Thursday, January 5, 2017

McMenamins’ 4th Annual High Gravity Extravaganza brewfest at Old St. Francis School

Courtesy of McMenamins
Where can you sip over 25 high gravity IPAs, stouts and ciders while relaxing by the fireside in a wintry wonderland? No place other than McMenamins’ Fourth Annual High Gravity Extravaganza brewfest at Old St. Francis School on January 14, a celebration of big, bold ales and cider in Bend, Ore.

Come to the fest between 1-5 p.m. when you can “Meet the Brewers” and mine the professionals for their trade secrets – don’t miss chatting with Tom Johnson of McMenamins Roseburg about his Gimme Shelter Baltic Porter and the Keith Richards quote that inspired it, or GoodLife Brewing’s Scotch on Scotch, a Scottish Heart Scotch Ale aged in a Scotch Barrel for six months with an ABU of 9.5%!

A list of attending breweries is below and you can visit this link to learn more about the beers at this year’s event. 

What: Fourth Annual High Gravity Extravaganza
When: Saturday, January 14, 2017 from 1-10 p.m.; Meet the Brewers 1-5 p.m.; Live music 4-10 p.m.
Where: Old St. Francis School, 700 Bond St., Bend, Ore., 97701
Cost: Free admission; All ages welcome; 21 and over to drink

Participating McMenamins breweries

High Street Brewery
Thompson Brewery
Concordia Brewery
West Linn Brewery
Anderson School Brewery
Old St. Francis School Brewery
Edgefield Brewery
Crystal Brewery
Roseburg Brewery

Participating guest breweries

Monroe Brewery
Bend Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Ochoco Brewing Company
GoodLife Brewing Company
Wild Ride Brew Co.
Immersion Brewing
Cascade Lakes Brewing Company
Three Creeks Brewing Co.
Juniper Brewing Co.
Riverbend Brewing Company
Craft Kitchen and Brewery
Kobold Brewing
Worthy Brewing
Boneyard Beer
Sunriver Brewing Company

Full Sail Brewing Releases IPApaya Papaya IPA

Courtesy of Full Sail Brewing
Hood River, Oregon – Winter weather forecast for Hood River: unseasonably tropical. IPApaya Papaya India Pale Ale, the latest in Full Sail’s Pub Series, blends locally grown hops with notes of papaya creating a well-balanced, refreshing IPA with a touch of the tropics.

“We developed IPApaya to complement the tropical aromas found in Northwest hops with a subtle addition of papaya,” says Greg Doss, Full Sail’s Brewing Supervisor and the brains behind IPApaya. “After testing several hop varietals for this IPA we chose to showcase Equinox (aka Ekuanot) - a hop well known for imparting unique fruity notes of melon, citrus, berry, and papaya.  And since this beer was all about hops and fruit, we kept the recipe light and simple using only pale and wheat malts.”

Those malts, along with healthy additions of Equinox hops, provide the perfect golden base for the addition of papaya. Tropical aromas of citrus, passion fruit, and papaya are well complemented by clean malt notes. “Vibrant tropical flavors in this IPA brighten the dark days of winter,” says Full Sail Brewmaster Jim Kelter. “It’s a vacation in a bottle.”

Full Sail’s new IPApaya pairs well with Thai dishes such as Thai salad, pad prik king and tom kha, and Indian dishes such as curry, paneer and samosas. Light, fruit-based desserts like Thai sticky rice topped with fresh mango and salted coconut milk taste great with IPApaya, as does light blue cheese or a nicely aged triple-creme brie.

IPApaya is the newest release in Full Sail’s Pub Series. Like a portal to our pub, seasonal brews only available for a limited time (get ’em while they’re cold) give you a taste of the pints and people that celebrate the Pacific Northwest. IPApaya is available January to April in 6-packs, in the Full Sail Trophy Case and on draft. 6.2% ABV, 58 IBUs. From our pub to your place – cheers!

