Deschutes+Boulevard introduce White IPA Collaboration to Portland

Boulevard brew master, Steven Pauwels, found himself amongst welcoming Portlanders at Deschutes Portland Brew Pub and Green Dragon Bistro and Pub on Thursday. The crowd was able to enjoy the latest collaboration b/w Deschutes and Boulevard breweries. Unfortunately, most (all) of Kansas City missed the event...yet, by some twist of fate, I happened to fly into Portland Thursday night to visit family (and drink some amazing Northwest brews with JK). I was not able to attend the meet the brewer event either, but will be able to grab the "test" collaboration at Deschutes and/or Green Dragon tonight, barring they don't run out b/w now and then. If, nay, when I get my hands on some of this amazing collaborative brew, I'll report back to the KC crowd asap. (teasing) I guess it pays to have family in Portland, eh?

Check out a great synopsis on OregonLive.com: 

http://blog.oregonlive.com/thebeerhere/2011/05/deschutes_boulevard_brewers_in.html

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Brew News - The Best New Beers of Spring (and Summer)

Hot off the presses from Esquire (yes, really):

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/food-and-drink/best-spring-beers-040811?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_fdr_non_041111_spring-beers&kw=ist#fbIndex1

It’s a Top 6 list that contains the typical summer seasonal beers made with citrus fruits or herbs like coriander, but does have some interesting choices that are ”outside the traditional summer ale box” (i.e. summer shandy or wheat beer with orange slice – not to name any names). Personally, we’re stoked to try the Flying Dog Backyard Ale, Moylan’s Orange & Black, and Souther Tier Hop Sun asap.

For those on their maiden voyage to the craft beer frontier, spring or summer beers are traditionally beers that are considered “refreshing” – light, crisp beers with floral, grassy, fruity, or “clean” notes. Traditionally they are less malty, more hoppy, and leave the beer drinker less full after a session. The smoky/spiciness of BBQ and grilled meats often pairs well with these types of beers.

If you live in any of the Great Lakes states, you should have no problem finding these beers. If you live in the Chicagoland area specifically, the majority of these beers can be found on the shelves at Binny’s.

Stone Emphasizes Ingredients in Farming

Just like it brews, Stone is doing what it wants and is sticking to it. They expanded to Missouri and threw an amazing shindig, but that was a month ago. Tuesday, Greg Koch announced a $26 million dollar expansion, including a venture into farming. Sure, many breweries have purchased a farm to support their brewing, but this is different. Stone is planning a small-scale farm to provide a steady supply of organic and sustainable produce to the Stone World Bistro and Gardens. 

If you haven't had the chance to head to Stone Brewing in Mendocino, then you haven't been able to experience the amazing World Bistro and Garders at their brewing facility. It's absolutely amazing and worth the trip to Cali. My wife and I made it there in February and were so happy with the experience, we are planning a second one. Their focus on the local, organic food as well as 32 craft beers and a great wine list from the region was second to none. I was able to enjoy Pliny the Elder on draught and paired it with some amazing spiced tempeh and brocolli stir fry. My wife doesn't even like beer and she wants to go back.

For those of you that don't know, my wife and I do not eat meat or dairy. It's hard to find great, healthy food at locations that have a good beer list. Great beer locations tend to focus on greasy, meat specific items, which can dull tasting senses and make me question the quality of ingredients from which the beer is created. Stone does things differently. The World Bistro is the number one purchaser of local, small-farm organic produce in San  Diego County. Each meal at the World Bistro and Gardens is created with high quality, local, organic ingredients, allowing for meat and dairy free options if needed. Experiencing the flavor of the ingredients made me respect their beer all the more. If they were concerned with healthy, whole food eating, they would probably reciprocate that care in their brewing ingredients. The farm will certainly further Stone's idea that beer, as well as food, should come from quality ingredients and have minimal impact on the environment.

The farm isn't meant to be a platform of profitability, but to provide organic and sustainable produce for it's World Bistro (and new restaurant in central San Diego), as well as providing education to the local community. Educational field trips for local schools as well as a venue for special events are slated for the futre. It is said that the farm WILL NOT be used for hop growing. Judging from the recent growth and expansion, I'm sure Stone will soon be purchasing something for hop specific farming down the road.

Along with the farm purchase, Stone is also expanding it's home footprint to almost double in size. They are planning a boutique hotel and a second restaurant location in central San Diego. I can't wait to visit in 2013 and stay at the Stone hotel. You think they will have Arrogant Bastard on tap in each room? I'll cross my fingers just in case. Wink!

