I have to say that it seems the Barrel Tasting event gets better and better.  By far, this is the annual Deschutes event that I most look forward to each year.  The sun was out, the temp was cool, and there were beers-a-plenty.  The food they chose paired incredibly well (good Lord … that lamb from grill outside was delicious, and went very well with the Green Lakes).

So here’s what they poured.

The Abyss [ABV 11%, IBU 68]
Imperial stout aged in a combination of pinot, Oregon oak and bourbon barrels, brewed with blackstrap molasses, brewers licorice – then dry hopped with cherry bark and vanilla beans.

Drink this beer whenever a glass of it is in front of you.  If you say, “I don’t like dark beer”, you should get slapped … hard … immediately.  Don’t be that guy.  Drink it I say, and be set free!

Anniversary Gold [ABV 8.7%, IBU 60]
Belgian-style ale brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. The bulk of character is provided by traditional Belgian yeast and Oregon oak aging.

I really enjoyed this beer although it was a bit sweet.  I would have preferred a bit of a drier, spicier finish, but it was a favorite among many in the room.

Black Butte XX Imperial Porter [ABV 10.3%, IBU 68]
Our original flagship beer brewed two times over. This beer has all the Black Butte Porter characteristics but some new flavor nuances in the form of coffee and chocolate intermingled with the standard, then conditioned in bourbon barrels.

The balance is insane, and was a father’s-day gut-punch for my father-in-law who may or may not have enjoyed four too many on top of the other beers that night.  I absolutely love this beer, but it is definitely on the sweeter side … to be expected given the style and ABV.

Mr. Big Ed Brown [ABV 5.2%, IBU 55]
Bourbon barrel aged and characterized by chocolate malt for a roasted flavor and northwest cascade hops for a citrus finish. Wheat and flaked barley contribute to its smooth body.

This was one of my personal favorites.  The flavors were all subtle, but it was one of the most-balanced lighter-grav beers being poured.  A great, nutty, valvety, chocoloate malt flavor throughout.  I really enjoyed this one.

Cabernet Green Lakes Ale [ABV 5.2%, IBU 45]
Made with 3 types of organic malt barley and balanced with Amarillo, Cascade, Brewers Gold, Centinnial, and Sterling hops then aged for 6 weeks in French oak cabernet casks and dry hopped with 1 lb. of Liberty hops per barrel.

Didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did.  I would say that it was a big crowd pleaser with the hop enthusiasts in our group.  No surprise given the hop salad in the description.  Very very easy to drink.

Super Jubel [ABV 11%, IBU 100]
This is a super-duper Jubel Ale. Fermented on our house yeast and rose hips aged in cabernet and syrah barrels then transferred into bourbon barrels to add complexity to this very interesting barley wine.

What needs to be said here … reminiscient of the Mirror Mirror, with a nice, just-noticible tartness from the rose hips.  Really really enjoyed this beer.

French Oak Twilight [ABV 5%, IBU 35]
Aged for 4 weeks in cabernet barrels, this beer has a unique blend of four hops and malts. This liuvely straw colored ale has a vigorous hop essence with a malt body that compiliments the flavor of this special seasonal brew.

I’m generally not a fan of Twilight … just not my beer.  However, I enjoyed this version as it seemed to have a bit more of a hop bitterness bite to it.

Oud Bruin [ABV 7.7%, IBU 30]
The beginning stages of our soon to be released reserve beer, The Dissident. This beer is a traditional sour brown fermented with two types of wild yeast strains and freshly picked cherries for a second fermentation. A small portion of this beer was then aged in pinot noir barrels.

Biggest disappointment.  Not that there was anything wrong with the beer, but it was served still.  I don’t know if this was an error or intentional, but it didn’t allow the beer to show what it might be.  Carbonation is such an important part of a beer as it helps carry aroma, which influences flavor.  It might be there to showcase the mother beer used to create The Dissident.  Now I’ve had an early component of this beer in the pub, and I have to say … buy it when it’s here, because it’s going to be gone … very quickly.  Wish that it would have been more of what I had in the pub.  Still, I can see where it might be headed, and the destination is glorious.

