Occidental Oktoberfest Release - Just the Facts

Occidental Brewing Co, a new brewery and taproom in St. Johns, will celebrate the release of its Oktoberfest beer in the courtyard of Cathedral Park Place on Saturday, Oct. 1, from noon to 10 pm, complete with German cuisine from the neighboring Cathedral Park Kitchen and live music from Chervona and other guests. Admission is free. In addition to the Festbier, Occidental's other brews will be available for purchase.

In addition, many small businesses and artists' studios in historical Cathedral Park Place will hold an open house in the afternoon from 1 to 5 pm.

Cathedral Park Place is located next to Cathedral Park in the shadow of the St. Johns Bridge at 6635 N Baltimore Ave, down the hill from downtown St. Johns. Once you're in the neighborhood, just follow the signs for the boat ramp until you see the big orange building.

For more information on Occidental, its lineup of German-style beers, and uncle-and-nephew brewers Dan and Ben Engler, please visit occidentalbrewing.com or call 503 719 7102.

Nicole's Ed. Note: Their Kolsch is awesome. The Bavarian-style Hefe is worth a try, as well, and a far cry from what Portlanders usually call a 'Hefeweizen'. They are overall cool people over at Occidental, make sure to support them. Have a great weekend!

2011 Lompoc Monster Mash Preview

(l to r) Pseudo-press member Ritch Marvin, Lompoc Brewers Zach Beckwith, Dave Fleming, and founder Jerry Fechter

This week, Lompoc releases one of their most highly-anticipated seasonal beers, Monster Mash Imperial Porter. As a member of the, *cough*, “media,” *cough*, I was given the exclusive opportunity to sample this year’s batch at their Sidebar location, along with some other current Sidebar specialty one-offs. Lompoc brewers Zach Beckwith, Dave Fleming, and Jerry Fechter were in attendance, as were Brian (production manager) and Irena (new hire/brew student). You’re not here to read a roll call sheet, I’m sure.. so here’s how I think this year’s beer tastes:




It’s good. But you probably already guessed that. Smoke and roast subtly peppered the distinct aroma of this beer. Inevitably, a libation in this style will be compared to an Imperial Stout and seem thin. To me, after that waft of brilliance, the body was a bit lacking. Imperial Porter is, after all, a slightly bogus style in general (Black IPA, anyone?) However, the strong impressions of chocolate and coffee liqueurs on the tongue were interesting and added complexity. There was certainly enough heat- the perfect counterpoint to a chilly fall night and some pumpkin pie. For a big beer, it’s extremely drinkable. And for a drinkable beer, it’s both in-your-face and complex. For an admitted ‘kitchen sink beer’, this comes across as rather refined. Perhaps consistent experimentation breeds consistency.


(l to r) Lompoc Flamingo, Lompoc 2008 Mon Cheri

Many other beers were sampled from the eccentric Sidebar lineup, but there were two standouts for me. The 2008 Mon Cheri is a ~6% Belgian Golden with that Ardennes spiciness. Age mellowed it into beautiful mouthfuls of sweet caramel, flowers, and peppery earth. This beer is just where it wants to be, and I highly recommend a trip to Sidebar this weekend to get some before it’s gone.


Lompoc's Irena Bierzynski talks fermentation.. and stuff.

The other excellent beer of the night was a one-off sessionable brown ale (‘Bierz Brown’). It was created by new employee Irena Bierzynski, and brought big chocolate and hazelnut flavors to a low-ABV brown ale. A drop of Special B in the grain bucket allowed the beer to rise from the ashes of dry, husky earthiness. Irena took the floor and got all scientific with the story of her first Lompoc ale. It sounded like a faint humming to me; maybe because I was enjoying her beer so much.



I didn’t need an official reminder to buy the 2011 Monster Mash, but maybe you do.. And maybe that’s why I’ve been tasked with reminding you that it’s a damn fine beer and available soon at the various Lompoc outfits and at your favorite local PDX bottleshop.

Release party is 4pm Friday at Sidebar (3901 N Williams Ave, Portland), where you can try this beer as well as the others discussed in this post. Jerry and crew hope to see you there.

Fresh Hop Beers - The Class of 2011 (Part 1)

Fresh Hop season. Idealized for many months prior, then briefly enjoyed upon arrival. Complaints echo throughout the interwebs.. “This fresh hop isn’t hoppy enough!” “These wet hops do not improve upon my tasty Imperial!” and so on and so forth. After spending countless, aimless minutes at work perusing Bill Night’s Fresh Hop Map, I decided that as a beer journalist, it was my duty to get out there and start sampling. Those hops weren’t going to stay fresh forever, and at the risk of becoming an iconoclast, I needed to make a pilgrimage to the mother temple of all fresh hop gods: Deschutes.

