Had a great time last week at one of my favorite places to find cool trash out in the Gorge. This particular site is over in Washington, and besides the pictured Lucky Lager, I found lots of old Blitz cans, and a new find..Rheinlander. Now, as far as I can piece together from random websites, Rheinlander, which I had never heard of before, was brewed up in Seattle at Sick's Rainier Brewing, brewer of Rainier, and eventually Heidelburg. Specifically, Rheinlander was brewed at their Century Brewery. All, from what I have heard, were pretty bad beers, but really, for me, paint the picture of a long gone Northwest. These old breweries were staples, and had been around forever. Lucky Lager had actually at one time had a brewery in Vancouver, WA. After all others had closed, Lucky was being made up at the Olympia Tumwater Brewery. Now, Olympia and Rainier are brewed under contract in California. Seems kind of wrong, but at least the names are still alive. Lucky is made by Labatt's now, and quite popular in southern BC. Rheinlander is long gone, though a brewery in Wisconsin makes a beer called Rhinelander, note the difference in spelling, and confusion.
Quick note here. I am sure a lot of you have had some awesome product made by the great folks at Oskar Blues. But, did you know, that the plastic rings that hold the six packs together are photo degradable??? How cool is that!?! In other words, left out in sunlight, they will actually totally disappear. Another reason to pick up some at Belmont or Beer Mongers (that allows you to buy single cans) today!!
The other day we made it to Salmon Creek Brew Pub up in Vancouver, right next door to By the bottle. I had never been there before, but really it was the only place in the Couve I could think of to take my parents out to eat. Plus, the opportunity to scratch another brew pub of my list sounded good too. In theory. Only two beers were ordered, by myself and my wife. I got the promising sounding Brother Larry's Belgian, while Erin went for the Scottish Ale. Short story, both were a disaster. The Belgian was a nice color, and even had a pleasant, though subtle, nose. The hint of any kind of Belgian flavor lasted seconds, and disappeared leaving the oh so pleasant taste of water. It was weak beyond belief. The Scottish was exactly the same, my cat is more Scottish than that beer was. My mom's ice tea even looked about 50-50 water and tea. It was bad beer folks. Maybe it always isn't, I don't know. I would always be happy to give it another go to see. Or at least, I would have been..... When we got the bill the real entertainment started. We were shocked that four lunches, two beers, and two double shots of Jim Beam ended up being over $90. Ok, that's fine, we were shocked, but I guess $11 for a double shot of Beam adds up, but something else didn't. Apparently, my beer was more expensive than Erin's, and not available on the happy hour menu. Would have been nice to know that. We asked, and the very nice waitress asked someone, who turned out to be the owner, Ana Pratt. She laughed, and said "Of course it's more expensive, everything comes from Belgium to make it. " Maybe a Belgium brewer should have come in the box. Ok, well, we mumbled and went to signing the check. Then she comes over, and explains, again, that it all comes from Belgian, and that it is not on the happy hour menu. The problem we had, was, there is no notation of any of that on the beer menu. She then, in front of the lovely waitress, says it was the waitress's fault for not letting us know. The fight was on. My wife, irritated that she would call out the waitress for her mistake, told her bluntly that the beer wasn't very good. She then told us it has won several awards . You know, this was the same problem I had with Ken at Fearless. If someone doesn't like your beer, don't start shouting who does like it, and bringing out your ribbons and shit. Say something like, "you know, I am sorry you didn't like it, would you like to try something else", or something along those lines. Both Ana and Ken got angry we didn't like it, and treated us like idiots because they have award winning beer. That somehow their scary great brewing skills were lost on the likes of us. Awards do not pay the bills, and that award was for a single batch. I know what we had that day would not win 2nd place at a 2 beer competition. So, my humble, simple advice is to avoid this place at all costs. Ana would rather argue that her beer is good, than actually listen to what her customers are saying. But hell, it's just my opinion. I know lots of places where I can get better beer, and friendlier service.
