPA is what I found.

For weeks I’ve been anxiously watching a space on Alberta at about 10th. They were working hard to convert a pretty dismal spot into what would clearly become a bar. It looked like they were pouring some serious heart and soul into their work. A buddy of mine was at Binks having a pint when he saw someone he knew walking past. Not uncommon in NE Portland, except that he knew him from Georgia.

Beautiful Frank Freakin’ Zappa. You’d wish anyway, staring at that mug on the bottle, trying to figure out what the heck you’re going to get when you open it. Well, you don’t have to step too far onto a limb…those Petaluma brewers are pretty consistent at putting something together that’s in your face, but well integrated. The Kill Ugly Radio does not stray. Very fruity in its aroma, stinking pleasantly of apricot, this IPA (I think) guides you through the whole drinking process.

A great man has passed. I raise a toast to the memory of Michael Jackson, beer connoisseur.

Okay, this is going to sound like heresy, but I did not attend the beerfest this weekend. At some point I made a hasty promise to the lady that we could hit Ikea on Friday in the afternoon. And I made good, got out of work early, and we cruised over to the massive furniture store. And we had a good time. It was pretty exhausting examining 4 billion pieces of furniture, but I really enjoy Ikea.

plagerized from an email Nader sent me: This Friday & Saturday (June 8th & 9th) Roots Organic Brewing presents the 2007 North American Organic Brewers Festival, at Overlook Park on N. Interstate and Fremont. Similar to many other pdx beer fests, admission is free and tasting cups are just $5 (you can get $1 off if you bring a validated Tri-met pass – handy since this is right on the MAX yellow line, and you don’t want to drive home after tasting a ton of good beers – or a can of food for the Oregon Food Bank); 4oz.

Go Full Sail. A yummy lager with multiple layers of flavor but not trying to mimic anything German or Czech I’ve ever had. Golden, light, bubbly, slighty sweet. Delightful but not challenging. It get on the tongue and jumps right off. This one will also work for your friends who won’t touch a bitter beer, though I think it would be helped with just a little more bitterness. But if you’re looking for a beer to share at a BBQ this summer, this one could be the perfect choice.

This cloudy beer is a treat for a broken wrist. Easily opened using my wall-mounted bottle opener, I managed to pour it gently down the side of the glass, extracting only a slightamount of head. Which is fine because I can’t (or won’t) shave and less head keeps the foam out of my ‘stache. The Republic consistently turns out hoppy heavy hitters, and this is certainly big. A mouthful of hoppiness with a nice body to boot, this golden-hued ale is of medium bitterness and fairly aromatic.

The label tells us to “Go big or go home,” but at 9.1% ABV, this certified organic 22ozer out of Chico, CA is more likely to send you home. Big certainly describes this Imperial IPA well. Big and potent. And pretty enjoyable. If you like your beers strong, and you’re fond of IPAs (I’m guessing you probably are), you will dig BCB’s X IPA. The aroma is surprisingly meek in introducing this ale.

Score today! N prepped up some provencal braised cod (ala Test Kitchen cookbook) and potato-leek gratin (from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, my current favorite cooking tome), and I spoiled myself with a 22oz bottle of Rogue’s Morimoto Soba Ale, “A perfect accompaniment to lighter cuisine.” It’s meals like that that just make you stop and think and blog that Life is Good.  Even better, the meal is over and the ale lives on.

Kegged up my honey wheat ale this week and tossed it into the kegerator yesterday. You’re looking at a tasting of it. Well, unfortunately, I have to say I wouldn’t buy this one myself. It’s a bit too sweet, I think the yeast didn’t convert as much of the malted wheat as I’d like. It definitely has wheat beer characteristics, and some honey love going on. At this time it’s lacking body.

Ah, Full Sail, we’ve had out ups and our down, good times and bad. We’ve been through a lot together, and though we don’t see a lot of each other lately, it’s always nice to sit down and catch up. Full Sail beers are good. Not really spectacular, but good. Potentially really good. Depending on what you’re into. And right now I’m pretty into this pale ale I’m drinking. It’s light and refreshing, and hitting the spot after riding home.

