Holiday Ale Festival

As Rob mentioned there are lots of opportunities to sample beer between our monthly gatherings. On December 2nd I went to the Holiday Ale Festival with my friend Matt H. Most all of the offerings at the event were considered a Strong Ale. Really that means they are all a high alcohol content because there are plenty of styles and flavors to enjoy.

Here are the ones I enjoyed most:
BourbonEzer - Bridgeport (Ebonezer in a bourbon barrel....yum)
Faceplant - Bayern Brewing in Missoula Montana (Doppel Weizen)
Oaked St Nick - Block 15 in Corvallis
Drunkel - Seven Brides Brewing in Silverton. This one surprised me because is was listed with a very high IBU rating. With lots of flavor and a smooth finish...I ended up drinking a pint.

Here are a couple to avoid:
Jim 2008 - Hair of the Dog. The guy told me it is a "blended beer". I'm not sure what they blended but a taster was almost too much.
Sled Crasher - Collaborator. I liked the name but the flavor is not for me.

Enjoy a pint of Holiday Ale and have a merry Christmas!
Todd

When not at a brewpub where to drink

30 to 31 days between monthly meetings, clearly there are many other opportunities to drink.

In the countdown between meetings there are a few watering holes often visited by beer club members

Saraveza (North Portland favorite)- 10 delicious taps , beer to go (including Old Chub), pasties, yumm- Rob

Produce Row (SE Portland) - >20 taps, bacon blue burger is divine , pasta of the week usually delicious- Rob

EastBurn - (E Portland) >15 taps, 2 dollar pint Tuesdays - Ben

Pause (N Portland) > 5 taps, slide special ($7 pint, 2 sliders) and they have my favorite Double Mountain IRA on tap -Rob

Mcmenamins > not necessarily a favorite but they are everywhere so it is hard not to a beer club member at one every once in a while

Rob

October Beer club- Philidelphia's

October's beer club visit was to Philadelphia's in SE Portland.

Todd, Steve, Scott, Rob, Ben, Lynn

The missing review-

amber- no ways its an amber, i like it (Steve), mooth (Lynn)

IPA- even keel, appeals to the masses (Steve), hopped up (Lynn)

Ben Brown- fruity (Steve), too sweet (Rob/Todd), unexpected (Scott)

Smith St Porter- sweet tarts (Steve), too tart, puckery (Rob) , oh! (Lynn)

Imperial stout- hiding the porter (Steve), better than porter (Rob), wow, thats not a complement (Todd)

The bright spot and star at Philadelphia's is the cheese steaks (and the salad was good too). The entire club would definitely endorse repeat visits for the food. The beer is a tale for another time. I will add those reviews later...

Rob

Great American Beer Festival

How Beers we have tasted fared this year

Deschutes Brewery, Bend
• Silver: Mirror Pond Pale Ale
• Bronze: Black Butte Porter

Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland
• Gold: Space Stout

MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co., Portland
• Gold: MacTarnahan’s Amber

Pyramid Breweries, Portland (Robs favorites Hefe)
• Gold: Haywire Hefeweizen

Rogue Ales, Newport (Both favorites during the tasting)
• Silver: Imperial Chocolate Stout
• Silver: Mocha Porter

Widmer Brother’s Brewing, Portland (We didn't taste the old standby)
• Silver: Hefeweizen

Mactarnahans / Portland / Pyramid Brewery

Portland Brewing has been squeezed out by the Mactarnahans and Pyramid name. This sounds simple until you say both of them have been bought by a Vermont brewery...Magic Hat. The result is IBU...Independent Brewers United. NW Portland is a beautiful place to set up shop for a brewery. At any given time the Pyramid brewery in NW Portland could be brewing any of their current beer offerings.

Our Beer Club met at the Pyramid brewing Mactarnahan's taproom for the September gathering. It sounds like changes are in the works for the building name an for some of the beer. They will be keeping some the of the Pyramid names and expanding some under the Mactarnahans name.

