Tag: Portland

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Complete IPA Brewery # 2 – Great Notion

We have reached the 2nd stop pulled from the book Complete IPA – The Guide to Your Favorite Craft Beer, Great Notion Brewing of Portland, Oregon.

What a combo! Great Notion Brewing is next to a Pine State Biscuits. Now if only there were apartments right above.
GNB is a 7 Barrel brewery plus tap room in N.E. Portland which is appropriate since they “focus primarily on juicy New England-style IPA’s and creative sour ales”..

As you will see from my choices, they don’t stop there. Really cool fun fact: they age some of their beers in clay amphoras.
Instead of starting with their lauded hoppy ales, let’s go breakfast first, then finish with more breakfast for the initial taster flight….
Blueberry Muffin Sour Ale
This Blueberry sour will remind you of your Grandma’s freshly baked blueberry muffins!

Mandela (with Nelson) IPA
Mandela (w/ Nelson) is an IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic and dry-hopped 100% with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand.

Over-Ripe IPA
Over-Ripe is an experimental IPA brewed with Azacca, Simcoe, Columbus & Motueka hops. We get loads of overripe fruit like cantaloupe, honey dew, and papaya.

Juice Box Double IPA
Bursting with pungent American hops, with aroma’s of peach, mango, and passion fruit. Juice Box is brewed with over 4 pounds of hops per barrel, but the creamy smooth mouth feel and mellow bitterness makes this Double IPA dangerously drinkable.

Double Stack Stout
Imperial Breakfast Stout brewed with Clutch coffee and Vermont maple syrup.

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Happy Zoigl-ing

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Two preliminary things about the following. One is that the brewer is a Linfield alum like me which is super cool and two, we need more of this Zoigly thing going on. But first here is the information….

“While you can’t legally sell beer out of your home, you can do the next best thing: fill up your carboy with freshly brewed wort at Zoiglhaus, take it and a fresh can of yeast home with you to ferment your own beer. Add dry hops, extra flavorings, or leave it as is. It’s up to you. When the beer is done, you can share it with family or friends in the Zoigl spirit.”

Alan Taylor the brewer at Zoiglhaus Brewing was inspired so much by the medieval tradition of village brewing that he put the hard to spell word into use for his Portland brewery.

What excited him was the practice where each village had a single brewhouse which the villagers could utilize by getting the wort made and then taking it home to ferment. Then when done they would sell it from the home/taproom.

The first wort from Zoiglhaus was a pale ale by the name of ZPA, it was made available to buy by the carboy and then next month on the 7th, those that want to participate can bring their creations back to the brewery for judging by the people. The winner wins, well, the next batch of wort to play with.

What I would like to see is an L.A. brewery creating a wort then giving it to three other breweries to “finish”, then have a blind taste test to determine the winner.

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New Portland Brewery # 3 – Scout Beer

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Our last new PDX stop is at Scout Beer. Which has gone from a beer garden to two beer gardens and now their very own brewery as well.

So let’s dive into the possibilities for a taster tray (skipping the too weird for me Sour Patch Kid beer and Coco Puff beer)….

Porridge: “Oatmeal pale ale brewed with cinnamon raisins and vanilla. A drinkable, seasonal option for the fall/winter.” 5.5% ABV

Jam: “Malt-forward red ale brewed with marionberries. Refreshingly fruity and a perfect blend with our PB porter.” 5.9% ABV

Pink: “Heavily hopped IPA coming in at over 100 IBUs and mellowed subtly with fresh strawberries.” 6.1% ABV

Nori-Torious: “Classic gose salted with nori. A tart, refreshing beer with a hint of salt.” 6.2%

Immortal: “Fruit beer with 3lbs of honey in each keg. Combined with vanilla and an additional 3lbs of peaches and smoked in our own backyard.” 7.1% ABV

Sap: “Strong ale brewed with over 5lbs of maple syrup per keg, smoked oak, and finished with spruce tips.” 9.5% ABV

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New Portland Brewery # 2 – Ferment

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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.

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In the Tap Lines for August 2016

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With any luck the heat in Los Angeles will start to drop into fall-ish temperature ranges because there are quite a few Oktoberfest biers heading our way as well as the annual influx of gourd beers. Speaking of the pumpkin, considering the backlash and overproduction of the pumpkin beers last year, it will be interesting to see how much does get to shelves and if it is a little less this year. Now onto what you will see this month on this blog….

