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!

There is a storm "brewing" in Cascade Locks

Brenda and Tandra at the grand opening of
Thunder Island Brewing

Guest bloggers Mark and Brenda, headed to Cascade Locks to sample new craft brews and report from the beer front lines:

After hiking in the Gorge on this beautiful fall day with our friend, Tandra, and our dog, Raymond, the whole crew found ourselves hungry and thirsty. We headed to Cascade Locks to enjoy some burgers and homemade veggie burgers at the Waterfront Cafe. The fries were crispy and the pear and apple salad was fresh and delicious. Then, it was on to the event that we had been waiting weeks, dare we say months, to attend: the opening of Thunder Island Brewing.

Mainbrew In Hillsboro To Have Taproom

I found out some great news today from Mainbrew Owner, Kevin when dropping off an order of Eyeluvbeer goodies. The sign on the outside of their building says it all!

That’s right Hillsboro, Mainbrew is expanding. Kevin stated that they're taking over the adjacent space and will have 40 taps flowing. This will be a major upgrade from their current system which only has a handful of taps. The new taproom will also feature a food menu and Kevin said the plan is to offer food that pairs well with different beer styles. The space is tentatively scheduled to open sometime in October. For all the latest developments I would stay in touch with their Facebook and/or Twitter page.

Migrating Towards A Cure

I’m always one for backing a good cause, but this weekend finds me out of town. What does this mean? It means you can still attend and show your support. Migration Brewing will be hosting their second annual ‘Migrating Towards A Cure’ event this Saturday, June 29^th. The beneficiary for his year’s affair, CHAP (Children’s Healing Art Project).

Below, please find the particulars from Migration's press release:

Saturday June 29^th 2013 12PM to close will mark Migration’s 2nd annual Migrating Towards A Cure. This annual event is an effort to assist local families and organizations that are working towards curing and working with those who have been diagnosed with severe illnesses and disabilities.

12 Days Changed Me, I Hope

It has been 12 days since I've had a beer¹. If you know me, you’re probably saying “yeah, right.” It’s true. I ended up participating in my first ever cleanse, which of course did not allow alcohol. It was a real challenge for the first 2-3 days, but after that my mind and body adjusted. For ages, I would typically consume 3-5 beers/night during the week; more on the weekends. It was habit. I wasn't getting inebriated, but it would probably be fair to say I had, or potentially still have a problem. Fortunately, the 12 day cleanse I did through Nourish Northwest with Olivia Martino provided me with a new perspective. Over the past 2 weeks I have noticed a definite increase in my energy level and I have had far less ups-and-downs throughout the day. I’m not blaming my love, beer, for bringing me down before, but it was certainly a contributor. Prior to the cleanse I ate pretty well, but I’m sure eating cleaner and cutting out caffeine played a role in giving me some of that get-up-and-go.

Stone Brewing Visit

I finally made it to one of the brewery mother ships, Stone Brewing. Over the years I've heard tons of wonderful things about their facility and grounds. While I didn't participate in a brewery tour, I did experience, the experience. Stone is big and beautiful. Okay, so the outside of the building is unassuming; very corporate-office-like. This appears to be the norm in California. It must have something to do with their zoning regulations. We also didn't see a sign indicating that we had in fact arrived at Stone. It was Saturday, so the giant ‘Xerox’ looking building with all the cars in the parking lot, plus the beacon on our Google Maps phone app indicated that we had landed.

Once inside, it was a different world. You began experiencing the transition right after leaving the parking area. A beautiful corridor made up of stone walls and vegetation guided you to the main entrance. We passed over the threshold and into a large foyer area. From there you could see a great deal; the gift shop, the brew area, the bar/restaurant and a portion of the outside grounds. A gift shop is basically a gift shop, but the rest of the place was beautiful. The materials used in the interior construction gave the brewery a very earthy feel. It brought to mind the works of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Green Flash Brewing Quickie!

We're down in San Diego on a 4 day stay mini-vacation. It’s my first extended visit to the area. Of course, we're going to squeeze in a few beer places. Yesterday we did just that. We stopped at Green Flash Brewing to see what they had to offer. Since I'm on vacation, I’m going to cheat and use pictures instead of a bunch text to convey the experience. My words would probably just bore you anyway, right. Besides, everyone loves pictures! Enjoy!

Green Flash HQ in business park setting.