The facility is very nice and the patio is a great place to spend a summer evening. Steve and Scott had the fish tacos and Steve claimed they were excellent. Todd and Rob had the the Chipotle chicken tacos which were also good. Now on to the beer.

Crystal Wheat - (Pyramid) This beer bounced all over the ratings. We heard comments from "chick beer" to good summer beer. I thought it was too sweet tasting bu the best comment was from Scott, "I'd drink it but I'm sure there is something better!"
Haywire Hefeweizen - (Pyramid) This is a decent Hefeweizen. Rob said it was is favorite Hefe in town. Steve was the first to finish the sampler but said he likes the Widmer better.
Lipstinger - (Mactarnahans) Wow, this is a pretty complex beer. Many flavors especially with the peppercorns. It is a complex beer but the flavor is very smooth.
Audacious Apricot Ale - (Pyramid) Okay the guy who likes apricots does not like this one. The guy who does not like apricots does like this beer. The best comment is it "smells like a candle." If you want a sweet fruity beer this is for you.....Not sure what else to say.
Mactarnahans - This is the standard Mactarnahan's offering. It is classified as an amber beer. It is good in its own right but can't compete with the Alaskan Amber. This beer has been used to improve many rounds of golf in the Portland area.
Draft Pale Ale - (Mactarnahans) I'm not sure how this works but if you put Mac's Amber on Nitro you have a Pale Ale! This is super smooth and easy drinking. Beautiful Pale ale with a creamy head. If you've never tasted it then it is worth the trip to NW Portland.
Grifter IPA - (Mactarnahans) This is a good IPA that is well balanced and better than most IPAs.
Juggernaut Red - (Pyramid) This was a tough call. Steve thought it was a blend between the Amber and the IPA. It is easy drinking with good flavors but the "red style" is always hard to define.
Snow Cap Winter Ale - (Pyramid) This beer started out good but somewhere along the lines the tastes changed and by the end of the sampler it fell out of favor. It is drinkable but not any ones favorite.
Ale House Amber - This is kind of a blend between an amber and a Belgian wheat. This amber is sweet and for some reason it is not quite right. This beer does the opposite of "grow on you".
Thunderhead IPA - This is more of the standard IPA. It is a little more bitter and not quite our style.
Thomas Kemper Root Beer - Scott and Rob ordered this one. They both liked it and did not think it was too sweet and it was not bitter. It was brewed on site but....the alcohol content is very low.

Over all the group had a good experience here and would recommend it for any gathering. The desserts were also good. Somehow we ended up with an extra brownie. I don't know the name but it had way too much ginger and molasses. Small samples were okay but non of us felt we could finish a serving by ourselves.

Until next time,
Todd

Max Fanno Creek Brew Pub

Belated posting from Dec 2008

This beer drinking session at Fanno Creek was held during the longest snow storm in recent Oregon history. We endured bitter cold temperatures (by NW standards) and high risk driving on icy roads while risking life and limb, potentially leaving our wonderful children father-less, all in the name of BEER. A worthy risk we all agreed.

Awesome, knowledgeable waiter (Ron) was a bonus to the experience.
As for the pub, this was not your high end brew pub; felt like something between a bar and pub, but an excellent place for a bite to eat and some good beer drinking with a decent family atmosphere.

Side note: They need to measure their ceilings before buying Christmas trees. The tree was jammed into the ceiling tiles and bent at a 90 degree angle at the top.

Food: We had some interesting delicacies….
Todd and Scott had the “Hee Haw Burger”, Rob the Black Forest Panini and Steve had the Pot Roast Sandwich as a tribute the big steak he ate for lunch.

Beer:
Pacific Red – general assessment was a little dark for RED, but good combo, not too hoppy.
Doppelbock – good, smooth, creamy and thick – generally okay.
Scottish Ale – Good character, good winter beer, malty flavor, little too carbonated.
Nit Wit – tasty wheat. Subtle orange peel flavor, very good. Nit Wit was a major hit. Good all gender beer (not that we care about what our wives like to drink)
Golden Ale – thick on the tongue for golden. Scott was waiting for something to happen, but it never did. Not sure what he meant, but didn’t notice anything happening either?
Celestyne Pilsner – Awesome, good thickness, delicious, smooth
IPA – Came back down to earth after the Celestyne. Not a lot of flavor, just the typical IPA bitterness. Scott disliked this IPA less than other IPA (sorry for the double negative, it’s just a quote).