For those of you who are quick to act, love high quality beer, helping others, and will be in Portland this weekend, may I submit for your consideration, FredFest 2008.  This is the third year of an event that started out as a surprise birthday party for noted beer writer, Fred Eckhardt.

Limited tickets for this – ahead of time.  See excerpts from press release below.

… The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 — the actual date of Eckhardt’s 82nd birthday — at Hair of the Dog Brewing, 4509 SE 23rd Avenue in Portland. …

… Cost for the event is $50 in advance and includes a souvenir glass, free ticket for a raffle of bottled specialty beers and four hours’ of sampling, sipping and story-telling with Eckhardt. Admission is limited to 200 attendees. Judging from previous years, the event is expected to sell out quickly. Tickets are available through Pay-Pal. E-mail fredfest@comcast.net to purchase tickets. …

… As always, proceeds from FredFest and the related online auction will go to a charity of Eckhardt’s choice. This year, Eckhardt named Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, the local affiliate chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation, as the featured charity in memory of his longtime friend and fellow beer writer Michael Jackson, who died in 2007 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

And the beers?  A short but incredibly-impressive list indeed:

BREWERY	BEER
BridgePort Brewing	Bourbon Barrel aged Old Knucklehead Firkin
Laurelwood Brewing	Bourbon Barrel Aged Olde Reliable Barleywine
Widmer Brewing	Altbier!!!
Lompoc Brewing	Oak aged LSD
Deschutes Brewing	Br. Abe Belgian ale
Rockbottom Brewing	Oak aged IIPA
Cascade brewing	2006 Wild Blackberry ale ( Flanders red style)
Lucky Lab Brewing	Double Alt
Hopworks Urban Brewery	2007 Kentucky Christmas
Hair of the Dog	Cask Fred from the Wood
Full Sail Brewing	Bourbon BBL aged 1998 Old Boilermaker
Rogue Brewing	Brewer Ale
Roots Brewing	2006 Pinot Noir Oak aged Epic
Ninkasi Brewing	Dry Hopped Cask Tricerahops
Firestone	?????
Jim 2007	Holiday Ale Fest Collaboration with HOTD

Looks like an awesome event.

Quick post here … The Bend Brew Fest starts today and ends tomorrow.  It is being held at the Les Schwab Amphitheater.  I’ve had several people asking me what the highlights will be at the Bend Brew Fest.  I’ve also received comments on how lazy I’ve been in posting lately.  In an effort to appease these people who’ve never heard of Google before, here’s the fruits of 20 minutes of research combined with my own personal winners:

• Great Divide Brewing – Yeti Imperial Stout and Titan IPA (99th and 96th percentile on Ratebeer respectively).  Make sure to get the Yeti.  It is an amazing beer.
• New Old Lompoc – C-Note and LSD.  These were there last year if I remember correctly, and if I do, they’re pretty hoppy (i.e. don’t kill your palette with these up front)
• Wildfire Brewing – Support your new local brewery (Pale and a Golden)
• Butte Creek Brewing – Pass on the pils, devour the Organic Revolution X (Imperial IPA)
• Anderson Valley – If they’re pouring the Hop Ottin IPA … get on it.  Just wait until later in your list, as the hop bitterness will destroy your ability to taste tamer beers
• Ninkasi Brewing – Beers TBD, but they were among the first to run out last year for a reason. 
• Klamath Basin Brewing – Never had their stuff, so must try it. (Golden and IPA)
• Redstone Meadery – Only mead there … for something different to fall back on.  (Black Raspberry and Honey mead made with Apricot nectar)

So there you have it readers … hit print, go drink, don’t blame me if you didn’t like them.  I’ll be there opening day in the ProMash hat and Giant Robot shirt.  Feel free to come buy, say hi, and buy me a beer.

Cheers!

Note: It would appear that the print version of the beer list found in The Source (used to fuel the picks above) is incorrect.  Redstone Meadery was a no show, and Great Divide only brought the Yeti (still … my favorite beer at the fest).  Apologies.

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.