Bailey's 3rd Anniversary

Beer Luvvas,

Too many tastes to note real time. Needless to say they are all great!

GH
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3mi mark

On pace!
GH
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And They're Off!

Can you find Freebird?
GH
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Freebird pre-duathelon start

Beer Luvvas,

I highly recommend attending an all women's triathelon. Everyone is in swimsuits and have there age marked on their leg.

Makes oogling simple.

GH
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Guinness Dartboard Installed!

Beer Luvvas,

Freebird and I finally installed her Birthday Present: The Guinness Condensation Dartboard that we purchased from the Guinness Online Store (shameless plug - ad to the upper left now).

I can say that the board is awesome! The pics don't show it off as well as they should, and the fact that they look crooked are 100% due to my installation and photography skills and say nothing about the quality of the product.



Freebird absolutely killed me in the first game, and I'm the only person (as of the writing of this post) to have missed the board completely and added holes to the drywall (we couldn't wait until the planned cork board - to be topped with wine corks - was installed).

Anywhoo...I highly recommend this product. It looks great in our basement and is a great reason to just hang-out by the taps all evening long.

Prost to the Online Guinness Store & the Condensation Dart Board!

Oregon Craft Beer Month: Closing Weekend Activities

Beer Luvvas,

The weekend is right around the corner, so I thought I'd pass along my weekend plans to close out 2010's Oregon Craft Beer Month:

Saturday: Baliey's Taproom 3rd Anniversary Barrel Aged BeerFest
213 SW Broadway
12-Close
I plan to arrive late afternoon after an appearance @ Portland's Annual Schnauzer Walk (Freebird and I foster mini-schnauzers occasionally). Seriously looking forward to:

• Full Sail '09 Black Gold - Imperial Stout aged for 1yr in Bourbon barrels
• Oakshire Very Ill Tempered Gnome - Strong Ale (Best in Fest from last year's Holiday Ale Fest) aged in a Pinot barrel for 5 months
• Deschutes Pinot Twilight - Pale Ale aged in Pinot barrels
• Caldera Mojli - Imperial Porter aged in Bourbon barrels
• Firestone Parabola - Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels
• Hair of the Dog Cherry Adam - Old Ale aged with cherries in Bourbon and Sherry barrels
• New Holland '09 Dragon's Milk - one of my new favorite brewers from the Great State of Michigan - Strong Ale aged in Oak barrels
• Lompoc '08 Bourbon LDS - Strong Ale aged in Bourbon barrels
• Three Skulls Wreckage - Barleywine aged in Bourbon barrels

Sunday: 16th Annual Bones & Brew

Technically Saturday 11am-9pm & Sunday 11am - 5pm in the Pearl District

Freebird and I will be grabbing a late lunch before picking up Gooney & Hop Hater & Twins @ the airport.

30+ Microbrews, a Kobe Bleu Ball eating contest and dog friendly - why would anyone miss it?

Hope to see you there!

Prost to Oregon Craft Beer Month, Bailey's and Bones & Brew!

PS - a reader actually picked Freebird out of the crowd @ OBF this year. You know who you are. Comment that you found her. I'm impressed!

Blue Frog 10th Anniversary Barrel Aged Stout

Wow! Buzz Tent is AWESOME!

All bourbon on the nose. Stout and bourbon on the back of the throat!

Oh, and presentation is also important!

GH
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Friday night @ OBF

There's too many men, too many people; causing too many problems. And not much love to round. Tell ya what it's the land of concusion!
GH
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Holy Grapefruit!

Mt.Emily Ale House Hells Canyon IPA - like drinkin a grapefruit. Crisp, clean and CITRUS!

GH
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OBF Band in Da House!

Every year these guys walk the tents and provide their version of drum/horn jam-band tunes.

Lines are everywhere so I've abandoned the IBU system.

HOPS! Mendocino Imperial IPA, Laurelwood Organic Deranger Imperial Red and Ballast Point Big Eye IPA. All were great hop bombs but the Big Eye has a flavor that we can't describe. Kinda sweet but also spicy. Not corriander. I'm flumoxed.

Prost to the mysterious Big Eye!
GH
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OBF Day 2

And so it begins...

Ninkasi Maiden The Shade Super Hopped IPA already has a line back to the tables. Luckily Freebird beat me downtown and I could get a quaff. Very light and crisp and @ only 70 IBUs barely super but definitely great!

10 Barrel ISA - an excellent summer quaf! 45 IBUs makes it go down easy like an analogy that I'm still way too sober to make.

Prost to OBF Day 2!
GH
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Floater Mug on short leash @ OBF?