Then we embarked on a religious journey with the last two beers:

O Holy Hops – Some comments include: Whoa, I’ve never smelled beer like this…Tough Pint….Coco when hits tongue….malty follow by bitter
Reverends Daughter – creepy taste. Need beer chaser to get rid of taste. Nasty wheat beer - no wonder they call it reverends daughter (I won’t comment on who said that).

Our recommendation is to stick with the staples and stay away from the religious experience.
In here were our top picks:
Todd, Rob, and Scott all chose the Nit Wit
Steve chose the Celestyne Pilsner

Alaskan Brewing

In addition to our monthly beer club meeting we decided to sample some beer from Alaskan Brewing during the Labor day weekend. Non of us had any plans to visit Juneau, Alaska so we brought a bit of Juneau to Portland. Here are the beers we tasted :

Alaskan Summer - They claim this to be a Kolsch style ale with a generous blend of European and Pacific Northwest hops. It does not taste like the typical Kolsch ale. Alaskan did a great job with the flavors in this beer. Our group typically does not favor the Summer ales but everyone liked this one. Easy drinking and a nice surprise.

Alaskan White - The Belgian style witbier. This is a nice blend of wheat and malts. The coriander and orange flavors are present but not overpowering. The group enjoyed this beer also.

Alaskan IPA - This is definitely an IPA but the hoppiness is not quite as intense. Very drinkable IPA.

Alaskan Amber - The Amber to measure all other ambers. It was voted the best beer in the nation in 1988 and you can find it on taps all around Portland....and for good reason...it is a very tasty beer. Balanced, smooth and it leaves you wanting another.

Alaskan Oatmeal Stout - Very dark in color but not too thick for a stout. Oats, malts and a hint of coffee and caramel are detectable in the great flavor of this beer. Again the group enjoyed all of this beer.

Alaskan Barley Wine 2008 - This barley wine had a beautiful deep mahogany color. Compared to other barley wines our group felt this was the best one yet. It was very smooth and easy to drink. The aroma was pleasant and reminded you of the elevated alcohol content.

You wont be disappointed with any of the beer Alaskan Brewing. We look forward to tasting the Pale ale which I could not find in the neighborhood stores. In season we also plan to taste the Winter Ale and the Smoked Porter.

Alaskan Brewing found a great combination of flavors and they blend well with the Juneau Ice Field waters. If you're ever anywhere near Juneau a trip to the brewery is a must.

Cheers,
Todd

the lost tastings...

okay so we haven't been keeping up with reviews..

the missing tasting reports

Max fanno Creek Brepub (Tigard) - December 2008

Deschutes Brewing (Downtown Portland) 2008

Septembers tasting will mark our 16th outing

Rob

Alaska brewing

Labor day weekend tasting

Our first remote tasting (alas no trip to Alaska, so we brought Alaska to us thanks to Todd).

The beers tasted our shown above., we also had guest sampler Patrick.

Overall , beers had good showing. The summer ale style not always popular with this group was respectable. The oatmeal stout was also very tasty.

Official September tasting coming soon

Rob

Hopworks brewing

August tasting

The first Eco-Brewpub in Portland offering all organic handcrafted beers. Hopworks is a happening, relatively new, modernized brew pub with something for everyone. Staff was upbeat and having fun, a thumbs up in the service department. It didn’t hurt that we had a perfect August night to sit outside and have a few beers.

Food:

They had a good variety of option on the menu.

Todd: Already ate so he just had a pretzel. Unfortunately the Pretzel was more like a breadstick than a pretzel – a true disappointment for a beer drinker. How can you screw up a pretzel??

