Weihenstephaner Korbinian

A nice little sale of note is going on, as I write this at least, at Belmont Station. For just $2.49, you can pick up a bottle of Doppelbock from "the world's oldest brewery. " Weihenstephan Korbinian, besides being a good beer, is a good pickup if, like me, you like to collect labels. As with a lot of German beers, the design on the label is really interesting, colorful, and makes whatever is inside seem very prestigious. Is it the best Doppelbock I have ever had in my entire life? No, but it isn't the worst either. Is it the best I have ever had for $2.49? You bet your ass it is. At 7.4% ABV, you won't make it through too many I would think. It was quite dark, not too sweet, and nicely balanced. I am not a food pairing genius or anything, but I would suspect that this beer goes better with food, than just drank alone. But, again, at $2,49, you can afford to be experimental.

Klamath Basin Brewing at the Lab

Quick note, a fantastic beer from Klamath Basin Brewing is available at the Hawthorne Lucky Lab. The beer is called 8 Second Ale. It is made using Hersbrucker hops, which gives the beer a light hop flavor, great for these horrid 100 degree days. I thought I might have even detected a little bit of Rye on the mouth feel and aftertaste, which was nice as Lucky Lab currently doesn't offer the Quality Rye, a beer that deserves a seperate mention on it's own.
So, I do not know if other Lucky Labs have it, but stop by the Hawthorne post, grab an 8 Second, then scurry back to the dart boards for an affordable, boozy way to say fuck you to the triple digit temps.

Opinions

Everyone has one. The old saying goes they are like assholes, we've all got one, and they all stink. Sometimes opinions can make you friends, and other times they can make you enemies. Opinions about beer are no different. One man's Duvel is another man's Keystone Ice. If you are in Alabama and order a Duvel in some backwoods bar, your liable to never be seen or heard from again. Likewise, if you order a Bud Light at a micro-brew in Estacada, you will be laughed at "until the idiot who asks this question finally leaves quietly in disgrace".
I think opinions about beer are so interesting. We have our beer experts, our connoisseurs, the opinions that we read in magazines that we hold in high regard. We have our blogs, for those of us that have "way too much time. Instead of creating something. They tear things down, which has always been way easier." And then we have the no blog writing, non beer expert, consumer, that actually likes to drink the beer he/she likes, and tell friends about it.
In my opinion, the most respected of the beer gods, all the way down to the simplest of the Estacada folks "who are so damn jealous" "they can't see straight. They are pissed that someone is able to accomplish anything in this town," have a right to think what they want. We all are amazing experts when it comes to our own palette. It's true. I am the world's leading expert on the palette of Jeff (this Jeff anyway, there are a lot of us).
I blog about it. What I think.
I have a full time job, goals, plans for a side business, have fought and won a battle with cancer, a loving wife, great friends, and count myself lucky to live in the greatest town in the greatest state in the country. I do not have way too much time, I have spare time. Spare time that I like to drink beer, appreciate beer, and talk about beer. If I go somewhere and love it (like the awesome Ft. George) I climb to the tops of buildings , screaming out "Go, Go, Go!!" If, however, I go somewhere else, and do not like it, I enjoy writing abut that as well.
But, who am I . Just a guy. My last name isn't Eckhardt, or Armstrong, or Alworth, all of whom I enjoy reading. I take their opinions very seriously, and respect each of them. I would also respect an opinion from some guy with a last name of Jones, Smith, or Doe.
What gives me a right to my opinion? The hard earned money in my pocket that goes out, and supports the local micro-brews. That's right, my consumerism gives me the right to drink, eat, be merry, and climb on my soap box and bitch and moan to my heart's content.
Some people, however, think certain soap boxes are made out of gold. Unfortunately, in reality, they are ALL made out of popsicle sticks. And not the good popsicle sticks, the cheap crappy ones.
Why Jeff, why do you rant on, why aren't you writing about how great the new tasting room is at Upright Brewing (it is), or how awesome it is that Bar Avignon has Ft. George on a permanent tap (Vortex IPA, mmmm).
Why???? Why????
Apparently, because I have way too much time on my hands, have no desire to create anything, and am surrounded my cross-eyed, jealous, pissed off friends.

*sigh*

Or maybe because every time I drink a micro-brew, I can taste Oregon. And all I want, is for Oregon to taste very, very good.

