My wife and I went to the open house at Deschutes today. It was centered around the release of their 19th Anniversary Ale (a continuation of their Bond Street Series). While talking with friends old and new, we found out a couple of interesting facts. First of all, I got a quick sneak-peek at the artwork for the next Jubelale. It is reminiscent of the label from 2001, but distinctly its own. This is one of my favorite labels in a while. I was stoked that we were able to see it.
Second, I saw the new kettles for the Portland pub on the floor of the brewery by the big garage doors. I had seen them being unloaded on my way from work a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t put two and two together to think that they were meant for the Portland pub. After speaking with people at the open house, I learned that they came from Greenshields brew pub in North Carolina. Research on the net showed that they sold out after a fire. The kettles were beautiful and looked like they are in the middle of being dialed in. The new pub is apparently in the demolition phase – tearing out the interior sections of the existing building – in preparation for build-out.
Other than that, they were pouring beers throughout the facility, and everyone was having a good time. In addition to having it tapped in the Mountain Room, they were selling bombers of the 19th Anniversary Golden. It is a really tasty beer that I’d characterize as a NW-American-Belgian. It has a high hop bitterness that balances out the “sweetness” that is more-prevalent in a Golden. I like it a lot. We hung out on the Mountain Room’s balcony catching up with an old friend who works for Deschutes, but lives in Boise right now. Great afternoon.
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