Pints and Steins

Portland, Oregon – Upright Brewing is a small-batch brewery located on the east side of the Willamette River, across the street from the Rose Garden. Although small, this brewery has had some amazing press in the traditional and online media and is a loved brand in and around Portland’s otherwise crowded beer scene. I’ve heard of Upright on a number of occasions and was happy to be able to tour their brewery recently.

Their unique style of beer is crafted after farmhouse ales from Belguim and France. I am a huge fan of this style because of it’s distinctive yeast-y taste that only Belguim-style ales have.

Today we’ll take a look at Hard Bop Brown, one of Upright’s seasonals currently on tap in the Portland area. Brown ales, traditionally, are known for being smooth in palate with a hint of malt and perhaps a taste of nut, depeneding on the brew. Alex, the owner of Upright Brewing, described Hard Bop as a “hoppy brown ale with a kick”.

Hard Bop Brown is composed of a few bales of hops that Upright normally doesn’t produce with, in this case centennial and cascade hops. This strong and hoppy brown ale also utilizes a new house yeast strain, according to their website and weighs in at 9% ABV and has 60 IBUs.

When you pour Hard Bop Brown, it’s a very dark copper-ish red color and the smell of the hops emanates from the pint glass. At first sip, you can definitely sense the the floral hoppy-ness with a small hint of bitter although not overwhelming. With this ale, you’re first met with a citrous-like start that is balanced with a mix of malt and yeast that balances out the drink. This beer tastes a bit bitter at first, but you quickly forget about it as the smooth brown ale taste takes over.

My impression of the beer is that it’s one of the best brews I’ve tasted in all of 2011. As a fan of hoppy beers and brown ales as well, Hard Bop Brown is a perfect marriage of the two ale styles, providing a smooth beer experience with the taste and surprising flavor of a hop ale.  Yum!

Upright Brewing is located in Portland, Oregon (map provided below). The draft house is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and also before each Blazer home game.

MacTarnahan’s is one of Portland’s oldest breweries and has long been popular amongst local beer lovers. Today’s trip in the Winter Ale review train takes us to MacTarnahan’s brewery as we try Mactarnahan’s Humbug’r Ale. I bought this beer and enjoyed it out of the bottle, which came in a tall 22 oz bottle.

This beer, like some of the other ales I’ve been reviewing as of late, is completely dark – you cannot see through this beer at all. It’s heavy in malts and has a roasted flavor according to the website. This beer uses four malts including caramel, Black Roast, Wheat and Oats and the hops are comprised of Northern Brewer and Willamette. This beer is available from September through December and weights in at 5.3% ABV.

This beer is very dark and smells of chocolate and bit of coffee. It has a very black color and a bubbly head. At first sip, the heavily roasted malts comes through heavily. This is a very, very malty beer that almost tastes like black chalk. Unlike Black Butte Porter, which is very smooth and silky, Humbug’r is chalky and dry.

The taste can be described as a mix of roasted dark malt, coffee and some metallic taste. A roasty bitterniess sticks around during and between sips.

If you’re a fan of heavy dark porters, Humbg’r will suit you, however, I cannot recommend this ale.

Pyramid Brewing used to be one of my favorite breweries because it was local when I lived in Seattle for a short time long ago. However, I’ve had a few of their beers in the last few years and they haven’t been all that great.

However, let’s take a fresh look at Pyramid as I focus on their Snow Cap Winter Warmer ale as a part of the winter/holiday ale series. Snow Cap Winter Warmer is a very dark amber ale that  has a very unique taste to it. Some winter ales, as beer fans know, are dark and very malty, however, Snow Cap continues this streak of a dark bodied amber combind with roasted chocolate-tasting malt to add extra zing and a hint of sweetness.

Snow Cap Winter Warmer utilizes three different malts including Caramel, Chocolate malt and barley combined with Willamette hops and a few others. It is 7.0 ABV and has a low IBU score of 47, meaning it isn’t very bitter at all.

Snow Cap pours a dark copper/amber color and has a frothy head at the top, a little too much for my taste. When you first sip Snow Cap, the beer’s amber flavor comes through with a nice hit of malted barley providing a somewhat chocolatey taste, but not too much. This isn’t a sweet beer, but a smooth one. After you swig it around, you can taste the hops kick in a little, providing some floral zing and finishing off with the hint of caramel.

This beer is very similar to Widmer Brrr, although not as sweet on the last bit of the drink. Snow Cap is excellent. This is by far the best beer I’ve ever had form Pyramid and has restored my faith in them…I’ll be looking for more Pyramid ales for review.