Cheers.


italicized quotes courtesy of Ken Johnson, whose beers I am not a fan of.

Fearless Brewing - Part Zwei

Lately, I have been emailing back and forth with Fearless brewer and owner Ken Johnson. He read my honest, blunt, and not very kind review of his beer and bar from a few months ago. He has been very nice in his emails, and assured me if I was to come out, he would sit with me and go over every beer and talk with me about them. He also has noted that respected Portland beer writer, Fred Eckhardt, called his IPA monumental, despite the fact I can not find it on tap anywhere in the Portland metropolitan area.
So, denying Ken's kind request to host me, I decided to try to find somewhere where he is on tap in Portland. Well, one of the few I could find was Hungry Tiger Too, a place I knew the location of well, being directly across the street from FH Stienbart. So, this Sunday, my wife and I went to see if my taste buds were off, or if Ken's has slipped.
The beer in question was Fearless's Scottish Ale. Fearless describes this beer as such : "from beer novice to beer geek, everyone loves this beer." Bold. Sadly, much like surburban menus that promise the best fish and chips in Oregon, the beer fails. Everyone does not like this beer. I did not, my wife did not, the bartender did not, and from what we were told, cutsomers did not much like it either.
The color on the beer was fantastic, a dark amber, with almost an orange tinge to it. However, much like Micahel Jackson, the beer had no real nose. The beer starts with a slight hint of flavor, that dissapears quickly, leaving, like most other Fearless beers, an almost detergent aftertaste. My wife treid it, and noted it was malty, and bitter, though I described it more like colored, fizzy, alcolohic water.
I told Ken that anything I say about his beer is my opinion, and nothing personal, though he thinks I have some personal feeling either towards him, or his establishment. I don't. Ken, from what little I have seen, or from what little I have spoken to him, seems like a nice guy, that is happy doing what he does. I just do not like his beer, plain and simple. I hope it gets better, and I wish him and his brewery nothing negative. I just think the beer lacks flavor, substince, and any interest at all.
So Ken, if you read this, know I truly have nothing against you. I just do not like the beer you are currently making.
As if I had any doubt, after this, we went to Upright Brewing's new tasting room and enjoyed their amazing beer. A world apart. Not just in stlye, but in complexity, execution, and passion.

Double Mountain trip

As if anyone with any common sense needed an excuse to go to Hood River for no other reason other than visitng Double Mountain, I have yet another. Thy name is Oaked Idle Hands. If Ft. George's Illuminator is sex in a glass, than Oaked Idle Hands is the pleasing, comforting smoke afterwords. It is a Scotch ale, aged in oak barrels. It is brewed with Gambrinus Organic Pilsner and Dark Munich malts, imported crystal malts, and roasted barley. It uses Brewer's Gold and Newport Hops. It is 8% ABV. It is...spectacular. At $6 for 12oz, it is a steal. Calling this one of my favourite Double Mountain brews is saying a lot. I haven't found one I don't like yet (though the current batch of Kolsch, unfortunately, seems a bit off). I have a bad feeling that it will never see the bright lights of the rose city, so I urge, beg, insist that you drive, bike, or crawl to Hood River to get it, before it is gone. Double Mountain, I feel at least , is not the same brewery that we saw when it first split from the Full Sail (full sail sucks) macro machine. It is becoming polished (try the Pilsner), experimental (Oak Aged Scoth Ale), and otherworldly (Kriek, Kriek, Kriek). With Ft. George and Double Mountain, I feel like Brad Pitt, with Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie tugging at either arm. But, lucky for me, I get to choose both.

MacTarnahan's Lip Stinger

MacTarnahan's is not known for extreme beer, interesting beer, or, in my opinion, even good beer. I mean, it's ok, drinkable, but nothing to write home, or a blog about. Until now. I got a 22 of Lip Stinger from the always awesome Belmont Station the other night, and man, was it good. It is a farmhouse style ale brewed with peppercorns. The taste, and interest, was far beyond the 4.8% ABV that the label suggests. It is funky enough to stand proudly in line with other farmhouse style ales, even (gasp) the most excellent Upright Brewing. For a brewery that usually has the excitement of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Lip Stinger is a welcome surprise, and one that I hope to drink much, much more of.