See you out there.

Deschutes and Boulevard Announce Collaboration

Deschutes Brewery and Boulevard Brewery have announced that they will be collaborating on a beer this summer, to be brewed separately at both breweries and released simultaneously to the thirsty masses. First thought? Marty McFly and Doc Brown; two great forces coming together, complimenting each other in order to produce a truly epic result (“Ronald Reagan?!?!” The actor?!?!”).

For those unfamiliar with Deschutes Brewery, you should feel sad – located in Bend, Oregon, the brewery has long had a reputation for “pushing the envelope” and changing the beer drinking populous in its corner of the continent. Typically, its beers are hoppy ales, with a focus on using technology, high quality ingredients, and innovation to deliver such masterpieces as “The Abyss”. If you can find their beers, buy them.

Equally innovative and equally delicious, Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, MO, has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, dedicated to producing beers that have changed the Midwest drinking landscape and contributing to sleepless nights for that Evil Empire located four hours due East. They produce such innovative beers as their limited edition Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ), their Chocolate Ale, and their Harvest Dance wheat wine.

Each beer will be produced as a white IPA, but will be slightly different in taste and will be distributed as offerings in each brewer’s latest series of beers – number 2 in the Conflux collaboration series for Deschutes, and Collaboration No. 2 in Boulevard’s Smokestack series.

Folks, get excited, mark your calendars, and start cleaning your tulip glasses – this, you do not want to miss.

Has Macro Brew Advertising Met its Match?

http://beernews.org/2011/05/breckenridge-brewery-mocks-big-beer-marketing-in-new-tv-campaign/

And now we finally have our first open mocking of large breweries and their use of advertising to sell an inferior product. Kudos to you Breckenridge Brewery and let it be known that we admire your stones! While they will only air the spots locally in Denver, they WILL air during Broncos games (if the NFL owners don’t pull a 1994 MLB), which of course traditionally caters to a crowd laden with “blue mountain” drinkers and auto-tuned friends chirping about their shitty light beer. Thankfully the power of the Internets will make this thing go viral:


Breckenridge Brewery – Sevendrupple Hopped

Breckenridge Brewery – If you touch it and it’s cold…

Breckenridge Brewery – Gravity Activated Pouring

Breckenridge Brewery – Cold is not a Flavor

Brew Review - Upright Seven

1) “Whoa, what was that? Not what I expected”
2) “Not bad, I’ll have a few more tastes”
3) “Put some music on, I’m ready to get down on this beer”

If you’ve had Upright Brewing Company’s “Seven” brew, you might have experienced the same three steps of drinking Seven that I did. With an increasingly sparkling reputation on the West Coast, the tiny, yet brilliant Upright Brewing has been making unique, farmhouse-inspired beers that blur the lines between beer styles and challenge a drinker’s taste buds – and Seven is no different. I was drawn to this beer by three things: my buddy Chip actually bringing it to my house, the beautiful 750 ml bottle and simple label, and the mystery shrouding a beer simply named with a number (and a lucky one at that).

Seven pours a strong golden color and leaves a massive, dense white head that lingers in the glass. The smell is nice and flowery with citrus and a hint of hops. The taste, however, is where the shock is experienced – that first taste is surprisingly bitter/sour with some spiciness which had me believing that this was a traditional sour ale, and leaving me second guessing what I was expecting to drink. However, I noticed that after that initial shock, the sip mellowed and left a nice aftertaste and good mouth feel. The taste was sweet, hoppy, and citrusy with a strong initial hit followed by a mellow lingering aftertaste. The beer, like Upright’s other beers, uses saison yeast and four kinds of hops to get its unique taste and characteristics, and results in a farmhouse ale definitely worth trying. After a few more sips of this 8%’er, it was time to “do work”, listen to some Elliott Smith, and toss it back.