So, I have making my way through some beers that I normally wouldn't buy, in an attempt to tune in on what my father would go for. Last night, I decided to do a blind taste test, made possible my the fine folks at Beer Mongers, that allow you to buy single cans. The beers: Coors, Tecate, Alaskan Amber, PBR, Dales Pale Ale, and Big Sky Brewing's Trout Slayer. I tried to get mild tasting, lighter beers, with a few twists thrown in. Another way to go, I guess, would have been to get Busch, Bud, and some Natural Light thrown in, but my poor fridge can only hold so much shitty beer. A side note, I plan on doing a blind taste of PBR, Hamm's, Olympia, and Rainier at some point. So, the color I thought would be a dead give away for the Alaskan and Dales. They were darker, and the Alaskan would be more red. I was feeling confident. But, I was only able to pick out the PBR and Dales. We also found out that dad's favorite beer wasn't his beloved Coors, but PBR, even when tasted side by side. Then, with six half glasses, the fun started. We got the idea to start mixing. The Coors and PBR got mixed, and mellowed out the PBR's fizzy-ness, while making the Coors a little more interesting. Not bad. Next, we mixed the Alaskan Amber and the Dales. Wow, now, if you want to tste something different, that is the way to go. It was pretty good. The Tecate and Trout Slayer got mixed last, and in this case, last was definitely least. Horrible. Though, to be fair, the only thing one could do to improve the taste of Tecate would be to drop a bomb on the brewery. My personal taste was the Dales was easily the best, and the Tecate was the worst. Though, maybe it wasn't even fair to compare all of these together, but, we did, and it was fun.
Hood River has three breweries, Full Sail, Double Mountain, and Big Horse. Big Horse you say??? Yep, atop a hill, with an army of stairs to ward off the weak, it does exist. Why hasn't this brewery received the accolades that Double Mountain and Full Sail have?? Hmmm, I think I may know why. My parents are still here. We did the whole fruit loop thing, and arrived in Hood River too early to enjoy the genius of the brewers at Double Mountain. Full Sail was out of the question because, well, I do not like the taproom anymore. So we went to Big Horse for a pint and some grub. The adventure into the unknown started only after my parent's, in their 70's, trekked up the stairs. First impression, the service sucked. Althought the two waitresses seemed friednly enough, this observation was only determoned by how I saw them treat the other customers. It would be awhle before we were aknowledged at the please wait to be seated room. It not only would have been nice to be talked to, but even offered a pint as we were waiting for a seat. After being sat, the service improved. Second impression, the pricing of beer was a little too complex. Archimedes himself would scratch his head deciphering it. First off, I hate places that charge for a sample of beer. I think a microbrew, especially one with a zillion stairs, should reward patrons with a 40z sample of their choosing. Charging a dollar for a 40z sample seems trivial. Then, they have sliding scale taster tray pricing. 4 4oz samples will run you 5$ (though a pint only costs you $4), and 5 samples go up to 6, 6 for 7, etc. Then, you have to add .50 for a pint of beer that is 7% ABV- 8% ABV, and $1 to a beer that is 8% +. Christ, after going through all of this, anyone would need a drink. First up, I had the Lonely Mt. Blacksmith Beer. At 6.5%, I slid just under the 7% penalty charge. It was described was a Swarzbier, a black lager. It came with a nice, creamy head, and very dense, dark black color. On the nose I picked up hints of anise, and malt. The taste combined malt, anise, and a smokey flavor. Not too shabby. My dad had the Easy Blonde. At 5%, I hoped the light beer would be the closest thing to his beloved Coors I could find. It poured without a head, and was a very clear, straw colored brew. The taste was a spicy, almost citrus flavor, and evidently was good enough to warrant a second pint. The Strange was my last pint. It's made with raw hulled hemp seeds, which, as far as I can tell, looks better on the menu than it ended up tasting in the beer. Adding hemp to a beer seems gimmicky to me. It was made using Palisade hops, and came in at 6% ABV. It tasted like a really bitter, poorly made IPA. If you are dying to cross off every brewery in Oregon on your list, it may be worth a visit. If not, skip it, and try to get to Hood River late enough to enjoy Double Mountain. Or, you know, go to Full Sail if you haven't been. I only detest it because I saw what it used to be, and loathe the changes they have made. I swear my final words will be "free...oyster..crackers."
My posting may be sporadic over the next few weeks, as my parents are visiting for the month. My father's visit signals the arrival of a Coors stocked fridge. Over the past 8 years or so, I would always strive to offer some of the NW's finest micros, trying to impress him of my knowledge of breweries, fine beers, and bold tastes. I realized during one visit to a micro brew that my efforts were maybe a bit optimistic, as he asked the bartender what they made that tasted like Coors. Ok, time to throw in the towel. Coors isn't a bad beer by any means. I find it to be a little tasteless, but of course, I am used to Belgian Sours, bitter IPAs, and black hole dark stouts. But the important thing to me is that my dad likes it, and it is a beer that we can drink together. I would feel like the biggest snobby asshole if I was sniffing a bottle conditioned, 6 dollar a bottle Belgian, as he was happily putting away a can of Coors. So, for awhile, it's Coors. I even tried a bit to introduce some milder beers, Full Sail's Session, HUB Lager, but to no avail. Interestingly enough, we did find one beer he drank, and even liked. After a trip to Double Mountain a few days ago, we may have found a beer that rivals Coors, their bourbon barrel aged Terrible Two. a great place to pick up some Coors.