Ah, the first day of Spring. Flowers blooming, the sun is shining. A perfect day to drink my last winter ale, the offering from Elysian. A gorgeous gold hue, this one pours a lot like so many ales not of the winter ilk, only a bit bigger. In fact, this one is drinkable any time of year, so yay Spring! And yay Elysian for producing a winter ale that isn’t packed full of nutmeg and other odds and ends to drown the an overly strong beer.

I’m always excited to see something new come out of Anchor Brewing. Their steam beer is fantastic, and I just love the small beer. They are extraordinary at putting out varieties other American breweries don’t. While you’ll see some bocks around (Shiner? Go back to Texas 😉 Anchor’s bock pours dark, with a light head, colored with a hint of chocolate. Its body is full in the mouth, and is warming me up wonderfully on this happy equinox eve after running the dog in the chill air.

This is not a session beer. It’s not that it’s heavy or dark. It is a bit spendy. But really, it’s not a session beer because it tastes quite a bit like vinegar. But I love this beer. It is totally unique. It doesn’t taste like any beer I know of brewed in the States. Or any other beer at all. But somehow it satisfies like a beer. The Duchesse is Flemish.

I got a bottle of Trappistes Rochefort 8 tonite down at New Season on a lark. I’ve been drinking more Belgians lately, and this one was grubbin. Pretty potent at 9.2%, it’s fruity and full-flavored. The aroma is fantastic, a bit sweet and malty, it’s got something that many winter ales strive for but do not achieve. Try not to serve it too cold, and sip at it because the flavors change significantly over the course of a glass, though I’m finding that it’s flattening out just a bit towards the end.

My next batch of beer will be a honey wheat beer. Consequently, I picked up a 6-pack of Mac’s Honeybeer to get warmed up. The ale is colored a very light gold, nearly tranparent hue, with a light head. I do not detect any honey in the nose as a take a sip, and only the slightest hint of it on tasting. Something seems amiss so I jam my nose into the now empty bottle and there I do detect a hint of the honey I expected.

Yay me, I received the gift of beer! So, this one’s been in my fridge for a bit, waiting for just the right occasion, and when I opened it, it was eager to get free, foaming out the top of the bottle, just a bit. So, its freshness may be in question. Brewed in San Diego by Alesmith, I was looking forward to this one, as the brewery is new to me.

Another Fall beer in Winter? This one was a bit of an accident, thought I was season-agnostic, but hey, I like Fall beers! And I like the label on this one…a bit nostalgic for a more innocent time. um, yeah. Well, it’s a sharp label, and I’ve had good luck with Deschute’s Bond Street line in the past. I cracked this one open, excited after a nice day working from the kitchen table.

Visiting my dad up north in Port Hadlock, we cruised to Port Townsend for the afternoon to grab some lunch and walk around. On a previous trip, we’d stopped by for beers and I remembered the food looking good, so I suggested we stop by Water Street for some grub. The Water Street has a great feel to it. A bit hippy, a bit hipster, it’s a really nice local joint.

North Interstate keeps getting better. No longer do you have to brave karaoke and blue curacao to get a drink at a fun place in the area. Lovingly builty by Low Brow alums Mike and Cap and (??), they’ve browed it up a notch here but kept the prices very inviting. High ceilings, a well-stocked bar, and a good menu with not a tot in sight add the material items to a pleasant environment.

Wooo…presentation presentation. This .75 liter ale is packaged beautifully in a corked (as in champagne) frosty brown bottle with one of those postmodern regal fonts embossed in gold. With a nice light pop, the cork is freed, followed by a light vapor rising from the bottle. The head pours nicely, somewhat short of creamy, but pleasant and unassuming. The hue is a deep rusty-golden color, slightly cloudy and showing some carbonation and smaller particles.

anners sends me this. What a disaster.

Nearly porter-deep this beer from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing is a hearty brown ale. My first thirsty quaff objected a bit to this one, a bit harsh and unrefined, but I’m quickly warming to this get-well gift from some colleagues. Fairly bitter, with deeply roasted roasted malt, I’m not finding it to meld quite right, possible due to lack of body. For a beer this deep, the frontend is awfully wet.

Could it be true? Word on the street is that beer will be flowing from the Skidmore fountain in about 10 minutes….3pm, September 22. I haven’t found any real confirmations, but a lot of rumors and such. And me bound to the house. arrrr! Always the bridesmaid, never the fratboy doing a kegstand over the Skidmore Fountain.

The Guiness Surger. What will they think of next? props broomball player.