At the Portland pub, Deschutes is currently offering four fresh hop beers. Inversion had just blown. Maybe by the time you’ll read this, they’ll be up to five or six. I believe they’re shooting for eight or ten by the time the season wraps. I wanted to understand why they felt the need to overdo it, and understand (with a fresh palate) what flavors or sensations are actually contributed by this Pac NW-elite process. During my visit, Deschutes was offering the following fresh hop beers: Mirror Pond, Oktoberfest, Chainbreaker & Twilight. In the interest of your education, I tried ‘em all.


Fresh Hop Chainbreaker at Deschutes Brewery, Portland

Fresh Hop Chainbreaker was a tasty beverage. I’m not sure if it was tastier with or without the fresh hops, though. I noticed the IBU on the fresh version was 50 versus 55 for the reg. The spicy, intense Belgian yeast overpowered the subtle nuances of the fresh lupulin extraction, leaving a mild herbal essence behind and a lot of work for little result. Even with the Cascade/Citra/Centennial powerhouse, there was little to be found.

Fresh Hop Mirror Pond, served from the cask, was a raging disappointment. Sweet fruity blowoff from the yeast, out of place dry-roastiness, and a hint of butter got up in your face. The fresh hopping added zero to this beer, and if anything, there were zero hops in any format to be found in here. I remember that sweet, herbal tea-like zing in last year’s version; this one lacked any of that zippy character. I look forward to trying the regular draft/bottles, hopefully this cask was a simple one-off mistake.


Fresh Hop Oktoberfest at Deschutes Brewery, Portland

I did find those herbal iced tea notes in the fresh hop Oktoberfest, which played the same notes as last year’s special-ed Mirror Pond. Menu talk of a traditional sour wort and German ingredients was all fine by me, but it’s those fresh Sterlings that shined as only a fresh noble-inspired hopping could. I would be interested to try this Oktoberfest sans bonus hops, and feel that it would be a typical clean, pretty Deschutes exercise in perfection. For now, it’s a spicy-yet-subtle hop forward Fall classic.


Fresh Hop Twilight at Deschutes Brewery, Portland

The winner for the night was the Fresh Hop Twilight. Stealing the show were those proprietarily-fresh Amarillo hops from nearby Virgil Gamache Farms. Since Gamache is the only legit grower of Amarillos, we’re pretty much the only part of the country that can get fresh, wet hops in to the kettle in a reasonable amount of time (Gamache Farms is 3 hours from PDX). This beer exuded a beautiful fresh, floral spiced orange flavor that was decidedly rare and thought-provoking. Amarillos typically provide such a general citrus note, but this application brought forward more bitterness and sharp rind than one would expect. The base beer provided a lightly-toasted yet malt-light canvas for this botanical beverage of wonder. Get thee to Deschutes and order a Fresh Hop Twilight post haste! At the very least, I see the reason for the excess: the beers here were paired with fresh hops like they would be with beer dinner courses. An attempt to be complimentary was certainly made in each case.


Seven Brides Fresh Hop (l) and Bridgeport Hop Harvest (r) at Green Dragon, Portland

Bonus Freshies: Yes, folks, I was still thirsty. Green Dragon was hit and both Bridgeport Hop Harvest and Seven Brides Fresh Hop were sampled. The Bridgeport brought back familiar sense-memories; I don’t think that beer changes much. This year, however, I got a bigger burst of chlorophyll-yness than usual. Perhaps this is a freshness thing that diminishes with time? Either way, one of the best applications of the fresh hop out there, and consistent. Perhaps consistency takes the excitement out of the fresh hop deal? For me, a bit. Seven Brides? Let’s not talk on this one too much. It’s a big, roasty porter. To think any fresh hop oils would come through this was a misstep of the highest order. As a beer, it’s pretty good. As a way to close an evening of fresh hop delights, pretty effin miserable.

I'll return to discuss some more fresh hop nonsense in a week or two. Cheers!

Beetje catches Prince syndrome

Time to say goodbye to what once was Beetje Brewery..



And say hello to The Commons Brewery.

According to their website:

Starting today Beetje is known as The Commons Brewery.

I’ve talked openly about my intent to change the name from Beetje to something else for some time now. That time has come. This is not meant to be a big wow moment with fireworks overhead (though I’ll admit to enjoying fireworks). No, a simple transformation from what was a garage brewery to a 7bbl brewery in a commercial space.

The Commons Brewery is more reflective of my belief that the best part of drinking beer is the company that gathers around the beer. Friends, family and neighbors coming together. The new space and the beers will enable and celebrate that side of beer.

I look forward to sharing a beer with you in the near future. You know where to find me.

