Golding Notes

Golding Notes
An Interview with Bend Brewing Company’s Brewmaster, Tonya Cornett.
By Angelo De Ieso II

Of the 69 categories at the Great American Beer Festival, the American-Style IPA (Category No. 39) was the most entered at the 2006 fest held last September in Denver.
The winner, which came of 94 entries, was Bend Brewing Co.’s HopHead. Truly an imperial but far from bombasticly unbalanced, this big beer captivates with fruity caramel malts and a healthy dose of florid Northwest hops that provide an offsetting, gentle piquancy.
Behind the big accolades subsists a small brewery mastered by Tonya Cornett, a meticulous brewer with an inventive spirit and community-oriented approach to her craft. Since its inception in early 1995, the downtown brewery was in many ways living in the shadow of its renowned neighbor, Deschutes Brewing.
A graduate of Siebel’s touted World Brewing Academy, Cornett took over the brewing reins in early 2001. I spoke with Cornett about her recent accomplishment, her force as a woman in the handcrafted brewing industry, and the future of Bend Brewing Company.
What has it been like to be a brewer in Bend, a town full of rich talent?
Tonya Cornett: It’s made me a lot better faster. I’m really into recipe development. I’m friends with a lot of the Deschutes brewers. We’ve passed ideas back and forth. They have been nothing but great to me and for me, because it has made me want to be better.
I felt coming into a town with so many brewers — I have to say there’s probably more great brewers per capita than anywhere else — it was a little intimidating. The brewers at Deschutes have become great friends. They actually accepted the award at GABF for me because I wasn’t there.
What is it like as a woman who brews beer — a beverage that is largely marketed toward men?
Cornett: First off, that’s what draws many people’s interest. But then, it puts a lot of pressure on me because so many people are focused on that. I feel like I really have to prove myself.
That’s another driving force on me, continually trying to make better beer. Winning the (GABF) medal, that was a big stamp of approval. Once at a brew festival, a brewer tried (a beer I brewed), tapped my husband on the shoulder and said, “That’s a great pilsner!” (My husband) said, “Oh, I didn’t make it, she did.”
It was in front of a group of brewers … half of them knew and half of them didn’t. Of course, those that knew thought it was so funny, and those who didn’t were totally shocked and embarrassed. But at the same time, it was a big pat on my back because it wasn’t something they expected, and I think that ended up being a positive.
What are your future goals in brewing?
Cornett: I think we’re going to get back to doing some really creative beers. I did it a lot last year, but this year, certain beers like the IPA have been flying out of here and that’s all I’ve been doing. So in the future I would like to be producing more high-end, eclectic styles.
Look for Bend Brewing’s beers periodically in Portland at the Horse Brass, Oaks Bottom, Concordia Ale House, and the soon-to-be-defunct Rose and Raindrop.

Beer News:
Bend’s Deschutes Brewery Expanding To Portland
Deschutes Brewery will open their first brew-pub outside of Bend! Lucky for us (and a smart move by the brewery) they decided Portland should have the honor. The location will be NW 11th and Davis near the Armory with an estimated opening in Fall of 2007.

Paws for a Brew? Or a Brew for your Paws?
Brewing has definitely gone to the dogs! Terrie Berenden, a pet shop owner in the southern Dutch town of Zelhem recently created a beer for her Weimaraners made from beef extract and malt. branded as Kwispelbier. "Once a year we go to Austria to hunt with our dogs, and at the end of the day we sit on the veranda and drink a beer. So we thought, my dog also has earned it," she said. The nonalcoholic brew was introduced to the market last week and advertised as "a beer for your best friend." The beer is fit for human consumption, Berenden said. But at $2.14 (or 1.65 euro) a bottle, it's about four times more expensive than a Heineken.

Minors No More
In a yet to be confirmed report from the Oregon Brewers Festival, after 19 years of promoting the Festival as a community event the OLCC announced that minors under the age of 21 will not be allowed on the Festival premises in 2007. If you disagree with the OLCC's decision, please contact executive director Stephen Pharo and let him know: 503-872-5000, 1-800-452-6522, or steve.pharo@state.or.us, http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/.

Save the Date
1st International Brewers Symposium, “Hop Flavor and Aroma”. August 9–10, 2007 Oregon State University in Corvallis. Call the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) at 651.454.7250 or go online to http://www.asbcnet.org/.

Topics to Discuss Over a Pint
No taxation without representation! The possibility of a new Oregon Beer Tax is generating a lot of discussion out there. So get informed and get active! Over the next couple of weeks, Guest on Tap will feature talking points regarding the brewing industry in Oregon. These will help to inform and inspire the debate. For example: Oregon Breweries have 11% of the market in Oregon (#1 in the US) & 38% of the beer that is made in Oregon is consumed in Oregon; Oregon breweries pay more than $700,000 in state excise tax; Oregon is the #2 craft beer market in the nation (21 million gal./year); Portland is the largest craft beer market in the nation and Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world; Oregon has 5 of the top 50 brewing companies in the US (all of them are craft brewers and none of them existed 25 years ago); Oregon has led the growth of the craft beer segment in the US (up 11% in 2004, 16% in 2005 and 24% in 2006).

For more information on the beer tax, check out the Oregon Brewer’s Guild website at http://oregonbeer.org/Taxtalk.pdf

OLCC says No Kids at the annual Oregon Brewers Festival

Outrage in the beer community!


