Friday Fun: How Far Will Home Brewing Take You?

Have you ever wondered where home brewing could take you?  Brewer's Friend created this impressive infographic illustrating just how far you could go!  Happy Friday!

Click Graphic to Enlarge

Note:  All spelling and grammatical errors are intentional.

Natian Meet The Brewer & Tasting at Belmont Station

Believe it or not, I was in Southeast again last night for a ‘Meet The Brewer & Tasting’ event at the place I wish I lived next door to, Belmont Station. Ian McGuinness, Owner and Brewmaster at Natian Brewery was on hand pouring cans of Old Grogham IIPA, Undun Blonde, and CuDA Cascadian Dark Ale to a constant flow of folks wanting a taste. For a solid 3 hours Ian answered questions about his beer; something you can tell he enjoys doing. Meanwhile, in Belmont’s Biercafé I enjoyed Natian’s draft selections, Lumberjane Imperial Stout and Elephante India Red Ale. I’ve tried most of Natian’s standard brew, but tonight I was treated to a new-ish release, the Elephante IRA. I will say, IRAs haven’t caught on with my taste buds, but they did enjoy the 8.45350568 ounces of Elephante. It was dry, hoppy, not real sweet, and had a pleasant bitterness brought on by the use of Zythos Hops. If you’re a fan of this style of beer I think you’d be pleased. After the IRA I went on to Natian’s Lumberjane; an imperial stout that ranks up there with the best. It has incredible sex appeal. You’ll want to gaze at it for a few minutes in the glass before you wet your tongue with its smooth, smoky, coffee roast flavor. I’ve had Lumberjane before, but I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Lumberjane made my Monday. Of course, it was also a pleasure to catch-up with the Natian crew, see my friends and fellow band mates, Ross and Teresa, and speak with Carl, who introduced me to former, long-term Full Sail Brewmaster, John Harris.

Photo Gallery 

(Taken with my Hasselblad H4D-200MS)

Temple 

Ian in action 

Natian's Elephante India Red Ale 

David and Ian of Natian, Nameless Gent, and
Belmont's CBO, Carl Singmaster 

Always a great draft selection at
Belmont Station

Note:  All spelling and grammatical errors are intentional.

Giganitc Brewing - Finally!

Finally! We made it! Saturday evening we conquered the impossible. We crossed East Burnside and entered SE. Destination --- Gigantic Brewing. For some reason NE Portland never wants us to leave. Yet, miracles occasionally occur, like the one on ice in 1980 when the U.S. defeated The Soviets at the Winter Olympics. In our delusional minds, we felt we beat the odds and went on to take the gold.

After days of driving (7.3 miles, 19 minutes according to Google Maps) we arrived at Gigantic’s industrial, pre-fab building, which brought to mind Amnesia Brewing’s N. Mississippi location. However, Gigantic’s location is actually in an area zoned Industrial. There are indeed benefits associated with this: parking was a breeze, the tasting room wasn't crowded, finding a seat was easy, and grabbing a pint was painless. The only drawback - lack of food. We would've stayed longer if Gigantic offered something to eat, or if we could’ve brought some food in from a non-existent, neighboring restaurant. In Gigantic’s defense, I did read the following on their website under FAQs:

Inn Beervana: Portland's Beer Guesthouse

Twitter may actually have a purpose in life. The other day I came across a tweet from Brian Yaeger, beer writer extraordinaire. Seriously, this guy has quite the writing track record according to his 'New School' bio. The man has a Master’s in Professional Writing with a thesis on beer, is the author of ‘Red, White, and Blue: An American Beer Odyssey’ and is actively working on a guidebook to Oregon breweries.

Okay, enough about Mr. Yaeger. Well, maybe not. Brian’s tweet, which was a re-tweet, turned me on to another facet of his life. He and his wife, Kimberley run a beer-themed B&B. A B&B (Bed & Beer) appropriately named ‘Inn Beervana’. Located in the Hawthorne District of Southeast Portland, the Inn is just minutes from downtown and within walking distance of the famed Horse Brass Pub and Belmont Station, as well as numerous tap houses, restaurants, food cart pods and parks. I haven’t been a guest at the Inn, nor do I know anyone that has, but judging from the details and excellent reviews I would not hesitate to recommend this place. On top of that, they have reasonable rates, allow dogs and donate a portion of each booking to Habitat for Humanity-Portland, All Hands Raised (Portland Schools Foundation), & the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation (creating scholarships for brewers from the PacNW). Oh, and when you check-in, a mixed six-pack of Oregon craft beer will be patiently waiting for you in the fridge. What’s not to love!

Fantastic hand painted hops on the wall
Photo. Credit: Lara Ferroni

Middle Ages Brewing Company

When I set my self-made time machine to the 10^th century I figured I'd end up in The Middle Ages. However, there must have been an internal equipment failure, because instead I found myself 3 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time in Syracuse, NY at Middle Ages Brewing Company. Middle Ages Brewing is the only full production brewery in Syracuse and has been owned and operated locally for 18 years. They are inspired by the British Brewing tradition and their ales are handcrafted using only the finest ingredients including malt imported directly from England.

Storming the Castle

My mom, sis, wife and I arrived at Middle Ages on Christmas Eve five minutes before closing. They welcomed us in and asked what we’d like to try. As busy as they were filling growlers, we were quickly given a number of free samples to taste. Everything we had

Hale’s Ales 30th Anniversary at Concordia Ale House

Last night around 8pm we headed over to Concordia Ale House for Hale’s Ales 30^th Anniversary celebration. Hale’s is the oldest, independently owned craft brewery in the Northwest. Established in 1983 by Mike Hale, the brewery produces approximately 8 standard beers and has several seasonals flowing at various times throughout the year. The story on Hale’s is worth a read. It even features a timeline about Mike and the Brewery from 1965-1998. Click your mouse here for more info: http://halesbrewery.com/about_full.htm

So, my wife has been taking a break from beer this entire month, but when she heard Supergoose was going to be on draft she elected to bend the rules. It’s one of her favorite beers, and I think highly of it also. For Hale’s 30th, Supergoose was being served up special. It was being run through a randall filled with fresh hops. We were looking forward to trying it this way. Unfortunately for us latecomers Concordia only had one more pint left of the randalled beer. I ended up ordering Hale’s Wee Heavy Winter Ale and we shared the last pint of fresh hop Supergoose. By sharing, I mean I managed to get two sips. We both found the

Eyeluvbeer Receives $100,000 Donation!

To my surprise an anonymous donor made a $100,000 donation to Eyeluvbeer. The money order arrived today. I was in shock when I opened the envelope and extremely overwhelmed by the generosity of the person(s) that made the kind contribution. They sent a note along with their donation stating the following:

Dear Eyeluvbeer:

We love your shit! You make some kickass beer t-shirts, stickers and brew bags. Thanks for spreading the beer love!

Cheers,
Anonymous

I’m not certain what I’ll do with all the money, but I know I’ll be buying everyone a round this evening at Bridgetown Beerhouse's 4^th Anniversary Party!