The Brew Site
A bit over a week ago I received the latest beers from Hopworks Urban Brewery, the summer seasonals: Ace of Spades Imperial IPA, When Life Gives You Blueberries Sour, and Sunset Fuel IPA. Note, however, that HUB announced the release of Evelyn Sunshine West Coast IPA, so I don’t know … Continue reading
Last week, I received a sample kit of Easy Rider Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Hood River Distillers. The distillery is promoting the relaunch of the whiskey with a new label design, and the PR kit arrived in a toolbox, containing the bottle, a branded flask, a branded bar towel, … Continue reading
The past week I received a sample package from Island Brands, a South Carolina-based beer/marketing company offering up “clean, better-for-you, super premium beer” — presented in four light lagers (or lager-based beer cocktails). The flagship is Island Coastal Lager, followed by the 88-calorie Island Active, a lemon shandy (Island Lemonada), … Continue reading
My latest article for The Bulletin, out this week, touches on smoked lagers with a profile of a nice one brewed up at McMenamins Old St. Francis School: Bamberg Obsession, a helles-style lager brewed with beechwood-smoked malt. I asked [head brewer Vance] Wirtz what inspired the beer. “The inspiration for … Continue reading
This week, Crux Fermentation Project provided me with bottles of The Oregon I Am Experimental IPA and this year’s edition of Bramble Candy, a barrel-aged sour ale with marionberries. The Oregon I Am is one that I recently wrote about for The Bulletin, and I’m excited to try it since … Continue reading
Right now with a record-breaking heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, if we’re not drinking water we’re looking for refreshing, thirst-quenching, sessionable beers to help cool off. Sure, light lagers and weizens are typically the first ones to come to mind, but how often do we think of radlers? If … Continue reading
Here’s a beer I hadn’t thought about in a while: Tsingtao Premium Lager, imported from the second-largest brewery in China. Paulaner USA picked up the exclusive import rights for Tsingtao to the U.S., and sent out samples bottles to review, which I received last week. I haven’t had a Tsingtao … Continue reading
Three, count ’em, three beers from Hopworks Urban Brewery to review! These are the late spring and summer seasonal specialties from the Portland brewery, which were sent out as samples. Let’s get straight to my notes. Ace of Hearts Imperial IPA I received this beer (along with Cactus Attactus) a … Continue reading
I’ve enjoyed the various beers from the Farm to Market collaboration series from Portland-based Zupan’s Markets, in which the specialty grocery partners with different breweries to brew beers exclusively available on the Zupan’s shelves. There’s a new one out now (more on that soon) but the previous release had Zupan’s … Continue reading
We’ve had occasion over the past couple of years to become better acquainted with Corvallis, and about a year ago we discovered the First Alternative Co-op, which is a locavore-type grocery that emphasizes environmental sustainability and has a couple of locations. Here’s the “about us” intro: First Alternative is cooperative … Continue reading