Steve: Ceasar Salad – underwhelming…skimpy salad dressing – may as well have just eaten a ball of lettuce

Rob and Scott: Dolomite sandwich. Ahhh, this was the winning ticket. Very good Italian sandwich

General Comments on the BEER:

Organic Hub Lager: Tastes better than it smells, nothing outstanding

O-Crosstown Pale Ale: Fruit’o’rama. Not your grocery store pale ale for sure.

Belgium Single: Flowery, fruity (Todd). Taste like soap (Scott). – you decide.

Kolsch: Best so far, smooth and light

Wit (Wheat): More full bodied than Belgium, but similar taste

IPA: Todd said no, Rob said lots of body, Scott said his tasting glass needs to be rinsed.

ESB (English Beer Session – what?): smooth, pretty good.

Deluxe Organic: Rob - strong like a bull, but sweet like your mama. Steve – sweet, smooth 7% alcohol…yes.

7-Grain Stout: Excellent, light coffee flavor, little bitter on the finish, but good.

The winners:

Todd and Scott – 7 Grain Stout

Steve – Deluxe Organic

Rob – ESB (English Session Beer)

Steve

Tugboat Brewing

The July edition of brew club was at Tugboat brewing. At first glance not a beer club friendly venue, no taster trays, small food selection... Lucky for us it was happy hour/day. Pints were cheap and we had an accommodating bartender. We split 2 pints 4 ways and tried their 4 bars that way. The food was microwave appetizers. That being said it wasn't half bad. The nachos were okay for their origin. The meat and cheese plate was not so good but oh well.

Beers were tasty though i wasn't note taker, so hopefully we can add details later

Rob

Amnesia brewing Co

This months gathering was a small crew only Todd, Steve and I (Rob) were able to make it, but being troopers were toughed it out.

The comments on the local-
very blue collar, about the beer, simple food, like a tailgate . We all set outside under the corregated aluminum roof with the waft of the grill in the air.

on to the beers
Dusty Trail Pale ale- refreshing summer beer (Rob), hoppy (Steve), and a pretty good from Todd
The ESB- less hoppy than Pale, not bitter (Rob), more like an amber then a bitter (Steve)
Desolation IPA- Pleasant not too bitter
Slowtrain porter- nice porter, kinda good as porters go (Steve), smoky flavors instead of chocolate
Copacetic IPA- very fruity, actually pretty good, grapefruit flavors

guest beers
Double Mountain Kolsch- floral aroma, good flavor, like a lager (Rob), smooth no Budweiser acidity, taste like henry's (Todd)

Upright brewing wheat ale- yep a wheat beer 9Rob), too fruity- overfruity (OF'ed). if scott were here he wouldn't finish it. Too sweet too fruity.

Food-
not much to choose from- burgers, sausages,etc... but what they did do was well done. My sausage was the best I have had in a while and was up to Good Dog/Bad Dog standards. Not a brewpub that pretends to be gourmet , just the basics.

Definately a worth summer spot.

The rankings
Slow train Porter #1 x3
Copacetic IPA #2 x2
the ESB #3 x 2
Dusty Trail 1 x #2, 1x #3

The one consensus observation is that many beers seemed miscategorized. An ESB that wasn't bitter, IPA that wasn't too hoppy, etc... This a brew pub that would benefit from the blind taste test, as we felt the beers stood well on their own but not necessarily in the categories they claimed.

until next month

Rob

Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery

The beer club met at Rock Bottom brewery for the May gathering. The weather was nice so we opted to sit outside. The MAX train stops right in front so people watching is very diverse.

Our waiter, Iggy, was attentive and the food was great. Steve and I sampled the Nachos while we waited for Rob and Scott to arrive. Two of us tried the Bourbonzola Burger, one Blackened Shrimp Taco and one Mahi-Mahi special. All the food was great an highly recommended.

And now for the Beer.......with 4 guys ordering 1 sampler tray each we did not hit any resistance and they handled the request with style. Sampler glass carriers and an easy to ready chart simplified the order.

