Beer Luvvas,
I'm terrible. I deserve a lump of coal in my stocking this year. I actually attended this year's Holiday Ale Festival three nights, and it's now the Monday after and I'm finally getting around to blogging about them. I suck.
Key item of note: No lines on Thursday night during the Civil War! I love the local rivalry game on the Thursday after Thanksgiving for ESPN national television!
On to the beers! FYI - I didn't taste them all, and I'll only comment on the ones that I consumed.
Alameda Brewhouse Papa Noel's Special Reserve: I'm not sure if the fact that this special reserve is aged with Whisky-soaked oak spires makes it different than the standard Papa Noel, but it was quite tasty with just a faint whisky note on the finish. One of my favorites of fest!
Bear Republic Brewing Barrel Aged Old Baba Yaga: This Russian Imperial Stout aged in French oak Cabernet barrels tasted more like a strong ale than a stout in my opinion. Dark, but the cab barrels imparted a mellowing, yet alcoholic, flavor to the beer. Still quite good, but very different from a standard Russian Imperial.
Block 15 Brewing Oaked St. Nick: 2 months in American Oak and Mt. Hood dry hopping makes Oaked St. Nick....Good (er) Oaked St. Nick. Very nice.
BridgePort Brewing BourbonEzer Holiday Ale: One of my votes for Best of Fest! This American Oak Bourbon barrel aged holiday ale is near perfect. A faint hint of bourbon on the nose and the finish along with the expected Ebenezer flavor.
Collaborator Sled Crasher: one of the few brews under 7% ABV, but still an excellent Winter Warmer. Smooth, and yet full bodied.
Deschutes Brewery Lost Barrels of Mirror Mirror: A perfect example of why beers should be brewed to age! So much smoother than the first release each year. This is why Freebird's wine cellar in the new home will need to make room for a few 22oz bombers each year!
Full Sail Brewing Wassail Holiday Blend: Although the 65%/35% blend of fresh Wassail and Imperial Porter aged in Makers Mark casks was unique, I found the flavor to be more muted than I expected from the description. Tasty, but underwhelming relatively speaking.
Golden Valley Brewing Barrel Aged Tannen Bomb: Oh Tannen Bomb, Oh Tannen Bomb! Now that you are barrel aged (annually for the HAF), the Holidays are much, much brighter!
Hair of the Dog Commemorative Jim 2009: For the first time in the history of Jim, I've found the fresh edition smoother than the aged (2008, I missed out on 07) version! Wow! So smooth! April Dock Sale here I come!
Hopworks Urban Brewery Kronan The Barbarian: My second vote for Best in Fest! This Baltic porter was robust and smooth and just plain yummy! I am Kronan! Hear me roar!
Kona Brewing Black Sand Porter: Get rid of Pipeline! Brew Black Sand year round! Full-bodied is right! Excellent porter!
Lagunitas Brewing 2008 Olde Gnarly Wine: Third vote for Best in Fest! Just a classic version of a barleywine, but sooo smooth and easy to drink. Another example for aging beer!
Laughing Dog Brewing Chocolate Huckleberry Stout: My first minor disappointment of the fest. Not a bad stout, but the flavors - both chocolate and huckleberry were faint, to non-existent.
Laurelwood Brewing Co Polska Porter: Last vote for Best in Fest! Spicy! Excellent!
Lompoc Brewing Brewdolph: Although a Belgian Red, received one of Freebird's votes for Best in Fest. The ardennes yeast was definitely muted by the spicy clove of the malt. But still present.
McMenamins Old St. Francis School Elivn Conspiracy: Didn't know it was a Belgian Triple when I tasted it. Could tell from the first sip though.
Ninkasi Brewing Unconventionale: Best Stout of Fest! Another winner from the best thing to ever come out of Eugene since TrackTown Pizza!
Oakshire Brewing Ill-Tempered Gnome: Might have received my Best in Fest rating if I didn't drink 5 double-tasters right @ close on Friday night. Needless to say, Saturday was Ill-Tempered ASG.
Oskar Blues Brewery Mama's Little Yella Pils: Best in Fest from my coworker Terry who is now the new Capitan Pilsner! If it ain't Pils, he ain't drinkin it!
Pelican Pub & Brewery Bad Santa Black IPA: OK, seriously this is THE BEST IN FEST! The Black IPA may be my new favorite style of brew - 70 IBUs but dark and complex malts.
Redhook Ale Brewery Roggenhammer: Imperial IPA my arse! Lame! Wimpy! 57 IBUs. It seems that one of the founders of NW craft brewing has been resting on its laurels waaaay too long.
Rogue Ales Mogul Madness: This strong ale received Freebird's Surprise of Fest award! AKA she really liked some of the 7 different hops in this brew!
Sierra Nevada Brewing Estate Brewers Harvest Ale 09: Another solid product from one of the craft brewing founders....not resting on their laurels!
Southern Oregon Brewing Son of Santa: Freebird's Best in Fest! 100 IBUs from this Imperial Red Ale! Fabulous. I'm not going to say that it's better than her first brewing ever (an Imperial Red), but I'm not going to fight her for it.
Three Creeks Brewing Rudolph's Imperial Red: Freebird's #2 - duh. It was also quite tasty, but at ONLY 80 IBUs it doesn't meet her new hop expectations.
Check the next posting for my notes on the special tappings I was able to sample!
Prost to the Holiday Ale Festival! The best beer festival in the land!
1 comments:
Hi there,
Wanted to invite you to the blogger preview, but don't know who you are or how to contact you! Get in touch with me for next year, so I can add you to my media list. Cheers! Chris Crabb, crabbsoup@comcast.net
Post a Comment