It's Oregon Brewers Festival Time!

It's OBF time again and  here I am late to post again! I'm also actually running late heading down to the OBF... No parade for me this year. Grrr...

I had a post written up with some useful links and somehow it got deleted! Grrr (one more time, not my day, so far)... No time to redo now so check out the Oregon Brewers Festival website for all the festival details. And follow them on Twitter and their Buzz Tent Twitter feed.

I will be tweeting from the festival with pictures, comments, and beer recommendations and try to sum with a post tonight or in the morning (and hopefully not delete it again)...


Be safe and have fun. See you at the OBF!

Cascade Brewing's First Annual Scottish Ale Festival

Update: The are allowing people to bring an old 14 oz  festival mug (think OBF mug) or you can buy a new Cascade mug for $3. What a deal!

This event is coming up tomorrow from 3 to 11 pm. Looks like it's going to be a lot of fun! Hope to see you there! Here are the press releases on the event:

"Here's to the heath, the hill and the heather, the bonnet, the plaid, the kilt and the feather" -- Traditional Scottish Toast "If it's not Scottish, it's crap!" -- Mike Meyers, Saturday Night Live Cascade Brewing to Host Portland's first annual Scottish Ale Festival Nine regional craft breweries will serve up their best Scottish and Scotch ales at Portland's first annual Scottish Ale Festival.  The event will take place on Saturday, January 29 from 3 to 11 pm on the production side of the Cascade Brewing Barrel House at 939 SE Belmont St.  The beer lineup includes Black Raven Brewing's Splinters Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Scotch Ale, Cascade Brewing's McShagger Scotch Ale, Coalition Brewing's Brigadoonery Scottish Ale, Fearless Brewing's Strong Scotch Ale, Lucky Lab's Scottish Holiday, Rock Bottom Brewery's Highland Courage, Schooner EXACT Brewing's Hoppy the Woodsman, and Upright Brewing's House.  The event will feature traditional Scottish music by Cascade Brewmaster Ron Gansberg's band, Stone Porridge, plus a few bagpipers thrown in the mix.   The Cascade Brewing Barrel House will serve its regular menu, as well as a few Scottish specialties.  There is no cover charge for the event. Both Scottish and Scotch ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a color ranging from deep amber to dark copper, and a higher level of unfermentable sugars that creates a rich mouthfeel and malty flavors and aromas. In Scottish ales, overall hop character is low, light floral or herbal, allowing the signature malt profile to be the highlight.  Scotch ales are sweeter and fuller-bodied, with a much more pronounced malty caramel and roasted malt flavor. About Cascade Brewing Barrel House The Cascade Brewing Barrel House is the barrel and blending house and tasting room for Cascade Brewing's award winning Northwest style sour ales.  The Barrel House is open Sunday through Tuesday 11 am to 10 pm, Wednesday & Thursday 11 am to 11  pm, and Friday & Saturday 11 am to Midnight.  Minors are allowed daily to 10 pm.  