Do you have a Pyramid ale that you especially like?

Autumn and winter are a special time of year. The days get shorter, the sun disappears and the cold settles in. This is why I love breaking out darker, heavier beers at this time of year. With that, let’s continue on with my series on the darker beers that winter brings to us.

Widmer Brewing is a favorite brewery in the Portland, Oregon area because their beers have a a consistent quality that transends them to the top of Portland’s brewing scene.

Brrr Winter ale is a darker beer (but not totally dark – you can see through it) comes in at 7.2% ABV and has 50 IBUs. Brrr pours dark red and give a well balanced approach to a malty winter ale.

At first sip, you can easily make out the caramel and chocolate malts that bring a slightly sweetened malty presence. Further into the drink, there’s a very smooth finish that isn’t sweet at all – more like a smooth porter, just balanced and makes you want more. This ale smells of slight hops and caramel malts, enticing you the whole time.

Some people don’t like winter dark ales because they are too malty and heavy. Brrr is not this kind of beer, it has a slight malty flavor that has a slightly sweet aftertaste that brings you back.

For those who like amber ales or brown ales, this ale will be a nice next step into the world of more flavorful beers. I like it, and I think you will too.

10 Barrel Brewing, located in Bend, Oregon, is one of my favorite breweries. I’m lucky to have regular access to their pub house over on Galveston Street on the west side of Bend. It’s a lively pub house that has an outdoor fireplace and a fine selction of the locally crafted ales. The brewers love making beer and you can tell when you take a sip of one of their ales.

Now that the winter season is approaching, I’m have a pattern of loving dark flavorful beers that come out this season. Today’s review takes us over to 10 Barrel to sample their S1most0r Dark Ale. This dark ale, at first glance, looks like it would be heavy and too strong in flavorful to be fully enjoyed.

However, I asked the brewer who poured my pint what sets S1most0r apart, and he referenced the de-husked german malt that is used. Being de-husked, it takes away the astringency and presents a strong flavor up front and a smooth after-taste on the back end.

At first sip, this ale is not strong in flavor – it’s more medium bodied with a subtle hint of chocolate. This beer is very balanced with a medium strong foretaste and a very smooth and subtle aftertaste that leaves you wanting more. S1most0r ale has a very light head and smells of licorice and a bit of toffee, a little bit of carmel and a touch of grains. You can taste the carbonation which adds to the zing of the beer.

If you’re seeking a smooth dark ale this winter, check S1most0r ale. If you’re wondering why it’s called S1most0r, notice that then 1 and the zero are emphasized, hence from 10 Barrel.

Deschutes Brewing, located in Bend, Oregon, is amongst my favorite breweries. This brewery has been around since the mid-80′s and is one of the big boys in micro-breweries based in Oregon, along with Widmer and Bridgeport. Deschutes is available in most of the country, in fact, no matter where you’re from, you’ve likely seen Mirror Pond Pale Ale on tap or in bottles.

In today’s review, we continue the fresh hop ale trend by trying Hop Trip Pale Ale from Deschutes. This beer stands out because the brewers actually drive to my home turf of Salem, Oregon to pick their hops amongst the fields around Oregon’s Capital city. Then, they immediately drive back to Bend to boil the hops immediately and begin the brewing process.

Hop Trip comes in at 38 IBUs and weighs in at 5.4% alcohol. The description on the bottle describes this as a citrousy hoppy beer with fall spice.

Hop Trip pours with very little head and has a copper-red color to it. It’s an appealing looking beer which just makes you even more excited to drink it.

Normally descriptions are justified, and in this, case Hop Trip is exactly as advertised. The Cascade Hops seem like they pop in your mouth upon your first sip. This beer is a little bitter, but a quick spicy aftertaste that makes this a balance hoppy beer. Hop heads will likely think Hop Trip is a little weak, but for hop lovers and those who like a mild IPA, Hop Trip will hit the spot.

September and October is a very special time of year. It’s the time that the hops are in season. I’m lucky to live in the heart of the hops growing region of the Willamette Valley here in Salem, Oregon. Each year, in September all the brewers in the Oregon area come here to check out the harvest. As a result, we beer drinkers get to be witness to the amazing brews that happen as a result.

In this review, we’ll dig into a brew from Bridgeport called Hop Harvest Ale. The label promises that this brew is from field to brew in under 1 hour, which is an amazing feat. Imagine that there are brewers, loading up a truck full of hops, heading straight for the brewery to boil them instantly.  It’s a yummy proposition.

I’m a huge fan of fresh hop ales, largely because I love the floral bitter taste of an IPA, but sans the the punch-you-in-your face bitterness.  This is where fresh hop ales come into place. These ales offer a hoppy experience without a high-degree of bitter.