Beer Luvvas,

I was just asked for the first time @ OBF where the other person in my party was when I asked for two tasters. This could be enough of a reason to vote for Chris Dudley just because he wants to abolish the OLCC.

Back to the beers:

Surley Bitter Brewer - a smooth ESB, and worth a couple tokens.

Rogue 21 - the bock that should have been barrel aged. It's got a bourbon flaaaava, oh so sweet.

Prost!
GH
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OBF Buzz Tent

Beer Luvvas,

The Buzz Tent has destroyed my IBU system. Freebird talked up the Vertigo Brewing brewers so she went to The Buzz Tent and picked up a couple samples:

Maui Brewing Heaven and Hell: bourbon barrel aged barely wine - all bourbon on the nose, and way too sweet for any serious consumption. Recommend aging for at least 18 months.

Vertigo Brewing Friar Gone Wild - we think its an Imperial version of Friar Mike's IPA, and it was awesome!

GH
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Great Divide Hoss

Beer luvvas,

Hoss Rye Lager from Great Divide Brewing would be fabulous - if it was an ale. I can't really describe the difference between lagers and ales except that Hoss is missing whatever Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye has.

Prost to OBF and Hoss!
GH
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Le Freak is Super Freaky, Yeow!

Beer Luvvas,

Green Flash Le Freak is barely belgian. It's sweet but feels over hopped even though it only has 20 IBUs.

Followed Le Freak with Riverport Brewing Bedrock Bock: sweet and mild like a bock should be.

Prost to Le Freeak!
GH
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2010 OBF: Beer 1!

Beer Luvvas,

It has started and I'm trying a new system. I've removed easy to find beers and siasons and wheats (since not my fav), and then sorted by IBUs (low to high).

First up: Caldera Hibiscus Ginger Beer. 0 IBUs. I don't think there are any hops at all. Sweet with a faint ginger note.

Probably not my favorite, but definitely my first!

Prost to OBF!
GH
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2010 OFD - Mobile Blogging Today & Tomorrow

Beer Luvvas,

It's T-minus 1 hour from the start of the 2010 OBF. Unfortunately, I won't be heading down for a few more hours (pls. click on an Adsense ad, or purchase a Guinness/Microbrew/Groupon item so I have a hope in H-E-Double Hockey sticks to turn this past-time into a day-job replacement).

I will be mobile blogging from the event for the next few days, so pls. stay tuned and check out my pics, and brew reviews to get a feel for this year's festival!

Prost to OBF!

Midland Michigan's River Days Beer Tasting

Greetings! This is Freebird reporting on the first annual beer tasting at Midland's River Days. The beer tasting cost $10, which included a plastic cup for tasting and 5 tokens. Additional tokens were 3 for $5. The plastic cup was a clear party cup with no pour line or anything. After several inconsistent pours, I asked someone what 1 token was supposed to get me... Turns out, 3 oz... Yeah, I might have had one 3 oz pour, but the rest were in the 5-8 oz range... I picked a bad time to volunteer to drive...

Anyway, Lily Rose (Freebird's mom) and Mustang Sally (Freebird's sister in law) joined me for this inaugural event, which took place in Chippewassee Park on the other side of the Tridge from downtown.

Ok, ok, on to the beers, that's what you are all waiting for anyway...

Three Sargent's Brewing in Webberville, MI (unable to find any links online) - Lager (didn't get the name, I thought for sure I could google it!). Lily Rose and Freebird liked it, Mustang Sally said it was "too yeasty" for her taste. It was refreshing given the hot weather and humidity but not anywhere on our favorites list.

New Holland Brewing - Golden Cap Saison Ale - According to their website - "Golden Cap Saison is a modern interpretation of a traditional farmhouse ale. A soft, pale beer, Golden Cap embodies the flavors and aromas of summer fields. Brewed with an ancestor of wheat called spelt, its straw-colored body, lively carbonation and a unique fermentation profile evoke fresh cut hay and cracked peppercorn.16° Plato, Alc. 6.25% by Vol." Only Freebird liked this beer. I thought it was a typical Saison but given the humidity, it hit the spot!

Atwater Block Brewing - Vanilla Java Porter -According to their website - "Made with fine-roasted coffee beans and vanilla extract, this is one of the most admired beers Atwater offers. Unique and flavorful, with a chocolate malt finish, this beer is a perfect balance of complimentary ingredients. ABV 5.50% IBU 12 Color: Deep Brown." This was Mustang Sally's "Best in Fest". She commented on how smooth and and flavorful it was. Mind you it was 85+ degrees with probably the same in humidity...
Atwater Block Brewing - Dirty Blond Ale - According to their website " Made with un-malted wheat, coriander and orange peel, this flavorful and refreshing beer was too good to serve only a couple of months a year. So, we decided to make this beer year round." Yeah, all 3 of us hated it. I can certainly see where some would like it, but it just didn't work for us. I am guessing there is some belgian yeast or malt or something in it because it gave me the same "ick" face I get when I drink belgians...