I haven't been posting for a bit, because I really haven't been trying a lot of different brew lately. Once in awhile, I need to stop drinking a lot of beer. I need to step back, and let my palette get refreshed, and approach it again with maybe a better, more enlightened palette. What I do is go to my back up booze, gin. I love gin. Gin, to me, is the holy grail of liquors. Now everytime I go to my favourite bar, I get a shot of Gin with a back of Hamm's. Not only do I enjoy the Gin, and let's be honest: the effects, but I actually apreciate the Hamm's a little, and find it not as disgusting as I once did. So, what I would recommend to anyone that is a beer nerd, snob, or connoisseur, is to step back for a bit, and refresh your mouth. I have a few ideas, and would be interested to hear more.
Switch styles: Are you the one that orders IPA every time you go out? Get a mix and match IPA sixer every time you go to a bottle shop? For the love of god, there are other styles!! Try not having a single IPA for a bit (more than a day). Order a Pale the next time, or get ready for the cold weather by ordering Stouts more often. You may not like, or down right hate the first exploration into a new style, but not only will you approach IPA differently when you start back up, you may even find more beer that you like. Belgians, Bocks, Lagers, they are all out there.
Switch Boozes: The world is full of other ways to get lit and forget about your troubles, or cause new ones. My other vice is Gin, but it's not for everyone. Go visit a local distillery, and get free samples of other styles before investing money in a bottle. Most liquor stores have tastings sponsored by distilleries, and you can go in and try a few for free. Now, liquor is more expensive, but you can get those little bottles pretty cheap. One tip though, never go bottom shelf unless your mixing. You will thank me the next morning. Cider is another overlooked beverage. For my money, Belmont Station has the best selection in town. Cider is not as popular here as it is in the UK, and the cider here is different. Some made here are bad imitations, often made from concentrate, and added color and flavorings. But good cider can be found, Aspall is a good Brit way to start. Wandering Aengus makes good dry, fairly traditional UK cider, while Blue Mountain is more sweet, and suited to most Americans. Another tip, Hornsby's is not cider, it's apple flavored crap. Look at it this way: Hornsby's=Busch light, Spire = Coors, Wandering Aengus = Bridgeport, Aspal = Hair of the Dog. Wine is a good way to go too. Avoid the valley, and hit the Gorge to beat the crowds, and save on tasting fees.
Stop Drinking: Yeah, I know, I'm not doing it either. But, if you can this is probably a good way to refresh your palette. I can not speak from experience though. But, if I was to do it, I would try drinking a lot of fruit juices, and eating foods that contain flavors found it certain styles of beer. Then, when I went back an hour later to drinking, I could better taste the flavors that are listed in the tasting notes, instead of simply saying I do to look smart. Try eating a grapefruit, then drink IPA, eat some chocolate with coffee, then have a stout, etc.
I will drink beer again soon enough, trust me. But for now, it's Gin and Hamm's at my absolute favorite bar of all time. I know when I do, after my adventures through Juniper Berries and Minnesota funk, I will look at that first Vortex IPA or Fred a little different.
On a recent business trip to Medford, I had a chance to check out Wild River Brewing. Wild River Brewing has three other locations in Southern Oregon: Grants Pass, Brookings, and Cave Junction. Wild River bottles their beer in 12oz bottles, that are only available at their locations. And after talking with a staff member, they are not on tap anywhere else either. Wild Rivers pride and joy, besides the beer, is a wood fire oven offering up pizzas and calzones. They also have a decent selection of pastas and sandwiches. If like me, your from out of town and want something besides Marie Callendars, Shari’s, or Applebees, Wild River’s food is a welcome find. I had the taster tray, which had seven of their current offerings: a Kolsch, Bohemian Pilsener, Honey Wheat, IPA, ESB, Nut Brown, and an Imperial Stout. The ABVs ranged from 3.4 for the Nut Brown, to 7.9 for the Double Eagle Imperial Stout. Without going through them all, I will mention my two favs, and my two “not so favs.” The two that stood out were the Kolsch and the Pilsener. The Harbor Lights Kolsch was clear and golden. It was a little sweet, and balanced by the spalter and hersbrucker hops. The Pilsener was my favorite, and I ended up leaving with a six pack of it. It is dry hopped, which helps build the nose, and gives it a bit of a spicy mouth feel. It is matured on Czech lager yeast, and uses 100% Saaz hops. The two that didn’t quite give me a smile were the Stout, and the Nut Brown. The Stout showed promise. It poured dark, with a creamy head, and had a nice nose. But, the body was weak, and it tasted watery and a bit like a stout flavored soda. If this was sent to Catherine II, an 18th century Russian-British war would have been the outcome. The Nut Brown tasted of burnt stale nuts, and chocolate. Yummy. It was the only taster that I couldn’t even finish. Imagine pouring almond extract into an ESB, and you could match the flavor. The other downer is the almost non-existent amount of alcohol. At 3.4%, you feel as though your having a history lesson, taking you back to the days of near beer. It’s handy to know of Wild River. If you ever find yourself in a town where they are, they are worth a try. I wouldn’t plan any trip around them, but I would give them another go if they ever found tap space in Portland.