For those interested in expanding their farmhouse horizons, Upright is traditionally hard to get East of the Rockies, but can be purchased via various specialty shops on the Inter Web - take a look at www.northwestliquidgold.com

Serving Type: 750 ml bottle
Glassware: Goose Island chalice
Color (hue and head): rich, golden color; thick, white head that lingers
Aroma: flowery, citrusy, hoppy, sweetness
Taste: Initial bitterness, spiciness, sweet, hoppy, citrus
Grade: 92/100 (A-)
Musical Pairing: Elliott Smith – Waltz #2

Brew Review - Nectar IPA

Sweet nectar of the gods, this is good! Spring is here (finally) and it's time to give those spring flowers something to hope for. I rarely get the opportunity to enjoy a lazy Saturday afternoon, but I'm taking full advantage and assisting my attempt to catch up on some reading with a Nectar Ales Nectar IPA. The brew pours a light copper, orange with a good head that dissipates quick. It carries a clean hop aroma, but exudes more the sweet and floral as opposed to northwest pine forest. Makes me think spring/summer thoughts, where as the other IPAs tend to push me in the direction of pine and fall aromas. Yeah, the temp took a wicked spring dip into the 40s and 50s, but the Nectar IPA has a caramel backbone and medium body that suits the cooler spring days just fine. Clean finish and quite enjoyable. I will be picking up another 6 pack from Mike's Wine and Spirit soon. It's my neighborhood brew (crack) dealer...hope to see you there soon.

Serving Type: 6 pack/12oz bottle

Glassware: Tulip

Color (hue and head): light copper, orange; thick head, quickly dissipates.

Aroma: sweet, floral, hops.

Taste: fresh cut grass, spring flowers; caramel, light malt; medium body.

Grade: 93/100 (A-)

Musical pairing: Matt and Kim - Daylight

Surroundings: Lazy Saturday enjoying some brew, book, blog and boxer (dog).

Parkville Microbrew Festival - Recap

In contrast to last year’s pouring rain, the weather for Saturday’s 8th annual Parkville Microbrewfest was spectacular – warm and sunny with very light breeze. Because of the beautiful weather I was able to talk a crew of friends into joining me at the Brewfest.

With 32 breweries present, I had to have a plan of action to make sure I tasted the beers I wanted – and lived to tell the tale. So, I decided to focus on those breweries whose beer I could not buy in the Kansas City area –those beers that I would not otherwise have a chance to taste. At the end of the day, my two favorite brewers were Blind Tiger from Topeka Kansas (my favorite last year) and Upstream from Omaha, Nebraska.

Blind Tiger brought their Maibock, and ran out of it quickly – it was an obvious favorite of all. But more interesting was their “backpack beer.” Yes, they roamed the crowd with a backpack full of a new beer they were introducing – a Whiskey Porter. Now, I usually steer away from the porters and stouts, but I did taste this beer and loved it. It was full of a deep cherry taste. The Whiskey Porter was a favorite among the wine lovers in our group. Also distributed through backpack was the Live at the Fillmore IPA. I spoke with one of the brewers who told me they crafted 47 new beers each year. While I am not sure how many of these make it to market, this willingness to try new experiments is one of the reasons they brew such wonderful beer. My crew will soon be taking a road trip to Topeka to visit The Blind Tiger Brewery and Restaurant (blindtiger.com).

Upstream Brewing featured four beers, among them their Children of the Peppercorn Saison. I am not beer savvy enough to know what makes a Saison, but I do know that this was my favorite beer of the day – or was at minimum a tie with Stone Brewing’s Double Black IPA. Upstream also introduced their Grand Cru at the festival – my wine-loving friends appreciated it, but for me it tasted like someone poured a glass of Chardonnay in my beer. Upstream also offered a pale ale, a brown ale and a Horse Feathers Rye Beer, which was a wonderful introduction into the world of rye beers.

Other notables:

• Stone ran out of the Arrogant Bastard Ale early on, but replaced it with the afore-mentioned Double Black IPA. Yum!
• Bourbon Barrell Oatmeal Stout from Empyrean in Lincoln NE was extra tasty.

Economic Win - Seeing Good in Bad

As gas prices increase at the rate of housing in it's prime, remember you can always get some good brew cheap. No, you don't have to sacrifice as your wife decreases your weekly beer allowance to fill up the tank. Pick up a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid or a Stone IPA. Both set at 3.99 (roughly the cost of a gallon of gas) will get you a bomber (22oz) of amazingly tasty brew. I can't argue with that! Just picked up two at Mike's Wine & Spirits at 85th and Wornall. If you got a few more bucks to spend, grab Stone's Cali-Belgique or a Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot (Imperial Brown Ale? WTF!?!?) at 5.99. If you're in saving mode, you don't have to settle for a 30 pack of watered down messiness. As things get tight, we can still get great micro brew at good cost. See you out there, kiddos.

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