Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Rum Riot Brewery

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Here is what RateBeer blogger Josh Christie reports about this under the radar brewery: “Rum Riot, founded by Kyle Jongerden and Benjamin Jones, takes it’s name from the Portland Rum Riot in 1855. As the story goes, the recently passed “The Maine Law” read: “here ye, here ye, all alcohol shall be prohibited!” Portlanders, who then and still today like their booze, weren’t too happy. Thousands of protested descended on Portland’s City Hall to protest the law on June 2nd of ‘55 under threat of gunfire, and in the wake of the protest the law was repealed. Rum Riot Brewing thus presents to you “a dedication to all Portlanders’ passion, independence, and desire for alcohol.”

Rum Riot’s beer is readily available on the first Friday of every month for Portland’s art walk. At the Two Point Gallery, the brewery brings free beer on every first Friday, and occasionally has 22oz bottles for sale. Right now, there isn’t much info to be found on Rum Riot’s plans for expansion, if any exist. They do at least offer plenty of info about their current brews – Belgian Summer, German Summer and American Summer as of June.”

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Ireland or Germany? – Trouble Brewing

You are not a true beer geek until you have visited and taken in the beer culture in Ireland and Germany. I have been fortunate to have been to both BUT I did not visit all the breweries PLUS more have sprung up!

So this month, I will offer up an underknown brewery from each country that should be on your next beer travel itinerary. First up, the Emerald Isle…
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“We’re dedicated to producing distinctive and outstanding beer from only natural ingredients.”, so says the Trouble Brewing website and I believe them. They are starting small and hoping to build up.

Here’s the info on beer # 1: Ór “A smooth, refreshing golden ale that is full-bodied and has a distinctive hop flavour. Brewed using the best two-row Maris Otter pale malt interwoven with a complimentary selection of speciality malt for a robust taste. It is hopped with a combination of traditional English and modern American hops, to produce a beer with subtle fruit flavours and a crisp, lingering finish. 4.3% A.B.V.”

Slainté

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Hardknott Brewery

Saw this English brewery mentioned on the always interesting Pete Brown blog and if he is a fan then we should all be on the lookout.

Hardknott Brewery came into being when a publican named David Bailey decided he wanted to brew instead of serve and this is what was created:

Fusion – a 4% ginger beer that has had chilli added to the mix.
Dark Energy – a 4.9% ‘sort of a stout perhaps, dark and fruity dry hops’ in Dave’s words
Continuum – their 4% ‘standard’ beer, dry hopped in the cask
Infra-Red – a 6.2% IPA (apparently ‘hoppier than a bucket of frogs’)

And in bottle there’s Granite (Barley Wine style) and Aether Blaec (Islay whisky barrel-aged stout).

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Rising Tide Brewery

For Oregon Craft Beer Month, I promised to not be too Portland-centric. Well, I am going back on that promise to talk about a Portland brewery. Portland, Maine.

Here’s the scoop from their Facebook page:
Rising Tide Brewing Company is a small-scale start-up brewery with a focus on handcrafted artisanal ales that draw on traditions from around the world. We will be brewing 90 gallons at a time and distributing locally to the southern Maine region in bottles and kegs.Mission:Bringing world-wide traditions together with a New England ethic to create beers that are uniquely Rising Tide. Beer First.
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And here is the info on two of their beers:
Ishmael — Our copper ale borrowing from the traditions of German altbier, brewed with new-world hops and old-world yeast.

Spindrift — A crisp, pale, multi-grain beer brewed with barley, rye, and wheat.

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Northwoods Brewing

Thanks to the wonderful (on my list of beer places to visit) Four Firkins in Minnesota, I heard about Northwoods Brewery and Pub from Wisconsin.

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All of their beer labels are outdoorsy themed especially this beer that caught my eye…
FLOPPIN’ CRAPPIE – A Biker Beer!
Light caramel colored ale with the sweetness of honey and a mild bitterness. Voted best beer at Sturgis Brewfest 2004.

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Equinox Brewing

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More beer for Colorado. A great craft beer state. This one adds to the impressive Fort Collins roster, Equinox Brewing.
from Equinox website:
Our standard draft list features six rotating taps. These beers cover a wide range of styles, from light to dark, strong to mild. Our tap selection also features two beers served from beer engines and a weekly firkin tapping. These beers are naturally conditioned (carbonated) in the cask and dispensed through a manual pump (beer engine) or through gravity dispensing (firkin). Check out what’s on tap.

