I crack open a brown ale from the Northern California brewer…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J25xVeduZVk]
Top Beers of 2009
Here are my best beers of the year list (in no particular order)…..
Magic Hat # 9
had this at Naja’s place after horrible traffic and getting lost. this beer made everything melt away.
Cali- Belgique aged in Oak (Handpump)
Orange cream with hops. A breakfast IPA?
Rubicon Goldfinger (Nitro)
thank you Blue Palms for the Nitro!!
HUB 7 Grain Survival Stout
a great, hearty and complex stout that still lingers in memory
Widmer Teaser
light and completely different. tea flavors in a beer.
Prevale!
I recently received this e-mail….
“Special Beer Release Party for PREVALE coming this Wednesday, Sept. 2 at Laurelwood (NE 51 & Sandy location). Live music begins at 7 p.m. Please come anytime to support the purchase of this special brew and help spread the word. Distribution will eventually include Fred Meyer, New Seasons, Whole Foods and any store that sells fine craft beer!
Laurelwood has generously brewed and bottled a benefit beer appropriately named PREVALE Ale. Proceeds from the sale of PREVALE (sold in 22 oz bottles or by the case or on tap) will go to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and help in the fight against cancer…
because we will prevail!”
Please help out a worthy cause and give a hearty thanks to Laurelwood for their generosity of time, spirit and money.
More Mikkeller hops
Here is the Spontaneous video review of an absolutely awesome IPA…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNI-JToJlEQ]
New Oregon beer – Part 2
from Raccoon Lodge and Cascade Brewing comes…
the “recently released our newest “Kabalorater,” which is the second in a series of beers made in collaboration with the PDX Home Brewers Club. Brewed by club member Alan Ruoff, Mt. Hood Honey Moon is a deliciously sweet barrel conditioned beer with Mt. Hood hops and undertones of honey. The crisp beer features a nice backbone of German malts and weighs in at 5%. It’s an ideal summer refresher!”
New Oregon beer – Part 1
from Pelican Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon comes…
La Fleur Amère- With an abundance of floral, herbal hops and a rich, malty foundation, La Fleur Amère marries an assertive English-style IPA with exotic Belgian-style yeast. Brewed especially for the Oregon Brewers Guild’s “Cheers to Belgian Beers” event, but making a return appearance only at the Bite of Oregon, La Fleur Amère features a sparkling light gold color, an aroma of floral, earthy, herbal hops and a fruity, spicy yeast character. La Fleur Amère is dry-hopped with more than a pound of hops per barrel and finishes with a clean, snappy balance of malt flavor, hop bitterness, and slightly tart, spicy yeast character. ABV 7.% IBU’s 65 16.4 Plato
Photos from Stone 13 – Part 2
Photos from Stone 13 – Part 1
Green Flash
Fizzy Yellow Beer and Imperial IPA
Craftsman
Triple White Sage (and leftover onion ring goop)
Will the collaborating ever stop…
…I certainly hope not. This is what separates us from most other industries. Do movie studios collaborate? Do car companies collaborate?
Well, here is yet another in what seems like an endless stream of mash-ups
“Just released in the U.S.
Nogne-O Tiger Tripel Norwegian Ale
ABV = 9%
Ingredients: Malted barley, wheat, malted wheat, sugar, hops, yeast and local Grimstad water.
“It is very difficult to brew a complex and balanced Belgian-style tripel ale, but we have made an attempt at brewing one anyway! Our respect and admiration for those who master the skill and art of brewing excellent ale of this style is limitless. Tripels often pair will with cheese,seafood and fresh vegetables.” — Kjetill Jikiun – Head Brewer
Nogne/Mikkeller Tyttebaer Ale
ABV = 8.0%
A collaboration between Nogne and Mikkeller
Ingredients: Malted barley, unmalted wheat, malted wheat, Lingonberries, hops, Brettanomyces yeast, Lactobacillus and Grimstad water.
“Tyttebaer is also known as a lingonberry or mountain cranberry. This ale is full of Tyttebaer, and fermented with wild yeasts and bacteria. Feral at heart, it sat in fermentation tanks for 9 months and in bottles for 6 more months before we felt it was ready to be released. Who knows what it will do before ending up in your glass…It is, and always will be,wild.” — Kjetill Jikiun – Head Brewer”
Ginger beer from Hitachino Nest
Occasionally, I will let trusted beer tasters give me the rundown on what they are drinking (especially if it is something I haven’t had before).
My mystery reviewer “walked away with Real Ginger Brew from Hitachino Nest. The first taste is really light and bright followed by a slightly metallic taste. Ginger flavor is not prominent and it’s not dusty spicy at all. In fact I didn’t think there was a Ginger bite at all until I realized my palate was tingling about a quarter of the way thruogh the glass. It went nicely with my green bean chicken.”