This weekend was a busy weekend. There were a few events going on, and I decided to skip the big one at Widmer Brothers, and instead make an effort to try as many Oktoberfest style beers as I could. Interesting the differences, and similarities. So, a quick run down. We had the Oktoberfest at New Old Lompoc's Hedge House, one at Fanno Creek Brewpub, Deschute's offering at their Pearl pub, and Bayern's at Higgins. First up was Lompoc. Their Oktoberfest was 5%, and was described as a pale lager. The pale lager had a vivid, red hue. It was poured with little head. It smelt malty and sweet. The taste was very light, mild hops to add a bit of a floral flavor to it, and was sweet from the malts. It was clean, crisp, and a nice way to start the day. The one thing I noted, at least for the Oktoberfest beers I tried, one shouldn't look forward to big bold flavors. Those seeking the next 100 IBU beer, or a beer with an ABV of over 8 will be dissapointed. They are traditiionly in the 4-7% range, and lean more to the malty side, than hoppy. Moving on, (I also had a Belgian style at each place, that I will write about in a separate post) our next stop the Fanno Creek Brewpub in Tigard. They were having an Oktoberfest of their own that didn't quite pack 'em in like Widmer does. But that's ok, they had a great accordion player that, in addition to German classics, added in the theme from Indiana Jones, and even the music from Chalmun's Cantina (any Star Wars nerds out there?). Their Oktoberfest beer was higher than most others, at 6.3%. It poured with a nice head, and was golden in color. It had a citrus nose, with a little funk. This is when I would like to say, again, I wish a brewery would provide tasting notes for their beers. This beer had none, as I find strange since the Oktoberfest beer at their Oktoberfest is kind of important. That being said, it was balanced, approaching boring. I have had a lot of Fanno Creek brews that I really liked, but this one I didn't. It was ok, but dull. The next day, we started out at Deschute's in the Pearl. I love Deschute's brews, but do not really like the Pearl outpost. The staff is very nice, the food is good, but I hate the room. Except for the bar area, the place feels like a Golden Corral. I feel like I should be walking up to the buffet grabbing some salad, jello, french fries, and crab legs. I don't even know if I can put my finger on it, but that's how it makes me feel. Their Portland brewed, 5.3% Oktoberfest was served in a honest pint, and pretty good. It was a light amber color, and the nose had notes of grain, and some tropical fruit. It tasted fine, and was balanced, but really tasted like an amber. It was made with German Pilsner, Vienna, and Munich malts, but I could not detect much of a malty taste. Lastly was Bayern's at Higgins. Much different than the others. Very dark, and malty. It is 6% ABV, and brewed with hops from Bavaria, and Czech Republic. It was an interesting beer, and better than some of the other Bayern beers I have had. Overall, it was interesting compare all of these. None of them for me really stood out, but all were worth a try. What I am excited about is to write about the Belgian style ales I tried. Some were amazing, and one was horrible.
Today is a great day for beer drinkers. There is a plethora of events going on. Widmer Brothers, and Fanno Creek are both having Oktoberfest celebrations. Also tonight, the Portland Art Museum is hosting an event featuring Laurelwood, Lompoc, and Lucky Lab. I do not know much about the details for that one, and PAM doesn't list it anywhere I could find on their site. (update: it is actually on the 19th, the date was listed wrong on SNOBs site.) Also, if you feel like going out of town, there is a Septembeerfest going on down in Corvallis. It sounds pretty cool, and features a pretty good lineup of brews. I am not up to the drive, as I am going to Medford in a few days, and tend to limit my I-5 travels to a bare minimum. If you go, make sure to check out Calapooia in Albany, they have 4 or 5 dart boards, and take darts pretty seriously there. Enjoy.
