A visit to HUB and Green Dragon

After what seems like years of waiting, Michelle and I finally visited Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and the Green Dragon on Saturday night. I’ve been eagerly awaiting both, but neither is in the immediate neighborhood, so we’ve typically opted for the closer venues.

We had dinner at HUB, and although there was a line for a table, we only waited for about 10 minutes. Just enough time to grab a beer at the bar and start checking out the place. I’m probably going to sound like a toadie, but it’s clear that every detail at this place received some consideration. After watching photos on the blog, I was still surprised at how nice the place was. We only had brief interactions with the staff, but from observation, they were well trained, and moved with purpose. The interior is cleverly decorated, the art was interesting and appropriate, and pub just felt, well, like the culmination of someone’s dreams. According to the menu, that’s what it is.

Several of the beers have been available for some time now, and I’ve been pleased to sample them at the various festivals, then at various pubs while waiting for the HUB’s own brewpub to complete. Michelle had the IPA (which I’ve had many times before – its terrific) and I had a doppelbock and a pilsner. Both were excellent and true to style. I personally feel that the pilsner could use a bit more of a hoppy kick, but it was a delightful summer beer with a very clean flavor. I was also tickled to see that you can order a Radler – a beer and lemon/lime soda concoction designed in Germany to satisfy a cyclist without sapping their initiative. I look forward to having one when I ride to the destination.

Green Dragon is also a delight for beer lovers. The bar is lovely, and although we only passed through the cafe portion briefly, it looked nice and cozy. The beer selection was great, and I would have liked to hang around longer and try more. While it may not be fair to compare Green Dragon and Hub (they’re different creatures), it’s hard not to. Green Dragon seems to have many mixed themes. There’s Tiki, there’s brewerina, and there’s pinball. I may be alone, but I’ve never really though tiki while I’m reaching for a Belgian ale. Small issue though, because the service, the beer, and the atmosphere (live music too) was nice. Kind of out of the way, but nice. The bartender let us sample the gin they’re distilling which was good, but the packaging is very cool. I’ll have to find a bottle once gin an tonic season is upon us again.

Sling Shot release

Last night I attended the Sling Shot release party at Pyramid with friends, including one of the brewers. It was a fun time, and 2 dollar imperial pints are hard to beat. Sling Shot is a souped up lawnmower beer – really simple malt body that has a clean flavor, though it packs a wallop at 6.2% abv. I was kind of surprised that the beer is being released under the MacTarnahan’s label, but it’s a good name. While there, I noticed several GABF medals for the Saxer dark lager. I’m hoping we’ll see something like this return – Portland could still use a few more lagers. Or maybe Mac’s in cans again.

Oh, and the kettles in the brew house are gorgeous. I love copper.

A sad prediction for 08

I’ve got plenty of beer on tap, but tonight I felt like something hoppy. I went next door to the store and picked up the bargain IPAs. I’m not sure if this is happening everywhere, but at my grocer, prices on beer have already jumped to “hop crisis” costs. I’m not certain if these are prices determined by the brewer, distributor or the grocer, but they seem to have jumped the gun. So my prediction is this:

Thousands of bottles of beer will age to the point of spoiling because the price has been raised beyond what consumers are willing to pay.

This is a loss/loss. I love beer and the craft of brewing, but if I’m going to pay the equivalent of $10 a six pack for something I’d paid $6-$7 just 2 months ago, I’d rather spend it on draft beer. Or homebrewing ingredients. I think this coming year my dollars spent on commercially produced beer are going to go to my local brewers only. Sorry Belgium. Sorry California. Sorry Colorado.

The reason I came to this prediction is that I just spent $8 on two 22oz beers, each of which is clearly past their prime. This is not going to be a happy year for brewers. But the waste? No one wins in that situation. If I didn’t know how good Elysian’s Immortal IPA was, I’d think their product stunk. I suppose the grocer has some interest in preventing aged bottles from shipping, but the pain isn’t necessarily theirs so much as it is for the brewer. This is kind of like triple jeopardy year for brewers. So many years of wonderful grown and birth of new brewers, and now this. Maybe the “Craft Brewing Alliance” cum merger between Redhook and Widmer is just a sign of things to come.

