Our next stop is in Hood River Oregon for 2, count ’em 2, winter seasonals from Full Sail…
…then….
New Portland Brewery # 2 – Ferment
It is not new to have a main brewery in Hood River and a taproom in Portland. Full Sail trod that path first. And now a second brewery will be bi-river. (Columbia and Willamette)
Ferment comes from former head brewer at the excellent pFriem Family Brewers, Dan Peterson. The plan is to eventually brew in Hood River and operate their taproom at the new building called The Yard on 3rd and Burnside.
The brewery is aiming for a fall 2016 opening. You can read more about them and why they are so anticipated HERE.
Featured Review – Come Together from Double Mountain
Even if you are not a Beatles fan, the thought of a steam pale beer might intrigue you.
Here is what Double Mountain was aiming for with Come Together: “For Chef’s Week, we paired up with Chefs Doug Adams (Imperial), Adam Sappington (Country Cat), and Rick Gencarelli (Lardo) to create something special. We wanted to brew something that would be perfect to pair with a menagerie of menus and keep things coming together nicely. We chose to ferment a Czech Pilsner strain at ale temperature, creating a pale ale with citrus and pine grove aromas, and a crisp, clean balance.”
To me, Come Together is very much earthy in character. There is quite a bit of bitterness. How this pairs with food is questionable to me. Rye and basil notes to me as well. The lager yeast is quite prevalent. Getting a touch of pear for some odd reason too. It is quite enjoyable but I don’t know how it would work except for maybe a salad with some bitter greens in it that also had a creamy dressing of some sort. A push and pull dynamic. Because even on its own, it is quite bitter.
Stumped
Count L.A. as a lucky outpost in Double Mountain Brewery distribution. Getting their fresh hop offerings and seasonals like Pale Death is great . And hopefully there will be a supply of Gypsy Stumper soon. Brewed “a minimalist approach” and Pilsner and Vienna malts with Mosaic, Simcoe, Challenger, and Centennial hops intertwined.
Oregon Collaboration Review # 1 – Pfriem & HPB
Hood River to Highland Park. That is quite the distance for a collaboration but when the brewers at each have known each other for a long, long time then the miles don’t matter.
And now we have the pFriem Spaceship Pale Ale that is dosed with the German Huell Melon hops. Bob Kunz at Highland Park brewed with Josh of pFriem for this hoppy addition to the HPB family.
The pFriem Spaceship has an orange oil essence aroma while the taste toggles between cereal and orange (skin and essence). Overall this light orange/yellow beer is probably more in the hoppy XPA realm than pale ale. I just wish I had a pFriem pale to do a side by side comparison.
Beacause I am greedy.
27
Hood River, Ore. – Full Sail Brewing Company has released a special beer, “27 Wheatwine Ale,” brewed with 100% Wheat Malt to celebrate their 27th anniversary.
“As a brewer that believes deeply in environmental responsibility, Full Sail made the decision several years ago to invest in a mash filter. This investment saves over a million gallons of water a year and as a brewer there is nothing more sustainable than reducing our water use impact. Not only does it save lots of water but it also lets us brew some very tasty and unique beers,” said Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail’s Executive Brewmaster.
According to Emmerson, Full Sail’s 27th Anniversary Wheatwine is brewed in the Barleywine style, but contains no barley malt, instead, it is mashed and brewed with 100% Wheat Malt. The beer has a rich golden hue and is brewed with Wheat and CaraWheat Malts and hopped with a blend of UK and NW hops. Complex aromas of apricot, spice, and citrus lead to a smooth palate, blended with notes of caramel, marmalade, and green hop overtones. “Doesn’t that sound like a great reward for being good or what? And for turning 27,” added Emmerson. (ABV 9.5% IBU 53.5)
“On September 27, 1987 we opened our doors to living the dream, a dream to open a small brewery that focused on quality, creativity, and authenticity. A brewery that we would run with respect for our employees, the environment, and our community. A brewery that reflected our deep respect for the art and science of brewing. So here we are 27 years later. Very humbled, grateful, and amazed that we got here in one piece. Still a mix of beer geeks and boardheads. Still independent. Still trying to find that perfect balance between art and commerce, work and play, inspiration and perspiration. We are very grateful to our fellow employee owners, our distributors, and our retail partners, all who helped to make our dream real and thriving for 27 years. And mostly, we are deeply grateful to every one of our customers who have toasted, celebrated, quenched their thirst, and enjoyed our beers over the last 27 years. We thank you all for living the dream along with us. “Next time you’re in Hood River, stop by for a beer, sit out on our deck, enjoy the amazing view, and toast to another great year in beer,” added Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s CEO & Founder.