Just got back into town after a sweet weekend in Bend with some buddies. Went skiing two days, and it wsa great…couldn’t ask for a better day than Saturday! Just a nice time…a little gaming, cruising the town, and eating/drinking beyond the ski good times. Went two two really great spots…the first was a kickass restaurant/lounge called The Grove right across the street from the Deschuttes brewpub. I got this steak with chimichurri sauce that was out of this world.

Rogue. Ah, the fines ales that come from that craft brewery. Their brewhouse in Newport is one of the main attractions of the Oregon coastline. I find their Portland location a bit pretentious and overpriced (maybe I can look the other way when I’m on vacation, but $16 for a pitcher is a bit much). Actually, it’s fairly friendly, it just seems pretentious. At this moment I’m consuming their Juniper pale.

Skagit River Brewery is a new one to me. I was looking for something fun the other evening at New Seasons and I happened upon this one from our northern neighbors. Pouring it, my thoughts were: looks like a brown, smells like a brown. Tasting it, it certainly tastes like a brown as well. Good, now that that’s established, let’s rock. By brown, I’m talking about the somewhat fuller hoppier version popular out west here in the states (say Moose Drool or Downtown Brown).

I really like this beer. Anchor’s small beer is crisp, light, and refreshing, but also a bit bold in its bitterness. Brewed by remashing their barleywine mash, this ale presents a surprising amount of bitterness and a very pleasant, well-integrated aroma. It is a light gold in color, with a hint of amber, and carries a good amount of body for a ‘second pressing.’ Honestly, in taste, I feel that this ale stands awfully near the fence between ale and lager (especially czeck pilsners).

This is pretty sweet. thx to broomball player for this one.

Still dragging my feet on the fall ales, I pulled this one out of the ‘beer cellar’ this evening. Elysian has a knack for introducing interesting flavors into their ales without making them overbearing. This one tastes like a good pale ale with hints of pumpkin and pumpking spices rounding it out. Because of this, Elysian’s infusions work more to broaden beer horizons than to supply fraternities with pints with which to ply their ‘sisters’.

My men’s team won the D-2 championship on Sunday (at the same time, the Pilots were showing UCLA a thing or two. This is pretty much the recap I sent the squad (I only mentioned goals, but we had a kickass game, and our opponents played with class…it was a good game). Goals were tough to come by in the first half, and the sides withdrew 0-0. The second half, GDST opened flat, but didn’t allow

sorry, didn’t go. honestly, I don’t really like it that much. Unless you hit it early in the day, which I maybe could’ve done, the lines are horrorshow, you are elbow to elbow with everybody to the point of spilling anything more than half full, and the beers are so strong that you can only have a few…it is at the winer beerfest that I’d prefer to go with taster sizes, but refer to my comment on the lines…even with a full cup, you can finish it just waiting in line for the next.

You don’t see pilsners popping through here too often. I don’t have anything against pilsners as people, but I just don’t generally like them as much as ales, so that is more often what I have in my rotation. But in any case, I was happily gifted with the Uber Pilsner on my birthday so long ago, and checking in the crisper (not just for vegetables anymore!) I came across this beauty.

The first in my series of birthday beer reviews is Ayinger’s famous Doppelbock, Celebrator. Honestly, I’ve never had it before, so now I offer serious thanks to Wally and crew for this gift. What a fantastic Ale! The malt and hops meld prefectly to create a great beer drinking experience…the 6.7% ABV is definitely not obvious, and is almost understated. Pouring this German brew into my beer glass, the head formed beautifully, about thumbnail thick, light, but not creamy.

I visited the Sandy Hut for the first time last night. Well, the first time this week. Shuffleboard, strong drinks, and lively hipster fusion make the handy near and dear to my heart. For all I can tell, nothing has changed about this place since the 70s. The interior is classic drab, the exterior is some forgotten lavender, which ghostly writing advertising steamers and great food and such. But this place is friendly.

Surprisingly large inside, Zaytoon’s has a good selection of beer and booze. Before I’d ever gone in, I was apprehensive, the place looks like it was meant for the Pearl District. And it has a bit of that feel afterwards. However, Zaytoon’s was very friendly, J (sorry…can’t recall the full name) the bartender/manager was cool and cares about beer quite a bit. It might’ve seemed she expressed disappointment at the smaller quantities of fine beers consumed vs.

