BAR PILOT

OBF: Day One

The crowd is growing and the taps are flowing

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 28, 2011 at 02:00PM 4 Comments

And… the ceremonial first keg is tapped at the Oregon Brewers Festival!

Let the games begin.

The 24th edition of the Oregon Brewers Festival is off and running. I’ve just returned from a beer blogger event hosted by OBF volunteer and brew brainiac Noel Blake, where 15 specially selected beers were poured for the benefit of a very thirsty local media. If I can somehow decipher my childish scrawl I’ll share the highlights and lowlights.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Black & Red
Dogfish owner Sam Calagione is considered royalty among the brewing cognoscenti—and with good reason. The little brewery from Milton, Delaware is always pushing the “bigger, better, bolder” envelope and this year’s entry in the OBF is no exception. The Black & Red weighs in at a formidable 10.3 percent alcohol and tastes like it should be served in a sherry glass. Chocolate, mint, and raspberry notes dominate while the low carbonation gives it a soupy, syrupy mouthfeel. It’s a monster. Handle with care.

Ninkasi Brewing Company: Helles Belles
A very uncharacteristic Ninkasi, in that the hops stay in the back seat and the malt is front and center. The first note I wrote about this one was “cornbread?” For a lager, Helles Belles is remarkably full-bodied and rich.

Full Sail Brewing’s resident genius John Harris at OBF.

Upright Brewing Company: Offen Weisse
I’ve never met an Upright brew that I didn’t like, and their record is still good. This German wheat beer has a rounded, fruity taste that’s dry as a bone. This would be a fantastic session beer. In fact, please invite me to that session.

Burnside Brewing: Gratzer
Based on an old Polish style it’s a smoked wheat pale ale that really smokes! To achieve that perfect campfire flavor, the brewers smoked 600 pounds of white wheat over an apple wood fire, that also adds a crisp nuttiness to the mix. Recommended.

Columbia River Brewing: Nyctophobia IPA: It’s official. We are to refer to these beers as Cascade Dark Ales, and not Dark IPA. ’Nuff said. I like to call these “candy bar” beers, due to their chewy, chocolate flavor profile. Nyctophobia (fear of the dark) also has plenty of hop heft. Reminded me of an easy drinking porter.

Hopfinium comes from the Collaborator Project, a team effort from the Oregon Brew Crew and Widmer Brothers Brewing.

Lagunitas Brewing: Little Sumpin’ Wild
If you like your beers on the aggressive side, then you’ll go ape for LSW. The combo of wheat, Belgian yeast and heavy hops make this a pretty belligerent brew, but in this case conflict leads to something glorious. I’d like another, please.

Boneyard Beer: Girl Beer
Could be that my palate was pulverized by this point, but I found this fruit beer from a new Bend brewery to be rather weak tea. Subtle to the point of nonexistence.

I’ll be hitting the festival again tomorrow, as will various members of the Bar Pilot “street team,” so we’ll keep you posted. Chandler out.

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Tags: Ninkasi Brewing, Upright Brewing, Oregon Craft Beer Month, Oregon Brewers Festival

Drinking Dates

A few items for your quaffing calendar

Posted by: John Chandler on Jan 25, 2011 at 12:00PM 2 Comments

What’s a brew believer to do? You’ve already dipped your beak in all the winter ales worth wrangling and the warm-weather beer festivals are still oceans of time away. Cheer up drinking buddies! Instead of trying to figure out a hangman’s knot that will bear your weight, you would do well to make note of these upcoming events that should do wonders for restoring your hibernating happy face!

First Annual Scottish Ale Festival No need to stare forlornly at the horizon. The Cascade Brewing Barrel House is hosting a sudsy salute to Scottish Ales this Saturday from 3 to 11. Nine regional breweries, including Cascade, Lucky Lab, Fearless, Rock Bottom, Coalition, and Upright, will have specially brewed ales in the house for your sipping pleasure. There will be some Scottish sustenance available (haggis?), and Cascade brewmaster Ron Gansberg is bringing in his band Stone Porridge to provide some trad Scottish music. Join the cult of the kilt!