Who says Detroit is all washed up? Atwater seems alive and well and serving up a wide variety of beers. I wish I would have been able to try more!

Arcadia Brewing - Freebird's vote for best brewery of the fest - they brought a brewer to the tasting who answered all my annoying questions about which hops were in the IPA, etc. Super nice guys and great pours. I will visit this brewery at some point!
Whitsu Ale - Lily Rose loved this beer with it's lightness and orange flavor.
IPA - Freebird loved this IPA. According to the brewer, it has about 65 IBU's and uses Golding hops (I missed which specific kind of Golding). I can definitely taste the "English" style, which I don't mind at all... A malty IPA is wonderful! This is a great change of pace from the typical Pacific Northwest style IPA's.
Sky High Rye - This was Freebird's last taste of the night. I thoroughly enjoyed the smooth yet crispyness of this beer and would deem it one of the best "summer" beers out there. I am quite sad I can't get the Rye or the IPA in Oregon...

Tri-City Brewing - Hell's Half Mile - According to their website "Hell's Half Mile is a German style Helles Lager that is pale gold with a creamy white head. Helles is German for bright. Hell's Half Mile has an appealing grainy aroma with a slightly sweet malty flavor yet perfectly balanced with traditional noble hop characteristics. Don't let the light color fool you! This full bodied beer is complex and refreshing! 6% abv and 20.4 IBU" This was Lily Rose's "Best in Fest". Mustand Sally also agreed it was tasty but didn't beat out the Java Porter for her.

I expect great things from this brewery and I am very excited it's so close to Midland!

Founder's Brewing - Red Rye Pale - According to their website "Serious hop bitterness along with unyielding grapefruit bouquet from the Amarillo dry-hop. Balanced with the malty richness of four varieties of imported Belgian caramel malts. Pours a spectacular crimson with a creamy tan head. A generous addition of rye malt accentuates a spicy crisp finish. 6% ABV, 70 IBU's." I panicked when I heard "belgian malts" but was really surprised at how good this beer was! I could easily drink this beer all summer long with the hint of grapefruit and yet smooth but crisp. By all accounts I should hate this beer but I didn't... I really enjoyed it!

Mt Pleasant Brewing -
Railyard Raspberry Wheat - According to their website "Stand back. This is a beer brewed with raspberries, not a raspberry beer. The real raspberry juice we use adds something special to this wheat ale rather than taking something away. It can be, and is, enjoyed by all types of beer drinkers. It especially pairs well with fruit salads or just about any type of dessert. Or, consider it a dessert all on its own; who doesn’t enjoy beer for dessert? And, just because this beer has fruit, don’t think it’s some powder-puff beer. Even the most rugged mountain man will enjoy this one. ABV - 5.6%." All 3 of us agreed, this beer was fantastic. It was really refreshing!
Iron Horse IPA - According to their website "Don’t be shy, try it. Like any good I.P.A. this one has plenty of hop presence but not so much that it is not approachable by our hop-weary friends. Instead of “biggering and biggering” like so many I.P.A.’s these days we are keepin’ it real with a beer that will make you want to drink more than just one. Don’t worry though, hops heads, this beer still has enough bite to cut through any spicy dish you might want to pair it with. Try one, or five, with buffalo wings or a spicy blackened chicken dish. Iron Horse can also go quite well with shrimp, crab, or other light fish, so we have heard from a few of our loyal patrons. So, belly up and try Iron Horse if you have ever wondered what a good I.P.A is like. We promise you won’t be disappointed.ABV - 6.6%." I couldn't agree more. This was Freebird's "Best in Fest". I asked the brewer what types of hops and when he replied "Cascade, Willamette..." It is no wonder this beer really made me homesick... I wish we could add this to Gooney's blind taste test to see how it would fair going against the Pacific Northwest IPA's...

B Nektar Meadery - I can't be fair here as I am not a fan of meads... Lily Rose and Mustang Sally both tried it though. Lily Rose had a wildberry mead and it was not good. I thought it tasted like Nyquil. Mustang Sally had a coconut & pineapple mead and she thought it was really out of place at a beer tasting. It wasn't bad, just didn't fit in.

That pretty much sums it up. Some great beers, some not so great beers and a lot of good beers. ASG would love this and I sure hope it becomes an annual event! Great job Midland River Days!

Prost to Midland's River Days and their first annual Beer Tasting!

