Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Portland has a slew of MLS Timbers beers but the latest celebrates the chainsaw toting Timber Jim. This new NW IPA is not only organic per Hopworks usual MO but will also help out Meals on Wheels as a portion of each sale will be donated to the charity.
I will be contacting my Mom for a special delivery of this new beer.
Why cider tours of the NW this month? Well, they are in the news (see HERE for taxes and HERE for breweries making cider) + I visited one on my recent trip.
With the MLS 2016 season now underway and the Timbers of Portland attempting to defend their championship crown, it felt right to start with avowed Timber fan and Cidermaker/Owner Abram Goldman-Armstrong and his Cider Riot.
I like this one quote about cider, he says that it “challenges me, it inspires me, and there’s nothing quite like the dry tannic flavor of a well made cider.”
Here is what I would like to try:
Burncider® Dry Draught Cider 6.8% abv – Silver Medal winner in the Portland International Cider Cup 2014 – Inspired by the pub draught ciders of the English West Country, Burncider blends Oregon-grown traditional English cider apples, tart wild apples and dessert apples from Hood River. Just like Portland’s Old Main Drag™, this cider has a rich history and flavorful character.
Everybody Pogo™ Hoppy Cider 6.7% abv- A refreshingly dry cider that’s got hops. Our roughcut tribute to football terraces and punk rock shows, dry and quenching with a hint of sweet apple flavor, as organically grown Goldings hops do the pogo dance across your taste buds. A distinctly Oregonian product, Everybody Pogo mates Hood River apples and Willamette Valley hops. Unfiltered and lightly carbonated.
Never Give an Inch™ Oregon Blackberry Cider 6.9% abv – A testament to determination, hard work, and downright cussedness, Never Give an Inch celebrates the spirit of Oregon. Invasive Himalaya blackberries run riot across the fencelines and fields all across western Oregon. Fire, chemical poisons, machetes, bulldozers, even goats can only beat back their inevitable advance, as they attempt to take over every square inch of cleared land. Luckily their fruits are delicious, juicy, and plentiful, spawning the phrase “as Cascadian as blackberry pie.”In Never Give an Inch, Oregon blackberries and blackcurrants combine with Hood River and Yakima-grown apples create a tart dry cider with a fruity aroma.
Black Bloc series is our Bogman’s Cranberry Brettanomyces cider – Bogman’s is a blend of over twenty different cider and dessert apple varieties aged for a year on natural brettanomyces from the orchard where the apples were grown. Oregon cranberries were added to add a touch of acidity to balance the flavors of the brett. The cider was then allowed to bottle condition for nine months, to achieve a smooth round carbonation. It’s been a long road from the initial pressing in 2013 to your glass in 2015, so savor the complexity of this Black Bloc cider before it vanishes.
Widmer Brothers Brewing is kicking off the Portland Timbers campaign to repeat as MLS champions by creating two new beers for the team.
First is “First Star”, “a small-batch collaboration with Head Coach Caleb Porter and the Portland Timbers coaching staff. Named for the gold star worn by MLS Cup champion teams to signify their title wins, this being the Timbers’ first, First Star is a rye altbier that is dry hopped with Ella hops, an Australian varietal with tropical fruit notes that balance the robust maltiness of the rye altbier.” An Altbier gone hoppy sounds like a good pairing to me.
Second is Thrill of Victory Cascadian Dark Ale. Here are the details on how this beer came about – “which is the promised collaboration with Columbus Brewing that came about after a bet between the two breweries before last year’s MLS Championship game between the Timbers and the Columbus Crew. Thrill of Victory is brewed with white and chocolate wheat malts and Azacca hops and experimental X-438 hops, which give the beer a slight roastiness with notes of passion fruit and juicy fruit.”
On draft only though. But could serve as a template for the LA Galaxy for the new LAFC clubs in town.
Despite living in Los Angeles, I am not a Galaxy fan. I may not be Timber’s Army either but I definitely root for my hometown team and what better way to do that then by drinking some Widmer Green & Gold!
I cannot wait to hear the names of the entries for these MLS soccer inspired beers….
“In the dark days of 2010 the Oregon Department of Justice had declared homebrew competitions illegal. A few bold brewers of the Timbers Army brought their homebrew to a tailgate and held a people’s choice competition. In 2011 the Timbers have gone MLS and the Oregon Legislature re-legalized homebrew competitions. If that’s not enough reason to celebrate, Lompoc Brewing will produce a full size batch (7 barrels) of the winning entry. (Organizers are working with other local breweries to produce the 2nd and 3rd place entries as well).
The Second Annual Timbers Army Homebrew Competition will be judged at Lompoc Sidebar Sunday August 14th, prior to the Timbers match at Houston. The winners will be announced at a tailgate prior to the match against Vancouver at home August 20th.
In order to keep the competition focused, organizers have limited it to three overarching categories: “Summer Beers,” “Pride of Cascadia,” and “Lagers.” The competition will help raise money for the Timbers Army 107 Independent Supporters Trust.”
In honor of the Portland Timber MLS kick-off and since they start the season in Colorado.
They can pick-up this logger beer…..
…from Ska Brewing in Durango.
The new MLS Portland Timbers kick-off their season today!
Nothing better than to watch with one of these….
Or you can pick up the official craft brew of Timber Jim. Check out the story at Brewpublic.