After 19 years of promoting the Oregon Brewers Festival as a community event, we regret that we will not be allowed to have minors under the age of 21 on the festival premises in 2007. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has stipulated no minors be on-site, citing OLCC Rule 845-006-0340 (7) (a) in which "eating predominates" and the premise must not have a "drinking enviroment". In order to view this rule, please go to here and click on "Laws and Rules". Click on OLCC Law Book. This will open up a PDF file for viewing.
If you disagree with the OLCC's decision, then please contact executive director Stephen Pharo and let him know: 503-872-5000,1800-452-6522,or steve.pharo@state.or.us
http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/

Please email the OLCC your comments!

Liquid Assets!

Originally published on Friday January 19, 2007 in the Portland Tribune:

Liquid asset
• Beer-loving couple turns pint-size kitchen into keg-size entertainment center

By SUZIE RIDGWAY
for The Tribune’s
Home section

When Lisa Morrison and her husband, Mark Campbell, made the decision to remodel the kitchen in their 1909 house off of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, they knew that they wanted a large, functional space that allowed them to enjoy and entertain with their favorite beverage: beer.
The custom beer kitchen not only supplies the couple with cold beer, but it also offers ample space for cooking, working and entertaining friends.
“Remodels take on the personality of the homeowner,” says Mark Hylland, owner of Oregon Home Services LLC, the design/build company that built the couple’s beer kitchen.
Morrison, known far and wide as the “beer goddess” for her knowledge and written beer critiques, and Campbell share a serious love for the beverage.
“My husband and I are big beer fans,” she says. “We home brew. We make all of our vacations around beer.”
To meet their needs, an addition was built onto the home to accommodate the kitchen, as well as a laundry room and powder room.
“They had a tiny kitchen. It was about the size of a small closet and we quadrupled its size,” Hylland says.
The beer kitchen project, along with the rest of the home’s remodeling projects, took about six months to complete.
The remodeled kitchen has Shaker-style cherry cabinets, black granite countertops with a herringbone tile backsplash. The flooring is finished in warm brown shades, all in complementary colors of beer.
A custom built-in cabinet that delivers beer from two taps and displays the couple’s vast collection of pint glasses is what Morrison has affectionately dubbed her “beer doo-dah.”
When the couple and remodeling crew began discussing the design of the kitchen, no one was sure what to call the beer cabinet because none of them had ever done anything quite like it before.
“I just started calling it the beer doo-dah and actually, on our blueprints, it says, ‘beer doo-dah,’” Morrison says.
When Morrison and Campbell were contemplating the remodel, they tossed around ideas about what they wanted, liked and what was absolutely necessary.
“The beer doo-dah bordered between have-to have it and like-to have it, so it ranked pretty high up there. We knew exactly where we were going to put it. So everything was just kind of perfect for it,” she says.
The beer cabinet contains two taps fed by a large, cooled pipe that keeps the lines cold while delivering beer from two of six kegs housed in the basement. A restaurant back-bar cooler, purchased from eBay, refrigerates the kegs.
The floor, one of the most striking features of the kitchen, is made from two coordinating shades of Marmoleum, a product created from linseed oil, resins and wood flour with jute backing.
The floor inlay, the darker of the two shades, flows diagonally from one corner of the kitchen to the other and into the laundry room.
“We call it the river of beer,” she says, adding that the reason for the design is that they wanted to make sure the additional floor space didn’t seem too cavernous.
They decided to visually cut it in half with the river of beer, which made for a more cohesive look.
Morrison says that the kitchen is one big room that is part kitchen, part entertainment area.
In addition to the standard appliances, the area includes a full-height pantry, as well a large island in the middle with a gas cooktop on one side and an informal dining area with barstools on the other.
The entertainment area has a desk and a long countertop that can be used as a food staging area for their formal dining room or for serving appetizers during a party, along with the beer doo-dah.
“Everybody needs a doo-dah,” she says.
Morrison says that the inspiration for the beer kitchen remodel came from seeing other homes, such as rooms in upscale homes from the Street of Dreams.
“They always have these wine things that are so nice, but even if there is anything about beer, it’s usually tucked away somewhere, kind of like the evil stepchild,” Morrison says.
“We live in the most amazing place for craft beer. I really wanted to give craft beer credit where it’s due, so I built this really beautiful thing around beer so that people can walk in and say, ‘Wow, that is absolutely gorgeous.’ This is something you can actually highlight, be proud of and show off,” Morrison says.
“I absolutely adore the kitchen. It’s just made life so much easier. Something that we really didn’t anticipate was just how much easier things are. We feel like we’re not fighting the house,” she says.
“I telecommute to work every day and I actually have an office in my home, but I find that I love hanging out in my kitchen so much that, a lot of times, I’ll take my laptop and wander outside of my office and come and sit in my kitchen.”