For more information, call 503-265-8603 or visitwww.CascadeBrewing.com. For daily updates, follow the Cascade Barrel House onFacebook and Twitter. For those who want to plan their drinking lineup, here is the list of the beers with descriptions: Black Raven Brewing Co Splinters Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Scotch Ale (IBU 38 / ABV 7.1%) Redmond, WA  · www.blackravenbrewing.com Splinters is the Bourbon barrel aged version of the brewery's Second Sight Strong Scotch Ale. Aged for six months in various Bourbon barrels, they picked the best of the barrel for added complexity of flavor. All of the barrels were then combined and the beer was aged for another few months in stainless to meld and mature. Cascade Brewing McShagger Scottish Ale (IBU 26 / ABV 8.3%) Portland, OR · www.cascadebrewing.com This strong Scotch ale cuts the chill and warms from within.  A nose of sweet malt and a hint of chocolate and smoked peat start the journey.  Chocolate, kilned coffee and German Rauch malts combine to lend this big Scottish ale a hint of whiskey. Cascade Brewing Wee Ane Scottish Amber (IBU 20 / ABV 4.75%) This easy drinking Scottish small ale is just the thing to recalibrate your palate after all the holiday festivities.  Fuggles, Goldings and Crystal hops balance the Munich and chocolate malts to make this a genuine Scottish session ale. Cascade Brewing Black Sheep Stout (IBU 25 / ABV 5.14%) This easy drinking stout was designed to shepherd you at any time on your beer journey, be that breakfast, lunch or supper.  The sweet chocolate nose that greets you from the dark Crystal, chocolate, brown and black malts is what this beer is all about.  It's accented by roasted barley and kilned coffee grains that lead to a finish ending with a slight spiced hop bite that will linger and dry out your palate. Coalition Brewing Co Brigadoonery Scottish Ale (IBU 45 / ABV 6%) Portland, OR · www.coalitionbrewing.com Golden Promise malt forms the base of this classic Scotch style ale. The malt forward base is supplemented with dark caramel and a touch of peated malt for sweetness and a light smokiness. Wyeast 1728 gives slightly fruity phenolics to the beer. Fearless Brewing Co Fearless Strong Scotch Ale (IBU 48 / ABV 9.25%) Estacada, OR · www.fearless1.com This huge malty beer is brewed in the traditional Strong Scotch style. Hops are subdued, while a nutty, slightly roasty finish is the hallmark. Lucky Lab Brewing Co Scottish Holiday (IBU 35 / ABV 6.8%) Portland, OR · www.luckylab.com This is a true Scotch ale brewed with Scottish pale malt and only the finest English hops. Scottish Holiday is a rich, dark chocolate brew with hints of licorice and raisins. Alcohol content is moderate to high but it balances nicely with a hint of hoppy bitterness. This was the Lab's first and only holiday style ale. Rock Bottom Brewing Co Highland Courage Portland, OR · www.rockbottom.com No description has yet been provided; however, we do know that this was one of the last beers brewed by Van Havig before his departure, so it's sure to be delicious! Schooner EXACT Brewing Company Hoppy the Woodsman (IBU 60 / ABV 9%) Seattle, WA · www.schoonerexact.com Hoppy Holidays' big brother, this ale is last year's Hoppy Holidays winter beer that has been aged in Bourbon barrels for a year and then blended to perfection.  Oak and Bourbon flavors mix with roasted malt and a touch of Yakima hops.   Upright Brewing Co House (ABV 6.35%) Portland, OR · www.uprightbrewing.com Upright "House" is a spiced brown ale made with the famous Traquair House Brewery of Scotland in mind. Upright's take on the style uses coriander, long pepper and bitter orange peel along with a simple grist to produce a malty beer with burnt orange notes and a slight background spice. It's a one-off keg made just for this event. For more information, contact Cascade Brewing, 503-265-8603.  We look forward to seeing you this Saturday. Servus!

