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Time to toot my hometown horn! The City of Milwaukie moved out of their longtime historic home to a smaller HQ and now we know who is moving in, an Oregon style beverage duo.
I had not heard of Keeper Coffee before but I have heard about a little award-winning brewery named pFriem Family Brewers.
You can check out all the details from the New School Beer Blog that broke the story.
Loved spending time in Hood River this year during orchard season with their Fruit Loop, but I also like winter there because of pFriem Family Brewers.
“Cozy up to the fire with a pint of pFriem’s Winter Ale and gift your taste-buds with hints of spice, orange zest, caramel and a touch of spruce tree. You may even sense the subtle notes of fruitcake, which might encourage you to share this Winter Ale with your family and friends. Unlike fruitcake, this is a beer that will not be re-gifted.”
pFriem Brewing in Hood River, Oregon has a new barrel-aged beer. Well, not exactly new since it is aged for twelve months but anyway, the 2023 Pfriemsters Union Local 541 is a Cognac barrel-aged Belgian-style quadrupel that is 11.4%-ABV.
Some great Oregon breweries have been sneaking into the L.A. beer market of late. I have seen a bit of Wayfinder Beer and Heater Allen and lately pFriem Family Brewers too.
So instead of a single review or a duo, it is time for a trilogy of Oregon beers in one post. Three different styles but only one best of show….
Wayfinder Beer Russian Circles Black Pilsner – if you closed your eyes and drank this, at first, you would certainly know it was a pilsner but you would probably then lean towards either German or Czech styled. There is a bit of roast, Malliard reaction in the aroma and taste but overall this is a really nice, hearty pilsner.
Heater Allen Pink Boots Brew – the famous McMinnville lager brewery utilized the 2023 Pink Boots hop blend for this pale ale. Quite a melange of hop notes here. Getting pine and some citrus and even a touch of strawberry as well. A bit slick on the tongue as well.
pFriem Sparkling IPA – pours a dark orange. Initial taste is a bit of marmalade paired with pear as well. Was expecting more bubbles due to the name but there is a swirl of flavors. The label name checks seven fruits including sugar covered strawberry which is quite specific. Just a crazy four dimensional IPA.
My Winner – Due to the complexity, I select the pFriem but this was a close contest for sure.
Day two was split into Hood River and Southeast Portland, Older and brand newer.
Starting at Double Mountain on 4th in hilly Hood River with a single hop beer using the Zappa Hop, Blessed Relief which was different in a good way. That was a taster, followed by a short pour of the collaboration with Solera with Citra and Strata and it was super different in a not good way to me.
Next up was lunch in the river at pFriem with the family (a quorum of the fam, at least) and a sparkling IPA which was fine but I probably should have gone a sampler route or a kriek with the berries in the salad.
Back to Portland with the traffic and a stop at the former Commons, Modern Times location at the corner of Belmont that is now…
…where I had short pours of a Cerne Pivo dark lager that was excellent. Malty with depth but not weighed down. The space, if memory serves, is in the same layout with the bar at a diagonal and the seating at slices of lumber in an L shape around the windows. Plus lots of green punctuated by a cool white menu board…
…with the taps arrayed like a flock of organized birds. I also tried the Great Notion DIPA collaboration and boy was that an orange bomb. One of the most orange beers in both aroma and taste that I have had.. Maybe it was the hop hash or the Phantasm powder.
Last of the day was Chelsea pre-season on the TV at Away Days for a Post Match Italian Pilsner which was not as sprightly as I hoped but still good and the Home and Away IPA, I also have a cream ale of theirs to try. I just adore the footy names of the beers like Der Klassiker.
Hood River meets Buellton as two iconic breweries in iconic towns go in on a Saison together…
Firestone Walker and pFriem aren’t going fancy. Unless you count the bottles. Just a barrel-aged Saison
pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon is nationally recognized for basically any style of beer they do. But they have a special lambic affinity which they are educating about. Check out the videos HERE.
Back to Oregon where they have a better chance at snow than we do here in SoCal. This next beer is from Hood River’s pFriem Family Brewers. Winter Ale has “hints of spice, orange zest, caramel and a touch of spruce tree. You may even sense the subtle notes of fruitcake, which might encourage you to share this Winter Ale with your family and friends. Unlike fruitcake, this is a beer that will not be re-gifted.”