Thursday, December 18, 2014

Holiday Ale Festival raises $20,000 for Children’s Cancer Association

Congrats and Cheers! to the Holiday Ale Festival and beer fans who helped raise $20,000 for the Children's Cancer Association MusicRx program.


 
Winter beer lovers help Holiday Ale Festival 
raise $20,000 for Children’s Cancer Association

Thousands raise a mug to winter beers and ciders at the 19th annual event
Press Release:
PORTLAND, Ore. – Nearly 14,000 beer fans took part in the 19th annual Holiday Ale Festival Dec. 3 through 7 at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Collectively, they helped raise $20,000 for the Children’s Cancer Association MusicRx program, which delivers the healing power of music to children battling cancer and their families.

Heated tents, coupled with mild temperatures outside, provided so much warmth that the coat check took in a record number of garments – great news for the Children’s Cancer Association. All the proceeds brought in from the coat check, the Crater Lake Root Beer Garden, a raffle, and sales of the festival’s classic pin up girl posters and temporary tattoos are annually earmarked for the non-profit. At the festival’s conclusion, organizers count all the funds, round up to the nearest $1,000, then double it, and double it again. Festival organizers are excited that this year’s donation will make an immediate impact on the holiday needs of the Music Rx program.

The Northwest’s only outdoor winter beer festival featured 54 beers, ciders and meads in the main lineup, all of which were made or blended specifically for the event, or were vintage offerings not commonly served in the region. The event is billed as an opportunity for brewers to connect with their fans, and this year’s lineup did not disappoint.

While all the products were well received, a few rose to the top in terms of popularity, including Hopworks’ The Incredible Abominable of the Enchanted Barrel Forest (Barrel Aged Imperial Winter Ale), Firestone Walker’s Luponic Distortion (Double IPA), Fort George’s Santa’s Dinner Jacket (Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Red Ale), Old Town’s Bluth’s Original Chocolate Banana Hefeweizen (Chocolate Bavarian-Style Hefeweizen) and Finnriver’s Stone & Pome Cider (Barrel Aged Plum and Peach Cider).

Three of the most talked about beers were Eel River’s Gargantua II (Whiskey Barrel Vanilla Imperial Strong Ale Blend), McMenamins Edgefield’s Lord of Misrule (Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Mocha Stout), and Feckin’s Top O’ The Feckin’ Mornin' (Imperial Espresso Milk Porter).

The festival also featured nearly 40 specialty kegs throughout the event, including a six-year vertical of The Abyss by Deschutes Brewing, and a 2009 cask of JW Lees & Co Harvest Ale. There were two separate meet-the-brewer events, the first with Stone Brewing’s Kris Ketcham and Dr Bill Sysak; and the second with Bear Republic’s Peter Kruger and Roger Herpst.

Attendees were treated to the aroma of fresh roasted nuts from Family Tree Nut Co., and hearty fare from Urban German Grill and Bunk Sandwiches. The 11th annual Sunday Beer Brunch, a separate ticketed event held at the festival site on Sunday morning of the event, was a sold out affair featuring vintage beers not in the festival and special large format bottles paired with a European style buffet.

The Holiday Ale Festival is a five-day event that annually starts the Wednesday following Thanksgiving. Dates for next year are Dec. 2 through 6. For more information, visit www.holidayale.com.



Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Burnside Brewing Celebrates 4 years on December 28th

Congratulations to Burnside Brewing for their forth coming 4th anniversary! See info below.



Press Release:
Portland, OR - Burnside Brewing Co. celebrates an amazing 4 years on Sunday, December 28, from 6-11pm with the release of two new beers and a party at the brewpub featuring free food, live music ,and $4 beers all day.

A staple of Oregon's thriving brewpub culture, Burnside Brewing Co. has become known as one of the top places to grab a bite as well as a brew. Focused on easy-drinking brews that can be simple or complex but always meant to be paired with food, the brewery takes the same approach to the pub menu with indigenous and handcrafted ingredients. Popular items continue to be the “Cohiba” duck confit cigar, housemade sausages, and pub burger. The Burnside beer list ranges from the easy drinking Oatmeal Pale Ale to the GABF gold medal winning Sweet Heat, which features an amalgamation of apricots and scotch bonnet peppers. Recently the brewery has turned out a new take on "Hot Chocolate," a stout with chocolate and habanero peppers that is paired perfectly with Chef Jimmy's grilled tuna featuring stout braised leek coulis, fresh herbs, lemon preserve, pickled fresno pepper, and cocoa nibs.

