Disclaimer: I’m an admitted Deschutes fan-boy.

Mirror Mirror is about to see a  re-release.  Mirror Mirror is a barley wine that kicked off Deschutes’  Reserve series (see Abyss, Dissident, Black Butte XX) back in 2006.  It  is a personal favorite that has seen rare reappearances at the Deschutes pubs  and at special tasting events. I’m really excited that I’m going to have  an opportunity to stock up on another release of it and do a vertical with one  of my few remaining bottles.   It’s been a long while since I’ve cracked  one, so it should be interesting.

Last Wednesday afternoon, I was given an opportunity to go volunteer at the Deschutes Brewery by helping them hand-dip the Mirror Mirror bottles in wax (an aesthetic touch that helps prevent oxygen from getting under the cap  and spoiling the beer as it ages).  They had multiple dipping stations  going, and everyone was in a groove.  Make no mistake … this  is some hard work, and it drove home how out of shape I really am when I  couldn’t straighten my arm all the way the next morning.  They’ve got a  great assembly line put together for this labor of love, and should have no  problem getting this stuff out in time for the April 29th release  date.

During my time there, I picked up a few scraps of information about significant dates for Deschutes products/events.

Mirror Mirror and Red Chair release party
As DeschutesBeer tweeted the other day, the release party for Mirror Mirror will be at the Bend and Portland pubs next Wednesday, April 29th  at 5:00 PM.  Getcha some tastiness!

Red Chair should make it to Austin area
For my Texas family, I was told that there will be an allotment of Red Chair IPA headed to the Austin area.  Keep on the lookout for this special Bond Street  release in 22’s at your finer bottle shops after April 29th.  Get on top  of it, because once it’s gone, it’s gone.  It will most-definitely please your inner hop lover.

New X Taps at the pub
Currently the Bend pub has a  single special tap called the X Tap.  It is there for some of the bolder one-offs or special kegs they’ve set aside (like the occasional unannounced  Mirror Mirror kegs that have popped up every once in a while).  There are  plans for the addition of two more X Taps at the Bend pub.  One will be  reserved for a Portland-brewed beer (will be so glad to finally have easier  access to their stuff), and one will be reserved for a Reserve Series beer …  Reserve series beer available year-round!  If they can pull that off,  there will be beer geeks applauding all over Bend.

Black Butte XXI for the 21st Anniversary Release
The second release of a ramped up, cocoa-infused, coffee-laden version of Black Butte is going to be the special 21st Anniversary release.  The first  release was the Black Butte XX which was originally a Reserve Series release  around the time of their 20th anniversary.  I’m still fighting with  myself to keep from mowing through the remaining bottles in my stash.  It  is my understanding that we’re in for a more-pronounced coffee dimension of  the overall flavor this time, which I think is going to be absolutely  delicious. BRING IT!!!

Additional Beer Geekery
Pics of beers aging in various  barrels!  See the Super Jubel?!?! Yummmmmmmmm!

Thankfully Deschutes Brewery has finally said that Red Chair IPA will be bottled as a Bond Street release.  This has been a huge local’s favorite through its development and testing here at the Bend pub.  I have been hearing for a while that it was going to be bottled, but I couldn’t get anyone to say when and how.  Six Packs?  Bond Street?  I just received the following pointer to their blog post about Red Chair, answering my question.  Their desciption:

Red Chair is a bright copper beauty (think freshly minted penny) with a solid head and perfect lacing that typifies Deschutes ales. It has a plush body with satiny caramel flavors derived from seven varieties of malt including British crystals, German pilsner, and domestic versions of cara-pils and Munich. Despite all of this, Red Chair is still a hop forward ale, but not in the way many have gotten used to. You will find no cloying, mouth puckering bitterness here. In its place a straight up succulent citrus punch to the nose. This is due to the experimental nature of some of the hops, as well as, how late in the process they were added.

Keep your eyes peeled.  This was great at the pub.

Cheers!