Hop & Vine Bottle Shop Opening I’ve sung the praises of this sophisticated North Portland saloon on several occasions, so I’m pleased as a weasel to announce its expansion into the space next door to serve as a bigger bottle shop to house Hop & Vine’s well-curated collection of beer, wine, sake, and mead. Festivities take place Feb 5 from 3 to 7. Reps from Hopworks, Upright, Heater Allen, and Elysian will be on hand to pour some free tastings. And for the vino-centric, folks from Grochau Cellars, Winderlea Wines, Purple Hands, and Trust Cellars are likewise expected to be present. “All well and good, but I like cocktails!” you say to yourself. First of all, you should stop talking to yourself; your reputation is already on shaky ground. Secondly, at the stroke of 7, Metrovino mixologist Jacob Grier will take over with $5 drink specials featuring libations from House Spirits and Ransom Spirits. Name your poison—you’re covered.

Van Havig Night! Havig, the outspoken brewmaster from the local chapter of Rock Bottom Brewing parted company with his corporate overlords earlier this month after 16 years. Havig is certainly one of the most knowledgeable brewers I’ve ever had the pleasure to chat with, and any regional brewery would count itself lucky to hire a man with his skills, taste, and wit. On Feb 8 at the new Grain & Gristle, some of his brewing comrades from Lompoc, Widmer, Barley Brown, and Ninkasi will pay tribute to Havig, with small-batch beers brewed in his honor.

KLCC Microbrew Festival Our sister city to the south gets in on the brewfest action on Feb 11-12 with a benefit blast to help keep Eugene’s public radio station, KLCC, sounding off loud and proud. Some 50 breweries will be represented including local heroes like Ninkasi, Steelhead, Track Town, and Oakshire, not too mention one of my faves, little Wakonda Brewing from Florence.

Zwickelmania 3.0 For the third straight year, the Oregon Brewer’s Guild offers the beer curious the chance to jump on a bus and tour some of the state’s top breweries on Feb 19. Meet your brewing idols (OMG! OMG! OMG! John Harris is such a dreamboat!) and get a taste of what’s cooking in the tank. There are tours taking place in Bend and Hood River, but here in Beervana attendees can swing by Alameda, Amnesia, Breakside, Bridgeport, and many more. And it’s friggin’ free!

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Tags: Beer Festivals, Craft Beers, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Cascade Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing, Hop and Vine, Brewery Tours, Wakonda Brewing

Review: New Brew Venue

Hawthorne has a Hophouse

Posted by: John Chandler on Nov 16, 2010 at 11:00AM 13 Comments

Be advised that Hawthorne Hophouse, the new Northwest-centric beer bar on SE Hawthorne, is a kid-friendly venue. The presence of children in pubs is a thorny issue among the Portland suds set, i.e., whether or not beer-loving parents have the right to subject their fellow pub patrons to a rampage of raging rugrats. There were at least seven youngsters on the premises last night and I didn’t hear a peep out of them, so for the time being it’s not an issue (although I’m a dog owner so I’m used to ignoring unprovoked yowling). However, I did feel some subtle pressure to keep a tight rein on my use of profanity, which tends to increase in direct proportion to number of beers consumed—so there’s that.

The Hophouse is located in that tiny strip of businesses at 41st and Hawthorne, where approximately 84 Thai restaurants have opened and closed over the last five years. With the arrival of a bustling New Seasons market right across the street, the lure of freshly poured beer should exert a powerful pull on harried yuppie shoppers—especially those that have been driven to the brink of madness by the demands of unruly offspring. The space is small, antiseptically clean, and welcoming; a veritable oasis of regional repast.