Bend's Deschutes Brewery Expanding to Portland

Bend's first microbrewery makes it big
Bend’s Deschutes Brewery Expanding To Portland
By Joseph Friedrichs, 1-17-07


The new Deschutes pub in Portland will be very similar to this one in downtown Bend.
For the first time in its young history, the Deschutes Brewery has decided it will open a branch of operation outside the city limits of Bend with a move to Oregon’s largest city, microbrew-loving Portland. The jump will put Deschutes in the thick of a city with more microbrew operations per capita than any other city in the country. The headquarters for Deschutes will remain in Bend, where they have been since 1988. Dave Wilson, the director of sales and marketing for Deschutes Brewery, confirmed with me Tuesday afternoon that the company is indeed heading north to Portland. Top executives at the brewery made the decision at the tail end of last week.No official public announcement has been made regarding the Portland pub. However, Wilson said the new site will be very similar to the pub that sits in downtown Bend. That was the original pub/restaurant/brew site for Deschutes. The brewery expanded in 1993 and now has a brewing facility with two brew houses. Deschutes is considered one of the most successful microbreweries in the Northwest and distributes its beer to nearly every Western state and beyond. For example, I saw an assortment of Deschutes-brewed six packs in Minneapolis last month. Gary Fish established the Deschutes Brewery & Public House as small brew pub and named it after the Deschutes River that flows through Bend. It was the city’s first microbrew operation and produced 310 barrels of beer that year. They now produce more than 100,000 barrels annually. Deschutes’ first beers were Black Butte Porter, Bachelor Bitter and Cascade Golden Ale. They now have a collection of seasonal beers and produce more than a dozen different flavors at any given time. Included in the Deschutes’ seasonal-brew package is Cinder Cone Red Ale. This ale is widely popular throughout the Northwest, and has fanatical following in Portland. A group known as People For Year Round Cinder Cone have campaigned for the brewery to, well, produce the particular beer all year. The micro-brewing movement is believed to have started in Portland in the 1980s. As of last year, 33 microbreweries, more than one-third of the state total, were located in Portland. Bend has five microbreweries. Oregon also has the most breweries per capita than any other state. Details of the Deschutes pub in Portland are expected to be released in the coming weeks, Wilson said.

Quiet Cover for a Vital Brew from NYT

A Great Multimedia interactive slide show here <http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/dining/20070124_TASTING_FEATURE/blocker.html?th&emc=th>

