Portland International Beerfest – 2008

That’s right people. My favorite Northwest beerfest is back, and sweet sassy molassey … this year’s PIB is bringing the heat. I’ve done my homework, and all I can say is, they’ve outdone themselves again. Hope you can make it to Portland this week.

MARK YOUR PORTLAND OREGON SUMMER BEER FESTIVAL CALENDAR!
PIB is an over the top beer festival celebrating the world’s most legendary brewing styles and the nations that made them famous. Come taste over 130 world-class beers from more than 15 countries.

TASTE THE GREATEST BEERS YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF! RAREST OF THE RARE: The beers of PIB represent all that’s possible in the world of brewing. Many are quite obscure yet hold their own place in world history as the birth of a new brewing style.

So without further ado … my guide to an outstanding PIB

I want to say this up front … get inside before 2:00 on Saturday, and get in line. See my pics below.

Blue indicates beer is on draft
Maroon indicates extra-special beer … you’ll figure out a way to kick yourself in the taint if you miss it

• “Plan B” Belgian Brown – Belgian Brown / Flanders Red
  [Flyer’s Brewery, Washington – ABV: 7.0%]
  With the addition of fresh lavendar, “Plan B” is a collaboration between Tonay Savoy of Flyer’s and Arlen Harris, noted NW pro brewer who specializes in great Belgian beers. It will likely be a Flanders/Duchesse style beer, perhaps a little stronger. The Belgian yeast used is the Bastogne.
• 120 Minute IPA – American Double / Imperial IPA
  [Dogfish Head, Delaware | ABV: 21% | BA: B+ | RB: 3.85/5.0]
  The name “120” comes from being boiled for a full 2 hours while being continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops. Of course since we’re talking about Dogfish this is only the beginning. Next it is dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month, then aged for another month with whole-leaf hops. It is estimated at 120 IBU.
• 2005 Double Bastard – American Strong Ale
  [Stone Brewing Company, California | ABV: 10% | BA: A | RB: 4.05/5.0]
  A rare 2005 vintage keg of possibly the most prized beer from Stone Brewery. There will only be 1 of these kegs at the event this year, so get it early.
• Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2006 – Biere de Garde / Sour Ale
  [BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes), Switzerland – ABV: 11% – BA: A – RB: 3.83/5.0]
  Brewed just 4 times and very rare, this beer treads the boundary between port, wine and beer. This version (the 3rd) is VERY different. It is a unique ale aged in multiple used wine casks, merging all the complex aromas of a vintage red wine, along with wood and the taste it picked up from its former contents. This beer is named in fond memory of Bon-Chien, the late brewery cat who went to kitty heaven in June 2005.
• Avec Les Bons Voeux – Saison / Farmhouse Ale
  [Brasserie Dupont, Belgium | ABV: %9.5 | BA: A | RB: 3.95/5.0]
  “Les Bons Voeux” means best wishes, which is what Brasserie Dupont sends with this very special saison ale brewed only for the holidays. Redolently aromatic, rich and velvety, this is an ale to toast the season and welcome in the New Year!
• Aventinus Eisbock –
  [Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn, Germany | ABV: 12% | BA: A- | RB: 3.83/5.0]
  ON TAP! This is the first time we have been lucky enough to get this beer, let alone in kegs! It is a highly concentrated version of their famous wheat doppelbock, Aventinus, which is normally 8%. But by freeing out the water, they increase the ABV to 12% and the beer changes into something more like port. Awesome stuff.
• Baird Temple Garden Yuzu Ale – Spiced/Fruit beers
  [Baird Brewing Company, Japan | ABV: 5.7%]
  Yuzu is the Japanese name for a citron, a slightly less acidic lemon-lime type fruit. It is a wonderfully aromatic fruit with a snappy zest that is much prized in Japan. We proceeded to shave off and collect the outer peels and hand-squeeze the juice. We then added both the peels and the juice to a rich, malted-wheat accented wort at the end of kettle boil. The end result is, in a word, divine!
• Barley BB10° – Spiced/Fruit beers
  [Birrificio Barley, Italy | ABV: 10% | BA: A- | RB: 3.66/5.0]
  Pale malt, Caramel malt, Pilsner malt Spices — Sapa of Cannonau, which is boiled wort of Cannonau red wine grapes, white candi sugar, orange peel Cascade & Kent Golding hops.
• Rogue Ten Thousand Brew Ale (Brew 10,000) – American Double / Imperial IPA