Brewpublic presents MICROHOPIC 2

Today our good friends over a Brewpublic are holding their 2nd Mirohopic Festival down at Bailey's Taproom.
My wife and I went to the first Microhopic Fest back in June and had blast! This time there will be more breweries represented. A couple of the breweries couldn't make it for various reasons (Rivergate Brewing just closed down) but there are still quite a few beers to be had. Here is the press release from Brewpublic:

PORTLAND, OR –Brewpublic is pleased to announce our second Microhopic event featuring some of the area’s smallest commercial breweries and even a few we’re sure you have not experienced before. Microhopic 2 is not a nano beer event. We like to think of it more as a pico, femto, atto, zepto, or even yotto brew event. One of Portland’s best craft beer pubs, Bailey’s Taproom will devote more than half of their 20 taplines for the following exclusive breweries:

Big Horse: Hood River, Oregon’s Big Horse Brewing features the beer of imaginative brewmaster Jason Kahler. At this event, folks will get to try the brewery’s Pale Rider IPA (6.7% ABV) featuring CTZ hops.

Mount Tabor: A relative newcomer to the burgeoning Portland craft beer scene, this small Montavilla neighborhood brewery lead by brewer Eric Surface and owner Brian Maher will bring their Little Bull Stout, a full bodied 7% 100+ IBU hoppy treat.

Blue House: From the hidden westside village of Vernonia, Oregon comes a special Blueberry Wheat Ale made with Oregon blueberries by brewer Brett Costley of Blue House Cafe, a unique and Mediterranean restaurant offering delicious food and artisan beer.

Breakside Brewery: Finally Portland’s long awaited Northside brewery Breakside will be showcasing the craft beers from brewer Ben Edmunds. For this event, look for a special Texas Brown Ale (dark hoppy ale) to quench the thirst of the beer lovers.

Migration: Brewer Mike Branes combines Nuggets, Cascades, and Fuggles with Crystal, Carmel, and Biscuit malts for this flagship offering known as the MPA (Migration Pale Ale). Copper in color with light to medium body. 5.5% ABV 55 IBU.

Buckman Village Brewery: The Green Dragon Pub & Bistro’s own small brewery known as Buckman offers us a glimpse into the early phase of their brewery with their Chamomellow Ale made by brewer John Couchot. This chamomile-infused golden ale weighs in around 6% ABV, 19 IBU. Lots of honey apple notes from the herbal spice.

Rivergate: Deep in North Portland, Rivergate Brewing at the North End Pub offers European-inspired beers brewed by founder Brian Frisch. Frisch, who spent time fine-tuning his brewing skills while in Scotland and the Czech Republic will be pouring a limited keg of his Kölsch-style beer, a style originating in Cologne, Germany.

Coalition: One of Portland’s favorite new breweries, Coalition has been dedicated to being their neighborhood’s brewery. Allowing homebrewers to have a hand in recipe development under brewmaster Bruce MacPhee and assistant brewer/owner Elan Walsky, Coalition will bring a house favorite, their hoppy amber ale known as King Kitty Red. A deliciously balanced red, King Kitty begins with a sweet medium bodied malt profile, with light roasty notes from a german black malt, Carafa II. The sweet caramel notes are balanced with Amarillo and nugget hops in the front, and Willamette in back. A combination of Sterling and Amarillo hops used in the hop back give the beer its complex nose. 5.75% ABV 59 IBU.

Natian: Portland’s Nation Brewing is the brainchild of Ian McGuinness and Natalia Laird. Brewer McGuinness offers us a distinctly lupulin laden bold IPA known as Big Block IPA. Finishing out at 6.8% ABV, this new IPA has been a favorite of the brewer and he’s confident that you will feel the same.

Beetje Brouwerij: We’re so pleased to debut the beer of Portland’s newest brewery (this could change in a day/week the way they’ve been popping up here). Beetje (pronounced bay-cha) is the Belgian-inspired brewery from Southeast Portland of brewer Mike Wright. For Microhopic 2, Wright offers his Urban Farmhouse Ale, a light, easy drinking beer meant to quench your thirst. 5.25% ABV, 21 IBU’s. Made with Organic pilsner and 2-row malt and a pinch of crystal malt. Hops: Goldings, Hallertauer, and Willamette. Fermented with a Belgian farmhouse ale yeast.

Vertigo Brewing: No micro beer fest is complete without the quenching beers of Hillsboro, Oregon’s Vertigo Brewing. Soon to expand to a 7-bbl brewhouse, Vertigo has produced a mindblowing amount of beer on a 1-bbl brewhouse thus far. For our event at Bailey’s brewers Mike Kinion and Mike Haines bring an amped up version of their flagship Friar Mike’s IPA known as Friar Gone Wild. This Imperial IPA weighs in at about 8.5% ABV and a boisterous 114 IBU’s. Says Haines “We figured it only made sense to bring a macrohopic beer to the microhopic event!”

Microhopic 2.0 takes place on September 8, 2010 at Bailey’s Taproom (213 SW Broadway Street) in Portland, Oregon. Event starts at 4PM and lasts until the kegs are emptied. 

Hope to see you there!