January 24, 2007
Ales of The Times
Quiet Cover for a Vital Brew
By ERIC ASIMOV

BROWN is not exactly the color of excitement. To achieve a hint of glamour, brown must adopt more seductive aliases, like chestnut, cocoa or cafe au lait. Unaltered, brown might as well be plain vanilla, the blah-est of moods, the Charlie Brownest of the ordinary. “Brown shoes don’t make it,” Frank Zappa sang in a more cutting assessment of this most defenseless of colors.
So how is one to talk up what the British for centuries have so doggedly called brown ale, except when they were using the alternate, equally soporific mild ale? The Germans haven’t done much better. Their own version of brown ale, long the signature beer of the Düsseldorf region in northwestern Germany, is called altbier, literally old beer.
Ever creative and unbeholden to tradition, American craft brewers have made the brown-ale style their own. The name, alas, remains brown.
Perhaps it’s left to us, the Dining section’s tasting panel, to rescue brown ales from marketing torpidity and reveal the vitality within, for these beers are anything but dull. Yes, they are quiet, subtle and even self-effacing. More important, they are delicious, and they especially shine with food. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, Richard Scholz, an owner of Bierkraft in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Lew Bryson, a beer writer and managing editor of Malt Advocate magazine.
As with great character actors who are so easy to take for granted, you have to pay close attention to brown ales to appreciate their virtue. They have roles to play — quenching thirst, facilitating conversation, sharpening the appetite — and they do it well. If by chance you notice the fine, almost sweet maltiness of the aroma, and the brisk, dry, mineral quality of the flavors, even better. More likely, it’s the absence of these qualities in a poor example that stands out, conveying the sense of something missing.
Brown ales come in more than one flavor. The British offer two styles, the crisper northern brown ale and the softer, sweeter southern ale. German altbiers tend to be earthier and fruitier, with a refreshingly bitter aftertaste. And the American brown ales; well, if it is possible to turn up the volume on this sedate style, American craft brewers will find a way, often by adding the citrus and pine aromas of American hops.
The result is a stylistic hodgepodge of beers bound primarily by their color, and even that is a stretch. For while all the beers were indeed brown, they represented every shade of brown, from copper, tawny and brick to mahogany bordering on black.
“It’s such a stylistic spectrum,” Mr. Scholz said, “that you have to evaluate them by asking what is good to drink.”
By that criterion, the very best was Ellie’s Brown Ale from the Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colo., which had such a beautiful malt aroma that sniffing it seemed like pleasure enough. But drinking it was awfully good, too, with its interwoven flavors of smoke, fruit and minerals.
Our No. 2 beer, Goose Island Nut Brown Ale from Chicago, had a roasted malt aroma and flavors that were elegant, deep and balanced. Like the best of these ales, it made you want to keep drinking it, not much of a problem since the alcohol levels generally hover around a low 5 percent.
Goose Island was one of three beers with the enticing moniker Nut Brown, fittingly evocative of old England as it was derived from Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, a classic of the northern English style. Smith’s, a no-nonsense brew, has long been one of my favorites, offering earthy, dry flavors and a refreshing balance between malts and hops.
While our top two beers were both American, our No. 3, the Long Trail Double Bag Ale from Vermont, was the first to epitomize a distinctly American style, with aromas from American hops. Should you wonder about the origin of the name Double Bag, the label’s image of a well-endowed cow will resolve the issue.
Domestic beers dominated our selection, with 18 American brown ales against four from Germany, two from England and one from the Netherlands, and they accounted for eight of our top 10 brews.
The lone German beer among our favorites was the Uerige Sticke Alt, which is a slightly hoppier version of the traditional altbier that Uerige makes several times a year. Unlike some of the other imports, this beer was extremely fresh and deliciously lively. Incidentally, while altbier means old beer, what it really connotes is beer made in the old style, an indication that even as most German brewers converted to lager beers in the 19th century, those in the Düsseldorf area clung to their ale-making ways.
While altbiers have remained popular in Germany, brown ales have become less so in Britain, which may be why we could find only two. In his 2003 book, “The Brewmaster’s Table,” Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery suggests that mild brown ales, the knock-back drink of thirsty coal miners and dock workers, are not so appealing to post-industrial office workers, who are less thirsty and more aspirational.
Nonetheless, they seem highly popular among Americans who are unburdened by the coal-encrusted history of brown ale. Brews from the Ithaca Beer Company, Brooklyn Brewery and Smuttynose were all superb in their own way, with Ithaca and Brooklyn following the quieter British style and Smuttynose going all-out hoppy American.
While we had room for only 10 top beers, we liked many more as well. Do not sneer at brown ales like the chocolate-inflected Dogfish Head, the creamy Samuel Adams, the fruity Alaskan, the sweetly malty Newcastle from Britain or the hoppy Southampton, whose Secret Ale was inspired by the Uerige Sticke Alt.
And don’t forget the Netherlands brown ale either, although it is easy to miss. It comes from Grolsch, better known for its lager beer in a distinctive swing-top bottle. The brown ale, fittingly, comes with a plain old bottle cap. It’s fruity and refreshing, more altbier than British brown. And perhaps because it’s adapting another country’s beer heritage, Grolsch felt free to take a marketing liberty. This brown is labeled amber ale. Tasting Report: Shy Brown Ales Find Their Sweet Voice
Avery Brewing Company Ellie’s Brown Ale $1.50 *** 1/2
Boulder, Colo. 12 ounces
Brisk, with rich malt aromas. Fruit, mineral and bitter hop flavors.
Goose Island Nut Brown Ale $1.50 ***
Chicago 12 ounces
Aroma of chocolate and malt; clean with good depth of flavor.
Long Trail Double Bag Ale $1.75 ***
Bridgewater Corners, Vt. 12 ounces
Inviting, malty and refreshing, with aromas of sweet fruit and piney hops.
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale $4 ***
Tadcaster, England 18.7 ounces
Strong malty aroma, with dry, brisk flavors that linger.
(Importer: Merchant du Vin, Tukwila, Wash.)
Uerige Sticke Alt $5.50 ***
Düsseldorf, Germany 11.2 ounces
Very fresh, with aromas of chocolate and malt, and bitter, lingering flavors.
(B. United International, Redding, Conn.)
Ithaca Beer Company Nut Brown $1.40 ***
Ithaca, N.Y. 12 ounces
Pale brown with a pleasing oatlike, nutty aroma; distinct and refreshing.
Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale $1.50 ***
Brooklyn, N.Y. 12 ounces
British style, with roasted malt aroma and minerals and nutlike flavors.
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale $1.95 ***
Portsmouth, N.H. 12 ounces
Dominated by piney American hop aromas, yet pleasing and refreshing.
Otter Creek Brewing Copper Ale $1.95 ** 1/2
Middlebury, Vt. 12 ounces
Well balanced with herbal and fruit aromas, and lingering, bitter flavors.
Dick’s Brewing Company Working Man’s $1.45 ** 1/2
Brown Ale, Centralia, Wash. 12 ounces
Piney hop aromas with dry malt and herbal flavors.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN:
Ratings range from zero to four stars and reflect the panel’s reaction to ales, which were tasted with names concealed. The panelists this week are Eric Asimov; Florence Fabricant; Richard Scholz, an owner of Bierkraft in Park Slope, Brooklyn; and Lew Bryson, a beer writer and managing editor of Malt Advocate magazine.
The tasted ales represent a selection generally available in supermarkets, beer distributorships and over the Internet. Prices are those paid in the New York region.
Tasting Coordinator: Bernard Kirsch

Alaskan Smoked Porter wins awards

Alaskan Smoked Porter strikes again! It has been named one of the 10 best American microbrew beers in a story named "Brew Romance." The beer panel included the likes of William Brand of the Oakland Tribune, Tom Dalldorf of Celebrator and Joe Sixpack of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Click on the link to see what Playboy had to say about Alaskan Smoked
Porter:
http://www.playboy.com/style/features/best-microbrews/

Bookmark Your Beer

BOOKMARK YOUR BEER
By Gary Corbin

You’re thinking about beer. You want something new, different, fresh. But you’re out of touch with what’s current. Where do you turn? To the Internet, of course — the source of all news too hot to print.
But the Internet’s a big place. At last official count there were a bazillion beer Web sites — and that was yesterday. To help you narrow your search, I’ve put together a handy list of my favorites. These will get you to good information about good beer in no time, especially if you make judicious use of browser bookmarks.

BEER APPRECIATION
Beer appreciation sites on the Web abound. Beeradvocate.com is stuffed with beer news, features, event and travel information, and, yes, advocacy. Want to know about a beer style? The latest Belgian Tripel? Beers you can’t find around here? Try this site first.
If you want to know what people actually think of them — or if you want to tell others what you think — venture next to Ratebeer.com. Both of these sites encourage you to register, but it’s not required.
Realbeer.com is a chattier version of BeerAdvocate, allowing user posts and listserve-type discussion. Similarly, the MicrobrewLovers group on MySpace (groups.myspace.com/microbrewlovers) is a discussion forum in Murdoch’s empire (free membership required to participate). Which leads us to …

BLOGS
Blogs, or “Web logs” for those just landing on planet Earth, are user-contributed content Web sites. Generally, an author pens an initial posting, and readers add comments. In the past few years they’ve become all the rage, and beer fans are right there with the teeny-boppers in filling Web content.
Jeff Alworth’s “Beervana” blog (beervana.blogspot.com) is newsy and informal, and since it’s a blog, it’s interactive. Keep up to date on the Portland--area beer scene or use his handy list of links to connect to other worthy beer sites. Like, um, mine: browsingbrews.blogspot.com. If you like my writing here, you’ll like it there, too.

