Category: Other Beers

Family from Yakima brought news of this for Thanksgiving. Yakima Brewing and Malting is going to make a public offering for its Mandarin Hefeweisen, which is its newest and best seller.

This seems in stark contrast to the former owner and namesake Bert Grant’s possessive nature. I may be pessimistic here, but it give me the feeling of a Red Hook or Widmer type business deal. Its not to say that they don’t make good beers (they do, mostly), but their production is dominated by a single, bland beer. I suppose this is good for them, and provides the economic backing for bigger and better things, but a certain AB owns large percentages of each company. That certain AB company, though tireless in their pursuit of quality control, seems to be more interested in market share than damn fine products.

Time will tell. I wish Grant’s the best; Their cask Scottish is amazing, and the pub is one of the few remaining pieces of architecture in Yakima that has been emptied and moved to the sucker-fish of a city called Union Gap.

Took a spent keg of Bald Guy Brown back to New Old Lompoc on Friday and decided to stay for dinner. The drive down was horrific – one and a half hours of traffic. The brewer, who had lent me the proper fittings for a Golden Gate keg was there. I returned the parts and he informed me that I had the last of the Bald Guy Brown. He wasn’t brewing it anymore because no one buys it. Its a shame because its the best Brown I’ve had.

Dinner was great, as were the beers. They’re going to be opening another location in SE Portland called the something shed. I can’t remember, but its supposed to be a dog friendly place with beer & wine. Sounds great.

Here’s a story about some engineering students in Massachusetts who have started a kegerator conversion business. Not a bad idea, and seems like quite a bit of fun. I wish I’d though of it.

Actually, come to think of it, it might be scary to have to work in college houses. Never know what could be lurking in a fridge.

Just got an e-mail from NW Brewing News stating Port Halling was closing:

Port Halling Brewing to Close October 12th

Due to excessive overhead and slow sales Port Halling Brewing Company will close its doors this Sunday.

Sad news. This place made great beer, but I only had it at OBF and and the organic brewing festival. Gresham was too far to go. 🙁

We finally got around to visiting the Rose & Raindrop. Got a later start than planned, so all the seating on the ground floor was taken. Sadly, the chairs on the ground floor are very cushy, and would have been the perfect place to decompress after a week of work. We were the first upstairs and picked a seat on the edge of the balcony. Below us was a traditional British pub situated in a apply decorated building. The wood backdrops to the bar, the display of tap handles, the stained glass windows all made for a nice atmosphere. Amazingly, the smoke from downstairs hadn’t made its way up to us, and were glad.

As we were being seated I asked about the cask ales, and the conversation that ensued was somewhat surprising. We were talking with the owner, and he was very hands-on with the beers and understandably pleased with his pub & restaurant.

The beer selection is quite impressive, though the offerings change too quickly for the menu. A very nice spread of micros and imports are available, as well as a number of seasonals. To my surprise, there were 3 different Oktoberfests on tap.

Our first round of cask ales were served at the perfect temperature, and the ale itself was the perfect choice for a cask beer. The menu selection is somewhat limited, like all pubs, but the variety is great. The food was very good, and the waiter packed my lamb shanks for my dog. Sadly, we skipped the cranberry bread pudding for another pint.

One amenity that is starting to become a staple in Portland is Wireless Internet Access. Personal Telco, a local public wi-fi group had access points inside the pub. With a cozy chair, a great selection of beer, and great food, this could be a nice place to get some work done.

Attendence at this year’s Oktoberfest in Munich was up again as revelers drank 6.1 million liters of beer, roughly the equilvelent of 6 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Today we finally had our new place type party. Since I was between batches of homebrew, I picked up a keg brown from New Old Lompoc brewery. I learned last night while enjoying a pint of tasty hop harvest that Don Younger, proprietor of Horse Brass Pub, was also owner of New Old Lompoc Brewery. I had also been hunting kegs, and from what I’d tasted, it was a sure pick. So I called in to Lompoc, and the brewer, Trevor, split a keg for me to fill a measly 1/4 barrel for my party. After a brief “leave a message/That guy from old lompoc/oh, the brewer” exchange, we got a very tasty keg for Bald Guy Brown. Its delicious, and I think it went over very well. I’m in no hurry to kill it, so stop by if you ant to have some.

I celebrated my birthday a day early by going to the Horsebrass Pub yesterday with my wife and friends. Had more beers that normal, though enjoyed each. Walkabout’s Jabberwocky Strong Ale, Hair of the Dog’s Ruth, Chimay Tripel, and something I don’t remember of hand (I didn’t pick it). It was loads of fun, and I nearly won a game of Rummy. The fish & chips were amazing, and the fish was fried to perfection, like a lovely donut.

Scott and I made a trip out to Port Halling for the first annual Organic Brewers Festival. Nearly 30 beers were on tap at the event, as well as many local “green” organizations and beer groups. It was a fun event, and looks like it was successful enough to happen again next year.

I’ve personally been baffled by organic beers because although I want to like them, I have generally not found them to be of comparable quality. I find it hard to believe it has anything to do with the ingredients, but considering most of these brewers also make fine non-organic beers, I’m not sure what the deal is. This event at least showed me that there are several great organic brews out there, and that I shouldn’t loose hope. I’d like to see what’s available next year.

Scott, Sarah, Michelle and I hit up Rogue’s Bones & Brews fundraiser this afternoon, slightly before it started raining. It was a nice event, but somewhat different that what I’d expected. Quite entertaining, great food, great beers, and I don’t think enough can be said about how involved Rogue is in the community.