It’s taken be awhile to write this up, but before heading off to Boston I hit the Oktoberfest at Oaks Bottom Park with some friends. It was the usual good time, singing, beer, brats, beer, and cup pyramids. Until we went off to the big tent, where we found more singing and beer. And some yelling. And then it happened. They called for participants in the sausage eating contest. Two humans formed a tag-team style pair of consumers…the one feeding sausage to the other, and then switching after the first is completed.

I must be blind. I’ve driven past it the last three days. They’ve been open. The Mash Tun opened on Tuesday on NE Alberta and 22nd (just south of alberta). They have only ‘guest taps’ now, but the brewing area is mostly setup, or at least there’s a bunch of shiny copper. The folks working there were busy (a bit more slammed than they were used to) but very friendly, and I got my beer plenty fast.

[12:42] m8ryx: ok, I had an amazing beer last night [12:42] m8ryx: avatar from Elysian [12:42] m8ryx: it’s a jasmine IPA [12:50] anners: where did you have the beer? [12:51] m8ryx: home…it was a random pickup at new seasons [12:51] anners: ah [12:51] m8ryx: look for it tho, it’s really pleasant [12:51] m8ryx: the jasmine is very subtle [12:52] m8ryx: not like in your face “I got Jasmine!” [12:52] anners: 🙂

Brown is the new black! I was quite surprised to see this brown ale lined up at New Seasons when I stopped by for ‘milk and bread’. I didn’t know that Lagunitas made a brown, even as a seasonal. Lucky me! This one is pretty clearly done in the Belgian style, which is proclaimed loudly on the label. The bouquet is fruity, the aroma luscious, lighter than a traditional Belgian, tempered by the mild sweetness of an English Brown.

I don’t think there’s an apostrophe in the name. Binks is a sweet little place, with abundant and loyal clientel. The bartenders are cool and nice, and smile. There’s a slick little garden out back that you can see but not get to, but fortunately there’s some seating out front and on the small patio. It fills up quick on nice days, so get there early or good luck. The layout of Binks is a bit different.

The Spare Room (NE 42nd and Alberta) used to be a bowling alley, so legend tells us. Far far removed from the kingpin now, this northeast dancehall mecca sports two bars (one active), a fireplace in the pool room, karaoke, and video poker. With its mirrors, and twinkling lights, the Larry and Terri lounge act, and older crowd, I believe that this would be David Lynch’s favorite spot. By no means is that meant to disparage The Spare Room, but instead to highlight just how different it is.

Don’t forget your ID if you’re planning to grab the Marathon’s cheap gyros after a Timber’s game, there’s no getting past the gatekeeper. This divey bar on W Burnside has provided many a good time to me, my friends, and complete strangers. The space is immense, providing room for a sports bar area focused on the big three–football, baseball, and basketball–and generally populated by a different cultural subsection than I tend to run in.

Pool tables, beer, vast, smokie. That’s the Rialto I’ve known for years. At the corner of 4th and Morrison in SW Portland, the Rialto has always been a favorite spot for the after work pint, as well as some late night grub and pool (and beer). Some year or so ago they closed the place to do some renovations, and I got to visit again for the first time in ages.

I totally dig Fire on the Mountain. It’s a smallish hotwings joint down on Interstate just south of Skidmore (and a bit north of the Alibi on the other side of the street) that serves up some honest friggin food. Honest because it’s good. Honest because it’s fried. And honest because it’s hot. Sara and Jordan deliver some 12 plus flavors of wings, ranging for sweet BBQ to jerk to El Jefe, with spicy peanut, mild and medium, and raspberry habanero in between.

The first wine bar to be featured on beerdrinker, Beth’s sweet little shop just east of the light at 15th and Alberta is quite possibly the ideal wine bar. In the back are comfy chairs to recline while on whilst sipping your favorite Spanish wine (or whatever) if you can convince Porter (the sweet lab) to share. The chair, not the wine. Everyday Wine focuses on quality affordable wines…very few bottles are over $30, with many fine choices under ten bucks!

so the Alberta Public House isn’t new. Not like the Concordia. It also doesn’t have the beer selection of the Concordia. But I still like the place. It’s totally chill, a geographical mess (on the inside), and full of pigs. The pink cartoon kind. They have some fun music, a good patio, and pretty alright food. Their happy hour (OLCC, can I say that?) last until 8pm on weekdays, which means that even after driving back in from the ‘tron I can still have time to get my happy swerve on for a discount.