About Full Sail Brewing Company
Perched on a bluff in Hood River, Oregon, overlooking the mighty Columbia River’s epic wind and kite surfing and the snow-capped volcanic peaks of Mt. Hood, Full Sail is a true craft-brewing pioneer. Since 1987, Full Sail has been pouring pure Mt. Hood water, local ingredients and responsible processes into each and every pint. Full Sail’s brews and sustainable practices have garnered more than 300 national and international awards, including 150 gold medals and Beverage World’s “Craft Brewer of the Year” distinction. From Full Sail Amber and IPA to Session Lager and bourbon barrel-aged beers, Full Sail consistently strives to brew complex, balanced and ridiculously tasty beers. Learn more at www.fullsailbrewing.com.

Sam Adams Releasing Two New Seasonals, Hopscape and Fresh as Helles

Courtesy of Sam Adams
BOSTON, MA -  Samuel Adams was one of the first craft brewers to offer rotating beers that capture the essence of each season, and now, from January through April, the brewers are introducing drinkers to two new seasonal beers: Samuel Adams Hopscape and Fresh as Helles. It may be unconventional to have two seasonals at one time of year, but Sam Adams has never been known to follow the rules. The brewers felt that these two brews capture the essence of the ever-changing season across the country from January through April.

Available January and February, citrus and piney hop flavors with a nice lingering bitter finish make Hopscape best enjoyed during cold, brisk temperatures. While the honey malt aroma and orange blossom notes of Fresh as Helles make it a perfect pairing to welcome late spring weather during March and April.

“At the start of 1988 we introduced our first-ever seasonal beer, Samuel Adams Double Bock, a traditional spring beer originally brewed by German monks,” said Jim Koch, Samuel Adams founder and brewer. “While we pioneered rotating beers for the season, this season’s beers have changed more times than we can count. The variety in the weather during this time of year begs brewers and drinkers to explore flavors that match the ever-changing season. It might seem crazy, but after we brewed a few test batches of Hopscape and Fresh as Helles in our Nano Brewery, we knew we had two seasonal beers that captured the essence of the schizophrenic weather around this time of year.”

Brewer Megan Parisi continued, “With Hopscape, we knew we wanted to brew a hop-forward beer to match the bitterness of the cold. Our Sam Adams Nano Brewery gave us the chance to experiment with a variety of hop trials until we nailed the citrusy and piney flavor profile we were going for. On the flip side, for the more fickle side of this season, we knew we wanted to brew a more delicate beer. We found that our helles recipe created the perfect base for balancing the flavor of tangy Mandarina hops and floral orange blossom petals. As brewers, half the fun is brewing multiple trials until we get just the right flavor – or in our case flavors – that we’re looking for.”
Courtesy of Sam Adams
Hopscape, the first new brew for 2017, is brewed with four varieties of West Coast hops that add bold pine and grapefruit notes to the deep golden wheat ale. Chinook, Citra, Centennial, and Zeus hops impart citrusy, dank resin and grapefruit rind aromas that lead into a balanced flavor of bright citrus and piney hop character. White wheat and a two-row pale malt blend add a crisp, light sweetness, and the beer finishes with a slightly lingering bitterness.
Courtesy of Sam Adams
Fresh as Helles is a refreshing light amber, medium-bodied helles brewed with Mandarina hops and orange blossom petals. The beer’s lively, citrus flavors pair perfectly with the changing season. Soft citrus notes of orange blossom add a bright accent to the slightly sweet honey malt notes, leading to a round, smooth finish.

Hopscape & Fresh as Helles Availability
Samuel Adams Hopscape will be available nationwide from January through February 2017. Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles will be available nationwide from March through April 2017. Both brews will be available in six-packs for a suggested retail price of $7.99-$9.99, 12-packs (bottles and cans) for a suggested retail price of $14.99-$17.99, 16 oz. single serve cans for a suggested retail price of $1.99 - $2.49, and on draft. From January through April, both beers will also be available in the Samuel Adams Spring Variety 12-Pack for a suggested retail price of $14.99-$17.99, and 24-packs for a suggested retail price of $22.99-$24.99. Price for each package varies by market.

