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.

Fearless Scottish Ale

Calling the Fearless Scotch Ale, now available in a can, the worst tasting beer would not be fair. That statement would imply that it had a taste at all. While they have been successful at jumping on the band wagon of putting craft micro-brew into a can, they missed the part about having beer of quality go into aluminum. The 2.50 16oz will lose any taste test against a .90 PBR (Beer Mongers price), and get spanked by the cheaper Oskar Blues Scottish Ale. For $10 a FOUR pack, this ale, coming from the self proclaimed “grand exalted” brewer, should be more than good, it should be great. Sadly, like most other Fearless offerings, it is...blah.
Blah isn’t bad necessarily. If your buddy starts home brewing, and his first ale tastes like this, you should be happy. If your buddy asks you to pay 2.50 a pint for it, you should laugh, then punch him in the face, and then tell him to keep his day job. Unfortunately, the brewer at Fearless never had such a friend.
Even for Fearless this beer is lackluster, a poor representation of the style, and hardly worth the gas money to go get it, never mind the $10 four pack price tag once your there.

As a side, I “enjoyed” this beer at Beer Mongers on their beautiful new bar.

part two

Weinhard

I found this cool video on you tube, and had to share it. Apparently, it is the video they used to show people before taking the tour of the old Weinhard Brewery on Burnside. Enjoy. This is part one...

No fest for me

Ugh, the thought of fest season pains me. Sure, the beer is awesome and it is fun to talk with brewers and beer fans, but... No, I will not go. The lines, the crowds, the..the everything. I would love to go and report back to readers of this here blog about said fests, I would. Unfortunately my idea of a crowd is myself, my wife, and the bartender.
I just got back from Beer Mongers, I loved it. I could talk to Sean, maybe even talk with fellow customers, not feel rushed, shoved, or annoyed. I could go to the bathroom without a line in front and behind me. I know festivals are important and support the industry while showcasing new brews. I just can't do it.
My mind transports back to the first fresh hop festival at Hopworks. The beer was great, but the crowd was insane. For me it sucked the fun right out of the event. Yes, I know, I am mental. My perfect fest would be the beer, brewers, and...well...me (ok, my wife too). But that is me.
So new reviews or updates from the SB&WF. Nope.
Anyone else feeling along these lines, or am I a crazy bugger?

Upright's Four Play release..and my 100th post

Last night was the very generous media party at Upright. The occasion was created to release Upright’s newest seasonal, Four Play. I am sure you can read many reviews of it on any PDX blog. It was super tasty, and another feather in Alex’s cap. But, the beer I want to talk about is one that is going to be rare and gone fast, their Anniversary Apricot Ale.
As a general rule I do not like fruit beers. Most I have had have the complexity of a fart and the flavor to match. Pyramid’s Apricot Ale, to me , is an ale made solely to encourage one to stop drinking or possibly commit suicide. That being said, Upright’s Apricot Ale is something that is hard to put into words. As I was taking notes last night, the word I came up with was “sincere.” The taste was..sincere. Fruity, not artificial, bold but not pretentious. Sincere.
Upright’s Apricot Ale was aged in Gin Barrels. Barrel aged beer can go horribly wrong, or even worse, horribly boring. This went neither. [note: what we had was not aged in Gin barrels, but a future release of this brew will be, the Four Play however was aged in Pinot barrels] This 6% beer was intensely cloudy and had an amazing nose of natural apricot. I tasted not apricot flavor, but apricot. Of course, this was all balanced out with the house yeast, picked to suit the taste buds of the brewer.
It is one of the best beers that will never touch a bottle, and one that you would be remiss not to scurry off to try. It is so good, in fact, it makes me forgive Upright for the truly..umm... unique Eucalyptus beer.
After an exciting year in operation, Upright continues to produce beer that is made with skill, passion, and honesty. We should all count ourselves lucky to be able to watch with thirsty eyes Upright’s next experiment gone...perfect.
For more pics, please visit my Flickr page.
Also, do not forget, April 9th is Upright's one year anniversary party. Yes, there will be a lot of people there, but join the crowd.