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My wife and I just got back from Eugene, OR where we saw Queens Of The Stone Age play (epic show!), and this gave me an opportunity to visit a store I had read about on Beer Advocate called The Bier Stein.  We had allowed ourselves only two days in Eugene because it was mid-week, but we snuck in a 30 minute recon visit before the show, intending on visiting the store for a buying binge the next day if it was worthy.  If you want to skip the beer geekery, the short story is, the store is worthy.

How could you think anything else about a store that welcomes you with an 8 foot Sasquatch clutching a beer?  We happened to luck out as they were doing tastings of Willamette Brewery’s beers, and their IPA, I discovered, is awesome.  This place is one of those stores that will sell you the bottle and allow you to drink it, on premises, in a social setting.  There were plenty of people taking advantage, too.  Every one of the tables was taken, with an empty bottle of AleSmith’s Yule Smith (or something equally as acceptable) sitting in the middle of the people crowded around it.  It was a beautiful sight.

After the initial visit, I knew I had to come back the next day. On the way out of town, I dropped by and spent about thirty minutes checking the place out. The store is has a small restaurant and a few handles pouring good beer.  The kitchen is in the back of the space, and is sectioned off from the main room by a series of built-in cabinets that hold different styles from Belgians to barley wines.  The kitchen is directly across from a series of stand-up cold cases divided by region.

I ended up speaking with several different people about their recommendations, and their suggestions were right in line with what I was looking for.  Kristina, who I understand is one of the owners, was a great resource, really knew her stuff, and was a pleasure to speak with.  It’s always nice to find a bottle shop that staffs up with people who are true beer enthusiasts.

So here’s what I ended up taking home:

• AleSmith - Yule Smith Holiday Ale (Summer)
• AleSmith - Decadence Anniversary Ale
• Cantillon - Rosé de Gambrinus
• Victory - Prima Pils
• Victory - Storm King Imperial Stout
• Great Divide - Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
• Great Divide - Hercules Double IPA
• Dogfish Head - Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA
• Brouwerij Het Anker - Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer
• St. Bernard Brouwerij - Grotten Flemish Ale (Pierre Celis Signature Collection)
• St. Bernard Brouwerij - Grotten Brown Ale (Pierre Celis Signature Collection)
• Brasserie de Blaugies - Bière Darbyste
• Brasserie Fantôme - Été
• Jolly Pumpkin - Maracaibo Especial
• Jolly Pumpkin - Calabaza Blanca

As you can see, their selection doesn’t suck. It was such a pleasurable experience shopping there, that I’ll be sure to return each time I go anywhere near Eugene. I was bummed to hear that I was going to be missing a keg of Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid and a tasting of Green Flash Brewery’s beers. Still, with the selection I saw, these guys will probably always have something good going on.

Needless to say, I love the place. Next time you’re in Eugene, drop by for a pint or 3. You won’t be disappointed.

It’s Wenesday afternoon, and it has taken me this long to digest our epic weekend in Portland. Beyond the beerfest, we hung out with friends who I haven’t seen in a while and ate amazing sushi at Masu. It was a great weekend. In addition to the friends and food, I was able to take in two full sessions at the 3 day-long Portland Internaltional Beerfest. I love the PIB and SIB. They are the beerfests that really allow access to a wide variety of beers from all over the world. From Belgians to Germans to English to Americans (and all points in between) … they were all well represented.

The people running the PIB and SIB are doing a hell of a job. These events are among the best that I’ve had the experience to go to in the NW region. There are other epic Northwest beerfests (there will be post soon on the upcoming Oregon Brewers Festival), but they tend to focus on the styles brewed (and beer points of view held) here … in our own backyard. I want a full palette for my palate (sorry … couldn’t resist that cheese), and the PIB and SIB give me that. Thanks guys.

