Update from the bend in the Columbia River

I spent another week last week working in Hermiston, OR. The best part of the week? Getting uninterrupted sleep for 4 straight nights! Just what I needed. I also managed to visit some of the nearby beer spots.

I made it up to Ice Harbor Brewing in Kennewick, WA on Sunday to watch some football and meet up with outgoing assistant brewer Adam Cocker. Adam was coming up on his last week at the brewery before he and his wife move back to Salem. He was nice enough to take time away from packing to meet me at the brewery. I was stoked to find they still had their excellent Fresh Hop IPA on tap. This was one of the better fresh hop beers I had this season. I was also excited to see that their Hop Warrior IIPA was listed as "coming soon" on the tap list. Adam was kind enough to let me get a taste of it out of the tanks. A nice double IPA with a good dry finish. The hops aroma is a little weak but picks up steam as the beer warms up. Look for it on tap at the brewery soon (if not already on!).

I pressed Adam for information on his next move. He isn't quite sure what he is going to do in the Salem area. He is thinking of trying to line up another brewing position at one of the breweries in the area, while also toying with the idea of small batch brewing and bottling. Adam is a brewer to keep an eye on for the future. I am sure he will bring exciting things to the Salem beer scene and beyond. I look forward to updates from him in the future.

Next I made the obligatory trip into Pendleton to visit Prodigal Son Brewery. Lots of exciting things going down at Prodigal Son. The new projection TV was set up in the cool theater room just to the left of the bar. It was perfect for watching the Rangers put the hurt on the Yankees in the ACLS. But the coolest new addition to the brewery is the incredible neon sign out front:





My iphone camera does not do this thing of beauty justice. This sign is a beautiful addition to downtown Pendleton and looks just as cool during the day. The color and design are top notch. I could tell owner Tim Guenther was really proud of it.

Tim and brewer Brian Harder were excited about their trip to Portland that weekend for Brewpublic's Killer Beer Week. This was to be the first time Prodigal Son Brewery's beer would be on tap in Portland. As a result, there was some last minute decisions to make regarding which beers to bring. It was cool to get a chance to see all the thought and hand wringing that go into deciding what beer to bring to such a cool event.







The big concern for Brian was that the current batch of their most talked about beer - Bruce/Lee Porter - was brewed using a different malt, as their normal malt was unavailable from the supplier. He was not sure whether to send the current version or a substitute beer. The concensus seemed to be that the current batch was a great porter but not quite as awesome as the usual recipe. It was cool to see all the thoughts running through his head as he tried to decide what beers to bring. I think the Ella IPA (available at the Saraveza event) and the Rye/Amber (availabe at the Bailey's Taproom event) were good choices.

I am returning to the area in November. If they have a batch of "original recipe" Bruce/Lee Porter finished by then, I am hoping to convince Brian to let me bring back a keg to put on tap in Portland. We shall see....

My final visit of the week brought together beer and music in a great way. I had long heard great things about Great Pacific Wine and Coffee in Pendleton, OR. At the end of my week, I brought the whole family back to Pendleton and we stopped by Great Pacific on Saturday afternoon. What a great place. They have 12 great taps. On this day they had beers from Upright, Walking Man, Ninkasi, Deschutes (Hop Trip!), Terminal Gravity, etc....They also have about 3-4 coolers full of a great selection of bottles for on premise or off premise (25% discount) consumption, including over 3 cases of 2009 Abyss.

We also happened to stumble in on the beginning of the bluegrass jam session they have every Saturday. By 5 pm the place was packed and the jam session included close to 10 great musicians on guitars, violins, harmonicas, acordions, washboards etc.... It was a really good time. Not to mention the pizza is excellent. Pendleton is lucky to have two great places like Prodigal Son and Great Pacific!

Get Your Ass to the Record Store

I am headed out to my Central-Eastern Oregon work outpost soon. Each trip is preceded by a trip to the record store to fill up on some new music for the drive and downtime (there is also always a pre-trip visit to the beer store, but that is for another post). Some great music has been released in the last few weeks. As always, I recommend picking these albums up at your local independent record store. Let me highlight a few:



The album I have been anticipating the longest is Sufjan Stevens' full length follow-up to the critically acclaimed album Illinois. He recently released a great little EP titled All Delighted People. This week saw the release of the LP Age of Adz. Stevens has left behind the 50 states album project. This record only came out yesterday, so I will reserve judgment until I have had several more listens. And it will take several more listens. At first glance this album seems to find Sufjan headed in a new direction with some songs that are really hard to get a grasp of. But just when you feel lost, he pulls you back in with some terrific melodies. Interesting no doubt.




