The Best Things We Drank: January 23-29

Getting back on track, here are the best beers we drank last week. The first two come from Celebrating the Craft, an event held at Migration Brewing last week that was also a fundraiser for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. Not only was there a lineup of great beers at the event but it was impressive how many brewers and brewery representatives turned out from the nine participants.

Breakside Carte Blanche - As a sucker for anything Breakside puts in gin barrels, this blended beer hit all the right notes. Described as "gin meets Brett meets hops" the beers in the blend range from 16 to 26 months.

The Commons Viognier Grissette - The Commons holds a special place in our hearts as Mike started it (then called Beetje) at the same time we were relocating to Portland and their first commercial space was a place we frequented. Their farmhouse beers are both every day drinking beers and impressive creations at once. This one, a buckwheat-based table beer with Brettanomyces and viognier wine juice added, is no exception. Light and funky, this is a great beer one could drink all day.

The following day we headed to Bend for the weekend, a trip whose primary purpose was for Kris to judge at the Best of Craft Beer Awards. Getting into town early we checked out a couple breweries where the found a great beer that took us by surprise.

Deschutes Obsidian Nitro Stout - Deschutes may be one of Oregon's larger breweries and their beers familiar but we were in town and hadn't visited before so we stopped into the tasting room at their production facility. Used primarily as a waiting area for those going on tours, anyone is welcome to four samples of their choosing (yep, anything they have on tap including when we were there, Abyss 2016). This was one of the beers Mag chose and what an unexpected treat! After just one creamy, roasty sip it was clear that Obsidian should never be served in any other way than on nitro.

The remainder of the trip Kris put her taste buds and liver to the test consuming 80 beers over the course of the day and a half of judging. The beers ranged from ok to great but being only marked with entry numbers it's unknown what the great ones were; otherwise we'd share them with you. Meanwhile Mag explored more of Bend's breweries, including Silver Moon and Bridge 99. With plenty more to explore we'll have to head back for a proper Bend beering trip.