oh yeah, I have a blog don't I!!

Well, to those still reading my little blog, thanks. I have not been updating it too much. Running my own alcohol establishment has both been rewarding, and trying. I have learned loads being on the other side of the bar.
Today, something I just brought in has made my blogging fingers start to itch again. We now carry the Upright Fatale Four, and Billy the Mountain. For me, Upright is possibly the best brewery in the state, and I always get excited when something new comes out from them. I confess, I have not tried this year's Billy, or the F. Four, but I trust that they are interesting.
One beer that I have tried is the new Widmer Brothers KGB Russian Imperial Stout. Long a Gasthouse staple, it finally made it into the bottle this year. I know Widmer has gained a lot of detractors over the years, but I still love the big brewing beast. Sure, the fact that I got married there has something to do with it, but I can still be impartial, I swear. For instance, I thought the Brrr was boring, and the Bourbon version was expensive, and boring. Then came the KGB. It's easy to judge a beer by it's 9.3% cover for sure, but it still needs substance behind the ABV. The KGB has substance, in spades. Baking chocolate nose, with an impressive color. Watching the gentle head dissipate was hypnotic. It was chewy, like a heavy stout should be. A hint of coffee, and slightly chocolate finish, neither being too bitter. Is was the winter warmer I was waiting for, but never found this year. Sure, a well made, heavy dark beer is what we have come to expect from a winter beer, but so many fall so short.
For some, maybe a lot, Widmer has lost it's edge, and creativity. It's large size gets lost in a town that cares more about garage breweries, than breweries with a gasthouse. But in my little, humble opinion, they knocked it out of the park this time with the KGB.
By the way, isn't it great that we name beers after past national security agencies from other countries? What if a German brewery makes a FBI Amber?? Or a brewery in Canada making a MI5 cream ale? An American brewery producing the world's best ANSS Stout? ...Just saying...

At least you don't drink out of the other end...

Kinda makes you wanna laugh, then puke, then move to Scotland...

from "Morning Advertiser" .com


BrewDog launches strongest beer — in a squirrel


The maverick brewery has brought out The End of History, a 55% ABV beer priced at £500 for a 330ml bottle.

The brewer says the beer’s high alcohol content “can cure the binge drinking culture, not fuel it”, and that the beer should be served in a small glass to be enjoyed like a fine whiskey.

The blond Belgian ale is served from bottles made with stuffed animals dressed in eccentric outfits. BrewDog says this “intentionally eye-brow raising statement” aims to “lift the veil on the mass market beer industry”.

The company says The End of History is the last high abv beer it is going to brew. “It’s the end point of our research into how far we can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer”.

Only 12 bottles have been produced, using seven dead stoats, four squirrels and one hare. The packaging was created by a talented taxidermist, according to BrewDog, and all the animals used were road kill.

The brewer has been fighting a running battle with drinks industry watchdog Portman Group and health lobbyists over the strength and packaging of its beers.

Last year, Brewdog launched a 41% abv quadruple IPA called Sink the Bismarck!, priced at £40 for a 330ml bottle.

Brooklyn Park Pub

I admit to walking or driving right past this place several times. For no apparent reason really. I suppose I always had the "I'll try it next time" mentality towards it. Well, since Bushwhacker is in the Brooklyn neighborhood, we decided to check out our unknown neighbor.
Opening the windowless door, you can not know what to expect. A room of regulars glaring at you for adding an unwelcome beam of sunlight in?? Twenty different baseball games on a wall orgy of flat screens? Or my favorite, a room with more lottery machines than patrons, and golf on the tele.
Alas, none of these were the case as we braved the door, and became the first guests of the day. Soccer was on, and Fort George was on tap. A bigger surprise was the two dart boards on the north wall, above a well stocked book shelf with board games, trivia books, and Playboys.
The one thing they have, that frankly I have never seen before is a very..descriptive beer menu. They list their drafts as "Malty, hoppy, light," etc. Brilliant. I can imagine the bartender answering those questions a thousand times, and finally saying "Piss on it, I'm going write it up, and let everyone have a read on their own."
The big bonus that I liked that I mentioned before was the Fort George on tap, and not the typical (though still hard to find) Vortex IPA. They had the Nut Red, which of course was listed under "Malty."
Yes, for throwing a few games, this spot in the Brooklyn neighborhood is pretty cool. Beer, darts, and Playboys. Hello flashback to Jeff's basement in 1996.

going strong.but slow

I have found that staring at the floor does not fill the cracks any faster, or make the magic goop we are using dry any faster. Still working on the cidery floor. Today, officially ordered my tanks.
We do have all of the paper work done, we are waiting for one piece of the puzzle before we send it all in.
All in all, for only signing the lease shy of a week ago, things are going well.

why no blogging?