2010 Burgers and Beer

Beer and Burger Luvvas,

Today is (almost was) the I believe annual Beer and Burgers tasting event in The Pearl. For those of you most interested in the beer - specifically tasting new and different beers - skip it next year and go straight to the IBF down the road.

But if you are interested in sampling some great bugers, and pairing them with tasters of some of Oregon's premier brews, this is an event for you.

The Beers:

Best Pour: Deschutes Green Lakes approx. Half a pint. But the Hop in the Dark bomber was a tease without a taste to get you to walk a couple blocks to their portland pub.

Best Lineup: Laurelwood brought Free Range Red, Hop Monkey and Workhorse IPAs.

Runner up - Full Sail, Session, Session Black and LTD and a 4th that they ran out of as I neared the head of the line. Laurelwood's quality wins out over Full Sail's quantity.

Henry's dissappointed by pouring Drop Top. Of all their myriad of choices, Drop Top? Really?

Bridgeport brought Hop Czar and Widmer brought Deadlift, while Ninkasi poured Tricerahops. So the NW overhopped IPA/Imperials were present.

The Burgers:

Widmer's Rouladen Burger was good, but disappointed since there was no garnish to go with their relish stuffed beef patty.

Whole Food's grilled salmon burger was excellent, but I come from a long line of red meat eaters and I just can't put this fish burger - as good as it is - any higher.

Laurelwood Portobelllo Mushroom Burger - the shrooms and spring lettuce garnish brings this burger to the middle of the pack. Excellent, but not top 2.

Deschute Ultimate Burger. With smoked pork and a hard to define relish sauce that was chunky like potato salad, this burger seemed impossible to top until...

Henry's Tavern Urban Stuffed Burger had cheese and onion stuffed in the patty and fresh, local tomato and leaf lettuce garnish. Not the most inventive, but IMO the best burger of this fest.

Not bad for 20 bucks!

Prost to Beer and Burgers in The Pearl!
GH
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What's on Tap Today?

Beer Luvvas,

Freebird and I kicked the corney of Laurelwood Workhorse IPA which meant that we were able to hook up our extra keg (since the shank on the 4th tap leaked) and we now have Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye on tap in the basement!

This was supposed to be the initial beer for the Dedicated MCO Tap (I'd say Memorial, but his 2 year assignment in China is on the back-half of his 'rice beer only' sentence.), but until we install (replacement has been delivered!) the new shank, it's utilizing the second corney slot while it's refilled.

So, the taplist reads:

1. Widmer Drifter
2. Offline
3. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
4. Alameda Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA

Prost to Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye on tap in my basement!

GUINNESS Darts for Freebird's Birthday!

Beer Luvvas,

Over the weekend Freebird decided that she would like a new dart board for the basement bar for her birthday (first one in the new house).

So we logged into the Guinness Web Store (link in the column to the right of this post) and selected the Condensation Dart Board (their web-photo is protected so you'll need to click on the link to the right to see it) after reading 5 stellar reviews.

Should arrive in about 10 business days. I'll post photos once we have it mounted on the wall!

Happy Birthday Freebird!

Astoria Pub Crawl!

Well, we decided to walk down the boarwalk to the Wet Dog Cafe and Astoria Brewing Company. The shot is the view from our table on the patio.

I chose the Stone Cold Strong Ale. A nice English Ale and the choice for filling our growler to take home to PDX.

Freebird chose the Old Red Beard Amber. A surprisingly sweet amber although only 35 IBUs.

Next up the award winning Bitter Bitch Imperial IPA!

Prost to Astoria Brewing and Pub Crawl!
GH
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Fort George Public House

Beer Luvvas,

Freebird and I took the pooch to the coast for a beach run, so we took the opportunity to ewing north to Astoria and experience Fort George Brewery and Public House.

Unfortunately they were out of both Cavatica Stout and the Bourbon Barrel aged version. So I exited my comfort zone and ordered the XVIth Chapel - an Imperial Belgian IPA. This may be the second Belgian I've ever enjoyed. The overhopped citrus actually balances (IMO) the Belgian sweetness and leaves a clean, sweet-citrus finish rather than the sweet 'tang' of most Belgians.

Freebird chose the Nut Red Ale which was darker and maltier than expected. She believes it would make a good winter ale. Although I'd vote for them to double the hops and 5.2 ABV. That would be a grrrrrrreat Winter Warmer!

Prost to trying newe beers @ Fort George in Astoria!
GH
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Christmas in July!

Beer Luvvas,

Lompoc C'son's Greetings on tap @ Bailey's Taproom. Coupled with a glass of Ninkasi Radiant makes for a great closer to a Date Night in downtown pdx.

Prost!
GH
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