PRINT MEDIA ONLINE
Most print publications are going digital, at least partly. Celebrator Beer News (www.celebrator.com) includes reviews, columns, feature articles, and regional and industry news from its printed cousin, often featuring Portland writers such as Lisa Morrison and Fred Eckhardt. Ale Street News (www.alestreetnews.com) contains less of its print content and focuses more on merchandizing Beer Goddess and Beer Ambassador goods.
Of course, this column, Guest on Tap (www.guestontap.com) and its affiliate, pdxbeer.blogspot.com, are must-haves in your Favorites list.
PortlandBeer.Org is all about appreciation. Very consumer-oriented, it’s replete with news items about new releases, beer descriptions, and brewery profiles.

THE INDUSTRY
The Web site of the industry association’s Oregon Brewers Guild (www.oregonbeer.org) is a wealth of information on Oregon beer, breweries, and brew pubs, as are its companions in Washington (www.washingtonbrewersguild.org) and California (www.calbrewers.com).

HOMEBREWING
The American Homebrewers Association (www.beertown.org) and Beer Judge Certification Program (www.bjcp.org) are the membership sites for those essential homebrewers’ associations. The AHA site is great for connecting with fellow brewers and brew clubs while the BJCP is all about competitions and judging.
The Oregon Brew Crew Web site (oregonbrewcrew.com) keeps homebrewers up to date on competitions and events in the Portland area and is the portal for signing up to its very active listserve.
Nationally, on MySpace, groups.myspace.com/homebrewers hosts forums and chat for homebrewers on the world’s largest blog and social networking site.
For supplies, www.fhsteinbart.com provides an online catalog for one of the oldest beer and wine supply houses in the United States. Wholesalers should check their BrewCraft USA site, www.steinbart.com.

Beer News

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Q: “Are there any shops where a person can go and brew a batch of beer and return later to bottle it? One like the one that used to be near the old Meier & Frank warehouse." Writes Greg A.
A: Brew On Premises or BOP shops are the technical terms for them. Yes, we do have one in the city! Let's Brew at 8235 SE Stark (http://www.letsbrew.net/, Ph#503.256.0205). Brian is the owner and his wife, Kim, manages. A 12-gallon batch runs about $90, depending on what you want to brew. Price does not include bottles. Kim said you should call for a reservation.

NEW BEERS!
New From the NEW OLD LOMPOC: Bombshell Blonde is their very popular cream ale. It's sweet, on nitro and very flavorful. Hugo Bitter is even more drinkable, at 3.3 percent alcohol. It's a classic light traditional English bitter, so it has just that right kick to it. There are also isolated pockets of C-Son's Greetings, our hoppier, stronger version of the C-Note Imperial Pale, but that beer is going fast. / ROGUE BREWING has a new Chocolate Stout is just in time for Valentine’s Day. / From out on the Gorge, Jacob Leonard, brewer at WALKING MAN, has some new seasonal beers to offer. Here are a couple you should try at their brew pub in Stevenson, Washington: Belgian Saison "Saison du Ped"; Belgian Double "Abbey Rode"; Robust Porter "Porter Porter", a hoppy, low alcohol 4.6%; Scotch Ale "High Road"; and a Stout "No Name Yet" aged in dark rum barrels.

NEW TO THE MARKET!
Eel River draft beer! EEL RIVER, out of Fortuna CA, is the first 100% certified organic brewery in the US and Portland now has the IPA, the Ravenseye Imperial Stout, and the Triple Exultation Old Ale. These beers were at this year’s Holiday Ale Festival. / ALASKAN BREWING CO. has announced that they are proud to be an official sponsor of the 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®. It's fitting that Alaskan Amber is the official beer of the Iditarod, because both the beer and the race offer a taste of Alaska's frontier past.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
FULL SAIL TASTING ROOM AND PUB is now closed for renovation until March 17th. They should re-open just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. / WINTER BREWER’S DINNER featuring Craft Brewed Belgian Style Beers and Belgian-Inspired Food on January 27th, 2006 at Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon (503-965-7007 http://www.pelicanbrewery.com/). / The second annual LOVERS' BEER FESTIVAL at FEARLESS BREWING COMPANY takes place on Sat., Feb. 10, 2007. Beer tasting starts at 6:30 pm until 9 pm. Tickets are $8 and include beer tasting, chocolates and appetizer buffet. 326 South Broadway, Estacada, Oregon (503-630-BEER http://www.fearless1.com/). / 14TH ANNUAL HILLSDALE BREWFEST -20 McMenamins brewers present 20 beers in the infamous “Battle of the Belt” at Hillsdale Brewery & Public House on Saturday, February 17th. The day-long event features brews, food, family fun and a competition for the Belt – an honor that includes the right to represent McMenamins at this year’s Oregon Brewers Festival. The Hillsdale Brewery & Public House is located at 1505 SW Sunset Boulevard in Portland (503-246-3938 www.mcmenamins.com).

