Nick and I pondering the universe... of BEER!

This year’s Holiday Ale Fest was special in many ways. Beer and friends all under one big tent. However, the most special thing of all the special things about this years Ale Fest was that I just happen to work 50 feet and 8 stories away from it. It was hard to say, “Eh, maybe next year.” when I had to navigate the line just to get to my bus every night.

So this year I made it down for a couple nights of beer and well, more beer. I was glad to see most of my favorites, there were only a couple breweries I didn’t recognize and a little disappointed not to see some that were new to me. I was also glad to have my trusty 33 Beers Journal with me. This handy dandy little booklet makes reviewing anywhere easy as a pils no matter how many you’ve had. The flavor wheel™ both enlightened my reviewing skills and helped me remember the sort of sensations rolling through my mouth, even in the middle of a crowd of fellow beer lovers.

Over two nights I used my $20 worth of tickets (10 to be exact) wisely. I was able to purchase two mugs and about 3 tasters. Here’s the secret: bring friends. In addition to my own beer, I tasted several friend’s beers. I mean, I know it’s swine flu season and all, but I think it’s worth it. After all, it’s alcohol right? Kills swine flu dead. With a little help from my friends, I turned 10 tickets into about 20. I think I made a couple new friends too.

In all I was able to sample 6 beers. I think I had more than that but I only wrote down 6 so that is what I will write about. I’ve got 27 more pages to fill up in my journal but that will have to wait until next time.

Here is the roundup:

Hair of the Dog – Jim 2009 (4 stars/5 mugs)
I heard there was a 2007 tapped earlier in the fest but I couldn’t care less. Smooth, full-bodied, with hoppy, malty undertones and something salty and yeasty in the finish.

Hopworks – Kronan the Barbarian (3 stars/4 mugs)
Although I enjoyed the hoppy, spice-laden body I didn’t feel this brew was anywhere near barbaric. I love Hopworks but this one only made me wish I had a Crosstown Pale or organic IPA in my glass (er… plastic mug).

Upright Brewing – Holy Herb (0 stars/-0 mugs)

Holy Herbs Batman! I usually steer clear of flavored brews because of results like this. Someone says to themselves, “I’m going to make a [insert flavor here] beer!” Then they set about concocting their flavor and getting it just right and somewhere along the line they stop making [blank] flavored beer and start making beer flavored [blank].

Of course, Holy Herb sits on a level all on it’s own for being incredibly blech-face inducing, as you can see in the photo. The flavor wheel for this one had a bias toward bitter, astringent , and sour. Words like gnarly, tainted, and Xtreme were jotted hastily between gasps.

Luckily, this was a friend’s beer so I didn’t have to endure much of it.

Alameda Brewing – Papa Noel (2 stars/1 mugs)
Love Alameda brews. However, I can’t say much for this one. It seemed totally dead. It was like it didn’t show up.

15th Street Brewing (I think) – Oak St. Nick (2 stars/1 mug)
Fruity and sweet with a floral texture. I can’t say I loved this one but it did well with what it had. It wasn’t my kind of beer but I can see someone, somewhere, liking it.

Deschutes Brewery – Lost Barrels of Mirror Mirror (5 stars/6 mugs )
This one from my one of my favorite breweries, was my first beer at the fest and my favorite. I went back at the end of the second night and had another. That is saying a lot considering I hadn’t even hit the Ninkasi (another fave). Oaky and bourbony, it was full-bodied and full of spicy textures. It was like someone took “woo hoo!” and put it in a keg. It was strong but smooth, a joy from the first sip to the last.

I am constantly reminded of how lucky we are to live in a city with this much brewing talent. At this year’s Holiday Ale Fest, it definitely showed up. My only regret is that I didn’t get to try more! Next time I’m going to get more tasters and reserve the full mugs for my favorites.

Wow! Yum! What a difference a year makes. It was smooth, thick, and oppressively dark. The flavors of licorice and molasses were there, but they have certainly taken the backseat to the excellent “stout-ness”. It also seems to have gotten more alcoholic during its stay in the meat locker. Either that or my liver has just given up even trying, cause … whew.

So now I’ve bought the 2009 batch. This year I buy more than one. And as I shove it into cold storage, I realize this is going to be a long year.

This porter was exactly what I was looking for.  It was very robust and filled with a smoky/woody/chocolate flavor that went well with my crispy white fish sandwich.  I could have easily finished another glass and joined the staff during their second dance show.  Usually beers like this are best during the fall and winter months, but I was getting tired of lighter ‘summer’ beers.  The porter hit the spot and didn’t seem too heavy.  Frosty would have tried some, but didn’t think it would have gone with all that cherry syrup in his sangria. 

At least I didn’t have to pay for it. Except in watching the Charger game with the buddy who brought it over. But I’m not bitter, really. Jubelale on the other hand …

While out doing ‘research’ with my design team in NW Portland we passed by the newly opened Deschutes Brew Pub on NW 11th and Davis. We were orginally planning on going to Everett Street Bistro for Mussels and Fries ,supposedly the best in Portland. I was game but unsure if this Belgian concoction was going to live up to the ‘hype’ (or as much hype you can give to mussels and fries). As it turned out, they don’t serve that anymore at Everett Street Bistro (sorry mussels and fries fans) so I talked the boys in to giving Deschutes a try.

I’ve happened past the historic location several times during the restoration and have always loved the building. The white brick and windows speak to a time before art galleries and hipster clothing stores. The machine shops and industrial supply stores near there are dissappearing fast but I can’t argue with progress. The Bearing Service Co up the street is still hanging on (I can remember getting the crank of my Skylark machined there) but I have to admit it kind of sticks out.

Deschutes did an amazing job of retaining the aethetic of the area’s past while creating a unique experience. It finds a niche between the refinement of Bridgeport (I liked it better before the remodel) and the roughness of Rogue’s brew pub. Handcarved wood, couch-like seating, plaid carpet, and eclectic artwork create a complex experience that is indicative of the Deschutes brand.

I wanted to try the Trip Hop but they didn’t have it on tap so my choice for beer was Fresh Hopped Mirror Pond. I figured it was appropriate since Mirror Pond is always my defacto choice in a pinch. The fresh hops added a green, hoppy hit to the beer as expected making a familiar favorite that much better. Along with crispy tortolini (which was tasty but more of an appetizer than a meal), my lunch at Deschutes was excellent.

I’ve always had a “sucks or awesome” relationship with Deschutes beers, and finally they have found one that is truly ordinary. In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, the Gramps and I popped open the Anniversary Wit to go with the “guys night out” Burgerville run. And it was … fine. Not awesome. Not Terrible. Just fine. I know, weird coming from me to not have an opinion, so I will instead do my best to describe it with one of the worlds most ubiquitous space wasters, the bulleted list.

4 ways to describe this beer:

• Ok I guess.
• Not as good as Mothership Wit (Damn you New Belgium)
• I hope its price goes down
• Have any Black Butte Porter? No.   Have any Buzzsaw Brown? No.   Blue Moon? I figured not.  … ok, I’ll guess Ill have the Wit then.

There are many stout makers that really get what a stout is all about: Black Seal Stout at the Rock Bottom in La Jolla, Snow Plow by Widmer, and our Patron Saint, Guiness to name a few. But then there are the others. Bison Chocolate Stout, Boone Valley Oatmeal Stout, and this one. “Stouts” from brewers that seem to think that burnt wood is a flavor people would like in their beer. I want to believe that they made it taste like this on purpose, but even so it doesn’t make it better. You get some yummy stout flavor on first sip, but then the rest of this bottle is like “juice of firepit log.” Steer clear.