I have been crazy busy. Why? I am trying to give this town a much deserved cidery. I have finally found a worthy space, and am now in the finishing stages of the Mt. Everest tall stack of paperwork needed to put my dream together. Hopefully, we can be open by September 1st, with our own product being available by Thanksgiving.
The name of the cidery is Bushwhacker Cider. It will be a cidery, cider themed bottle shop, and, hopefully, a mecca to play darts in. We will have cider on draft, and not just our own.
Cider is awesome, plain and simple.
So, tell me your thoughts, please.

Hell of a party!!

Last night was a great night at Beer Mongers, but then again, aren't they all. The event was Sean's B-Day, the "8 year anniversary of his 30th". The boys at Beer Mongers know how to bring in a crowd. The shoulder to shoulder mass was treated to live music, Hammy's pizza (the best in the city), and free beer samples. The crowning event though had to be the drinking from the yard. I won a groovy old school beer mongers T-Shirt, though I was hoping to snag the grand prize which was a three liter bottle of Duvel. Oh well, maybe next yard day.
I have tons of pics here.

Cheese Bar

There is a new reason to head up to upper Belmont, Cheese Bar. Cheese Bar..mmm..unless someone creates a peanut bar I can not imagine a better premise for a pub. The selection of cheese is staggering, and thankfully dished out by people that know far more than myself about cheese. The staff all seem to know the perfect pairing to go with whatever you enjoy there, or have at home. The tap selections are small but seem well thought out. During my last visit, I enjoyed a Wandering Aengus Pear Cider, while Erin had a Hale's Supergoose. Both paired brilliantly with the daily Euro cheese board, which during our visit features three Italian selections. They also have sandwiches, and other nibbles.
The only bummer is I wish they would write somewhere what the daily cheeses are. They do tell you when they serve it, but they are such foreign names to me, I'd like to have something written down.
That's a small bummer. With outside seating to enjoy the weather, and a nice array of gourmet gifts items, Cheese Bar is ..well..it is pretty fucking awesome.

Sabbatical

I have been taking a short break from blogging. Just, really, haven't felt like it. I have needed to step back, and think. Something recently has renewed my fingers to the keyboard. I had one of my best friends from Illinois come in and spend a couple days with me. Much like spending the fourth of July with small children, seeing Portland, and Oregon through a set of new eyes is truly a worthwhile experience. He comes from a far off world where the only Oregon beer is Widmer Hef, and asking for an IPA gets you not a beer, but a confused look.
Showing him around, from brewery to brewery, was a lot of fun. From the mighty Widmer, to the basement of Upright.
I was getting bored, depressed, and could not get in touch with why I had originally moved here many years ago. The stress of a job you hate, and other problems in life seem a little more trivial once you realize you could have a job you hate....in..say..Oklahoma.

Ok...this may be bad..

No other headline could possibly stop a beer lover in his tracks than, "7-11 to start making it's own beer."
Truth is always stranger than fiction. What's next, a Coors Slurpee??

Read the story here..

Hop in the Dark....carefully

During one of these hit and miss lovely spring days, we took a long walk to down town, and stopped by Deschutes in the Pearl. With all of the recent media surrounding the new CDA style, we decided to do a side by side tasting of their Hop in the Dark CDA, and the Bourbon Barrel Hop in the Dark
The Hop in the Dark, at 6.7ABV,was a very nice beer. It was crisp, and fitting in the style with a ying and yang balance of malt and hops. For my money, it may be one the of best offerings of this emerging style I have tried. It really tasted like it’s own self, meaning, not simply a Black IPA.
Unfortunately I cant say the same for the Bourbon Barrel version. At 7.5%, it is served in a goblet, which is fine since any more would probably be damn hard to finish. The initial taste is sharp cherry, no doubt from the barrel aging. It then transforms into an overwhelming bourbon taste, with a Jim Beam type finish. I personally do not think this is a style that lends well to barrel aging.
A trip to the family friendly Deschutes is always a fun time, a loud time, but a funtime none the less. The food is always good, and we all know what to expect from the consistent quality of most Deschutes brews. Be warned, if you are thinking of trying the Bourbon Barrel, ask for a sample first.