Twas The Night Before Christmas

Okay, so last night wasn’t the night before Christmas, but there was a very special occasion at Belmont Station. It was a total surprise to us. It was Carl Singmaster’s Birthday. Carl is the owner of the Station, is a regular guest on Beer O’Clock Radio, a huge Motorhead fan, and an all around great guy. Thanks to Holly, the amiable manager of the Biercafé for making this happen. It was the first time in the 26 years of Carl’s career in retail that he enjoyed some beers instead of working. On hand was a 2005, (3) Liter bottle of Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard that Carl purchased at the Station before becoming the owner, as well as a variety of tasty cupcakes. It was a nice celebration right before the Holidays. Happy Birthday Carl!

Random dude, Beer Goddess, Lisa Morrison and
 the man himself, Carl Singmaster. 

1st Annual Winter Beer Festival at Plew's Brews

The 1^st Annual Winter Beer Festival at Plew’s Brews was a major hit this past weekend.  Key organizers, Greer Martin of NoPo Brews, Trevor Thurston (Plew’s Craft Beer Expert/Event Chair and Competition Co-Chair of NoPo Brews/The Festival's Organizer/Homebrew Exchange employee), and Randy Plew, Owner of Plew’s did an excellent job at making this first time event a huge success, but they couldn't have done it without all the kind volunteers that donated their time to make sure our glasses weren't empty. Excellent promotion significantly helped as well. Words written by beer bloggers, a few radio segments highlighting the event, a ton of posters tacked up around Portland, Facebook, and Twitter helped draw people from all over to wonderful, downtown St. Johns. I actually met a couple from Seattle that came down just for the festival.

Greer Martin of NoPo Brews / Festival Super.  One great gal!

Lee of NoPo Brews and Trevor Thurston of Plew's / Festival
Organizer.  Trevor contributes tons to the Portland beer scene
and we totally appreciate his dedication.

The Man himself! Randy Plew hanging with (2) lovely,
horned ladies.

The house was hoppin’on Friday when the doors opened and a continued steady stream of people kept the festival's momentum going strong until close on Saturday. Sunday afternoon was a little lighter, as to be expected, but Plew’s still saw its fair share of hardcore beer enthusiast. Many came to the 3-day festival to check out the offering being made by a brand-new brewery, Humble Brewing. Humble was serving up a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale), which according to one of the brewers, Chad Freitag, is something a little different for them. Chad said that Humble’s aim is for a more simple, single-hop type of beer using minimal grain varieties. I’m sure whatever Humble does, it will be great. Their CDA was nicely done and the (2) kegs they brought ended up empty on Saturday.

Action packed evening.

Avid beer fan (name unknown), Jocelyn from The Homebrew
Exchange and Chad from Humble Brewing.

It was great to see some of Portland’s finest in attendance at Plew’s. The entire crew from The Homebrew Exchange popped in to partake in the action. Angelo, from renowned, Brewpublic made it by as well and volunteered his superior beer pouring skills behind the bar. I’ve know Angelo from his KPSU days. He always has something interesting to say that is worth lending an ear to, and if you have a question about beer, he’s the man. Bottles owner, Brant Kunze made it by too. If you haven’t been to his place on NE Fremont, check it out. They always have an excellent rotating draft selection and coolers stocked with bottles to go. Brant said that their famed outdoor patio is enclosed and heated for the winter months. Lastly, many members of the North Portland Fermentation Association (NoPo Brews) were roaming around. A friendly bunch of lads and gals that brought several homebrew kegs to the festival. Two that really stood out to me were their Sour and Dr. Pepper beer. The Sour was done with Chartreuse, a green liqueur which made the beer, yes you guessed it, green. I thought it was the ultimate Holiday beer! Their Dr. Pepper concoction was a little too sweet for my taste, but I heart Dr. Pepper and had to try it. It’s great to see NoPo Brews pushing the brewing boundaries with their unique creations.

Brant Kunze from Bottles, with his wife and friend.

Grinch approved green beer.  

Besides beer, the event also featured delicious food. Veggie and carne tacos, Philly Cheese Steaks, Silly Cheese Steaks (veggie version), hot dogs and sausages were available to tame hunger. Local vendors were also on-hand. Olive & Vine and Salty Teacup were there showcasing their products. If you still need to complete your Holiday shopping, check them out. Olive & Vine actually supplied spices for the food that everyone enjoyed.

Salty Teacup and Olive & Vine showcasing
their goods.

Hot dog or sausage anyone?

The festival came to a close Sunday evening and it appeared that everyone was pleased with the results. Although we were all a little tired, it was well worth it. If you didn’t attend this year’s Winter Beer Festival at Plew’s, then you should at least stop by their 8409 N Lombard location for a pint. The price is right at $3.50 for 16 ounces of goodness, plus you can get your Growler filled for $7.00! It’s not the prices that make Plew’s attractive though, it’s the people and the atmosphere. You feel at home there. I can’t think of many places in Portland that have that vibe.