A new pub has blessed my little neighborhood, and I strongly recommend that you get out and check it out. Located at NE 33rd and Killingsworth in Portland, it’s in the same spot as the old Et Cetera Tavern, a chronically underperforming watering hole…now gone. The new ownership has done a fantastic job of making the place more pleasant, having given it a major facelift, a new menu, and a renewed focus on beer.

coworker Stu has made me aware that the nearby (to work) Bridgeport pub will be closing for major renovations for ten months in order to pass more Pearl denzens through faster. I have to say that they’ve been on a downward spiral ever since they replaced the Far Side comics in the me’s room with those ads shortly before their 25th anniversary party. Which was followed by the implementation of table service.

Wandering throught the beer aisle at New Seasons looking for something tasty and new, I happened upon a nice fellow who was giving samples of some tasty ales. The first that I tried was also my favorite of the bunch…Big Sky Crystal Ale. This ale is really good, having a very crisp flavor, complicated by bursts of sweet and bitter, the latter reminding me of the pleasant hopping of a Czech Pilsner.

This is a fun story. A bear caused some mischief. props Fritz and PStew for the 411.

The lady and I went to Taqueria Nueve last night. It was excellent. We had maybe a bit more food than necessary, but the variety was fantastic. We opened it up with the ceviche and a salad with buffalo, avacado, stuff, and not too much lettuce. Both were fantastic, especially the ceviche. The they brought us out some tacos. I had the pork and chicken tacos, while the lady had a fish taco, both again were fantastic.

Hidden in the Andes, researchers excavated an ancient brewery.

The Widmer Brothers are producing Drop Top Amber. This is an aromatic, lightly hopped amber ale with a well-rounded flavor. This beer is pleasant, but I’ve never considered it to be strikingly good. Tonite I am looking at it with a fresh and untainted eye. Weighing in at 4.85% ABV, I’d say that the Drop Top is a bit more ‘drinkable’ than several of its cousins in the amber market. It rolls across my tongue with a hint of the honey malt velvety sweetness, before effervescing into the great beyond, pleasant and discreet.

A bit late on this, but BiX informs us that Portland is in the finals for cities to host the permanent home of the beer hall of fame. Very cool, vote here, you may need to register first. Here’s the text that I included with my entry. In Portland, in ways unlike any other place, beer is cherished. It is how we live, it brings us together when the weather is fine, and it keeps us together when the skies are clear.

Ah, a happy busy weekend, I tried my hand at golfing on Saturday with my buddy over at Ojingo. It was loads of fun, actually, because I found that I could this the stupid ball more than ten feet this time! I improved drastically between hole 1 and hole 9, and actually got a par 5 in 6 strokes…not bad for my third time golfing I think. After golfing, we went back to my place and started up a batch of homebrewed IPA.

blog, I command thee to pop into my mind once again and remind me to go visit this homebrew wiki so that I make good on my next batch of beer (that I have the grain for already!).

Walking into work, there was a light drizzle. A beautiful Portland-style rain, not the binge and purge that we’ve been having this season. I smiled, and loved it, with the water matting my hair. Things went well, I accomplished a lot, and I had a general sense of well-being, even through the mild headache I had briefly. After work I cruised over to SE to coach the kiddies in soccer. It started at 5, so I was late, but not too late.

Went to BJ’s the other night because I’ve been driving by it for quite some time now and never stopped in. Also, I’d been to their LA establishments and had a good time. So, I cruised on over with a coupla friends. We got a taster selection of the brews, and I quite enjoyed several of them. The blonde was light and fresh, the amber was pretty good, the pale very hoppy, perhaps a bit much…but the IPA was very nice.

Barely timely, Zeros and Ones reviews some winter beer tastings that we engaged in one night not long ago.

A pleasant offering from the Lost Coast Brewery, Indica IPA is a little less bitter than many of its peers. Not much mind you, it still has the characteristic bite of an IPA, filling your mouth like a ginger snap. I am quite enjoying this beer, it is fairly rich, but remains light. Its scent is good, a little sweet and caramel, but it lacks depth there in a pleasant way.