My only gripe, as it is with all beer fests that use volunteers as pourers, is that the volunteers don’t know enough about the beers they’re pouring. That really sucks for the people who enjoy a beer and want to know about the ingredients or brewing techniques. Not to mention how it sucks for the brewery as a truly memorable beer can be swept into the soon-to-be-forgotten confines of the drinker’s alcohol-soaked short-term memory. If the drinker doesn’t have additional information about the beer to help him/her remember something about it (e.g. what the hell is the shochu that was used to make the Hitachino XH?), it is often forgotten before the first Tylenol is taken the next morning.

But that really is my only complaint. So without any further bitching, in order of general enjoyment, here’s the way I got my drink on:

Mikkeler Beer Geek Breakfast Stout: WOW! Simply amazing. Rich, velvety, roasty stout goodness. The aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel are all what you would expect a great imperial stout to be. I feel like I could reduce this beer down and make excellent brownies with it. All I can say is, grain, yeast, hops, roast all perfectly deep and balanced. If you ever have a chance to get you hands on this, buy as much as you can. Epic.

Hitachino XH: This beer is cloudy, murkey orange-brown. Beer stuff floating around preventing light from going through … I love it. It smells malty and doesn’t have much of a head at all. Aged in shochu (a distilled Japan beverage) barrels, the flavor really comes through in a very balanced way. The slightly spicy hop flavor is there. There is a bit of a pleasant tart aftertaste that is almost begianny, but not citrusy like a witbier. This tartness gives way to the shochu, sake-like flavor that really works here. Truly an amazing beer.

Sick Duck: A great cloudy black/brown Stout that has a really chocolatey hit to it. This isn’t like the Chocolate Stout from Rogue, but more of a rich/deep/roasty chocolate with a weighty mouthfeel to it. Big malt, with an amazing big roasted flavor. The time this beer spent in Pyrat barrels becomes quickly apparent. Really good.

De Proef KO: Much clearer than the big cloudy’s that I’ve had. The aroma is like sugar … almost cotton candy. There’s a huge yeast component to the aroma. Prickly carbonation. This is a well-balanced beer. Really amazing. Pale straw yellow in color that is almost like a trippel. It is nice to really taste the hop bitterness in a Belgian like this. It is subtle but present. A very favorable beer. I need to get my hands on more from this brewery.

Allagash Curieux - A bit of a deep straw color with a nice head half-way through the 4 oz taster. It smells so good! Honeysuckle and mellon stand out in the aroma. It is so tasty. The mouthfeel is good and strong, but not too heavy or thick. There’s a hint of hops, which help balance the mellon fruity side of the flavor. All the Allagash tends to have that hint of harshness in the finish that I can’t ever put well into words, and this one has it as well. But everything else is so good in this one that I can’t knock it off the favorites list. It really is a fantastic beer.

So those were my winners. Other beers that were worth drinking many of included Great Divide’s Oak-Aged Yeti and Hercules Imperial IPA, Tomme Arthur’s Reserve Signature Ale, Uerige Doppel-Sticke, the Baron Pils, and of course the Rodenbach Grand Cru. If you didn’t make it this year, put it on your calendars for next year. You owe it to yourself.

So many beers, so little time, such a fragile liver. Cheers!

Just a quick post to remind all that the Portland International Beerfest is this Friday through Sunday.  The scheduled hours are as follows:

Friday - 4:00 PM through 10:00 PM
Saturday - 12:00 PM through 10:00 PM
Sunday - 12:00 PM through 7:00 PM

Here’s a recap of what I think are the outstanding beers being poured this year.  Plan on getting there early if you want to get your hands on some of the outstanding limited edition brews that tend to go quickly at this event.

Cheers, and hope to see you there.  I’ll be among the many people slurring their words as we all bake in the heat.  Ummm … heat and high-alcohol beers … bring the hangover, bring the funk.

The guys over at Hop Talk are hosting this month’s The Session, so check out their recap to see how we all view the same animal: beer and the atmosphere in which we enjoy it. I’m sure we’re all going to be hitting this from a bunch of different directions. I’m sure that there are going to be multiple answers for many of us too. I also think that there will most definitely be common themes throughout the posts.