In fact, this specific Bridgeport ale is intended to mix caramel malt and a touch of wheat to give a cloudy color to an ale that begs to be sampled.

Upon first sip, Hop Harvest Ale gives you a familiar pale ale type taste, but with a nice floral accented aftertaste.  There is no bitterness, likely because of the wheat influence. There is no malty overtone to this brew, just a nicely balanced hop-intense ale.

If you’re a hop fan, please check out this brew at your local pub or grocery store. Bridgeport has again hit the nail on the head and you won’t forget this beer.

Finally, the fresh hop season is upon is. This special time of year comes right as Autumn descends upon our fair State.

Each September, brewers from around the state come to the Willamette Valley to pick hops directly off the vine and boil them immediately into amazing ‘fresh hop’ beers.

This year, Deshcutes Brewing is going all in with special versions of Fresh Hop Mirror Pond Pale, Inversion IPA, Oktoberfest and a few other special ales.

This year is especially unique because Hop Trip will be available in stores as 6-packs as well as the normal 22 oz bottles. Fresh Hop Mirror Pond is available in 22 oz bombers.

So get yourself to a Deschutesutes Pub, in Bend or Portland, today and try out the new ales – you won’t be disappointed!

Seven Brides Brewing out of Silverton, Oregon has made a name for themselves in the mid-valley. The passionate group behind the brand has 4 signature brews that are available on a regular basis. I have reviewed Emily’s Ember, which, in short, I would describe as an average amber ale.

In today’s review, I’m taking a look at the Silverton brewery’s first IPA. As the label says, ‘popular demand’ required them to look at making an IPA. In this spirit, they have tried to make it as hoppy as humanly possible. Looking at the label, they invite hop heads to unite.

Quoting the bottle:

Frakenlou’s India Pale Ale. In response to your requests “demands”! we present our first IPA. Our first batch was just 1.5 barrels of this Hop Monster.

Using only the Northwests’s finests hops, and the desire to make a monster IPA, Frakenlou’s was born.

Think of it like this, we use enough hops in each batch if IPA to make three of our other beers!

Frakenlou’s comes in at 7% alcohol and is 10f IBU’s, making this a very bitter beer with some massive hop creds.

To me, when I read the label, I expected this to be a hoppy bitter beer that made me cringe when I took my first sip.  Almost like a DogFish Head 120 Minute IPA. This ale will definitely delight any hop head, but it’s not a pucker up and cringe when you drink it beer. It’s relatively smooth with a bitter finish that leaves you wanting more. It’s a heavy beer when it comes to alcohol content, so you’ll likely want to share it.

I’ve written about how I wish we had a brewery here in Salem. However, I’ve always thought we just need a restaurant or bar that serves amazing beer from the already existing selection of local beer we have in the Pacific Northwest.

Salem, Oregon, please welcome Venti’s Cafe and Taphouse, which opened yesterday. My family and I went to check it out and we can gladly report that Venti’s taphouse is an amazing place to sample beers and get some great foot at the same time.

The location for Venti’s is quite convenient, no matter what part of town you live on as the restaurant and taphouse has set up shop on Commercial Street SE in the building that used to be home to Buster’s Barbeque. The owners of Venti’s did a complete remodel on the interior and the new look is stylish and modern.

The Venti’s Taphouse tries to be family friendly with an open feel and a dedicated kids area. As the Dad to a 1 and 4 year old, I can appreciate this, my daughters enjoyed the toys that could easily be retrieved from the kid’s area in the restaurant.

However, the joy of Venti’s Cafe and Taphouse is the beer selection. There are 24 rotating taps that feature all types of beer from throughout the Northwest. Additionally, there’s an amazing bottle and canned beer selection bringing the total to about 124 available beers.

I had the 10 Barrel India Summer Ale  from Bend, Oregon and my wife had the Dupont Saisan Farmhouse Ale and both were amazing. The India Summer Ale is refreshing and flavorful and the Farmhouse Ale is a German-style light ale, I’d describe it as a Kolsh type beer with a slight bite at the end.

The food selection spans pizzas, burgers, Asian inspired dishes such as Chicken teriyaki.  it’s a bit of a mish mash of food selection but you can guarantee that there’s something for everyone on the menu.

Conclusion

Overall the new Venti’s location (there’s one already downtown) is a welcome addition to the Salem restaurant scene. The amazing beer selection will impress any beer snow or connoisseur.  If you want to see what’s on tap right now, visit twitter.com/ventiscafe as the taplist changes so often.