Deeply amber-hued, Bridgeport’s Ebenezer is a smooth ale to swallow, which is nice considering it’s 6.8% abv. Possessing an almost smoky bitterness to it, the flavor is complex, with hints of a number of spices subtly flavoring this beer, and leaving a pleasant spicy aftertaste that moves around the tongue and leaves my mouth seeking another sip. The lightly hopped, sweet aroma is not forward about the tastes it precedes, but hangs around to complement the flavors nicely.

Full Sail has produced a yummy new holiday brew…Wreck the Halls. Most likely it’s a repackaging of their old one, but WtHs is in a nice big 6.5%/vol 22oz’er. Full Sail is one of Oregon’s finest large microbreweries (huh?), along with Bridgeport and Deschuttes, producing a range of tasty malted beverages. This one is quite good (it’s the 2003 reserve that I’m tipping, btw), with a rich flavor not drowned out by the lame application of a bunch of cookie flavorings.

In what will likely become an annual event, I was going to write about Jubelale tonite (that’s what I’m drinking) but I checked, and ooops, I already had. So check that one out, or quit wasting valuable time reading this and go get some of the Jubel. Deschutes does it right, and thanks to them, I spell Deschutes right like 1/3 of the time. cheers. Oh, and notice that ‘Jubel’ is generally introduced with ‘the’, sorta like the Queen’s ‘We’, it garners respect, and weighing in so smoothly at 6.

Oh, yeah, it’s back. Deschutes Brewery’s Jubelale. In my mind this is the optimal winter brew. Strong, lightly spiced, aromatic, and not too heavy, and like Christmas it seems to begin earlier every year. A gentle smoked caramel flavor serves as a base to this medium-bodied ale, and the aftertaste lingers lightly, even pleasantly, reminding me to take another swig, tantalizing all the parts of my tongue, and on into my throat.

Jever is a town in northern Germany, home to the Friesian Brewery. They have been around since 1848 and brew a pilsener called Jever. I found Jever, while sitting on a balcony in Hamburg overlooking a farmer’s market, to be slightly sweet and pretty bitter–a contrast both crisp and refreshing. The beer itself is gold and clear, with a silght amber tint. The beer has a medium body with light carbonation, giving it a very liquid sensation.

Yesterday I was thinking about PBR. It has long been my cheap beer of choice…the one that I’d get for soccer outings and bbq’s, or for when I was planning a long evening of drinking beer. You may notice one of my soccer teams is PBR FC. PBR brought us together, to a level that soccer alone wasn’t able. But I was thinking, and sensing, and thirsty. My sense told me change.

This beer has a nice medium body, and is a crisp clear pale gold in color. It is fairly bitter, but the flavor rounds it out nicely. The aroma is fitting for this beer, advertising its hoppiness. Warsteiner retains its carbonation well, offering a consistently pleasurable experience, ideal for viewing sports (Canada vs Sweden for the world hockey championship, 2-2 in overtime at the time of drinking…final was Canada wins) or for tilting down at the watering hole.

Me: what do you have on tap? Waitress: uh, Bud, Bud Lite, Coors, Coors Lite…you wanna look at a menu? They actually did have Alaskan Pale on the guest tap. cheers.

Emma has a sober post about the pending beer tax. I’ll post more on this one when I get back from Idaho and have a chance to read the bill. btw, her permalink no worky so scroll down to it (4/11 posting).

Emma at the Oregon Blog let me in that the County Cork has Equinox ESB on tap. I’d seen this one around here and there, but it was replaced as Full Sail’s spring seasonal. I’d been meaning to get there for a few days, seeing that the County Cork is in my neck of the woods and I hadn’t been there since I was a smoker, which turned me off to the place due to its clean atmosphere.

This is a light but complex lager, a lovely golden color with a hint of amber. Very easy drinking, which is nice, but I may finish the glass before I finish this review. The head persists as a thin film of fine bubbles, pervasive and fine. The flavor strikes me somewhere between a Pilsner Urquell and Dos Equis, but turned down a few clicks. A pleasant taste lingers slightly, urging one to take another swallow.

I have discovered a new store to buy beer at. Sadly, I don’t remember its name, but it’s out in Multnomah Village, and it’s a great enough place that visions of moving into the area have been dancing in my head. Other than the nondescript ‘we have a lot of beers’ sign, this place is pretty plain. Inside, it’s a mini-mart, with beef jerky and magazines and the works, but in the back there are over 900 (nine zero zero) different beers.