To find where Samuel Adams beers are sold near you, visit www.samueladams.com/find-a-sam.

ABOUT THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY
The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen. Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America. That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager, in recognition of one of our nation's great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit. Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager would soon become a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 60 styles of beer. It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients. Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the 'extreme beer' movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker's perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and is one of world's most awarded breweries at international beer competitions. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its primary focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America's leading craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market. The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com

Samuel Adams, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Boston Lager are registered trademarks of Boston Beer Company.

Deschutes Brewery Announces 2017 Beer Lineup


Bend,Oregon - 
The brewing team at Deschutes Brewery has been busy, as usual, over the last few months. The culmination of brewing creativity and pub patron approval has resulted in some new additions to the brewery’s lineup for the coming year, joining the return of iconic fan favorites.
These new beers include:
  • Pacific Wonderland Lager (Mainline Series, year-round): The brewery’s first widely distributed lager, this sessionable beer was inspired by the Pacific Northwest with citrusy Tettnang Mandarina hops providing an unexpected twist on a crisp, bright lager.
  • Swivelhead Red (Bond Street Series, March- August): The label alone on this beer is enough to make your head spin, but cracking open the bottle is when the real magic happens with an herbal hop aroma and smooth caramel maltiness. (Follows Sagefight Imperial IPA in the rotation)
  • Passionfruit IPA (Bond Street Series, draft only, May-August): This delectable easy-drinker boasts a fruity and tropical aroma, set off by a quartet of hops: Cascade, Azacca, Galaxy and Vic’s Secret.
  • Cultivateur (Reserve Series, March): What our brewers have dubbed a “Provision Saison”, Culutivateur is a blend of old and new saisons, aged in oak with brettanomyces and is the first beer to graduate from our small batch experimental Pub Reserve series.

The brewery is also switching up its popular variety pack, on shelves in select locations, to include a mouthwatering mix of Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Fresh Squeezed IPA and Pacific Wonderland Lager (March). Hop Slice Summer Ale, which debuted for the first time in bottles last year, will be reformulated to be even more refreshing, and Armory XPA continues its experimental journey with a brand-new experimental hop (June).
To make room for all these new creations, the brewery is discontinuing its 22-ounce bottle offerings of Hop Henge Experimental IPA, Down N Dirty IPA, and Big Rig Pub Ale. Deschutes River Ale will also be removed from the lineup this spring.

Courtesy of Deschutes Brewery
Check out the attached calendar for a complete lineup for 2017. Happy New Year!

About Deschutes Brewery
Named as OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work for the last three years in a row and winner of the 2015 Oregon Sustainability Award, Deschutes Brewery was founded in 1988 as a brew pub in Bend, Oregon. Still family and employee owned 28 years later, the brewery is known for brewing a diverse line-up of award winning beers including the popular Fresh Squeezed IPA, Black Butte Porter, and Mirror Pond Pale Ale. From the beginning, the focus has been on crafting the best beer and food using thoughtfully curated ingredients. With a second brew pub in Portland’s Pearl District that has become a popular destination for craft beer lovers from around the world, Deschutes Brewery now ships beer to 28 states, the District of Columbia, and internationally from its main brewing facility located on the banks of the Deschutes River.  To find out more, visit www.DeschutesBrewery.com.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Cascade Brewing Releases Its Blueberry 2016 Project In Bottles and Draft

Courtesy of Cascade Brewing Co
PORTLAND, Ore. – Jan. 3, 2017 – Cascade Brewing released its Blueberry 2016 project in both bottle and draft today. Cascade Blueberry 2016 is a blend of sour wheat and blond ales that were aged in white wine barrels for up to 12 months with more than 8,000 pounds of fresh blueberries from Oregon’s bountiful Willamette Valley.

