If you are in North East Portland …

…then you should check out this event. Lompoc makes some good beer. LSD is one of my personal favorites. Even the roasty smoky beer has piqued my interest.

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PORTLAND, Ore. – Sept. 4, 2009 – The brewers at Lompoc Brewing are welcoming autumn with a release party of their newest seasonal, Lompoc Oktoberfest. The event will take place Sept. 11 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Sidebar, Lompoc’s new tasting room located at 3901A N. Williams.

Staying true to the theme, the evening will feature a buffet of sausages and snacks, as well as five other specialty and barrel fermented beers, and the opportunity to mingle with the Lompoc brewers.

Pale orange in color, Lompoc Oktoberfest features a clean malt flavor artfully balanced by a touch of Perle hops. A portion of the grains used was roasted in the oven at Lompoc’s Fifth Quadrant restaurant, giving the beer a slight biscuity flavor. The beer is 5% ABV and 15 IBUs. Lompoc Oktoberfest will be on draft in all five of Lompoc’s pubs beginning Sept. 14.

Party attendees will also have the opportunity to preview tasters of Monster Mash, Lompoc’s Halloween seasonal. An imperial porter, Monster Mash is a dark ale with strong chocolate and roast flavors and a touch of red fruit. It weighs in at 8% ABV and 50 IBUs.

Other beers on the menu include Smoked Gold, a twist on the brewery’s popular Fool’s Gold that includes the addition of beechwood smoked malt for a subtle note of wood smoke (4.6% ABV, 16 IBU); Flower of the Gods IPA, a summer seasonal hopped with Simcoe and Tettnangers for a slight citrus flavor followed by a spicy finish (6.4% ABV, 60 IBU); Barrel Fermented Red, Lompoc’s Proletariat Red 100% fermented in a vintage white English oak barrel for a malty and full bodied ale with a deep, rich red color and a slight touch of oak (6.2% ABV, 45 IBU); and Bourbon Barrel Aged LSD, a deep mahogany strong ale crafted with seven specialty malts, then aged in bourbon barrels for three months and cellared for an additional 10 (6.9% ABV, 58 IBU).

German Beer hall

from the L.A. Times…

Schnitzel, pretzels and beer!

German restaurant Schmidt’s Brauhaus is scheduled to open downtown this fall, serving regional favorites, including sausages, schnitzels and pretzels in a 7,000-square-foot space at Olympic Boulevard near Olive Street. There will be a biergarten separate from the dining area. Also, a new supper club called First & Hope is scheduled to open in the fall — at 1st and Hope streets — with “modern American comfort food,” according to a release. Schmidt’s Brauhaus, 330 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 514-5354; www.schmidtsbrauhaus.com.

Downtown Portland gets McMenamin's Hotel

from the Oregonian & The Portland Business Journal

The new McMenamins Crystal Hotel will occupy prime land near the Brewery Blocks

“An eagerly anticipated hotel project in downtown Portland is taking shape after the spiraling economy temporarily shelved it.

“McMenamins Hotels, Pubs & Breweries secured a permit from the city of Portland on July 20 to proceed with its Crystal Hotel project at 303 S.W. 12th Ave., a former bath house, hotel and reputed gangster hangout that has been empty for about two years.”

Blue Palms

It is hard to believe that Blue Palms is 1 year old. It seems like only yesterday that Los Angeles was Lucky Baldwin’s and that’s it. Now we have a herd of great places to go anywhere in the sprawling metropolis of L.A. Beer life is getting better!

Back to the anniversary, Brian Lenzo pulled a lot of beer rabbits out of his hat to bring in a wonderful selection of beers. Parabola and Abacus from Firestone-Walker. Sour Rye from the Bruery. Multiple hop bombs from Alpine among others.

They borrowed some of the space from the Fonda Theater next door but that started filling up pretty quickly. As usual the staff of the BP were attentive and cheerful with the huge crowd and Brian was running everywhere to make sure the day would run smooth.

Kudos to Blue Palms and see you at # 2.

The Good Beer Seal of Approval

…is awarded to bars and restaurants in New York who:

1. Have 80% craft domestic or special imported beers.
2. Serve a good portion of their beers via a draft beer and/or cask ale program.
3. Maintain a strong “pub” vibe as a nice, local place to drink beer and visit with friends.
4. Active community presence, as well as being independently operated establishment.
5. Good beer should be a strong feature if not the FOCUS of the operation.
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Beer & Breakfast

Let’s get InterNational for a moment. Get away from the U.S. west coast. How about here…
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A sprawling beer soaked historical center where all you have to do at the end of the day is crawl back to your room content. If you are planning a trip to Germany, this needs to be placed on the itinerary.

Check out their website here

Beer in Hawaii

The Hawaii Beer Book: Bars, Breweries & Beer Cuisine.” Inside, author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi takes readers to local breweries like Brew Moon, Big Aloha, Mehana, and more.

As if you need a reason to visit the lovely, sun-blessed islands.

Rifftrax + Wil Wheaton + Stone Bistro =

…a full and fun evening. On July 23rd, Stone Bistro in Escondido will be having a pumped up version of movie night. As if you need an excuse to go to this great beer oasis. Anyhoo, starting around 6pm. Wil Wheaton will read from his books, then Rifftrax takes on The Matrix. Snorting of beer due to laughter will be on the menu.