I picked this pint up at New Seasons on the top shelf, where the spendy beers and the larger singles live. Not that it was that spendy. Being Friday in Portland, I’ll likely be hitting the pub sometime after I write this review. So, in New Seasons (it’s our locally-owned groovy high-end supermarket. Good place, good meat, pretty good beer selection) I’m checking out the fancy beers, and I see that Lagunitas has a new flavor.

Oh, I love my Mirror pond. This pale ale came my way some several to many years ago, and has remained at the top of the short list ever since. A nonoffensive brew, yet hoppy enough to offer a light, rewarding bite, Mirror Pond is suitable as a transition beer, probably after the Widmer Hefeweizen stage. No lemons in this one, folks. The Deschutes Brewery is in Bend, OR, a very beautiful part of the country.

It has been awhile since a Saxer beer crossed my path. Opened, at least. On this occasion, I am sampling their Bock, a tasty golden treat. This beer, weighing in at 6.2% alcohol (volume) goes down far smoother than I would have expected. A light sweetness is the strongest sensation, but coupled nicely with a faint bitter flavor. The combination comes through with a very old-European flair, more so than other American beers.

Short post tonite. Had to work tonite so a frien brought in some beers for a bit of beer tasting. A couple of them were very interesting, and I’d never even heard of them before. I did get to taste them, but this environment is a little funky for writing a review. I’d put these under the category of needle beers just because of the needles in them. The first I tried was Alba Scots Pine Ale.

I sit down anxiously to enjoy this beer. It has graced my refrigerator for some time now, but I have yet to taste it. I pour the winter ale into my Rogue pint glass and receive a rich, frothy head. The events of the day go through my head as a meander to my computer, nothing particularly exciting or dismal today, but I’ve just been feeling a gloom. The beer is sounding quite good at this point.

White Hawk IPA pours aromatically, hued yellow from the bottle, but slightly cloudy. The inviting scent is tempting me to taste a swallow. This beer has the sharp bite associated with India Pale Ales, with perhaps a slightly more burnt and fruity flavor, making it somewhat complex. The head dissipated fairly quickly, leaving a nicely integrated carbonation behind. I find the bitterness to be a little on the strong side, but I am sure that over time it would grow endearing.

Finally! The beer is ready to be tasted. And I don’t mean the stray cheat that I’ve been sneaking since last weekend, but it should be sufficiently aged at this point. So, here I go. The pour yields a thick creamy head, with slightly uneven bubble distribution. Whatever that means, just calling as I see ’em. The ale is fairly dark, and slightly anber-hued. So far, so good. The aroma is is distinct with that unfiltered scent so often associated with homebrew…perhaps slightly unpleasant to those new to it, one quickly becomes accustomed, possibly even nostalgic with it.

Blue Ridge’s amber lager pours a nice, amber hued beer. The head dissipates quickly, making the fine carbonation of this beer visible. The aroma complements this tangy beer nicely, of which both the scent and flavor have a home-brewed element to them. The body of this lager is full, introducing itself immediately to the tongue with a rich sweetness, and leaving behind a gentle bitter aftertaste. All the while, the flavor is integrated nicely with the carbonation.

My eyes grew wide at the first drink of this Pale Ale. A nice full flavor, complemented by its mild fruitiness makes for a fine, smooth drink. A gentle bitterness from fine Cascade hops blends well with with the pale malt, making an all-around pleasant beer. The color of this beer is, as implied by the name, quite light hardly even darkening the glass. The light, fresh qualities of this beer make it a fine choice for any occasion.

A smooth pour to a dark, frothy head. This beer promises a richness that it doesn’t quite achieve. The bite focuses towards the tip of the tongue, and the aroma is not full enough to be complimentary. The flavor is pretty good, though I believe it more likely to appeal to a Starbuck’s denizen than a beer lover. There is a slight hint of mocha, but limited character is apparent here.

This isn’t really my first time homebrewing. But it sure felt like the first time. It had been probably 8 years or more since my last foray, and I’ll say now that it didn’t go particularly well. Overzealous and underequipped (I recall transferring the brew from the carboy into a waste basket I pulled from a dumpster and sanitized), I gave a go at malting my own barley, and made a huge mess everywhere.