After working directly with the grower to ensure the blueberries were picked at peak ripeness, the brewery hand-sorted the freshly picked fruit then added it to both tanks and barrels where it aged on the beer for several months until the fruit character reached its fullest expression. The fruited beer was then blended with a portion of non-fruited barrel-aged beer until the ideal balance of flavors was achieved.

“The 2016 growing season delivered fruit with elegant blueberry aromatics, providing clean fruit expression to this blend,” stated Kevin Martin, lead blender. “The project is complemented by the dry, cereal grain notes of the beer with hints of lemon, a soft oak presence and lively acidity.”

Cascade produced 1,190 cases of Blueberry 2016 bottles. It also produced 225 kegs available for order. For more information, visit www.CascadeBrewing.com.

About Cascade Brewing
Cascade Brewing has been a pioneer in the sour beer renaissance since 2006 and the proud innovator of the Northwest Sour Ale. Its distinctive sour beer blends feature fruit forward, barrel-aged ales with an emphasis on project year-to-year variation. These beers offer a complex array of flavors derived from Northwest grown ingredients with each project year release capturing the unique subtleties of that year’s growing season. Its beers are brewed in the brewery in Southwest Portland, then aged and blended at the Cascade Blending House, which holds more than 1,500 oak barrels and nine foudre tanks.


Website: www.CascadeBrewing.com
Twitter: @CascadeBrewing
Instagram: @CascadeBrewing
Hashtags: #CascadeSours #HouseofSour, #CascadeBlueberry

Fort George Brewing Releasing Barrel Aged Matryoshka Russian Imperial Stout From New Limited Release Sweet Virginia Series

Courtesy of Fort George Brewing

Astoria, Oregon-
The brewers at Fort George received a new toy for Christmas, and they just couldn’t wait to open it. The custom 6-head mobile bottling line from Meheen was barely out of the crate before they started it up. This had been on their wish list for quite some time. And after well over a year of careful planning and barrel aging, the brewers were anxious to fill some bottles.

Matryoshka, a strong Russian Imperial Stout aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels, is bottled, wax dipped, and ready to leave Fort George Brewery. The oak barrels filled with stout have been lining the windows in the Lovell Showroom for all of 2016 (historically used as an automotive showroom to display the latest model cars, now used to display future bottled beer releases).

“The name ‘Matryoshka’ is based on the idea of Russian nesting dolls,” explains brewer Dave Coyne. Dave not only manages the barrel program at Fort George, he also drew the illustrations for the labels. “Matryoshka is the first in this series. It will be followed up with smaller and smaller variations. Next is a version with cocoa nibs and finally Matryoshka with cocoa nibs and raspberries.” The first bottles were sold on Friday with the additional layers set for release by February, in time for Fort George Stout Month.

The Matryoshka releases are only the first in this new Sweet Virginia Series bottling project at Fort George. The mobile bottling line allows the brewers to do short runs of barrel aged and rare beers on a regular basis. Named after the small “Sweet Virginia” pub system, these brewer-developed beers have always been a source of innovation and experimentation on the block. But with many batches limited to a handful of kegs, most of these beers never leave the pub in Astoria.

“I’m looking forward to trying different styles, perhaps blending with different kinds of barrels,” Dave continues.  “Making the best barrel aged beers we can and having a way to share those with more people, that’s what is exciting to me.”

Due to the limited nature of the Sweet Virginia Series, bottles and draft may be hard to find outside of Fort George Brewery. Look for a new bottle release at the pub about once a month. Occasionally when the project allows, Sweet Virginia Series bottles may be available at bottleshops around the Northwest.

Matryoshka, in 500ml bottles and draft, is available at the brewery and in extremely limited supply around the Northwest starting this week. Variations of Matryoshka with cocoa nibs and raspberries will be available by February, exclusively on the North Coast. Look for future bottle releases, including a 10th Anniversary Barleywine and Bourbon Barrel Cavatica Stout, coming later this year. Fort George beer is distributed only in the Pacific Northwest.