  [Rogue Ales Brewery, Oregon | ABV: 10% | BA: A- | RB: 3.58/5.0]
  Brew 10,000: One Brewer, Eighteen Years, Ten-Thousand Batches of Beer. Brew 10,000 is not so much a style of beer, rather it is a new recipe using some of the best ingredients John Maier has ever brewed with… Vienna, French Special Aroma, and Maris Otter Pale Malts; Yakima Summit and German Saphir Hops, Free-range Coastal Waters, and PacMan Yeast. 83 IBU
• Belhaven Wee Heavy – Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
  [Belhaven Brewery Company, Scotland | ABV: 6.5% | BA: A | RB: 3.6/5.0]
  FIRST TIME ON TAP in OR & WA! In this reviewer’s opinion, one of the most highly underrated beers in the world and an easy candidate for top 50 beers. A classic example of the style of beer which typified Scottish brewing in the 1800’s.
• Burton Baton – American Double / Imperial IPA
  [Dogfish Head, Delaware | ABV: 10% | BA: A- | RB: 3.7/5]
  Burton Baton is made from pilsner and amber malt yielding an 11% ABV, hopped with Warrior and Glacier. Primary fermentation takes place in open vessels using two yeast strains, American and English. The beer is conditioned on barrel staves of French Oak for four months before being dry hopped with Glacier. It is then blended with 90 Minute IPA.
• Cantillon Cognac (aka 50ºN-4ºE) – Lambic – Unblended
  [Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium | ABV: 5% | BA: A- | RB: 3.92/5]
  In March 2005, the brewery Cantillon had bought second hands barrels in the region of Cognac. For 15 years, the wood had been impregnate with cognac. Then for 2 years, our lambic has extracted all the flavors and aromas to make a unique gueuze. The name comes from the geographic location of the brewery.
• Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel Aged) – Tripel
  [Allagash Brewery, Maine | ABV: 11% | BA: A | RB: 3.7/5]
  If you don’t try this beer, quite simply, SHAME ON YOU. Never mind that this Bourbon-barrel-aged beer has never been on tap out west before, or that it’s nearly impossible to find even in the bottle. No, that shame would be that you miss out on one of the greatest artisanal big beers ever brewed in the United States. Everything in this beer is evident–the style, yeast, wood, and bourbon…but none of these overwhelms the others. Incredible balance in a big, sexy, exotic style. Top 5…all time!
• Cuvee du Jongleur – Wood-aged Specialty
  [Cascade Brewery/Raccoon Lodge, Oregon | ABV: 7.5%]
  A blend of oaked sour reds, oak-aged soured Tripel (18 months), and fresh Blond Quadruppel. The Reds are the base beer for the Cascade Kriek and Blackberry. The Tripel is the base beer for Cascade Apricot. This blend is undergoing further lactic fermentation in the keg for carbonation…no yeast or surgar was added. 8 different beers are blended to build complexity and color. In the end it vaguely resembles Duchesse de Bourgogne, but dried with lower acidity.
• De Molen Rasputin Imperial Stout – Imperial Stout
  [Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands | ABV: 10.7 | BA: A- | RB: 3.8/5]
  Color 199.7 EBU, bitterness 81.7 EBU, OG 1102, FG 1026, hops are Premiant and Saaz. This beer is brewed once a year. The 2007 version has 297 bottles (brewed March 17th 2007, bottled April 27th 2007). Best before 25 years after bottling!
• Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel – American Double / Imperial Stout
  [Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel, Quebec | ABV: 9.5% | BA: A | RB: 4.15/5]
  Stunning coffee Imperial Stout, and one of the most highly rated overall beers in the entire world, regardless of brewing style
• Gluteus Maximus (Vintage 2004) – American Barleywine
  [Tuck’s Brewery, Oregon | ABV: 11.5% | BA: A+ | RB: 4.3/5]
  Kiss this beer good-bye, one last time! These are believe to be the last kegs of Max Teiger’s great Oregon barleywine brewed during his tenure at Tuck’s Brewery. This beer has aged incredibly well and at 11.5%, it is great first thing in the morning.
• Harviestoun Ola Dubh 30 Yr (CASK!) – Old Ale
  [Harviestoun Brewery Ltd., Scotland | ABV: 8% | BA: A | RB: 3.9/5]
  READ CAREFULLY: This beer will be poured at 2pm on Saturday ONLY. It is a one-of-a-kind and will not last more than an hour. It is a VERY RARE REAL CASK of the Ola Dubh, which is the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil aged in “wet” Highland Park 30 Year Old Single-Malt Scotch casks. YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!
• Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 Yr – Old Ale
  [Harviestoun Brewery Ltd., Scotland | ABV: 8% | BA: A- | RB: 3.7/5]
  Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is a collaboration between Harviestoun Brewery and Highland Park, Distiller of the Year*. It is based on Harviestoun’s award-winning Old Engine Oil. With more than a stylistic nod to the classic Imperial Porters (and Stouts) of the nineteenth century, this deliciously rich, dark, 8% a.b.v. beer is the first ale to be aged in malt whisky casks from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, the rest with genuine provenance. Ola Dubh will initially be available in three different expressions; the initial release will be of small batches aged in casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 12 Year Old, Highland Park 16 Year Old and Highland Park 30 Year Old. Further variants are planned for the future. Ola Dubh is, in the words of beer afficionado Owen D.L. Barstow: “The most interesting new British beer I have tried in years.”
• Hop Stoopid – American Double / Imperial IPA
  [Lagunitas Brewing Company, California | ABV: 8.2% | BA: A- | RB: 3.95/5]
  Get Stoopider
• JW Lee’s Harvest Lagavulin (SPECIAL) – English Barleywine
  [J.W. Lees, England | ABV: 11.5% | BA: A- | RB: 3.73/5]
  READ CAREFULLY: This beer will be poured at 2pm on Saturday ONLY. It is a one-of-a-kind and will not last more than an hour. It will be poured from an extremely old wooden “British Pin”–a classic gravity keg that likely predates WWI. The beer itself is the famed Harvest ale that has been aged in “wet” Lagavulin Single-Malt Scotch casks.
  And one of Brewerman’s all-time favorites in the bottle!
  Freakin the eff out that I’m getting a chance to try this out of a wooden gravity keg!!!!
• La Folie – Flemish/Flanders Red
  [New Belgim Brewing Company, Colorado | ABV: 6% | BA: A | RB: 4.02/5]
  A classic Flemish-style, sour brown beer. La Folie is wood-conditioned from 1-3 years in French Oak. The barrels had a previous life hosting wine. The old tenant imparts tart qualities to the beer living there now. The barrel itself also leaves its mark with very woody notes, particularly in the nose.
• Mikkeller Black – American Double / Imperial Stout
  [Mikkeller, Denmark | ABV: 17.5%!!! | BA: B+ | RB: 3.73/5]
  Get this beer right away as soon as you enter. Then leave and go buy it if you can find it. Save it for 2 years. Drink and marvel. It will be one of the first to sell out at both events, guaranteed!
  Brewerman loves him some Mikkeller
• Old Crustacean (Vintage 2006) – American Barleywine
  [Rogue Ales Brewery | ABV: 11.3% | BA: A- | RB: 3.66/5]
  An unfiltered and unrefined Barleywine. Intense, robust, malty and dark. The cognac of beers. A huge beer in a little bottle, this is a beer designed for sipping. Old Crustacean is brewed with eight ingredients, Great Western Harrington, Klages, Hugh Baird Carastan and Munich Malts, Chinook and Centennial Hops, free-range coastal water and PacMan yeast. Old Crustacean is best when aged for one year.
  This is a 2006 barleywine on tap from Rogue … what more do you need?
• Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron – Imperial American Brown Ale
  [Dogfish Head, Delaware | ABV: 12% | BA: A- | RB: 3.84/5]
  An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means “holy tree” and it’s wood has been used in South American wine-making communities. This beer is highly roasty and malty brown.
• Sick Duck V2 (Vintage Rum/French Oak Aged) – Imperial Stout
  [Flyer’s Brewery, Washington | ABV: 11% | BA: A- | RB: 4/5]
  We are proud to announce the return of our only “proprietary beer” ever, made specifically for our events by Flyer’s Brewery in Oak Harbor WA. This marks the 2nd time and this is Batch #2. It is based on their monster Imperial Stout and aged on French Oak and Pyrat XO Reserve, a 15 year old Caribbean rum. The brew is a Double Mash totaling 1325 lbs of malt for 7 bbls, 7.5% of which is oats. Hopped in 4 additions w/ Centennial and East Kent Goldings.
• Tripel Karmeliet – Tripel
  [Brouwerij Bosteels, Belgium | ABV: 8% | BA: A- | RB: 3.9/5]
  Oatmeal beer from Belgium? Perhaps the most remarkable and little known thing about Tripel Karmeliet is that it is brewed with both wheat and oats, yes oats, in addition to barley. This makes for a very unique grain bill as Belgian triples go. This beer belongs vaunted in the standard-setting collection of beers that define the Belgian triple brewing style.