The food menu is fairly “McMenamin” (burgers, fries, salads, sandwiches) in appearance but they do have a Happy Hour between 9 and midnight, with an assortment of $4 goodies like poutine, chicken satay, wasabi deviled eggs, and a chicken and cheddar sandwich. The real hook at the Hophouse is a rotating cast of two-dozen Northwest beers on tap. This includes pours from nano-breweries like Natian (their Lumberjane Stout provided a jolt of bitter coffee-roasted charm), Vertigo, and Mt Tabor Brewing in addition to more familiar names like Deschutes, Hopworks, and Ninkasi.

There’s simply no room for brand loyalty here, because kegs come and go like summer lovers. There are two excellent solutions for those looking to experience the yin and yang of available flavors. On Sundays, in addition to an all-day Happy Hour, beer-curious patrons can take advantage of $3 glasses of local-beer selections. Before anyone can work up a serious gripe about 12-ounce glasses for $3, it should be known that our teeniest, tiniest breweries typically sell their product for a little more scratch, since distribution is usually limited to kegs delivered by “some guy with a truck.”

On Monday evenings, at least for the rest of the month, six, twelve, and twenty-four glass sampler trays are half-price, which allows for some serious exploration. My friends and I ordered up a twelve (2 oz) glass flight for a measly $6.50, with each of us selecting three beers from the menu. We then passed them around, exchanging such brilliant tasting observations as, “Roasty and toasty!” and “surprisingly citrus for an IPA.” And presto! You’ll be a beer geek before you know it.

In terms of finding a comfortable niche, Hawthorne Hophouse is the right business at the right time. Upper Hawthorne (above 39th/Cesar Chavez) was a land sadly bereft of beer diversity, unlike lower Hawthorne which is awash in a variety of worthy brews. The arrival of the Hophouse has improved this situation dramtically.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Family Fun, Bar Openings, Craft Beers, Southeast, Ninkasi Brewing, Hawthorne Hophouse

Beer! Beer! Beer!

There’s no escape from Night of the Living Ales

Posted by: John Chandler on Oct 20, 2010 at 10:00AM 3 Comments

Graphic courtesy My Two Cents Clothing

My favorite holiday is fast approaching and as you may recall from previous posts, it’s an occasion I treat with the fervor of a rabid Jehovah’s Witness.

Last year I called out for Halloween cocktail recipes and I’ll be dropping some knowledge on that particular subject very soon. In the meantime, I would advise the brew believers among you to make arrangements for Halloween night (Sunday, Oct 31) to attend the Night of the Living Ales pub crawl along NE 28th Ave.

You’ll need to buy a $5 wristband for this auspicious event (find out how here), which entitles the wearer to exclusive beers like Upright Brewing’s pinot barrel-aged brown ale, Double Mountain’s Bonne Idee Avec Kriek (a blend of Saison and cherry kriek beer), and Ninkasi’s Kraken, a strong ale as formidable as its name. The piece-de-resistance is a Peanut Butter Chocolate Oatmeal stout crafted by event organizers. Your host will be the lovely Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, whose “Beer O’Clock” radio show broadcasts every Saturday at 3 p.m. on KXL. The crawl begins at Migration Brewing (2828 NE Glisan St) at 8 p.m., followed by stops at Spints Ale House, Beulahland, and Coalition Brewing.

In the words of event founder Ezra Johnson-Greenough, “I designed this pub crawl to be exactly what I would want to do for Halloween—it’s just good clean fun and great beer and drinks without being a wild out-of-control event. Don’t feel you have to wear a costume, though you have a far better chance of winning prizes if you do, and there will be some excellent prizes like gift cards to all the various pubs, T-shirts and more.”

Yes, you should wear a costume as prizes (e.g., brewery swag) will be awarded at each location. Besides, it’s Hallo-friggin’-ween and craft beer is way better for you than some lousy miniature Milky Ways.

Costume ideas? I’m all ears.

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Tags: Events, Holiday Events, Craft Beers, Stumble Zone, Halloween, Ninkasi Brewing, Upright Brewing, Zombies, Spints Alehouse