1. Swan Island Lager - Everyone was pleased with this little lager. Steve - "light and refreshing", Rob - "full body", Scott - "breakfast beer", Todd - "complex lager". This style of beer is not normally prefered but this one ranked high on the list of lagers.
2. Volksweizen Wheat - This beer starts out soft and then hits you with ginger. A little different than your standard wheat beer but our group though the taster was enough.
3. Sunny Day IPA - Scott says it "smells like an IPA". This IPA is not too bitter and has a good flavor.
4. Florial Golden - Rob said it "hit the mark for being true to style. It is Belgian and floral. The beer was a little creamy but slightly odd.
5. India Red Ale - Steve had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use this comment, "moderately neat-o". This one tasted like a blend between an IPA and Amber. I'm sure we could all drink a pint.
6. Hoppy Days - This IPA is a better blend of flavors and tasty. Rob felt the flavors packed a good punch but could be a little smoother.
7. Oregonic Amber - Steve thought it was a little bland but okay. Todd thought it was an okay amber but nothing unique. Everyone thought it was very drinkable.
8. Maltnomah Porter - This porter has the flavors we expected and tasted pretty good. For a porter the body was a little thin with a weak finish. A good summer porter.
9. Morrison Street Stout - (spring dry Irish stout) A little confusing because this stout changes face with the seasons. This spring stout is pretty light. The flavors were nothing special and it seemed a little watery. Probably thirst quenching on those rare hot spring days in Portland.
   

After the tasting and food we popped inside since it was getting a little chilly outside. We ordered another pint while watching the end of the Laker-Denver NBA game. I ordered the Swan Island Lager. It started out just fine like I remembered it. About half way through my fondness wavered. I generally lean toward darker beer so I ordered a half-pint of the Porter. Ahhhh....that hit the spot. The Swan Island started in my top three but the extra pint bumped it to number 4.

So what were the favorites:
Steve - 1. Hoppy Days 2. Swan Island Lager 3. Sunny Day IPA
Rob - 1. India Red Ale 2. Swan Island Lager 3. Sunny Day IPA
Scott - 1. Swan Island Lager
Todd - 1. Maltnomah Porter 2. Inda Red Ale 3. Oregonic Amber

Overall a pleasant experience was had by all at Rock Bottom.
Cheers,
Todd

laurelwood Public House NW

The final brewpub for year 1,

Two locations - we chose the downtown location with right at home feeling. Actually, it was a house, but not claustrophobic.

Waitress (Mary) was less than friendly and slow.

We were also deeply disturbed by last call at 9:00 PM!!!!

Food:

Todd: Fish and Chips – good

Scott: Santa Fe Burger - good could use some spice

Steve: Same - good

Rob: Black Bean Taco - good

Here is some general comment from group on the BEER selections:

Seasonal IMSO Ale: yummy, sweet, fizzy (make what you want of that)

Mother Load Golden Ale: Big name for golden ale – shot too high, not quite the mother load

Workhorse IPA: taste like deodorant (a one pint beer)

HOP Monkey IPA: Tasty, easy drinking, mellow IPA, but good (this one was a hit)

Free Range Red: Okay, but not great. Beats having the Big D talk with a friend.

Hooligan: Malty, Not a fan, malty not cooperating

Tree Hugger Porter: Thick and tons of flavor. Scott and Todd are officially tree huggers

Space Stout: Slam dunk for Rob as soon as he smelled the coffee flavor.

The winners:

Hop Monkey IPA – Steve and Rob

Tree Hugger Porter – Todd and Scott

In summary, this is a brew pub with a coffee house feel. It’s the perfect place for a beer known as Tree Hugger. Names like Space Stout and Hooligan have no place here.