Deerhunter put out a fantastic album in 2008 titled Microcastle which contained one of my favorite songs of the last decade - "Nothing Ever Happened". The last week in September they released their new album Halcyon Digest. This one feels like an instant classic. For whatever it is worth, Pitchfork gave this one a 9.2.




A few other records to keep an eye out for at the record store: Black Angels - Phosphene Dream, Cloud Cult - Light Chasers, The Walkmen - Lisbon, The Moondoggies - Tidelands

A Beer Filled Weekend

The weather was terrible this weekend, which made for a great guilt free weekend of drinking beer under tents. Actually it all got started on a relatively nice Friday evening. The Portland Fresh Hops festival preview event allowed everyone a sneak preview of all the fresh hops beers on tap. $20 bought you a pint glass, 8 tasting tickets, and a sandwich. Not a bad deal. It also got you access to the beers with no lines to speak of what-so-ever.

The nice weather that evening allowed us to enjoy our beers outside of the tent on the lawn of Oaks Park. I managed to try a few new fresh hops beers that I hadn't tried yet. A couple of highlights included the Laurelwood Hop Pickin' Pale, Golden Valley's Centennial Fresh Hop, and a chance to try Pelican's Elemental on tap. On tap it is just as good as in bottles.

Saturday found me right back at the festival for opening gate. This time I was making a short 1 hour visit with my father in law. He is not much of a beer fan but he was game to try out some fresh hops beers. I quickly ran him through the highlights: FH Mirror Pond, Elemental, Rock Bottom's Hop Harvest, Lompoc's Crystal Missile, Laurelwood's Hop Pickin', and a few other good ones. I also had to give him a bad one for comparison, which gave him a good idea of what a great fresh hop should taste like!

After the quick visit, we headed back home. My inlaws were gracious enough to watch our two daughters so that my wife and I could take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to attend the Celebration of Beer Weekend event at the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA. Situated right on the Columbia River in the Gorge - the Skamania Lodge is a beautiful resort.

The event was forced under one big tent due to the relentless rain. It forced everyone to get to know each other and have a great time, as you can see below:

Brewpublic's Angelo De Ieso with Double Mountain's Charlie Devereux

The beer available was great in that there were several breweries that do not make it to Portland regularly. The two that I found most interesting were two that I am familiar with due to my work in Hermiston, OR. Snipes Mountain Brewery from Sunnyside, WA and Prodigal Son Brewery from Pendleton, OR both brought some fantastic beers.

Snipes Mountain brought two wonderful fresh hops beers - an IPA and a "fresh hop ale". Both showcased what brewer Chris Miller can do with the hop fields surrounding Sunnyside. It was great getting a chance to chat with Chris and learn a little bit more about Snipes operation. I look forward to visiting Chris at his brewery in the near future.

Prodigal Son head brewer Brian Harder brought what I consider their flagship beer - the Bruce Lee Porter. It was perfect for a rainy afternoon like this. I also got my first taste of their Ella IPA which was a very well balance IPA that I look forward to drinking more of in Pendleton. It was great getting to talk with Brian and drink some beers with him. He was pretty stoked when the clouds lifted and we could actually see the river:

Of course there were plenty of other great breweries and brewers on hand. Charlie Devereux brought Double Mountain's fresh hop Killer Green, which is always a treat. Lompoc Brewing's Dave Fleming brought their Black Tiger CDA which was gone in an instant. The beer was definitely great but getting to know these brewers a little better in a casual setting was great. If you get a chance, this event is definitely a must. I would recommend booking the hotel package and stumbling to your room after the excellent buffet. You can also just show up for the beer tasting.

Fresh Hops Festival Beer List and Other Weekend Beer Events

This weekend brings no shortage of great beer events. Fresh hops beers take center stage - both at the Portland Fresh Hops Tastival and at Belmont Station. If you are up for a short drive out of Portland, you can find yourself at a couple of great events.

Portland Fresh Hops Tastival

The 3rd stop of the annual Oregon hops tour. Oaks Park is the setting as 29 different breweries bring 42 unique fresh hops brews to the shores of the Willamette River. Unfortunately, the weather looks to be rather gloomy and Ezra of The New School Beer Blog may be right in that the atmosphere will be less than exciting this year as we all may be forced under the large tent. Regardless, this is your chance to try a huge number of fresh hops beers. I am hoping to find at least a few more good brews to make up for what I believe has been a less than stellar year.