"The last four years have flown by and the brewing industry continues to change at a torrid pace, especially here in Portland. We expect to stick to our philosophies of food-friendly beers while being unafraid to take chances in the brewhouse," remarked co-founder/owner Jay Gilbert. Burnside Brewing launched its first canned beer in 2014; the best-selling Couch Select Lager has been a tremendous success in stores and will be followed up by a new beer in cans in 2015, as well as more new one-off and seasonal beers in 22oz bottles. Looking forward to the anniversary and the impending 5th year, Jay Gilbert exclaimed, "we feel like we're hitting our stride as a brewery. Here's to many more years brewing and selling beers with my best buddies. Cheers!"
On Sunday, December 28, from 6-11pm Burnside Brewing Co. will host live music from Big Wet County and Oleana at the pub, as well as a special tapping of the brewery's 500th batch, "NW Red Cedar IPA," and a firkin of a new release, "Highbury Bitter." In honor of the four year anniversary there will be free hor d'oeuvres, prizes, and $4 beers!

Batch 500 is a Cedar IPA based on the popular one-off brewed for Beers Made By Walking. To celebrate making it halfway to 1,000 brews, Burnside has brewed a Northwest-style IPA aged on Western Red Cedar. Fermentation with a Northwest ale yeast provides a gentle, fruity aroma to complement the generous use of Amarillo and Meridian hops. The cedar lends a dry, piney, and resinous finish to this NW inspired nectar.

Highbury Bitter is inspired by our love of all things pub culture, and our favorite squad, this strong bitter reminds us of a rainy day at the old grounds.  English Maris Otter and caramel malts provide a biscuit, bread, and caramel base to balance the fruity London ESB yeast. UK Challenger and East Kent Golding hops round out this traditional English recipe. One-Nil to the Arsenal! 5.814% ABV and 37 I.B.U.’s

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Stone Brewing Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA Out Now

Press Release:
ESCONDIDO, CA (Dec. 16, 2014) – Age an India pale ale? Really? Stone Brewing Co. is releasing a beer that defies all we thought we knew about consuming hoppy beers at their freshest, particularly the West Coast-style IPAs for which Stone is famous. While nearly every IPA on the planet should be drunk as fresh as possible, that is not the case with Stone Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA. Intended for aging until at least December 26, 2015, this unique IPA is inoculated with Brettanomyces (Brett), a wild yeast that will transform the beer over time in fascinatingly and deliciously unpredictable ways when stored under proper cellaring conditions. Beginning today, the Brett IPA will start arriving in 750-milliliter bottles at retail accounts in select states.

In 2012, Stone introduced a beer with an unprecedented, ultra-short shelf life: Stone Enjoy By IPA. That beer educated fans on the importance of drinking IPAs fresh by prominently displaying a revolutionarily short (35 days from bottling) “enjoy by” date of expiration on the front label. Always intent on challenging the status quo and elevating awareness of all things beer, the Stone Team had an idea that would counter the modern American craft-brewing concept of consuming IPAs fresh, and proposed developing an IPA intended for aging—one that would evolve and become a completely different beer.

Stone Brewmaster Mitch Steele, the guy who wrote the book on IPAs, was up for the challenge and formulated a recipe. Steele decided to use hops and malt bills similar to Stone Enjoy By IPA’s recipe, but there the similarities end. The Belgian yeast strain Ardennes was used in the base beer and then Brett was added post-primary fermentation before the bottles were corked and caged. Over time, the Brett is anticipated to contribute fruity funkiness, earthiness and subtle tart characteristics to the beer.

“Over the course of a year, we anticipate the beer will have greater carbonation and a creamier body, with a dry finish, more complexity, and farmhouse characters,” explains Steele. “Each edition of Stone Enjoy After Brett IPA will be closely monitored and tasted once a month by our team in order to make sure the flavors are maturing appropriately. We are asking our fans to follow proper cellaring tips to ensure the most optimal results.”

Bottles of Stone Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA should be kept at 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit, because anything below 50 degrees will render Brettanomyces dormant, and anything above 70 degrees may lead to the development of off flavors. Additionally, beer meant for aging requires storage in a dark space, as bright light or sunlight can alter the hops, resulting in a skunky flavor. Stone encourages fans to wait until the “enjoy after” date before consuming to help the beer reach its full evolutionary potential.