Some additional pictures just because - - -

My good friends, Jeff and Kay showed up
Saturday and Sunday!

The girls serving it up.  It was nice to meet you Ruth!

Plew's Brews ceiling entertained me for hours.

Sunday afternoon began with some nice classical
guitar Christmas tunes.

If I wasn't engaged...

Just one of the fantastic Hombrew Exchange posse.

Guys rockin' some ugly Holiday sweaters.

Where the awesome tacos and cheese
steaks were made with love.

Canine craft beer enthusiast are always welcome 

at Plew's too!

Bridgetown Beerhouse Redux

The taps will be a flowin’ soon. Mike of Bridgetown Beerhouse was getting his hands dirty last night working on completing the remodel to his store. Soon, Bridgetown will not only have a great bottle selection, but they will also have awesome draft choices. To top things off, they will be installing a large HD TV to watch Blazer games and other sports. Mike has the Bridgetown Growlers ready to go and we can’t wait to fill one.

Mike getting it done.

Remodel is getting close to completion.

See part one of our story here: Bridgetown Beerhouse will soon have taps!

Everybody's Brewing (Brew-venture in the Gorge, Part 1 of 3)

It’s frickin’ cold outside, so I thought I would reflect on a trip that we made out to the Columbia Gorge over the summer; a trip that involved a concert at Maryhill Winery, but more importantly, visits to three breweries. This is the first installment. When will the other remaining parts be written? That my friend, is a good question.

It was August 5th. The truck was packed to brim as if we were moving across the country. For some reason we always bring way too much crap with us camping. By camping, I mean car camping. It’s the only way to go, and it’s the only way that you can bring the kitchen sink. Anyway, we hit the road mid-morning and planned a stop at Everybody’s Brewing on our way out to Maryhill State Park. Everybody’s Brewing is located in White Salmon, Washington. White Salmon is an attractive, quaint town that sits perched above the Columbia Gorge. It sees it fair share of people passing through on their way to enjoy recreational actives, such as kiteboarding, sailboarding, hiking, camping, and white-water rafting.

White Salmon, WA

When we arrived in White Salmon we had a little trouble finding the brewery even though it’s basically located on the main strip. We parked our rig near a place that was close to Everybody’s street address. We asked a middle aged man who was sitting on a street-side bench where the brewery was. He pointed down the hill and said “right past the opening with the chain link fence”. He also said that he just came from there and how much he likes it. He was a friendly gent and looked to be a local.

We entered Everybody’s bar/restaurant area which was sparsely populated. We figured it just opened for the day and was getting warmed up. The fact that it was quiet inside benefited us though, because we didn't have to wait long for the ordered taster tray to arrive. Our server briefed us on every beer as she handed us a laminated card with beer descriptions that had a number assigned to each one. The number corresponded to one etched into the nicely crafted, wooden vessel that was used to transport our micro-pints. The taster tray design was actually part of the room, meaning it played off of the other attractive wood elements that were used in the interior. Oh, I did fail to mention that in addition to trying Everybody’s (9) standard beers, we also had (1) seasonal that day called Summer Lovin’. Some of that ‘Summer’ part sounds nice right about now.

8 holes, 9 standards and 1 seasonal.  Oh my!

Beer info. front.

Beer info. back.

We had tried Everybody’s Brewing’s beer before on tap at Laughing Planet in Portland, which actually inspired us to make the stop there on our way out to Maryhill. I will admit, being that we visited there over the summer, and the fact that I didn’t take any notes regarding what we drank, I have little to tell you about each beer or what we favored. On that note, my aging memory does recall that every beer we sampled was decent and worth a taste. Everybody’s food also impressed us. The quality of the ingredients and the way they were combined made for some tasty bites. I had the Greek Salad, which was by far the best I’ve had, and my Fiancée had the marinated grilled chicken sandwich that she raved about. Their web site says they “strive to use locally sourced and organic produce and are committed to serving naturally raised beef, pork, lamb and chicken”. I would say that’s not a lie.

We hope you enjoyed the beer, oh, like I mean the movie, eh.

We left Everybody’s Brewing feeling completely satisfied. We enjoyed everything; the service, beer, food, and atmosphere. We didn’t have a chance to visit the brewing facility, but we were able to peer in where all the magic happens from their back deck. The shiny, steel barrels can be seen through windows on the westside. You may miss them though if you’re there on a nice day, because the view south of Mt. Hood will steal your eyes and knock your socks off.

View off the back deck!

Superheros protect the brewery.

Shiny steel.

The facts.

Sasquatch and the taps.

Hops grownin' near the deck.

Vicious VW Bus watch dog