Draft Beers
Sunrise Golden Ale
Sunrise Golden Ale is our lightest beer, but don’t let that fool you. The malt is clean, light and crisp, with a slight sweetness. The aroma captures the distinct graininess of pilsner malt. Cascade and Mt. Hood hops balance the sweetness, contributing a slight citrus / spicy character. In the finish, the hops give way to a light maltiness. Overall, refreshing and clean, yet somewhat complex.
Cumulus Wit
A traditional, Belgian style white beer. Crisp, light and ghostly white, this is a refreshing beer. Additions of coraiander and bitter orange peel produce a clean, light and spicy brew.
Eclipse Brown
The term “brown ale” is very broad and can refer to any number of beers ranging a wide variety of colors and flavors. Dating back to the 1600’s, the term brown ale was used to describe anything from a mild ale to Brown ales from northern England tend to be strong and malty, often nutty, while those from southern England are usually darker, sweeter and lower in alcohol. North American brown ales are usually drier than their English counterparts, with a slight citrus accent and an aroma, bitterness, and medium body due to American hop varieties.
Orbit ESB
The aroma is distinctly hoppy, citrusy and earthy. The assertive hop profile quickly gives way to a rich maltiness. The finish is dry and clean with a distinct toffee roastiness, but balanced by a light sweetness.
Zenith IPA
Zenith IPA is all about balance. Hops dominate the aroma with a musty / citrus character. The flavor is also very hoppy, but, a clean malt profile balances the hops and contributes to the overall complexity. Light malt sweetness counters an aggressive bitterness. The lasting impression should be a dance of malt and hops that lingers on the tongue.
Sunset Stout
Sunset Stout has a roasty flavor, with a light smokiness, from dark, roasted barley. The aroma is light, with hints of coffee and cocoa. The roasted barley contributes a light acidity to the flavor, balancing a bittersweet chocolate finish. Flaked barley adds a creaminess to the mouth feel, while keeping the body medium.

Java Jonas!
Jonas Porter conditioned with French Roast coffee from the Bean Cycle. Dark roast malts and dark roast coffee…mmmm.

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Oregon Craft Beer Month – 7 Brides Brewing

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If you venture outside of Portland, you will find a great brewery in almost every Oregon City. McMinnville has Heater-Allen. Pacific City has Pelican. Enterprise has Terminal Gravity. Well Silverton has 7 Brides Brewing.

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Lauren’s Pale Ale (LPA)
NW pale ale made with generous amounts of hops
and enough crystal malt for a great balance.
Good upfront hop aroma with a great hop taste that lingers.
5.5% alcohol ibu’s 50

Emily’s Ember
Very well balanced red ale with deep amber color,
a caramel aroma and just enough hops
to let you know they are there.
4.5% alcohol ibu’s 35

Oatmeal Ellie
This coffee-like beer will finish with the smooth taste of oatmeal.
The strong oatmeal flavor should remind you of your breakfast bowl of oatmeal.
Tastes much lighter that it looks, but has a complex flavor with a dry smooth finish.
4.5% alcohol ibu’s 30

Maggie’s Marzen
Traditional octoberfest marzen
with soft malt flavor, creamy texture,
and a dark orange color and a smooth crisp finish.
5.5% alcohol ibu’s 30

Weezin-ator
This dopplebock is dominated by its strong,
deep toasty flavors that have a full-bodied finish
and a lingering sweetness from the complex mix of malts
and just the right amount of hops to balance.
This “big” beer has complex undertones and a smooth warming finish.
7.9% alcohol ibu’s 30

Lil’s Pils
This traditional bohemian pilsner is light, crisp,
and has a wonderful floral hop bouquet
that balances the complex malty taste
of the all German barley.
4.5% alcohol ibu’s 30

Here is their

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Mystery Brewing UPDATE!

Here is the latest news (VERY GOOD) from Mystery Brewing…

“We hit our goal – and with 10 days to go! A huge, hearty, and hefty thanks to everyone who donated – in the past two days, including the matching funds, we’ve raised over $17,000. That is just phenomenal. I cannot describe how difficult it will be to sit through the rest of my work day.

…We go on raising money for the next 10 days. Anything above goal means we’re that much closer to our first batch of beer and that much more of it. Kegs get ordered, ingredients are lined up, we look at warehouse space and refrigerated storage. We’re already on the path through licensing and getting ready to make beer.”

Just because they reached their goal doesn’t mean you shouldn’t become a backer. Think of the great beer you could help make a reality.

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Sockeye Brewing

How about we head to the brewing mecca known as Idaho. I know that it is not well-known now. But it just might be in a few years. It has all the ingredients, literally.

In the meantime, lets take a quick peek at Sockeye Brewing in Boise.
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They have an impressive selection of American IPA’s with great names including Widowmaker, Hopnoxious, Dagger Falls. But they have a beer list of over 20 beers from their regular line-up (Galena Golden Ale) to seasonals (Socktoberfest).

The brewers are Josh King & Lance Chavez. They craft each brew on site in small batches.
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