The Oregon Zoo's Annual 'Zoo Brew' is Cancelled

We received some unfortunate news a few months back that The Oregon Zoo’s annual ‘Zoo Brew’ event is no longer. June 1, 2013 would've marked the seventh year for the event that I associated with the gateway to Portland’s summer. Here’s an excerpt from Beth Smith, Event Manager at the Zoo:

“Unfortunately, while support was strong for this beloved community event, upcoming construction impacts across the campus and reduced financial return for the Foundation resulted in this tough business decision.
We determined that as much as we love to host this event, we could more effectively work towards our goal of providing financial support to the zoo’s animal welfare, education and conservation programs by channeling it into other fundraising efforts.”

Regardless, please continue to show your support for this 125 year old, remarkable organization. Here are the many ways that you can get involved: http://www.oregonzoo.org/get-involved

Backwoods Brewing 'Meet the Brewer'

Last Thursday evening we headed out to the Backwoods. The Backwoods Brewing Company ‘Meet the Brewer’ event at Concordia Ale House. Backwoods Brewing laid down its roots in July 2012 in the once timber town of Carson, Washington. Their branding reflects just that. With beer names such as 'Log Yard IPA' and pizzas like 'Lumber Jack', Backwoods pays homage to the town’s beginnings in the late 1800s when sawmills were built using the waters of Carson Creek. At Concordia we caught up with Matt Weber and Tom Waters, Assistant Brewers at Backwoods Brewing. They asked us how we liked their beers. Of the (3) on tap, a Pale, IPA and Amber, we answered with “we thought they were all great!” Backwoods' beer has that wonderful, unfiltered look and flavor, and according to their website the local water plays an important role. We agree!

Clear Cut Pale Ale, Red Bluff Amber Ale and Log Yard IPA

Assistant Brewers, Tom Waters and Matt Weber

From what we could tell it appeared the entire Waters Family and company

Hoppity Hops: 4k and 9k Fun Run + Walk

This is a shout out to all my fellow beer runners. On Saturday, March 30^th Good Sport Promotion brings us the Hoppity Hops 4k and 9k fun run + walk. This well supported event is capped at 5,000 participants therefore register early. Once you hop aboard, you’ll be treated to all of this (and more):

• Fresh coffee and doughnuts from Franz Bakery in the morning
• Yummy treats on the course
• Fun bunny ears for everyone
• Entry into the Spring Beer & Wine Fest*
• Commemorative Spring Beer & Wine Fest mug*
• 4 tokens to fill the mug (or 4 sample pours)*
• Clearly marked, safe course
• A huge team of friendly, support volunteers to help out on course and at the start/finish
• *Spring Beer & Wine package may be exchanged for a free event t-shirt

Costumes are encouraged, so let your creativity shine!

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