I touched on this in today’s Oregon Beer News post but I wanted to highlight it in more detail: the European Beer Tasting Flight happening to day at McMenamins Old St. Francis School here in Bend. Brewer Mike “Curly” White has brewed up three variously European-styled summer beers (all using different strains of yeast of course) and is presenting them side-by-side to highlight the differences and complexities of the different styles and yeasts used.

This is definitely a cool idea, and a great deal at only $5 for the flight—and to sweeten the deal even further, Curly will be on-hand to talk about the beers today from 5 to 7pm (the flight will be available all day, from 11am until closing).

The three beers are Beach Bum Belgian Blond brewed with Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes yeast, My Sunshine Pilsner brewed with Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, and Immigrant Irish Red brewed with Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale. The full details on each beer and yeast are on the event page, and here’s Curly’s on words on the inspiration for the flight:

Why a European Beer Flight?

This idea of a European Beer Flight came about as I was trying to decide on some different light-bodied summertime brews to make this summer. Each time I kept coming back to a different style of beer from a different region in Europe. Whether it was a Belgian, Hefeweizen, Kolsch or a Pilsner, they all had their unique characteristics as well as being tasty beer. So then I thought why not make 3 from 3 different regions and present them on a special flight?

So now that the birth of the idea was complete the execution needed to happen. And with that came deciding on which 3 styles to brew. I have chosen the 3 tonight not only for their European beginnings but also for the difference and complexities of their flavor profiles. Where these complexities come from is derived mainly from each beer’s yeast strain. Yeast imparts flavor to beer as much as some malts and hops do. Each of these yeast strains need to ferment different than the other which promotes the flavor profile.

Definitely a beer tasting event worth checking out if you’re in the Bend area!