For some Session writers, it will be the place that makes their ultimate beer drinking experience. For others - the people and interactions. Some will have a more-subtle, abstract set of criteria for their setting.

To me, it boils down to any setting that allows for the full appreciation of and focus on the beer. In preparation for writing this entry, I found myself thinking about those memorable times in the past that involved drinking beer: my first beer bong, the time when I was knocked on my ass by a 64 oz OE (Olde English 800 … that’s Old with an ‘e’ people … pinkies up when drinking from the jug), driving to Oklahoma after Texas quit serving to get lower alcohol beer, my first kegger, my first blackout … these are not unique experiences. They are rights of passage for many of us that result in cherished memories, but not because of the beer itself. The beer was simply fuel for bonding or something more chunderous.

There are, however, other memories that more properly reflect and respect what I believe this Session is all about: the atmosphere in which I fully enjoy drinking a beer. Where better to start than when I was first in that “atmosphere”. I grew up in Texas, and had the great fortune of being there when Celis White was brewed in Austin. The first time I had that beer was perfection. Hot Texas sun beating down on a group of people used to drinking cheap beer. I do not recall how it ended up in my hand, but I do recall the first sip. That prick of the carbonation, the spice, the citrus aroma and flavor, that beautiful color. I couldn’t believe that this was beer. Amazing.

Another good example of that atmosphere involved a Hefe Weizen. My buddy had recently returned from Austria, and had been raving about Edelweiss beer. I had since developed an idea about what might make this beer special. I had been drinking Shiner Bock by now (and Celis White up until it was discontinued by Miller). On a typical night out, we ended up at The Gingerman. I walked in with my buddies, saw rows and rows of tap handles, didn’t recognize any of them, and was immediately intimidated. I deferred to my well-traveled friend. After speaking with the bartender, he picked out a Tucher Hefe Weizen. We were told to pour almost all the bottle out, and then swish the remaining amount to dislodge the yeast at the bottom of the bottle. We obeyed, and my eyes opened up a little wider. We talked about the beer, its flavor, color, cloudiness, and why the yeast was important. We tried the Dunkel Hefe Weizen as well, and it was equally delicious.

Yet another time was when my wife and I went camping by a river in Central Washington on a 100+ degree day. We had packed a Witbier my buddy brewed for his wedding. We were hanging out, just the two of us, and the beer was finally cold enough to pop open. It was epic … the orange peel, the yeast, the time spent just hanging out together without anything or anytone else around. It was a great beer.

The final example was during one of the times when my friend, Chris, and I were brewing together. We had established a pattern of drinking as many new beers as we could while brewing (without messing up the hopping schedule). Among the beers was a Bell’s Expedition Stout, a sour Flemish Ale, and one of our previous home brews. Each was discussed, dissected, and thoroughly enjoyed. All were excellent.

Each of these experiences shared one thing in common: they’re all social settings that fully integrate the appreciation of the above-average beers being consumed. In each example, I was able to focus on the beer without forcing it. It was effortless. So in short, that’s it … effortless, seamless integration of great beer and social situations that further my understanding the topic. May we all spend more time in that Atmosphere.

Todd over at BeerAdvocate.com recently posted about receiving an email that confirms a rumored upcoming fall seasonal from Sierra Nevada that will commemorate their 27th anniversary. It will be an American IPA with generous doses of Cascades. They’re going to be dry hopping this one, so it should be sporting that great citrus aroma Cascades are now famous for. This will hopefully be the west coast IPA that I know Sierra Nevada is capable of making. We’ll just have to see.

I’ve also started to encounter reviews of AleSmith’s 10th anniversary beer, Decadence - Dead By Dawn. Their description of this beer states that it is based upon their Evil Dead Red, so I can only deduce that they are paying homage to the Sam Raimi’s classic series of Evil Dead movies. “I’ll swallow your soul!” I love this brewery with each new beer of theirs I try. They really go for brewing the highest quality example of whatever style they tackle.

I’m open for any pointers on how to get my hands on what sounds like a couple of awesome beers. Anyone?