Full Sail: Living The Dream

Full Sail: Living The Dream
By Lisa Morrison

It’s been 20 years since Full Sail Brewing Co. set sail on a new and exciting adventure called “microbrewing.”
Back in the day, there weren’t a lot of folks doing that sort of thing. The Full Sail brewers didn’t have to walk to school in hip-deep snow (both ways!), but they were breaking new ground nonetheless, both in bringing new beer styles to a growing number of ever-thirsty fans and in the way Full Sail does business — the brewery is completely employee-owned, with an pronounced accent on loving what they do during both work hours and playtime.
Today, the Hood River-based brewery is proving it is still a pioneer with a new limited-edition series aptly named LTD. The name is a play on words — or in this case, letters. In addition to the usual abbreviation for limited, “LTD” in Full Sail-land stands for “Living the Dream,” a theme among the brewery’s 40-some-odd employees, many of who are self-described boardheads, powderhounds, hikers and bikers.

“(The year) 2007 is our 20th year of being fortunate to be doing what we love, brewing beer,” Full Sail founder and CEO Irene Firmat says. “So we are dedicating LTD to everyone who’s living the dream, whatever that dream might be.”
Full Sail plans to share the Dream across the 15 Western states where it’s distributed by releasing several special, limited-edition brews throughout the year. The move helps Full Sail tap into the seasonal-beer category, one of the fastest-growing groups in the craft-beer industry — and one that Full Sail hasn’t really pursued much until now, except for its Brewmaster’s Reserve series.
“Our seasonal line emphasizes and builds on our brand mantra — both the world-class quality of our beers — (as in) Limited Edition — and our celebration of independence — (with) Live the Dream,” Firmat says.
Bottling Number 01, which just came out in late December, is described on the bottle as an “easy-drinking albeit wicked awesome” Limited Edition Lager.
The liquid pours into the glass dark amber or copper in color, with a nice toasted-white head. The aroma is sweet and malty. Think of it as a Dortmunder-style lager on steroids. The first sips are full-on malt, with a hint of caramel and a touch of toasty breakfast cereal. A hint of hops tickles the tongue before you swallow — rounding out the experience with a hoppy Northwest flair. It’s a smooth, easy-drinking lager, indeed. And wicked as well, sporting 6.4 percent alcohol.
If you’re someone who likes to read the cereal box as you munch your morning breakfast, you will certainly enjoy the LTD packaging, as the creators obviously had more than just a little fun with the design. The six-pack holder features a “Malt-O-Meter” that offers an at-a-glance rundown of the brew’s bitterness, maltiness and overall drinkability.
For the beer aficionados and brewers (home or otherwise), the bottom of the six-pack holder sports a hilarious chart of “Today’s Recipe,” with checkmarks in the boxes representing ingredients used in the LTD lager (Czech Saaz and Hallertauer hops and caramel, chocolate and wheat malt). Additionally, there are no checkmarks in boxes representing ingredients not used in the lager. I won’t spoil the joke, but be warned that you might want to not sip the LTD as you read the box, unless you enjoy the sensation of beer coming out your nose.
Beer fans also can learn about the lager’s Plato (16 degrees), which is a measurement of potential alcohol, and International Bittering Units (IBUs), a measurement of potential bitterness in a beer (this one decidedly is not bitter at 26 IBUs). It’s a comedy and an education all in one!
Full Sail plans to follow up LTD 01 with another limited-edition bottling, hopefully with packaging design once again created with tongue in cheek. The second release aptly will be named LTD Number 02, but so far, there is no word what style this one will be. Look for it this spring.
Until then, you can catch your own dream at most stores where Full Sail is sold.



Beer News

New Beer Releases:
Bridgeport Brewing Company paints the town brown! Beertown Brown is here for citizen beer lovers throughout the West! Beertown Brown, a Northern English Brown Ale, brings together roasted caramel and chocolate malts for a smooth, malty flavor, then adds a subtle blend of Northwest hops for a bit of spice (O.G. 13.2 degrees and ABV 5.2%).


New Old Lompoc is going crazy with new beers! They have ten new beers on tap or on the way: Blond Bombshell Creamed Ale; See thru Stout with real vanilla beans; 69 (Sixty-nine) Dark Lager; Hugo a great cask condition version of the same; Mia Bock for the spring; 1060 Taxation for tax season; Dogda Irish Ale for St. Patrick’s Day; Pagan Porter; Too Much Coffeeman Stout from Jim Parker’s house; Bald Guy Brown, and if that is not enough, Heaven Hellas Bock is coming soon! WOW!

Major Brewers dinner planned on the coast!
Winter Brewers Dinner January 27th, 2006
Of all the great drink pairings to go with food, none is better than beer. So it is with great pleasure that the Pelican Pub & Brewery presents the first Brewers Dinner of 2007. This Brewers Dinner will feature craft-brewed Belgian Style beers and Belgian-Inspired food! The event will take place on Jan. 27 from 6:30 to 10pm in the oceanfront Haystack Room at the Pelican Pub & Brewery, located at 33180 Cape Kiwanda Dr. in Pacific City. Tickets for the dinner cost $65 per person, and include a commemorative glass. The event features a five-course dinner of Belgian-inspired food, with each course complemented by a handcrafted Pelican beer or special imported Belgian beer. For more information, visit www.PelicanBrewery.com or call 503-965-7007.