People who know me know how much of a fan I am of the Mikkeller beers.  Despite being in Denmark, they are one of my favorites in the world for representing the innovative spirit and flavor profiles that drove the craft beer big bang that’s still being felt to this day.  A couple of their  latest offerings to show why …

Alesmith, Stone, Mikkeller Triple

Now a long-awaited beer has arrived in Denmark. It is the result of a cooperation between Alesmith, Mikkeller and Stone. None of them need any further introduction. This is the top of the pop – the brewers Dream Team.  They have brewed what they describe as a classical and quite traditional Belgian triple, but if you know the three breweries, you might rightly doubt just how traditional the end result is going to be. Beer Geeks all over the world have been waiting for months, but now the wait is over. Belgian Style Triple Ale from Alesmith, Mikkeller, and Stone is finally here.

And from their newsletter …

Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

I can already reveal the first new beer of 2009 – a tuned version of the legendary Beer Geek Breakfast, called Beer Geek Brunch Weasel. This is an imperial Oatmeal stout brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees Cà Phê Chòn, made from droppings of weasel-like civet cats. The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries. Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean. Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee. The beer will be available from the beginning of 2009.

If anyone has a line on where to pick these up, I’d love a pointer.

Happy New Year!

Just got an email from Red, White and Brew author Brian Yaeger.  He let me know that he’s currently in NY on a book tour and plans on heading up to Portland to read at Wordstock (November 8-9).  Also, he’s apparently a fan of Rogue’s Chocolate Stout, but then again … who in their right mind wouldn’t be?  I haven’t read Brian’s book yet, but how can you not support a guy who drove around the country for a book about breweries and brewers around the US?

Update … just got the details from Brian about where and when he’ll be at Wordstock:

… I just found out my exact time. I’m on Sat, Nov 8 at 5pm and best part is I’m on the McMenamin’s stage! Perfect, right?

Of course, I’m also looking forward to returning to my favorite brewpub there, the Lucky Lab on Hawthorne, with all those dogs. Puppies and beer are a great pairing.

Cheers,

Brian

So get out there and support a fellow beer lover.

Cheers Brian!

Wednesday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending an interesting marketing event for the San Francisco-based 21st Amendment Brewery who has announced their intention of growing their distribution.  They are one of the leading pack of brewers embracing a shift that’s ever-so-slowly creeping into the craft-beer-buying consciousness.  CANS!

Cans people!  Cans.  In my opinion, cans are the absolute doo doo as far as craft beer packaging is concerned.  Zero light, minimal head space, ease of transportation … not to mention the business benefits of cheaper distribution costs.  There is a long-standing war between proponents of bottles and cans that dates back to the mid-30s when the beer industry first started playing with canning their product.  The biggest legitimate issue the anti-can crowd had was that the beer resting against the metal interior would facilitated a chemical reaction that introduced off flavors, ruining the taste of the beer.  This has been a non-issue for decades since the introduction of a non-reactive, water-based polymer liner that protects the beer from reacting with the metal.

Ultimately, I’m not saying that I’m a fan of one vessel over the other.  I’m just saying that excellent beer DOES come in cans.

Which brings me to 21st Amendment and their recently-held weBEERnar (I know, right?).  They shipped each participant a package with the two beers they are focused on distributing: The Hell or High Watermelon Wheat and The Brew Free Or Die IPA.  Also included were instructions asking to hold off on drinking the beer for the event.  In addition we were given the URL to the WebEx session.

The event was essentially a description of the beers and distribution goals followed by an informal Q&A.  Shaun O’Sullivan and Niko Freccia were the two representatives from 21A.  They covered topics like the rise of canning in craft beer, a few high-level logistics of contract brewing through Cold Spring Brewery in Minnesota, and future plans for expansion.  They began distributing their beer in San Francisco in July, and are actively focused on expanding throughout the Bay Area and Alaska with the ultimate goal of making their beer available across the nation.

As for the beer?  Well it’s pretty damned good.  I’ll let the BeerAdvocate and RateBeer cover the beer-drinking public perception, but I can see how the Watermelon Wheat would be a monster thirst quencher in the summer, and the IPA is a good example of a solid West Coast version of the style

So raise a glass (poured from a can) to 21st Amendment, and wish them success.

Cheers!

Brew Free! of Die IPA
BeerAdvocate [A-] http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/735/20781
RateBeer [94] http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=8189

Hell or High Watermellon Wheat
BeerAdvocate [B-] http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/735/4202
RateBeer [26] http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/21st-amendment-hell-or-high-watermelon-wheat/8187/

Two beers have popped up on my radar lately, and they can only be found on the East Sieeeeeeed!

