Humulus Maximus Festivus 2012

Plew’s Brews, located in the lovely St. John’s neighborhood of Portland has another great event taking place on August 10th and 11th dubbed Humulus Maximus Festivus. If you love your IPAs then this is a must attend event. Plew’s will be serving up 22+ single, double, and imperial IPAs from Oregon and beyond. We’ll be there as well on Saturday manning the Eyeluvbeer Mobile Headquarters. A big thank you goes out to Plew’s for having us back!

Event:	Humulus Maximus Festivus
Venue:	Plew’s Brews
Address:	8409 N. Lombard St., Portland, Oregon 97203
Date:	Friday, August 10th and Saturday, August 11th
Time:	Noon until Midnight

Here are details from the press release provided by Thurston Beervents:

Ninkasi Brewing, Plew’s Brews, and Thurston Beervents present the first annual Humulus Maximus Festivus. A celebration of hops in the most extreme to mild IPA’s!

We present to you over 22 single, double, and imperial IPA’s from across the U.S. and beyond. These range from four local favorites by Ninkasi to Aegir IPA from Denmark, the only keg to come into Oregon this year!

Plew’s Brews is located in the beautiful St. John’s neighborhood. In the cut and on the front lines of the craft beer revolution, Plew’s has defied the status quo at the edge of Portland. Plew’s Brews is at 8409 N. Lombard St., Portland, Oregon 97203.

August 10th and 11th, we’ll get things started at noon and close at midnight. Glasses will be $5 and tickets are $2 a piece for a taster. Some of the more expensive beers will be double-price, but most will be a single ticket.

The lupulin awaits!

2012 Oregon Zoo Brew Review

The Oregon Zoo was invaded by a capacity crowd of beer and cider loving Homo sapiens last Friday for their annual Zoo Brew event. The sold out festivity featured a plethora of breweries and a number of cideries. We participated in the event as Eyeluvbeer and had an outstanding experience. A big thank you goes out to the Zoo’s Event Manager, Beth Smith and Event Coordinator, Lara Busch. They worked hard to get us in there. Beth, Lara and the rest of the Zoo’s staff were very accommodating and great to work with.

Beth Smith, Event Manager, Jennifer Payne, Volunteer
Resources Division Manager, Sandra Sampeer, Event Co-chair
 and Lara Busch, Chair.

Overall, the entire event was a hit. It was the perfect size. I don’t believe the lines for a taste of beer or cider were longer than 10 people deep. While tasting, attendees enjoyed the dead-on cover tunes performed by Cool-Ade. Mother Nature even ensured us with very comfortable weather; despite a few raindrops she gave out, which didn't seem to faze anyone. The overall energy at Zoo Brew was very positive. Everyone was in good spirits. The craft beer and cider we were enjoying went to an earnest cause; to improve our Zoo. Why wouldn't you feel good about that?

Best Beer Event Program EVER!

Hoops and Hops at Portland's Rose Garden

The Hoops for the Trailblazer/Wizard game Tuesday night were a disappointment, but the Hops prior to the game were a hit. It all began at Bridgetown Beerhouse around 4pm. We were told that Pliny The Younger was going to be draft and hiding out behind the bar, but from the looks of the place, the secret had spread fast. Mike, one of the owners, was making pour after pour for the thirsty line of Pliny lovers. It wasn’t long before Mike said “that’s it”, meaning the keg was spent. Fortunately, we were able to have one snifter type glass of the famed, rare Younger version of the Elder. It was delightful.

Thirsty for the Pliny

One happy camper

Our next stop was the main event. Hoops and Hops at the Rose Garden. My wonderful sweetheart surprised me this Valentine’s Day with tickets to this pre-game tasting series. I think we were both a little skeptical going in, but that all changed once we saw the variety of beers and breweries being represented. Some of the bigger players were there, like Widmer, Hopworks, Blue Moon and Ninkasi, but the event also featured some of the smaller guys, such as Breakside and Amnesia. Another appealing aspect of Hoops and Hops was seeing several brewer’s, owner’s and beverage representative on hand to answer questions about their product. We had a nice conversation with Blue Moon’s rep about an upcoming small batch series named Vintage Blond Ale that they had on hand. It was certainly interesting. It combined beer and chardonnay wine. We thought it tasted similar to sparkling wine and would pair well with a warm, summer day. Blue Moon is also releasing a red wine version of this unique blend.

The official tasting room

Blue Moon's beer and chardonnay beverage 

There were two other beers at the event that neither of us had tried before. One was a spiced IPA from Widmer’s Rotator series, a beer brewed with malty assam black tea, ginger, cinnamon, clove, star anise, black pepper, and cardamom. It was definitely one of a kind, like Blue Moon’s Vintage Blond Ale. We enjoyed our 4oz. taster. The second beer that was new to us, was Laurelwood’s Espresso Stout; a beer that was collaboration with Portland Roasting Company. This Stout was the ultimate beer coffee, or coffee beer mix. It was rich, full of flavor and smelled amazing. Juan Valdez would certainly give this 5 stars.

7 pm rolled around fast. We still had a few tasting tics left in our pockets that didn’t want to go unused. We traded them in for a pint of Laurelwood Gearhead IPA. After making quick work of the IPAs we headed across the commons to the Rose Garden for some Trailblazer action, which turned out to be inaction. We lost what should’ve been an easy win. Even though Batum had a great game, I read he said that the loss to the Wizards “maybe the worst game we’ve played this year”. Agreed. It was nice to see Batum start though. LA’s ankle roll was unfortunate and I hope he returns as soon as possible, but I think the team could have carried this game without him.