Salud

Mike

Look forward to hitting up their upcoming tasting room on SE 10th & SE Stephens. The rumor mill has it opening sooner than later. More details when we get them, loyal readers. For now, let's talk about how awesome the Een Vat was at the Beermongers festival, eh? (Sorry, leftover Canadian mojo)

LOLA back at Lucky Lab

LOLA (Ladies of Lagers and Ales) was invited back to brew at Lucky Lab Beer Hall following the success of their Kolsch (Lucky Lab) and Hibiscus IPA (Coalition Brewing).  The women have set the standard for large group collaborations at brewpubs.  They start by using their facebook page to communicate and narrow down beer styles, then ask the brewer what is realistic, then have a recipe development session and then brew.

Ben Flerchinger, head brewer at Lucky Lab Beer Hall wanted to have the ladies back because of their passion, experience and desire to further their education of beer.  An Oktoberfest was the obvious choice for a beer that matched the brew date.  Besides the women and Ben working together on the recipe and brewing, the brewing community helped out with ingredients.  The yeast came from Occidental Brewing and some of the hops from 5^th Quadrant.  The beer will still have a Northwest twist on it, but true to style ingredients because of the cooperative spirit of brewers in Oregon. 

Ben is an excellent coach and allows the women to be hands on with every step of the brewing process.  The second time around, Ben knew the areas that people could use a little more time in and each person had the opportunity to have a tri-clamp practice session.  The process seemed quicker because most of the women were more comfortable.

Besides brewing, Ben served the LOLA crew a sample of Super Dog and Super Dogger Lager and discussed the differences in yeast use.  He entertained every question posed to him.  Inquires included opinions on hops and yeasts, advice on brewing on a commercial system and his personal story.  Ben has a way of never making anyone feel silly or inexperienced.  When a person asked a question about disconnecting a pipe, Ben said, “it is easier if you hold on to it and take it out now,” instead of saying something like, “you dumbass, don’t let it drop into the tank and hurry up.”  He also loves a challenge.  (See tank photo). 

LOLA will announce when the beer will be ready, but look for it around Oktoberfest.

Beermongers' 2nd Anniversary Brewfest - 9/10 & 9/11

Disclaimer: I have been known to work a shift or two at The Beermongers.

That said, they're putting on a kick-ass festival in their parking lot this weekend. For those of you who know Josh Grgas, Beer Guru and manager at the 'Mongers, he has been plotting and scheming, stressing and freaking to make this thing happen. When you swing by, make sure to give Josh a pat on the back and offer him whatever sedatives you may have smuggled in to the fest. By Saturday, he'll need them. You want details, here you go:

Saturday, September 10, 12-9PM
Sunday, September 11, 12-8PM

$15 Admission = Festival Glass + 7 tasting tickets
Additional Tickets $1 each
21+OVER
CASH ONLY!

Food provided by Curbside Grill and Nourishment.

Website - thebeermongers.com/anniversary

We’ll be rotating 20 beers on tap throughout the weekend showcasing some of our favorite breweries.

Astoria - Solar Dog IPA
Alaskan - Perseverance Ale (RIS w/ Birch Syrup and Fireweed Honey)
Barley Browns - Turmoil
Beetje - Een Vat (Pinot Noir Barrel Blend)
Bend - Scarlet Imperial Red
Boneyard - Hop Venom (Imperial IPA)
Breakside - Oude Noire (Spiced Dark Saison)
Breakside - Bourbon Aztec (Chocolate Chili Strong Ale)
Brewdog - 5 A.M. Saint (Hoppy Amber)
Burnside - Bacon Bourbon Stout (Stout with Bacon Gas)
De Dolle - Dulle Teve (Tripel)
De Ranke - Guldenberg (Belgian Strong Blonde)
Deschutes - Trojan Horse IPA
Eel River - 2008 Porter
Firestone Walker - Oaktoberfest (Marzen)
Flat Tail - Sour Raspberry Porter (Barrel Blend)
Hair of the Dog - Little Dog Dark (Session)
Hopfenstark - Berlin Alexanderplatz (Berliner Weisse)
Jolly Pumpkin - La Parcela (Sour Pumpkin Ale)
Jolly Pumpkin - 2010 Noel de Calabaza (Sour Belgian Dark)
Lucky Lab - 2010 Olde Yeller (Barleywine)
Mikkeller - Bourbon Black Hole (Imperial Stout)
Oakshire - 2010 Very Ill Tempered Gnome (Imperial Brown)
Oakshire - Oak Aged Watershed IPA
Portland U Brew - Rhubeerb
Sierra Nevada FOAM Pilsner
Schlenkerla - Oak Smoke (Smoked Doppelbock)
Shmaltz - Barrel Human Blockhead (Rye Whiskey Aged Doppelbock)
Stone - Belgo Guardian (Barleywine)
Upright - Stout of Monte Fisto after Apollo Creed (Imperial American Stout)
Walking Man - Vintage Old Stumblefoot (Barleywine)
Widmer - Rose City Hipster (Golden with Rose Hips)

And to end on a humorous Josh-related note, here's an illustration conceived by our blogging brother, Angelo from Brewpublic. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to drink your vitamins at this weekend's Beermongers Brewfest!