Here is the beer list for the festival:

Brewery Name	Hops Used	Style	Name
Alameda Brewhouse	Multi Hop	IPA	Failing St Fresh Hop
Amnesia Brewing	Liberty	Pale Ale	The Mother Plucker
Astoria Brewing Co	Cascdes	PNW Warmer	Fresh Hop Dark
Beer Valley Brewing	Bravo	Imperial Stout	Black Flag
Beer Valley Brewing	Cascade/Zeus	Fresh Hop Ale	HWY 19
BridgePort Brewing Co	Centennial	Imperial Ale	Hop Harvest
Cascade Brewing	Nugget	Rye Pale Ale	Rye Pale Ale
Cascade Brewing	Crystal	Porter	Fresh Hop Porter
Deschutes Brewery	Crystals	Pale Ale	Hop Trip
Deschutes Brewery-Portland Pub	Centennial	Strong Pale	King Cone
Deschutes Brewery-Portland Pub	Cascade	Pale Ale	Fresh Hop Mirror Pond
Double Mountain Brewery	First Gold	IPA	Killer Green
Fort George Brewery	Assorted	Fresh Hop Ale	Cohoperative
Full Sail Brewing Co	Centennial	Pale Ale	Lupulin
Full Sail Brewing Co	First Gold	Pale Ale	Lupulin
Full Sail Brewing Co	Mt. Ranier	Pilsner Style	Hopfenfrisch
Golden Valley Brewery	Centennial	Extra Pale Ale	Centennial Fresh Hop
Green Dragon	Centennial/Perle	IPA	Hop Diddly
Hopworks Urban Brewery	Multi Hop	Pale Ale	Gayle’s Fresh Hop Pale
Hopworks Urban Brewery	Willamettes	Oktoberfest	Fest of Fury
Hopworks Urban Brewery	Cascade	Golden	Golidilocks
Laurelwood Brewing Co	Organic Cascades	Pale Ale	Hop Pickin Fresh Hop Pale
Laurelwood Brewing Co	Crystal	Pale Ale	Crystal Fresh Hop Pale
Lompoc Brewing	Crystal	American Red	Harvest Man Red
Lompoc Brewing	Crystal	Fresh Hop ale	Crystal Missile
Lompoc Brewing	Crystal	ESB	Ale-Conner Fresh Hop ESB
Lucky Labrador Brewing	Multi Hop	English Bitter	Mutt Ale
MacTarnahan’s Brewing	Cascade	Amber	Fresh Hop Mac’s
McMenamins	Cascade	Strong Pale	Thundercone
Ninkasi Brewing Co.	Perle	Special Bitter	Parlay
Ninkasi Brewing Co.	Crystal	IPA	Total Crystalation
Oakshire Brewing	Hallertauer	PNW Festbier	Wet Hop Harvest Ale
Oakshire Brewing	Organic Chinook	Pale Ale	Locavore Fresh Hop Pale
Pelican Pub & Brewery	Sterling	Strong Pale	Elemental Ale
Philadelphia’s	Sellwood Willamettes	Golden Ale	Sellwood Golden
Ram Restaurant&Brewery	Centennial	Fresh Hop ale	Hop Sack Harvest Ale
Rock Bottom Brewery	Centennial	Integrity Style	Hop Harvest Ale
Rogue Ales	Multi Hop	India Pale Ale	Wet Hop Ale
Silver Moon Brewing Co	Cascades	IPA	Hoppapotamus
Three Creeks Brewing	Crystals	Pale Ale	Cone Licker
Upright Brewing	Nugget	Farmhouse Pale	Tyler the Elder
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co	Nugget	Dark Ale	Black Nugget

Friday Night Preview: 5:30-8:30 PM

$20 includes 2010 Glass, 8 tickets, and half a sandwich from Philadelphia's

Saturday Festival: 12-9 PM

$5 Glass. $1 tickets.

Skamania Celebration of Beer

My plan for the weekend is to hit up the festival preview on Friday night and then return at noon on Saturday to finish off any fresh hops beers I haven't had a chance to try. By early afternoon, my wife and I plan to be in Stevenson, WA for the annual Celebration of Beer Event.

I did not go to last year's event but I heard great things from several people. The weekend includes a beer tasting, dinner buffet with featured beer, and a Kegs and Eggs Sunday brunch. Several of the featured breweries do not make it to the Portland area much, including Snipes Mountain, Prodigal Son, Laht Neppur, and Lazy Boy. Check the link above for details and availability.