Depending on how Stone Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA and future batches of the unique beer are stored over time, individual results may vary…and that’s both the beauty and the intent behind this beer. 
Stone Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA Quick Facts:
Name: Stone Enjoy After 12.26.15 Brett IPA
URL: stonebrewing.com/enjoyafter/122615
Stats: 7% ABV, 70 IBUs
Availability: Limited 750ml bottles, beginning December 16
Hops bill: Super Galena, Simcoe, Delta, Target, Amarillo, Calypso and Cascade
Distribution: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NM, NV, OR, TX and WA
Find beer: find.stonebrewing.com

Monday, December 15, 2014

Stone Brewing releases Smoked Porter With Vanilla Bean

The limited winter edition Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans is back again and will be hitting retail outlets in 22's and on draft for a limited time. see info below.




Press Release:
ESCONDIDO, CA (December 15, 2014) – Some things just go together. Kittens and yarn. Snakes and airplanes. Hipsters and misuse of the word irony. For us, it’s Stone Smoked Porter with whole Madagascar vanilla beans. Ah yes, the famously delectable combination by Stone Brewing Co. is making its yearly appearance as a limited winter edition creatively named Stone Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean. Available in 22-ounce bottles and on draft, the fan favorite is now making its way to bars, restaurants and retail outlets in all states and territories where Stone beer is sold.

Back in 2006, Stone Small Batch Brewer Laura Ulrich became inspired to develop a beer that tasted similar to Stone Smoked Porter poured over a scoop of high-quality vanilla bean ice cream. As an experiment, Ulrich filled a cask with the classic year-round beer and added freshly split Madagascar vanilla beans. Because Ulrich’s creation gained instant popularity among Stone fans, the beloved concoction continued to make all-too-brief appearances in casks and kegs until 2012, when it was finally packaged and released nationally for the first time.

“To this day, the Brewer’s Cask program at Stone serves as a creative outlet for trying out new, unconventional brewing ingredients and developing recipes,” explains Stone Brewmaster Mitch Steele. “With rich chocolate and coffee flavors and a subtle smokiness, Stone Smoked Porter has been a great beer for blending and enhancing with a wide range of flavors from spicy to sweet.”

Following Ulrich’s tasty innovation, the special release has (not surprisingly) become a cult favorite among fans. The natural flavor of the vanilla beans marries seamlessly with the malt-driven chocolate- and coffee-like nuances of the beer. The result is something that, even with its hints of savory peatiness and smoke, comes across as a semisweet liquid dessert.

To maximize enjoyment of Stone Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean, fans should enjoy the beer within 120 days of the “bottled on” date stamped on the bottle neck. And it might not be a bad idea to pour it over a scoop of organic vanilla bean ice cream. Just sayin’.



Stone Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean Quick Facts:
Name: Stone Smoked Porter w/Vanilla Bean
URL: stonebrewing.com/porter/vanilla
Stats: 5.9% ABV, 53 IBUs
Availability: Limited 22-ounce bottles and draft, beginning December 15
Hops bill: Magnum and Mt. Hood
Distribution: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, Puerto Rico and Alberta, Canada
Find beer: find.stonebrewing.com/

Lompoc Brewing Old Tavern Rat Vertical Tasting at Sidebar December 23rd

 Lompoc Brewing will be holding a vertical tasting of the ever popular Old Tavern Rat Barley Wine on December 23rd. If your like me and have a few bottles of Old tavern Rat in storage this is a great way to go and find out how the different years of barley wine have been aging.



Lompoc Brewing is holding a five-year vertical tasting of its popular Old Tavern Rat Barley Wine Ale. The event will take place on Tuesday, December 23 from 4pm to Midnight at Sidebar, 3901 N Williams Ave.

The years featured include 1998, 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013. A flight of 4-oz pours of all five vintages costs $25. 

Old Tavern Rat was named in honor of the famed Portland publican Don Younger, the business partner and close friend of Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter. Though the flavors vary with each batch, the beer is generally a very intense (like Don) strong ale with a malty body and plenty of caramel, dried fruit and roast flavors. The beer’s label is a painting of Younger done by the talented John Foyston, local beer writer and painter.

A Portland staple since 1996, Lompoc Brewing creates seven flavorful year-round beers, plus a ridiculous number of seasonals. You can find Lompoc in 22 oz bottles and on draft at locations around town, and at its five neighborhood pubs: Fifth Quadrant and Sidebar in North Portland, Hedge House and Oaks Bottom in SE, and the Lompoc Tavern in NW. For more information, visit

Drink Local, Drink Lompoc!