Review – Molten Lava from Double Mountain
9% and 90 BU’s in this Imperial IPA from Double Mountain that is new to L.A. This is the “embiggened” version of Hop Lava and it is hot.
That heat is a slight burn of both hop bitterness and that ABV. The aroma is a mixture of dried tropical fruit and the bad sounding but not always bad, cat pee with a tinge of white wine barrel.
It pours a burnished orange color with lots of bubbles rising upward. Bitterness is strong but does fade out before it wears out its welcome. The end is quite dry and continues with the wine character. Plus a touch of dried orange and wheat.
This is a unique Imperial that is more subtle than other muddled palate wreckers.
A Double from Double Mountain
Now that we get some Double Mountain love down here in Los Angeles. I can dream about actually (possibly) getting some of their special releases and these two labels have me a bit giddy to try them because fruit and beer really can mix well together especially when it is locally grown cherries.
Review – Cluster from Double Mountain
One of the favorite beers from my recent Portland trip. I had one while I was there and had to bring one home as well. This orange hued beer has a big hop aroma and the taste is really herbal and spicy with a background of citrus. All three tastes play well together. Certainly a NW hoppy beer as opposed to a San Diego HOPPPPPPY beer but I like the difference. Glad that Artisan Ales in Pasadena will be bringing Double Mountain into SoCal, now we just have to get their single-hop beers as well. Plus the label hints at a certain different Cluster. Very cool.
I have been listening to the latest Elvis Costello album (do they still call them albums?) “Wise Up Ghost” that he made with The Roots and I am still trying to say if I really like it or if it is just so different from the mainstream that it pricks my ears up.
Back in the PDX
My trips to Portland have to have three things. Time with my mom. Time with my sister and four nephews and lastly, time with the beer that I don’t see in LA (though yes I did have some Ninkasi which is now available in the Southland. So here are the beers of Portland along with ** or !!! to signify what you should be trying when you visit the Rose City next.
Base Camp In-Tents IPL
Oakshire Line Dry Rye +
Ninkasi Total Domination & Believer Red
@ Breakside Milwaukie (more on this spot in a later post)
Passion fruit sour +
Spruce wheat – (my brother-in-law tried to talk me out of it
Esb –
Old Skool hop bomb +
Imperial sour apricot +
Session brown –
Aquavit Braggot ++
Pfriem Strong Blonde +
Fort George Three Way IPA collaboration with Gigantic and Lompoc
Occidental Kolsch + (16oz tallboy)
Double Mountain Cluster single hop IPA +++
Kloster Andechs vollbier @ Beer Mongers +++
Freigeist pink gose +
Elysian super fuzz blood orange pale —
Breakside Pilsner +
De Garde Berliner Weisse +
in Hood River
pFriem tasting tray at their excellent taproom near the Columbia river
pilsner +
blonde IPA ++
IPA +
Little saison +
saison +
schwarzbier +
Big Horse Brett +
Everybody’s Brewing Hoedown Brown
Back in Portland
Boring Brewing Oatmeal pale
Gigantic High Fidelity pale
Lompoc Rat and Warthog IPA
Lompoc Eleventy One CDA
Burnside Lime Kolsch
Migration Glisan Street Dry hopped pale ++ (at Podnahs BBQ)
Breakside Amarillo wheat
Worthy Imperial IPA
5 Days. And I did not set foot in Belmont Station or Bailey’s Taproom or Cascade or other favorite haunts.
(more on growlers in grocery stores and Breakside in Milwaukie and other Stumptown beer posts later this month)