Brewing Demo Day
Thought about making your own home brew? Here’s a way to get brewing with tips and info from the professionals. F.H. Steinbart Co. is hosting a brewing demo day on Sat. Jan. 20th from 9:15am until 1pm. You can watch, ask and discuss anything and everything there is to know about home brewing. There will even be a Sake brewing demo with Fred Eckhardt. The event is absolutely FREE so stop by at 234 SE 12th Ave. or call the store at 503-232-8793 for more information.

Beer Taxes in Oregon!
We want to hear from you about these very important issues. Please email us at Dave@guestontap.com. Your thoughts on these critical issues for our state will help us compile a special beer taxation story. Thank you for your support of this column.

Oregon Brew Crew Collaborator Beer on YouTube

Ember Ale YouTube Link

Hey All,

I finally figured out how to get the video up on YouTube.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUTT_800p7U


Jamie Dull

IS IT SPRING YET?

IS IT SPRING YET?
by Fred Eckhardt copyright 2007

If winter is here, can spring be far behind? OK. Winter has only just arrived, and spring is still a long way off, or not? Never mind, because some of our brewers are already formulating their spring offerings! Widmer seems to be ahead of the pack, with Full Sail and others not far behind.
The Widmer W '07 is the third of this annual series (that's W as in Widmer — in Oregon for 22 years now — not that other "W" in Washington DC, still lingering there after six years) is a very interesting brew. The W '05 was an India Pale Ale, (14.25 Plato degrees original fermentable gravity and 6 percent abv, with 45 bitterness), and so good that the company now brews it year 'round as Broken Halo IPA. Last year's W '06 was their lovable Northwest Red Ale, (17 Plato, 7.15 percent abv, 50 bitterness and shaded a deep red color).
The W's are a development of the Widmer brewers, led by Ben Dobler, Doug Rehberg and Ike Manchester, who concocted this beer as an American type Pale Ale. "American" in style, that is rich from heavier American malts and quite hoppy, as compared to the less hoppy "English" style, lower extract, ales brewed with English malts and hops.
Widmer '07 Summit hopped Pale Ale, features Summit hops, a short-trellis dwarf hop, developed in Washington State at Moxie, near Yakima, and probably bred originally in England. Dwarf hops, as developed by the Dwarf Hop Association of Washington state, are cultured on a short-trellis (10 feet — as opposed to the much higher hop trellis we know so well). They grow on a mesh netting and are harvested directly in the field by a hop picking machine, as opposed to being cut down and trucked to a hop picker building nearby.
Moreover, these hops are very strong in the prized Alpha-resin content (in this case, a stunning 18.2 percent, compared to old standby's Columbus, Chinook, Galena, Magnum and Millenniums at 12 to 15 percent). The dwarf hop may be the hop growers' next generation of high class hops, using fewer easier-to-harvest and simpler-to-use hop cones in the beer. The citrusy Summit is augmented by Alchemy and Chinooks in the bittering and aromatic character. The progenitor of this beer, last year's Summit Hop Pale Ale, was introduced last April and won a Silver Medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival.
This beer is a brilliant mahogany color, starting out at 13.25 Plato, 5.4 percent abv, and 34 bitterness. The hops are balanced by a nice mix of pale and special color malts, then fermented with a #1056 American ale yeast. The finish is in Widmer's traditional alt-style: cold aged for a few days.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>BOX<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< This beer is a great experience. Start by listening to the quietly talkative and beautiful head (you DO listen to your beer — right?), we move on to enjoy the rich brilliant pale mahogany color leading us to sniff and enjoy the spectacular aromatic nose from those delightful Summits. Now follow that most insistent invitation to imbibe. You'll find the beer's citrusy hop character waiting patiently for your blessing. Well balanced and delicious, so don't miss this beer.

Beer News

New Beer Release Report: Rogue announces St. Rogue Red Ale now dry hopped, Holy Dry Hopping! Winner of 8 Medals at the World Beer Championships! Deschutes Brewery’s release of their newest in the Bond Street Series, Hop Henge, a big Imperial IPA (IBUs 95; 8.1 ABV)! It’s Yummy! Full Sails’ LTD series should be appearing in your stores. The first in the series, LTD, is a limited edition medium bodied, copper colored lager with subtle hop accents, and a caramel aroma, that goes down smooth. Also, John Harris says he's bottled the Slipknot Imperial IPA from Full Sail, too! And don’t forget the Widmer Brothers’ Brewing Company’s release of W’07 as mentioned in Portland’s most talked about beer column!

Beer Science Education!: Bridgeport Brewing hosts a science event, the "Science pub" in association with OMSI. Join us every last Monday of the month (this month it will be on the 29th), 7:00 pm at the Bridgeport Brewpub & Bakery, 1313 N.W. Marshall. For more information or to sign up for the mailing list, please contact sciencepub@omsi.edu or call 503-797-4517.

