PDX Beer Week: Humble Brewing's Gonzilla IIPA unleashing at Bridgetown Beerhouse

Last night we headed to Bridgetown Beerhouse for the unleashing of Humble Brewing’s Gonzilla IIPA. This would be the second time that this beast has been seen in North Portland. It originally debuted at Plew’s Brews back in March, and rumor has it that a few days prior the real Godzilla was seen around 3am towering over the St. Johns Bridge. Someone even happened to capture several photos, but unfortunately they were immediately seized by local CIA agents. Did this unconfirmed event really occur? We’re not entirely sure, but Humble Brewing decided it would make an awesome t-shirt and produced a graphic of the alleged sighting.

Awesome graphic for an awesome beer!

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!

Beer Blogger Beer Fest?

I’ve had this idea trapped inside my head and I think it’s cool, but I wanted to get some feedback from the beer community, specifically beer bloggers. Since there are so many people in our area that write about beer, I thought it would be fun to bring us all together for our own annual beer event. Initially, I was thinking we could make it a big event, but perhaps it’s better to start small and work our way up to big. If anyone happens to read this post and you’re interested, please feel free to share your ideas here or be in touch. I think it would be cool if we could work on something together and come up with an event that celebrates what we love to do.

Holy Sh*t! Run leads to Ginormous Fermenters!

We participated in The Portland Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ Marathon yesterday. We had a fantastic day for running and a great run. Afterwards, we headed to Widmer to have a few celebratory beers and lunch. When we stepped off the Max at the Albina/Mississippi Station (2) ginormous tanks sitting on semi truck trailers were there to greet us. They were fermentation tanks. I was excited by the sight. I picked up my pace to get a closer look. I asked my fiancée if she would stand next to one to give it scale. She said, “I’m gross”, meaning she was soaking wet from running in the rain, but she kindly posed. I still thought she looked cute as ever standing next to the massive fermenters. The stainless steel tanks, crafted by Paul Mueller Company in Springfield, Mo. were made with love. They were very pleasing to look at, almost flaunting themselves.

Huge fermentation tanks / Tiny marathon medal receipt (aka my lady).
Both sexy as hell.

Mich Ultra at the Finish Line!

We decided to torture ourselves for a good cause and participate in the Rock 'n' Roll Portland ½ Marathon this Sunday. Today, this email arrived in our Inbox:

Enjoy a Post-Race Beer, Compliments of Mich Ultra!
Bring your photo ID!

Michelob Ultra will be giving out one free beer per participant over 21 years old at the Finish Line. Oregon State law requires you to have photo ID to receive your beer.

Plan ahead and have your photo ID to celebrate with a cold beer at the Finish Line.

Rock On!

Do these guys know that we don’t drink that stuff here? This is the Pacific NW! Why didn't they contract with one of the larger Portland players like Widmer or MacTarnahan’s/Pryamid for some decent beer? They’re assuming people that run must drink beer with no carbs, calories or flavor. Wrong. If there's a beer Jesus out there can you please have a nice IPA waiting for us at the finish line? We’re running 13 miles and being rewarded with a Mich Ultra is an insult in these here parts. Of course, we’ll probably suck one down regardless of what we're feeling right now.

We found the Beer Advocate ratings of Mich Ultra amusing: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/3734

Happy Mother's Day in HTML!

I’ve never been very good at mailing greeting cards period. I either totally slack on it or get them sent out after the fact. My sister is very good at reminding me well in advance that I need to send a card when an occasion arises. Just this week I received at least (4) text messages from my wonderful sis reminding me that Mother’s Day was Sunday and that I needed to get a card for my mother and grandmother. Have I done that? Why of course not. “I” did send flowers to both of them, but that was the handy work of my Fiancée. God bless her.

As I sit here and type I wonder what my problem is. I love my mom and grandma more than they’ll ever know. My mother has made a ton of sacrifices to make sure my sister and I were raised properly. We were her #1 priority and still are. I must thank her for all the guidance and support she continues to offer. My grandma, well she’s a hoot. My late Grandpa John re-married a long time friend after his wife (my 1^st grandma) passed. Technically she's my step grandma, but I’ll never think of her that way. She’s smart, witty and can cook you a mean crêpe. She’s almost 90 and still going strong. I don’t necessarily believe in her political views (smile), but hell, that ain’t gonna stop me from loving her.

So, what is the root of this greeting card problem? It’s family genetics, or at least that’s what my amazing Dad and I like to blame it on. My sister, who constantly reminds me to send a card has been known not to mail one on time, but she'll always get one out eventually. There’s clearly something missing in our family DNA. Of course, there are several things missing in my particular make-up.  The only person blessed with the card sending gene in our family of four is my mom.

Without further due, I just want to say in HTML:
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY MOM AND GRANDMA!
I love you, and I don’t need no stinkin’ card to say that.

Would E.T. be drinking Coors today?

The other evening we watched E.T.; a classic Steven Spielberg film that will never lose its luster. I forgot that at one point in the movie E.T. downs a six pack of Coors that he finds in the fridge. I wonder if the movie was re-done (god forbid) or done in 2012 if E.T. would instead be drinking a craft beer from California; the place where the film was shot.