Belmont Station Fresh Hop Beer Week

The majority of the taps at the Bier Cafe at Belmont Station have been given over to fresh hop beers. If you find a favorite at the festival, look for it here.

Block 15 Brewery Blocktoberfest

Head south to Corvallis for the Block 15 version of Octoberfest.

No shortage of good beer in the great Portland area this weekend. The hard part will be deciding which event to attend. Good luck.

Two Worthy Fresh Hops Events Today

Since I dissed this year's crop of fresh hops in my earlier post, I thought I would highlight two worthy events today. Two of the beers I deemed worthy of taking the time to seek out are being released this evening.

Lompoc Brewing Fresh Hops Release Party
New Old Lompoc 4-9 PM
1616 NW 23rd Ave.
3 fresh hops beers released: Harvest Man Red, Ale-connor ESB, and one of my favorites this year so far - Crystal Missile.

Double Mountain Killer Release
The Bye and Bye 5:30-8 PM
1011 NE Alberta St.
Charlie and Matt release their excellent fresh hop ale to Portland.

Hood River Hopsfest Review

I attended the Hood River Hopsfest last weekend. It was my first time attending the festival. The weather the last two years kept me away. This year I was determined to attend, regardless of the weather. Thankfully, it was a beautiful fall day in Hood River on Saturday.

Now, I love Hood River. I do not need a festival as an excuse to visit. The view, surrounding outdoor activities, breweries, Double Mountain's pizza, and Mike's Ice Cream are reasons enough. The festival was set up in the parking lot across from Full Sail and the movie theater. The location is excellent in terms of accessibility to everything the town of Hood River has to offer. It was great to be able to take a break from the festival and grab a pizza at Double Mountain. Plus there are some great views of the mountains across the Gorge.


Now that I got that out of the way, let me appease Dr. Wort and bring in some criticism. First, the beer. As far as Portland bloggers go, I seem to be second only to Bill from Its Pub Night in terms of love for fresh hop season. Despite having a 4 week old child at home (and her older sister), I had still managed to try about 75% of the fresh hops beers available in Portland prior to this festival. At the festival, I concentrated on the fresh hops beers and managed to at least try an additional 14-15 of the fresh hops beers being poured. In all, I would guess I have had 25 fresh hops beers so far this season. Of those 25 beers, I would recommend probably about 5. That is 25%. Not a good batting percentage.

Certainly a few stellar beers have emerged this year: Deschutes Mirror Pond, Lompoc Crystal Missile, Double Mountain Killer Green, Rock Bottom Hop Harvest, and Ice Harbor Fresh Hop IPA. (UPDATE: I forgot to include Pelican Elemental, which I have only tried in bottles). These are the five (now six) I would recommend someone take the time to seek out and try. The rest? Not so much. At the festival, my crew kept tasting miss after miss. There were some good beers indeed. Big Horse's Vernon the Rabbit Slayer was a great double IPA but it lacked that green fresh hop flavor (probably because they reportedly used freshy dried hops). Upright's Tyler the Elder was a tasty farmhouse ale but I didn't feel it brought much fresh hop flavor either. I am not sure what it is but I remember last year being impressed by a much larger percentage of fresh hop beers.

Now about the festival itself. Other than the central location in Hood River and the mountain views, I was not impressed by much else. In fact, I still prefer the Portland Fresh Hops Tastival along the Willamette River at Oaks Park. The Hood River festival is held in a parking lot and thus is all cement. I prefer a nice grassy area to relax - especially on a nice day. The bands were terrible. I was there over the course of 4 hours. It started for me with an Oompah band and ended with a teenage garage band heavily influenced by Blink 182 that I am pretty sure played a Nickelback cover song at one point. Terrible.

Finally, the set up led to over-crowding. They sectioned off the tap area into a smaller area where minors were not allowed. But, you were free to take your beer out of that area into the rest of the festival grounds. The problem is not many people left the tap area and it quickly became over-crowded. Also as a result of this stupid set up, those with minors were forced to stay in the main area and send other people in to get them beers. I have never seen this at any other all ages festival. It does not make any sense.

If you missed the Hood River Hopsfest, fear not. Schedule yourself a trip to Hood River on another sunny fall day. In the meantime, enjoy the Fresh Hops Tastival this weekend in Portland. Grab one of the 6 great beers I mentioned above (actually 5 since Ice Harbor won't be on tap) and go grab a nice spot on the lawn of Oaks Park outside the tent.