Birthday Bash Time! THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM’S 93rd BIRTHDAY FREE-FOR-ALL featuring Menomena - The Avett Brothers - Binary Dolls – Coyote - DJs - Garcia Birthday Band - Live music showcases from MusicFestNW – Pickathon - Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls. Tastings of wine, beer, coffee and liquor – history tours – marimba bands – belly dancers – kids’ performances & MUCH MORE! Sunday, January 28, 2007. Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St., Portland OR, (503) 225-0047 (Also Lola’s Room, Ringlers Pub and Ringlers Annex) All day – All Ages – Free (Lola's & the Annex 21+)

Red Hook Shares Up in News Talk

Jan. 4, 2007, 11:28AM RedHook Shares Up After News of Talks
© 2007 The Associated Press

SEATTLE — Shares of RedHook Ale Brewery Inc. jumped more than 10 percent Thursday and reached a 52-week high after the company said it is in talks with privately-owned Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Redhook said the talks are a preliminary step in considering whether to combine the two companies. They currently share a joint sales and marketing venture, called Craft Brands Alliance LLC. They also have a brewing and licensing relationship in the Eastern U.S.
The company said discussions are expected to take several weeks. If the two were to combine, the deal would need to be approved by the board of directors at both companies.
Portland, Ore.- based Widmer brews its own brand of Hefeweizen and seasonal beers.
Redhook shares rose 10.5 percent, or 53 cents, to $5.53 in heavy morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded between $3.11 and $5.51 during the past 52 weeks.

De'ja' vu with Oregon Microdistilleries

BY Bill Owens
Honorary Beer Scribe for Guest on Tap

There is a sense of déjà vu going on in Oregon. After two decades, it’s happening again.
In the second half of the ’80s, the good beer movement took hold here in the quest for a better beer. Starting in the ’70s, the Oregon wine industry put its roots down in the Willamette Valley.
By the ’90s, there were hundreds of small wineries making wine that rivaled the Old World. Here in the 21st century, small-scale artisan-made distilled spirits are poised to remake the beverage landscape like its siblings, beer and wine.
I recently made a trip to Portland to photograph craft distilleries for a book about the art of small-scale distilling. Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog brewery squired me around town from Troutdale to McMinnville in search of the magic elixir made by your modern alchemists.
In the United States there are 88 craft distilleries, and Oregon is near the front of the pack with nine, with at least another four distilleries scheduled to open in 2007. Only California and Michigan, of all places, have more craft distilleries.
The July 2006 edition of GQ magazine featured a story on the local artisan distilling scene calling them “The New Bootleggers.” If GQ knows about this, it’s time to doing a little exploring to find these new upstarts.
Brandy Peak is the nation’s only wood-fired distillery, producing award-winning grappas and brandies. Clear Creek is the granddaddy of Oregon craft distillers with 20 years in the business, making world-class pear brandy and a lineup that includes eau de vie flavored with Douglas fir to whiskey made with Widmer Brothers grains. Bendistillery produces gin using local high-desert juniper berries and lava-filtered vodka for its bar and national distribution.
The newest generation of craft distilleries includes House Spirits, New Deal, Rogue, Ransom Spirits, Dolmen Distillery and, of course, McMenamins Edgefield Distillery, located in Troutdale.
The product of choice that many new craft distillers started with was vodka. It’s relatively easy to make, and though it’s supposedly flavorless, Oregon distillers can add their own subtle twists by filtering the spirits through huge tubes of activated charcoal like the Russian distilleries, or through crushed lava rock and limestone; all in search of a subtle flavors and smoothness.
It’s not all about vodka though. Oregon craft distilleries are making grappas, gins, brandies, whiskeys, eaux de vie, aquavit and rums.
Of particular note is House Spirits Krogstad Aquavit with a touch of caraway and anise. Exquisite.
Rogue Spirits Dark Rum is quite nice, more akin to bourbon than rum in many ways; and Dolmen Distillery’s Worker Bee is one of the few commercially distilled meads in the world. This rare distillate carries a hint of white flowers and honey, but with a nice blast of fire at the end.
Distillers are adding local juniper berries or spruce bows to their gin to make a product with a unique regional story. Given what I tasted on my recent tour, you are likely to see many more interesting and cutting-edge distillates coming out of Oregon in the near future. After Oregon’s renaissance in wine and beer making, now it’s distilling’s turn.
Bill Owens is president of the American Distilling Institute (www.distilling.com) and can be reached at bill@distilling.com.

Beer News:

Bottle Shop News! Belmont Station has moved and will re-open in their new location on January 4 th 2007! Belmont Station is relocating just 3 blocks away to 4500 S.E. Stark St Portland, OR 97215. New to the shop will be The Station Café, a great little bier café. On the menu: any of their bottled beer, plus a few very special beers on draught; more space means more beers (700 to 900 possible); and finally, self-serve coolers with UV protection on the cooler lights to prevent skunky beer (Belmont Station, 4500 SE Stark, www.belmont-station.com, #503- 232-8538).

Special Oak Aged Beer Tasting on the Coast! The event in Seaside, Oregon will be held at 5 PM on Saturday, January 7 th at the Wine Haus & Pub ( 1111 North Roosevelt Drive, Suite 200 in the Outlet Mall, Seaside, Oregon, www.thewinehaus.com, #503-738-0201). Contact Info: Jeff Kilday or Jon@TheWineHaus.com.

New Brewery on the Coast! Chris Nemlowil (brew master at the Wet Dog Café) and Jack Harris (Bill's Tavern in Cannon Beach) have ventured out on their own and will open Ft. George Brewing, a new brew pub in Astoria. The partners actually bought and dissembled a tavern from Virginia Beach. The new tavern will open soon.
From The Daily Astorian on November 8 th, 2006.

Beer News, Tips, and Story ideas accepted! Please send your Guest on Tap ideas or news stories to Dave@guestontap.com, or mail them to Guest on Tap in care of the Portland Tribune, or feel free to call us at #503.546.9876. We are always interested in beer happenings in Beervana! Cheers! Prost!