There are still three more Hoops and Hops series left. If you like the two B’s (beers and basketball) then you should definitely attend. You can find more information here:  http://www.nba.com/blazers/tickets/packages.html

Let’s hope our Blazers get back the spunk they had when the season started. I think they can do it!

Some more photos from the evening

Michael De Kalb, Owner of Laurelwood and a silly Blazer fan

Ben Edmunds, Head Brewer at Breakside

2 Craft beer lovers, Amnesia Brewer, Sean Thommen and
another silly Blazer fan

Representing my team and where
I established my roots.
Go 'Cuse!

The view from the tasting quarters

Disappointed fans

SeptemBEERfest!

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound and smell of rain and was thinking the weather was going to put a damper on this year’s Septembeerfest. Around 10 am, I packed up my truck in the wet drizzle and hit Interstate 5 southbound for Corvallis, Oregon. Fortunately, about half-way on my journey the rain ceased, but the dark, purplish-grey clouds still looked ominous. As menacing as the sky was, it never did rain at Septembeerfest. I think Mother Nature was looking out for us beer lovers.

Ominous clouds, but Mother Nature was on our side.

Septembeerfest commenced at 2 pm at The Benton County Fairgrounds and gained momentum within an hour. Soon, a line of folks were waiting to enter the festival; a welcomed site. The Brew Station school bus kept the line solid, hauling beer enthusiasts to and from downtown Corvallis. Many people opted to use pedal power and were given plenty of prime parking right beyond the entry gate. Scott Caul, the festival chair and his crew did an excellent job at providing alternative transportation options. Scott also did an outstanding job as the festival’s lead. Scott, Irene and several others were always roaming the grounds making sure everyone had what they needed.

A welcomed sight.

The Brew Station school bus got folks back and forth
from Corvallis.

Beer, bikes and pretzel necklaces.  What else do ya need!

Captain Caul did an excellent job.

I only managed to sample a few beers at Septembeerfest. I was singly manning the Eyeluvbeer mobile headquarters and could not stray far. I was in excellent proximity to Dave Wills and his Oregon Trail Brewery Covered Wagon Brew Truck. A unique, classic vehicle designed to deliver beer from its (4) built-in taps. Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales was also directly to the side of me. Joel Rea, owner and manager of Corvallis Brewing Supply furnished one case of Logsdon’s, Seizoen and another case of their Seizoen Bretta. The cases were kindly donated by Dave Logsdon. Both were in high demand and supplies dwindled fast. After I had a taste of both I could certainly see why. This stuff was like gold. I would not mind having a few bottles of Logsdon on hand for special occasions. Logsdon’s label, designed by Seaberg Einarsson was top notch as well. The only other beer I sampled at Septmebeerfest was Ninkasi’s Fresh-Hopped Tricerahops, which had a nice aroma to it as do most fresh-hopped beers. The brewery that I heard the most hype about at the event was Corvallis’s own Flat Tail Brewery. A brewery that I went to around 10:30pm post festival, but realized I better not go in or I would never leave Corvallis. I ended up heading east back to the 5 and north to Portland. Another visit will ensue.

Dave Wills and Co. setting up their famed covered
wagon brew truck.

Logsdon's label.  Designed by Seaberg Einarsson.
So nice!

To conclude, Septembeerfest was great and is only getting better. Granted, this was only my second year, but the event appeared to be more organized and had an improved layout. The increase in attendance also boosted everyone’s spirits, as this was a benefit for the Linn Benton Food Share and OSU Fermentation Science Students.

Don't be fooled by their cute faces...these guys knew their sh*t!

Rockin' into the night.  38 Special would be proud! 

Cheers to Eyeluvbeer!

Ninkasi Pit Stop

We made it a point to stop at Ninkasi on our way to our favorite campground in the Redwoods.  Getting to Ninkasi from Interstate 5 was a breeze.  It only took a few extra miles and couple of turns before we reached their brewing command center.  On approach, we observed that the brewery’s architecture was rather industrial for the neighborhood that it inhabited, but then again, the City of Eugene has a pleasingly eclectic feel, so it made total sense.  The main street side attraction for us was the nicely crafted entry gate.

The sweet entry gate and Ninkasi HQ in background

The same industrial feel carried through to the inside.  We entered the tap room which was simple and clean, airy in height, but modest in floor space.  However, there was ample room outside to accommodate plenty of beer lovin’ folk.   We chose to order a sampler from the bar, which included a few beers that we have never tried before; Ice Nine, Vanilla Oatis and Quantum Pale Ale.  We were intrigued by the well engineered taster tray that they were presented on; made of a brushed metal, it was one of a kind coolness.  We also loved the fact that each taster came with a baseball-like trading card, naming the beer on the front and giving you the stats on the back.  The new beers that we sampled lived up to Ninkasi’s well known reputation of producing excellent craft beer.


After finishing our mini-beers on the outside patio, we headed inside to settle our tab.  This is when the lure of the taps convinced us to order one more pint before continuing our journey south on the 5. 

The bar area with some nicely crafted beer lights.

The goods

Beer stats similar to a collector baseball card.  NICE!

The expansive patio.

Tap list on our visit.

Indeed a success!  Congrats guys!

Had to add an ELB sticker to the chair.

Street view.

Dream job!

Our last stop before hitting the road to the Redwoods.
The Red Barn has a great beer selection, a quaint cafe and
is a nice, local grocery store.