3rd Annual St. Johns Winter Beer Festival at Plew's Brews

Yesterday, we stopped by Plew’s Brews for their 3^rd Annual St. Johns Winter Beer Festival. We arrived around 1pm and found the place to be fairly mellow. Almost all of the tables and couches were occupied by folks sipping on beer samples, enjoying conversation and just taking in a relaxing Sunday. We did the same for a few hours with our friends Steve and Jeff.

Trevor, of Thurston Beer Events and many other things beer was manning the glass and ticket counter. He gave us some guidance on which beers to try and even came by to let us know when they changed out a keg. This is why we love Trevor! We were fortunate enough to try some uncommon brews, meaning not easy to find on tap. The ones that struck a chord with my taste buds were:

Fort George:  Balzac Barleywine
Ninkasi:         2011 Imperial Stout
Stone:           Stone Farking Wheaton WOOt Stout

Everything we sampled was decent though. No complaints here. We heart winter beer! Sunday was the perfect time to go too. There were no lines and a majority of the beers on the list were still active. The only complaint I have is that I wish I could have made it down for more of the festival. A big thank you goes out to Plew’s and Crew for making this event one of our favorites every Holiday season.

Santa's List (click to enlarge)

You'll find 2-legged and 4-legged friends at Plew's

Little Drummer Boy gives the
St. Johns Winter Beer Festival
5 stars!

Portlandia and Lompoc Brewing's Sidebar

I just read on Oregon Live that Season 3 of Portlandia debuts January 4^th, which brought to memory a sighting of the Portlandia crew filming at Lompoc Brewing’s Sidebar. About a month or so ago the wife and I were headed to the Sidebar to have a late afternoon beer. As we approached the entrance we were greeted by mini-scaffolding draped with black fabric. At first, I thought someone was giving the Sidebar’s outside a secret face lift, but there was a young gentleman close by that said we couldn't go in because Portlandia was filming. Given the news, we headed next door to the Sidebar’s adjacent, bigger brother, The 5^th Quadrant to have a beer. As we sipped away we saw the famed Carrie Brownstein walk through the back alley. We were both wondering what the Portlandia creators were up to featuring one of our standard North Portland beer stops. One thing is for certain, it will poke fun at the way we Portlanders carry on.

 Here's a clip from the all new season of
Portlandia coming to IFC this January:

 

BRAIN vs. LIVER: The organ clash over the soon to be Hopworks Bike Bar.

As you most likely know, Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) will be opening their second location on N. Williams Ave in mid-June. What does this mean? It means us North Portland peeps will have another great brew pub to frequent. It also means not having to trek across town to take in their award winning beers and delectable food.

You may be wondering why I am blogging about this when there is already a wealth of information on HUB’s soon to be second home. The reason is personal; ever since news broke that HUB was moving in to the neighborhood my brain and liver have been at battle. My liver feels great places already exist within walking distance to drink amazing beer. It enjoys Lompoc’s Fifth Quadrant, which is literally next-door to HUB’s future location. It is also an Amnesia groupie; a brewery about 8 blocks west. Oh, and that guy below the lower part of my right ribcage told me not to forget about the other fine beer purveyors slightly further out, such as Saraveza, Breakside, McMenamins, Widmer, The Hop and Vine and The Lucky Labrador.

Please do not get me wrong, my liver loves HUB’s beer, which is why my brain is so concerned. My brain is afraid that my liver will dedicate a good portion of its free time to drinking beer at HUB and slowly forget about the other places that it once patronized.

So, what will happen? Good question. After some thought, I believe I have determined that my brain and liver are two separate entities. My brain has made the decision to remain true to the other incredible beer establishments in the area; HUB will certainly become part of the rotation. My liver says “f%#k you brain, when HUB opens you are going to be my bitch.” However, I still believe my aging brain has capable power to trump the desires of my weakening liver.

           Stupid Liver 

 Homer and I have some things in common  

Welcome to the neighborhood HUB! Well almost.


With Love,
Brain and Liver