For the last day of Oregon Craft Beer Month, here are some photos of the first day….
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).
Oregon Craft Beer Month – Beer Blogger
If you want the straight scoop about the Portland beer scene then head over to the Beervana blog.
Jeff Alworth is funny and direct. (His post about beer reviewing is pretty dead on.) So check him out, you will learn something.
Defense Against the Dark beer
Occasionally, I hand over the reins of the blog to my dark beer afficionado (who has started using the BeerPad app, which works very well).
Today, a quick review of Class V Stout from Kern River Brewing.
Rating: 4/5
Style: Stout
Brewery: Kern River Brewing
Region: United States
Color: Dark chocolate browm
Carbonation: Little
Aroma: Espresso & chocolate
Mouthfeel: Full rich. Coating the tongue and palate
Flavor: A nice initial brightness of coffee and chocolate notes
Finish: Mellow with a slight molasses sweet and bitter
Comments: Really nice complex beer. Definitely drink again
Oregon Craft Beer Month – Pelican Brewery
When experimental hops start coming from France, you know beer is now serious.
“On July 14 in honor of the French National Holiday, Bastille Day, Pelican Brewery will release a new one-off beer called “The Guillotine,” which is made with experimental hops from Alsace, France. “This hop (P05-9) is an experimental variety from the grower’s co-op” said Welch. “It’s the first product of the breeding program.” The Guillotine will be an international-style pale ale that is golden hued and slightly stronger than other brews at 6 percent ABV—a perfect beer for summertime on the Pelican patio. The Guillotine will be available on draft only.”
Rumble
When I went to GABF last year, the one place that I visited twice was Great Divide. Now they have expanded and more new releases should be coming out in 2010 and 2011. Like this one…
“Rumble IPA is an American IPA with subtle nuance. Brewed with heavy-handed additions of Pacific Northwest hops, this beer is gently aged on French and American oak resulting in a wonderful balance of bitterness, caramel sweetness, vanilla, and undertones of pine and citrus.”
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.
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.
King Tut drinks beer?
Clever, the Wynkoop’s are:
“Tut’s Royal Gold is an unfiltered “Imperial Egyptian Ale” of about 6% ABV made with pale malts, ancient fermentables (honey, wheat, teff) and a handful of spices including tamarind, coriander, grains of paradise, orange peel and rose petals.
The beer is fermented with a wheat beer yeast and is served unfiltered for extra, (very) old-school authenticity.
The beer will be released at 6:30 PM on June 30 at Wynkoop Brewing Company in a special tapping party in conjunction with the Denver Art Museum.”
Oregon Craft Beer Month – Bend Ale Trail
Eastern Oregon is a great area for beer and The Bend Ale Trail, a partnership between the Visit Bend program and eight of the region’s top craft breweries: 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Bend Brewing Company, Cascade Lakes Brewing Co, Deschutes Brewery, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Silver Moon Brewing, Boneyard Beer and Three Creeks Brewing Co. The website has many fun and helpful features for beer travelers and locals alike, including:
Trail Map and Passport Program: The Bend Discovery Map will serve as the starting point of the Bend Ale Trail. Part navigational tool to each of the breweries, and part “Bend Ale Trail Passport” that visitors can have stamped at each of the breweries verifying their visit. Completed passports can be redeemed at the Visit Bend Welcome Center for a commemorative Silipint® a folding silicone pint glass for beer drinkers on the go. Beer geeks who also visit Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, will receive an additional prize.
An app for that: In collaboration with Sidestreet Maps, Visit Bend is creating an iPhone and Android Phone compatible interpretive guide that provides an insider’s look at Bend’s beer culture. The Bend Ale Trail iBend Tour download will be available at no cost.
On the interwebs: The Bend Ale Trail website will serve as a portal for all things related to Bend’s beer culture. This site will include links and listings to all area businesses and resources related to Bend’s beer culture, and will include detailed information about the Bend Ale Trail. The website also offers a downloadable Bend Ale Trail Passport and a printable map. Up to date information and inside scoops can be found by following @BendAleTrail.
Guided Tours: For visitors who are looking for a guided tour of the Bend Ale Trail, The GETIT Shuttle will be offering guided tours using bicycle pedicabs, or for larger groups the GETIT Shuttle bus. For reservations with GETIT by Green Energy Transport, call (541) 610-6103.
Special Offers: Many of the Central Oregon breweries are offering a variety of special deals and discounts for those who mention The Bend Ale Trail when ordering.
Flagship
As I have mentioned before (and I will probably mention repeatedly), I cannot possibly keep up with the variety and opinions on the interwebs when it comes to beer writing.
So sometimes, I run across well written pieces that I think, “I have got to share this”. Then I see that it was posted three months ago.
Anyway, that is not going to stop me. This article on Flagship Beers was fascinating in early June and is fascinating now in late July.