Wild Oats is carrying Caldera IPA.  Now it’s a steep $9.00 six pack, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the tastiest IPA’s I’ve had in a long time.   Don’t be one of the uninformed that is deterred by the fact that it’s in cans. Seriously … this is the current top repeat performer on my list of easy-drinking beers, and my favorite IPA of the moment. It seems I’m over on the East Side much more these days to restock my fridge with this nectar. Go check this beer out!

Also at Wild Oats is a bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Porter from the Brewmaster’s Series of Full Sail.  I’m not a big Full Sail fan, but I have to admit that their Brewmaster’s Series are regularly interesting, and I’m always up for a new barrel-aged beer.  I haven’t had it yet, but here’s what RateBeer has to say about it. Should be a nice bottle to crack open when I’m transferring beer this weekend.

So go support the beer buyer at Wild Oats for the smart additions to their lineup.

After the much-anticipated (by this guy at least) release date came and went, we finally have the nectar called The Abyss!  I ended up down at the pub along with everyone else who had been waiting for the first offerings for a toast to the second bottling of this excellent example of American craft beer.

The Abyss is an Imperial Stout aged in several different wooden vessels and blended together to make up a complex character that unfolds into huge flavors as the beer warms.  At a whopping 11% ABV, this is something to be savored sip by sip.  Roasty, smooth, sweet, warming and delicious … this beer will go quickly just as last year’s batch.  This stuff should age very well, so grab as much as you can and try to keep your bottle opener away from it until later.

A couple of important notes:  I went down to the main brewery to pick up a case, and they said they have 4 left.  Local grocery stores have it, but word is out, and the small amounts bottled are going quickly.  Also, I wouldn’t be as informative as I could be if I failed to mention that The Blacksmith - the Best Happy Hour in Bend - is one of two places in Central Oregon where you can get this stuff on tap … get it while it lasts!

Cheers!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written, and it’s too long of a story about why.  In short- work, holidays, brewing, side-projects, etc. I haven’t written off the blog, but other things have been eating away at my time. One of those side projects is about to be complete, and I thought it was appropriate to let people know about it.

Good friends of mine own The Blacksmith restaurant here in Bend, Oregon. They shut down the restaurant about six weeks ago to do a major remodel of the inside. One of the new directions of the space is to bring the bar front and center. You still get great food and an excellent dinner experience if that’s what you’re into, but there’s a new focus on small plates, excellent liquor choices, a wide variety of beers, and a beautifully designed bar and lounge area.

I had the pleasure of helping create the beer list, and I’m really curious to hear honest opinions about it. The thing about Central Oregon is we are in the back yard of the NW Craft Beer scene. This year alone, two local breweries brought home four GABF medals. I love that I’m a 5 minute drive to several pubs where Craft Beer is so well represented, and I take advantage of that fact rather frequently. Still, I miss diversity in all the beer bars here in town.

With The Blacksmith’s beer list, we did our best to provide the widest breadth of choice among the highest quality beers available in Central Oregon. There are 12 handles and a modest collection of bottles that represent everything from Lagers to Belgians to Guinness to West Coast IPAs to local favorites. Come check it out, and know I’d welcome any feedback (positive or negative).

Cheers,

Spence

The Great American Beer Festival is going on in Colorado this weekend. I didn’t get to go, but I’ve been waiting to hear who the winners are this year to see how many Oregon brews made the list (gotta root for the home team). For those who don’t know … this competition is a big deal. It is pretty much the Olympics of American beer competitions, and gives well-earned bragging rights to anyone who can bring home a medal. Just some facts to give you an idea of its scope:

More than 100 judges labored for three days to evaluate 2,793 beers and pick the best entries and top breweries for this year’s Great American Beer Festival. A total of 222 medals were awarded in 75 beer style categories and top breweries and brewers were designated based on the total number of medals won. The five top awards recognize small, medium and large breweries and small and large brewpubs

Here’s the recap of those winners who call Oregon home:

American-Style Wheat Beer – 19 Entries
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Silver: Brewmaster Reserve

International-Style Pilsener – 10 Entries
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Gold: 4K Pils

Dortmunder/European Style Export or German-Style Oktoberfest/Wiesen (Meadow) – 18 Entries
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Bronze: Widmer Export Lager

Imperial or Double Red Ale – 38 Entries
Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland, OR
Gold: Organic Deranger

Bitter or Pale Mild Ale – 43 Entries
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Gold: Pub Bitter (and now our supply at the pub just got a whole lot smaller!)