So pour one out for your local brewers, especially if it tastes like mothballs and grass clippings. We’ve got a long year ahead of us.

Holiday Ale Festival 2007

I was only able to visit this year’s Holiday Ale Fest for about 2 hours, but it was enough time to try some seriously big beers and enjoy brews with some friends. I was able to eek out of work early on Thursday to meet up with a displaced Portlander who has been living in New York for some time. When his girlfriend saw him among the crowd at the festival and heard him chatting about beer with me, she realized he wasn’t a nut, he was just a Portlander.

The Holiday Ale festival is great fun if you can escape work early. Seeing the lit christmas tree and towering building facades around you while sipping custom seasonal releases of the regions best breweries is really hard to beat. However, if you overindulge or stay too long, you can wind up in a tight spot. Shortly after 3:30pm, folks started trickling in from their offices in very nice suits. All I can figure is they’re on Market time and with trading over and work wrapped up, they were ready to have a beer. It gets a little crowded, but there are still no lines and you’re only slowed down in your travel. By 4:30pm however, its starting to get a little cramped and car-heater warm. This time I left, but in years past I stayed until it was claustrophobic, sweaty, and dehydrated. Sadly, I’m left with about 8 tickets that I was unable to spend on a second visit.

There were no beers that startled me this year. I think my favorite is still Celebration, but I did enjoy the Belgian-style offering from Laurelwood, the Caldera brew, and the Bye-Bye Frost. Nothing was bad, at least that I had, so it was a good year.

A Yakima Lament

Bert’s Fresh Hop Ale

Every time we head back to Yakima to visit family, I feel like I should put the growler in the car so I can pick up some Grant’s Ale on the way home. Then I remember that not only is Grant’s defunct, there are no breweries in Yakima. Hop Central. In the last few years, I’m not sure if my palette changed or the beer changed, but I never got tired of having the Perfect Porter or Imperial Stout on tap. This time of year, you could get the orginal Fresh Hop Ale as well. Delicious.

Bridgeporter

This recipe is an adapted version of a Bridgeport Porter clone from a 2001 issue of BYO. I had to modify it a little based on my options from the brew shop and the hops I had in the freezer. I switched the recipe to all domestic grains, not for cost, but for principle.

Grain

  • 9 lbs 2-row
  • 1/2 lbs chocolate
  • 3/4 lbs roasted barley
  • 1 lbs Crystal (40L)
  • 1/2 Munich

Hops

  • 1/2 oz. Chinook (12.2% alpha) @ 60
  • 1 oz. Chinook @ 5

Misc.

  • Fermentis Safale S-04 dry yeast (with 1 liter starter)
  • Irish Moss

That’s like the fewest hops I’ve used in a long time, but the Replicator interview with the brewer said to avoid over-hopping it. I figure the folks around me could use a break from hops…. for one beer.

Here’s the qbrew file.

Grape Harvest

Michelle, Ella and I spent the weekend in Yakima with family. This time of year, several of our family members are busy with one kind of harvest or another. My father-in-law is busy with hops (another post, I promise) and my aunt and uncle are busy with grape harvest. On our way out of town, we stopped in at Windy Point to see how the grapes turned out, and to pick up some wine for ourselves.

Pinot Noir grapes

The tasting room was quiet, being only ten in the morning on a Sunday, so we did our shopping then headed down to the winery to see what was fermenting. We saw the winery’s first batch of Pinot grapes happily on their way. It was not only the first batch year they had made a pinot noir, it was their first harvest of grapes they’d planted a few years back. If the other wines are any indication, the pinot should be excellent.

I love looking at oak barrels. It doesn’t really matter what is aging in them, the stamped logo of the cooper, the twisting and darting of the grain in the slats, and the stains of the barrel’s contents around the bung. Apparently my ancestors were coopers, which might explain the fascination, but it might just be the wood too. Or the promise of some delicious pay off. I should really try and snag a used barrel once they’re done with it and age some beer in it. Five gallons would disappear into a barrel though, so maybe it would be more effective to take shavings from a barrel instead.