~ e-visits to three of the new arrivals to the filled Portland, Oregon scene. Ross Island Brewing, Ferment & Scout Beer.
~ special featured reviews of a mix of styles with fruits and herbs (but no fruited IPAs this month).
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads City of the Lost
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world

Here are two events to get your August started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) August 2nd – Hopernicus DIPA re-release at Beachwood
2) August 11th – Nisei Week Pre-Launch Tap Take Over with Coedo Brewing at Far Bar.

…and here is the beer photo of the month…(OK, no beer this month but this time lapse photo of the moon in front of the Earth is too wicked cool to not re-post)
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Lagunitas Day – Cross Country Buying Spree

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It must be a helluva big plate that Lagunitas has because they have added a lot to it recently. Lagunitas – Azusa is in progress with a 2017 spring target and now they have 5! more projects of varying scope across the country and up and down the West Coast. Or as the press release names them, “intense local alliances with very special local brewers whose work we admire and are proud to partner with.”

For us in Southern California, the big news is that Brian Hunt’s much lauded Moonlight Brewing Company will become part of Lagunitas while still retaining their brand and beers. This is huge because this is one of those small, passion businesses that may have been lost when the visionary behind it decided to call it a retirement. Now, Death & Taxes and other beers from the Moonlight stable will continue on and maybe in greater numbers.

Independence Brewing Company of Austin, Texas will also retain their name and brewing team but will have the resources of Lagunitas to work with. In Charleston, Southend Brewery & Smokehouse will be re-branded as the East Coast Lagunitas Taproom and Beer Sanctuary. This will give a small 10-barrel system to Lagunitas to create special beers just for South Carolinians.

And that is still not all! Two brand new “Community Rooms” will be opened up in Portland and San Diego. Not taprooms and not for the general public but instead these spaces are strictly for Non-Profit fundraising efforts. Expanded from what is already done in Petaluma and Chicago into stand-alone outposts. A Lagunitas team will be there to help with the event and the live music. This is the most exciting news to me because it shows that charity and smart promotion can easily co-exist. Lagunitas could have opened satellite taprooms and crowds would gather but instead they are becoming part of the community from a different angle.

Another nugget from founder Tony Magee’s statement, “ I believe that we will find more partners in other parts of the country that we can also share with and cultivate regional relationships through. If we can get this first step right then it is just the beginning for all of us.” So if things are humming along in 2017, expect more breweries to join up.

You can read more coverage on this news HERE and HERE.

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Brew City Documentary

There are probably quite a few documentaries that could be made about the past, present and future of craft beer in Portland. And I certainly will try to watch them all but the trailer for the upcoming
Yes, interviews with the people behind the beer, the beer writers and enthusiasts is all well and good, the 77 Portland Breweries crawl that producer John Lovegrove accomplished in one day (and filmed!) seems the much more fascinating facet of the film. I can’t imagine what he felt like halfway through the day let alone the next day, even if he drinks just one taster at each.

Oh and the logo and title needs to go.

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Featured PDX Beer Review – Olallie from Ground Breaker

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This is one of the clearest and reddest beers I have seen. Ground Breaker has taken the experiment of melding Crystal hops with Rose Hips and Blackberries for this beer and it has a very potpourri aroma. The rose hips floral notes are strong (most obviously in the luminous color) but a tang from the blackberry softens that blow initially. But then Olallie has an after edge of unripened berry that I wish wasn’t there. Maybe some honey would dry it and add a sweet touch to really close this loop up. This is an almost there beer for me.

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Featured PDX Beer Review – Dynamic Duo from Ex Novo

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All NBA season long, I have been treated to the duo of Lillard & McCollum scoring from everywhere. And Dynamic Duo from Ex Novo Brewing is the perfect beer to watch them play. The only question is whether Lillard is Citra and McCollum is Delta hops, or vice-versa.

The IIPA (proejct 007) pours a slightly hazy orange color. The aroma is quite imperial with a skosh of cat pee. There is some grape must notes here and a bit of tangerine citrus too in the flavor profile. This one is a cheek warmer for sure even at the mere 8% ABV. A bit dank and herbal at the end.

This is a strong beer with a great label plus it’s a not for profit brewery.