Golden or Blonde Ale – 48 Entries
Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Silver: Kiwanda Cream Ale

American Style Brown Ale – 45 Entries
Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Gold: Doryman’s Dark Ale

Imperial Stout – 44 Entries
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
Gold: Abyss

Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
Bronze: Russian Imperial Stout

Strong Scotch Ale – 28 Entries
Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR
Gold: MacPelican’s Wee Heavy Strong Scotch Ale

Old Ale or Strong Ale – 32 Entries
Bend Brewing Co, Bend, OR
Silver: Outback X

Straight fact … Deschutes, and Pelican have been kicking ass, and this year they’ve each brought 3 gold medals back to Oregon! In addition, a second GABF medal was won by the Bend Brewing Company in as many years!

Sincerest congratulations to all breweries for their outstanding job at turning out amazing beers for all of us here in Oregon.

Today was an epic day for those fortunate enough to live near Bend, OR. Today was the release day of 3 hop-centered beers including the classic Jubelale and new annual, Hop Trip. Below you’ll find the descriptions from their beer menu. Get thine ass down to the pub for a pint or four!

Jubelale – Perfect for a cozy winter gathering, Jubelale is a festive ale characterized by a large malt body balanced with hop bitterness derived from a variety of American & European hops. Enjoy this celebrated seasonal tradition! IBU’s: 60 Alcohol Content: 6.7%

Hop Trip – Deschutes’ brewers took the journey over to the Willamette Valley to pick an abundant amount of the freshest whole leaf Crystal hops straight from the vines of Doug Weather’s farm. The return trip to Bend was greeted with a homecoming welcome as the hops were immediately added to the boiling brew kettle. The first brew started soon after a phone call was received from the Willamette Valley confirming the hops were loaded on the truck. Roughly 680 pounds of Crystal hops were added to each of the 120 barrel batches in addition to some dry kilned whole flower hops. All together, there are 7 pounds of hops per barrel. A brisk flavor is created with a finish of soothing bitterness from the fresh hop oils. IBU’s: 38 Alcohol Content: 5.5%

Superstition Fresh Hop Stock Ale – We developed a Stock Ale recipe that has a subtle but complex malt profile. We used Willamette hops upfront in this beer but the wow factor comes from the tremendous amounts of fresh Crystal hops in the back end of the beer to accentuate the hop flavor and aroma. This is a beer to take stock of. IBU’s: 52 Alcohol Content: 5.3%

Biggest “hmmm?…” moment – Jubelale. I’m just not sure what to say about this except that it tastes “green”. It has a gummy, resiny flavor that knocks it out of balance in relation to the roast, bitter, and malt. It also suggests that it needs to mature a bit as well. I love Jubel. I’ve got a bottle collection dating back years. I’m going to buy a case (as I always do) just to stay true to tradition, but I have to say I was caught off guard by what I tasted.

Biggest “exactly what I expected” moment – Hop Trip. Two words … “love it”. This is hops showcased as they should be. Big, chewy, up-front, and yet completely complemented by the malt they rest upon. Aroma, flavor, and drinkability all in one tasty package. Get it … while it lasts.

Biggest surprise – Superstition Stock Ale. There was once a brewery called Orchard Street Brewery out of Bellingham, WA that was the only brewery that I had a stock ale from, and it was a treat when I could find it. What a great beer. Orchard Street went under (from what I understand), but this beer is damned close to it. Hoppy like an American Pale Ale with a slight caramel malt flavor reminiscent of an amber without the cloying qualities that I get from many ambers … a great session beer. And this one is fresh-hopped! Awesome, and brought back such great memories.

And there was a surprise. I overheard and saw brewers talking about and sampling an Oktoberfest they brewed at the pub. Got a quick sampler, and it was highly drinkable. Very highly drinkable. Good job guys!

So there you have it. Four new beers at the pub, and they’re all most definitely worth have a pint or more of.

Cheers!