Mike Wright orders a Blue Foot Flanders Red-style ale, a slightly sweet and sour beer with notes of cherries aged in a Pinot Noir barrel. It’s his first time trying the beer despite the fact that he brewed it. The woman behind the bar who brings it to him is oblivious to this detail, despite the fact that Mike is on a bar stool in Southeast Portland at Victory Bar, one of Beetje Brewing’s half-dozen accounts, and it’s five blocks from his house. The definition of nano is that it’s one billionth the size of something, so there are a billion nanometers in one meter. In regards to nanobreweries, the definition takes some liberties, but not many. Compare, for example, Beetje to Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch brewed roughly 100 million barrels of beer in the US alone in 2010. Beetje made and sold less than five. Small time, under capitalized enterprises driven [...]
Craft Brewers Festival – Recap
Rhubarb Blonde Ale. Peanut Butter Chocolate Porter. Lavender Orange-blossom Mead. Smoked Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout. Anyone can throw the kitchen sink into a brew kettle, but it takes more than imagination to make the results sing, which is why these concoctions weren’t just among the stranger beverages I tried recently, they were among the best. The American Homebrewers Association purports that there are 750,000 homebrewers nationwide (that’s almost one out of every 400 Americans). Quite likely, there has been no greater gathering of craftsmen than the 33rd Annual National Homebrewers Conference that took place in San Diego from June 17-19. This AHA-sponsored event once again set a new record for sold-out attendance, having welcomed 1,900 people within the fraternity of homebrewers from all 50 states and Canada. The numbers don’t tell the story, but they’re jaw-dropping nonetheless. Some 1,650 people entered virtually 7,000 homebrews into the competition. Over 700 kegs of [...]
Drink Me Island Paradise Party
We’ve rented out the legendary and incredible man-made floating island on the San Francisco Bay for a private lush evening with live music, delicious drinks (lots of tasty rums) and spirited tastings. What’s more, we’ve teamed up with Spark, a San Francisco based non-profit that supports women-led programs that ignite global change. All profits from the event will go to support Spark’s efforts.
Making the British Pale – the original IPA
Though the international cultural and political reach of the United Kingdom might now be limited to the occasional export of a new Harry Potter Book, at one time the British Empire was the largest in the world. For hundreds of years, the Union Jack flew all over the globe, from North America, to Africa, Australia, and Asia. Following us kicking their ass out in 1776, the jewel in the crown was India. Exploiting India provided a great deal of benefit for the homeland, at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of many locals — from mineral wealth and spices to an export market for finished goods. For some Brits, landing a stint in India was a cushy deal. But not all the colonials were upper crust. For them, life in India was tough. The weather was a bit warm. Home was far. Naturally then, Brits in India wanted something [...]
Win a Fat Tire cruiser!
Check it: Picture yourself on the Fat Tire label – literally! New Belgium has launched a creative Joy Ride app to create your own Fat Tire label. You can share your Fat Tire memories or show your appreciation for your favorite beer. AAAnnnd – make it folly-tastic, because you’ve got a shot at winning an actual 20th Anniversary Fat Tire cruiser. One joyous winner will be chosen on Facebook every Friday between June 10 and August 19 – that’s 11 chances to win! Apps.facebook.com/shareyourjoy
Oregon Ale Trail
Not for gold, not for fur, not because they couldn’t stand their crazy neighbors who had settled the prairies, but those who blazed The Oregon Trail did so in search of hops to make killer beer. Okay, fine, that was just a happy residual effect once pioneers reached the Pacific, but when Lewis and Clark paddled up the Missouri River to its headwaters and ultimately down the Columbia River to the ocean, they discovered the fecundity of the Willamette Valley. Save for some early adapter furriers, the initial gold rush was a green rush. Situated between the Cascade and Coast mountains, Oregon’s Willamette Valley is situated along the north forty-fifth parallel where the rainy, cool climate constitutes excellent growing conditions similar to Bavaria’s and, hence, lends itself particularly well to cultivating hops. It is the second largest hop-growing region in the country after Washington’s Yakima Valley. Then there’s Oregon’s two-row [...]
The Skipper’s Suds
Gilligan and the Skipper may have built a washing machine out of coconuts and seaweed, but never constructed a brewery. In Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist laments his inability to brew. Of course he did. The only way to survive on a desert island is with beer. But which beer? Everyone who writes or blogs about beer gets asked repeatedly: “What’s your favorite beer?” Worse still are brewers who get asked that question and then it’s the double-edged sword of picking one of their creations or not. Not that it matters, since we all respond, “I could never pick just one.” But the truth is, we all have a few absolute favorites. Even if new ones replace old ones on a steady basis. So when I was asked to select a mere five beers to take to a deserted island, the gears started revolving.
Abbots Cellar – the adventure continues….
Our good friends over at Monks Kettle in San Francisco have announced they are opening a new space… and only blocks away in the Mission! If you have never been to Monk’s Kettle, you are missing out. Please stop reading immediately and head over there for a beer/bite and then continue reading. Christian and Nat have signed the lease on 740 Valencia – to open Abbot’s Cellar this coming Winter. The new space (which will hold about 95 people including the bar space) will be a restaurant that focuses on beer pairings and seasonal American and European fare. The beer selection will be a bit more focussed than the massive and widespread selection at Monks Kettle, but we know their 100 bottles and 24 tap selection (including 2 hand pump casks) will still be pouring delicious brew. We can’t wait for them to open (and we hope we can get a [...]
Beer For Your Spring Party
If you’re anything like us, you want the coolest/easiest way to get booze for your parties/picnics. As the weather heats up and you’re shedding your sweater and heading to the park, take a look at this… Minimize carrying around a ton of bottles and having to worry about recycling all of them (this is recyclable) and lugging around a bunch of dripping bottles – AND get bring that wonderful taste of draught beer with you! More and more companies are putting their beer into mini micro kegs… and it’s great to see some brands that we like following suit. We recently tried out the Newcastle Micro-Keg. It was a total success and super easy to deal with. It fit in our (already packed) fridge and was a one stop shop for the kind of beer that we usually head to the local bar for. It’s all pressurized so you don’t have to recall your [...]
Drink in the Clink
Y’all can’t get more “local” than an alcoholic product that’s made and consumed all in one place, and I’m not talking about the output of micro-breweries. I refer to operations that are much, much smaller, say 6’x8’ … with facilities as close as your toilet. Pruno (aka juice, jump, chalk, buck, and hooch) is hoosegow homebrew: made in prison by and — God help ‘em — for prisoners. America has the largest incarcerated population (USA! — We’re #1!), so in the interest of being prepared, here’s a brief guide to imbibing behind the other kind of bars. The basic recipe for producing jail “wine” is simple: fill a plastic bag with anything sweet, from stewed prunes (hence the name “pruno”) to cake frosting. Add yeast (or even moldy bread) and hot water. Ferment for “up to” nine days. The result is a stinking, orange-to-maroon liquid that may make you sick [...]
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