Shoveling merlot grapes

Just outside the winery, bins of merlot grapes were stacking up. Today was merlot day, and we stuck around to see them fire up the de-stemming and crushing machine. My brain thinks of each step as it pertains to brewing, so I’m consistency surprised how much more simple the wine making itself is. The machine was happily de-stemming and crushing the sweet little fruit, Aunt Liz occasionally turning a wheel to adjust how much of the fruit was left on the stem. I helped shovel the fruit pulp around to make sure there was an even layer in the fermenter. Tiny grapes are quite heavy, so we made some excuse to go home. “Well, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us…”

Hop Stoopid

Visited Pause on Interstate tonight with the family and was delighted to find Lagunita’s Hop Stoopid on tap. I tried to glance quickly at the tap handles on the way outside and saw something Sonoma Farmhouse and expected a sour and had to use the internet to connect the whole story.

The beer was terrific. Michelle and I have been quite partial to Widmer’s W ’07, a pale ale made with Summit ™ hops that delivers a robust citrus and melon hop flavor without a bittering finish. Hop Stoopid had the same wonderful intense floral and citrus delivery followed by a round and sweet malt body and nary an off-putting bitter follow-up. The beer was terrific with dinner and I split a second with the table. Really a surprise of a beer and a delight to find on tap at Pause.

OBF 2007

Not much to report from OBF this year. I only made it to one day and I have 10 tokens left. My plan to attend part of the day on Thursday was foiled by coworkers all being gone, so I was limited to Saturday. I had a great time though. My family and a group of friends from college came in to town and we all headed down before noon on Saturday (I love you Max) and set up a base camp with the pack-n-play. Allowed for folks to wander back and forth between the beers, food, and always have a place to relax.

Beer-wise, I wasn’t as impressed with this year’s spread. I think my favorite was yet again Pliny the Elder, and there were several other great beers, but I didn’t go crazy trying to sample all the beers I wanted this year. I think there were actually more beers that I was disapointed by for a change. One in particular, the Boundary Bay Galena single-hop seemed like it could be excellent. Galenas have a wonderful spicy aroma and a strong bittering characteristic, but the beer was just a little too simple. Nice smell and initial taste, but it had no follow up, and my mouth was left wondering who had put out the flavor. Noggin’ Grog was similar. I was told it wasn’t much good by a friend, but thought he might have just been talking down the competition. Nope – it was strangely bad.

I was quite pleased to be able to take my daughter for her first OBF. It was looking like it would be a no-minors event for the first time in 20 years, but luckily prudence prevailed, and families were able to enjoy the event together. I did not get an orange “I am a minor” sticker for Ella though, which was a mild disappointment, and she had very little interest in taking a nap in the chaos. Lesson for next year though – babies need rest if you want them to be happy.

Now, what to do with the additional mugs? At least the tokens are reusable next year.

Post-Organic Brew Fest

I’m a little disappointed that the event has the name NAOBF when OrBF is a great spoof of the traditional Oregon Brew Fest (OBF). But, besides the rain, that’s all I was disappointed with. The event was great fun, and the rain actually kept the crowds modest like the first Organic Brewers Fest a few years back. The quality of the beers seems to improving, though this year there were so many brewers and varieties that I can’t honestly say I had a full sampling.

Rinsing between samples

Ella joined Scott, Stephanie, Joe, Lindsay and I for an afternoon of beer talk and exploration, and she seemed quite content given the less than ideal weather. In fact, her presence allowed me to engage with a few strangers, including one of the organizer’s mothers.

Christian Ettinger of the any-day-now Hopworks Urban Brewery was representing for his beer so we picked his brain about where they had brewed this surprise entry, the future lineup, organic ingredients and more. The graphic designer has done an excellent job with the banner and the business card Ella took was tasty.

I was really pleased with all of the IPAs which I sampled. I have to agree with Scott and Joe that Alameda’s El Toro was probably the finest of the bunch, but they were all quite good. The surprises I thought were Root’s Chocolate Habanero Stout, McMenamins’ Saison and the mead – the first I’d had which didn’t stink.

Each year this event has been at a different place, but the last two years were probably the nicest. I personally hope Overlook Park sticks as it’s proximity to my home and the atmosphere of the park were very pleasant. Until next year!