Steve

New Old Lompoc

Month 11 of the Brew club was at the New Old Lompoc, details to follow

Roots Organic brewing

Roots felt like a nice neighborhood pub. Not beerhall big, cozy and nice. had the big flatscreen for the sports fans. No complaints

Now on to the beer, we tasted 8 different beers

3 some IPA-

Steve" A lot of bitterness, mellow" ,Rob "nice bitterness and flavor" todd" first few sips the bitterness wa smellow"

Burghead Heather ale-

" Nice breakfast beer, good with Cheerios" "like but different", "tastes like juice, fruity" "grew on me"

Island Red Ale-

"taste like drinking an old show, if I ordered a pint I'd finish it but it would be a one time deal", "different, not bad, but wouldn't order another pint", "large bitter after taste"

Flanders Red-

" first beer to give me bitter beer face" "hold your nose and drink it" "vinegar smell and taste, it sucks" "not as opposed as everyone else"

Festivus-

"its festivus for me, favorite so far, well blended lots of flavor", "cross between f landers and IPA","better then last 2""in the middle smoother then last 2"

Youngers Stout-

" breakfast again ,coffee replacement", "tasted off","favorite so far", "i like it favorite so far"

Epic Ale-

"thats good" "very good, best high alcohol content beer I've had (14%)", "big, but I like it" "thick body, lots of flavor"

Woody IPA-

" went completely horizontal with this stuff" " very good" almost like that" " more traditional IPA"

Beer ratings

Top choice- Epic x3 , Youngers x1

Second choice- festivus, heather x2, Youngers

Third choice- Heather x 2, Epic, Woody

As to the food. 3 people tried the stuffed burgers. They tasted fine, but I didn't seem to notice the stuffing much. Nothing special in the food category.

Overall- the highs were high. The heather ale with no hops was a pleasant surprise, probably would do well in the summer. Epic was surprising since sometimes beers with that much alcohol content can be too much. There were some lows, but if you stick to the top choices you will do fine at Roots

Rob

Lucky Labrador Brew House

Wednesday, 21Jan09
This evening we visited the Lucky Lab brew house in NW Portland.
Atmosphere - a comfortable public house style...nothing too fancy.
Food - Rob and Todd had the pulled pork sandwich which had a nice BBQ sauce. Steve had the knuckle sandwich that hit the spot.
Special Tour - The brewmaster Ben took us on a private tour behind the scenes and brewing at Lucky Lab. Very cool....the details are top secret, sorry.
Sampler glasses - Steve was very impressed with the sampler glasses. The shape and size caught his eye.

Beer Tasting -

1. Recession Session - Very light color and flavors. No bad tastes and probably would make a good summer beer. We assume the recession caused the brewer to go light on the ingredients to save money.
2. Dog Day IPA - Never buy it...flat...bland
3. Triple Threat IPA - More of a common IPA taste. A little bitter with a grapefruit flavor. A lingering after taste made it loose its appeal.
4. Got Hops - A little flat tasting and lacking character for what we expected to be a hoppy beer.
5. Super Dog IPA - All you want in an IPA! Good strong flavor up front and through. At the top of the list so far.
6. Hellraiser ESB - Good ESB. Full of flavor and they're back on track.
7. Crazy Ludwig Alt - Smooth with a little tingle on the tongue. Floral smell and a good flavor.
8. ZingerBeir - Easy to drink and mild. Definitely taste the ginger but probably wouldn't buy a pint.
   
9. Blue Dog Amber - Easy drinking, smooth, full Amber. Rob said he would drink a pitcher!
10. Brown Brown - Full and a little creamy. Drinkable but probably not my first choice.
11. Stumptown Porter - We had high hopes with a great aroma and initial taste...but the finish was a little weak almost watery. Steve calls it a "bad closer" ... which is not good coming from a salesman.
12. Black Lab Stout - Nice and rich. Good flavors. Steve said it was the best of their dark beer and Todd thought it was the best of the bunch. Rob liked it too.
13. ZingerBeir on Nitro - a little creamier and the ginger flavor is more pronounced.
    

The Lucky Lab was a good experience and I'm sure we will be back. The top two beers in the bunch would definitely be the Black Lab Stout and the Super Dog IPA. Both had lots of flavor and rank well above average in their category.

Until next time,
Todd