Double Dead Guy

Usually I am not a big Rogue fan. I don't know why, but nothing I had really excited me, and the bottles always beg for a few extra bucks than I usually have. Some of the wilder ends of the Rogue experimentation leave me reaching for my water glass rather quickly. I go to the Rogue pubs though, whenever I am near one, and leave with the same "why did I go there" results. I spent too much on the food, and too much on the beer. Well, my friends, that may have changed during my last visit to the Rogue in Astoria. I got the Double Dead Guy, with an order of Dead Guy Marinated Mussels. The mussels were good, though I prefer the Spruce Gin Shrimp Cocktail. But, the Double Dead Guy, although I have had it before, was excellent. I could get a hint of orange on the nose, and maybe even a little apricot. The taste was fantastic, a little citrus-y, and much like a regular Dead Guy on steroids. They do bottle it, and Belmont Station has it, but if you get it on draft, I would highly recommend it.

Ft. George trip

Yesterday we took our friends from Illinois to the mecca of coastal brewing, Ft. George. We were lucky enough not only to chat with Chris, but catch the musical stylings of the Musky Buskers.The two piece from Portland sounded great. Ft. George had a BBQ going on outside, with brats (not veggie brats though) and the awesome Illuminator Doppelbock on tap. It is barrel aged using barrels from the Heaven Hills distillery, and tasted a lot like a Belgian Sour to me, which Chris, owner/brewer, agreed with. He credits that to the barrels he used.I of course, took a growler home with me. Which leads me to the next excellent point, the amazing new growlers they have. They are like nothing I have seen before, and have cool flip tops. The other beer of note we tried was the Spank Stout, made with a spicy mix of Jalapeno, Habanero, Pasilla, and Anaheim peppers brewed right into it. I usually despise chili and spicy beers, but this one not only was really good, the subtle spiciness made me want to drink more, and more, and..well, I don't remember much after that.
Ft. George is growing by leaps and bounds, installing a breath taking new outside tank, and inching ever closer to canning their Vortex IPA.
The food, as always, was great, and getting to talk to the two brewers of Ft. George was an honor, and a pleasure.
It is a bit of a drive, but well worth it. Ft. George is my favourite Oregon brewery, with Double Mountain at a close second. Amazing beer.

Everybody's Brewing..except them

Well, just got back from a berry picking, geocache getting, and Walking Man drinking day of fun. Sadly, when we tried to go to Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, after being promised last time some home brewed beer in the following weeks, the sign on the door said closed until further notice. So, I am posting this, hopefully stopping others from the journey, since the website says nothing of it. I'll write about Walking Man soon, as well as finish up my Walla Walla series. Until then, beat the heat, and enjoy something cold and alcoholic. Cheers.

Walla Walla Trip #1 - Mill Creek Brewing

We just got back from a little trip to Walla Walla. The first question I got when I told people we were going was, "Why?" Well, after coming back, I can tell you why. About 140 Wineries, 3 Breweries, and one Cidery.
There are two breweries in Walla Walla, and a third one really close. The first one I want to talk about is Mill Creek Brewing.
Located right in downtown Walla Walla, this one definitely wins for convenience. We went there twice, as it is also one of the few places open relatively late. They only had three of their four beers available, so we will have to grab the other during a later visit.
We tried their Walla Walla Wheat, IPA, and a beer named Brew 22.
The wheat is served with a lemon, but isn't' quite as light as most Hefs. It was an ok beer, good for a hot day, drinkable, but wasn't my favourite.
Their IPA had a real nice, dense, amber color. It had a strong hop flavour, that disappeared quickly, and had the requisite floral notes. The menu says this is for the advanced beer drinker, but I am pretty sure a novice could handle it ok.
The Brew 22 was actually pretty good. We had heard that is wasn't, and that a previous recipe was far superior. Maybe so, but I really liked this beer. The menu says this has just a hint of attitude, which sounds more like a tag-line for a Scion than a beer. It had a dark amber color, a distant spiciness, and, again, was nice for a summer night. Not real heavy, but the most interesting of the beer we had there.
So, food wise, free peanuts that you can throw on the floor was an instant hit with me. The fish and chips, sadly, were not. But hey, I was dumb enough to order fish and chips in Walla Walla, so I got what I deserved.
The decor is sports bar , meets nick knack grandmother, meets beer advertising freebies gone wild.
But, I kinda liked the place. I am a simple man, easily won over by free peanuts.