Brunchin' at Burnside

Brunch is a big thing in this town. If you're thinking "duh" or "really" just keep in mind that this comes from the perspective of a non-native Portlander, who although feels this place has become home, still has a bit of outsider's perspective. 

We don't go out to brunch often, usually only when we have visitors in town, and when we do we typically avoid the popular/high visibility places. Waiting, hungry and in need of coffee, is not a way to start the day especially when there are tons of great places to brunch. Depending who we're brunching with determines if we're looking for a place with great [insert favorite dish of our visitors], a place with stellar bloody marys/mimosas or some other factor. If we were going out on our own a deciding factor might be a place that has a great morning beer on tap that pairs well with food. In that case, enter Burnside Brewing.

Burnside opens at 11am daily, including on the weekends when the brunch menu is available. We recently had the opportunity to try out some of Chef Richard Watt's brunch items, one of which we really dug with a new offering from the brewery side of Burnside, Wau, Nessie! 

First seen at the NW Coffee Beer Invitational 2018 at Goose Hollow Inn, and now available at their pub, it is the second collaboration beer in Groundwork Coffee's 'Brewers Series'. The Coffee Wee Heavy Ale features Groundwork's organic single origin Papua New Guinea roast, a medium roast coffee, from the Wau Co-Op. It  was one of our favorite beers at the festival and is overall, one of the best Scottish ales we've had. Malty and caramelly as one would expect from the style, the coffee further balances the beer so that instead of being cloying it whispers, "coffee...you like coffee in the morning...come drink this in the morning."

Going back to the brunch item that we found to pair particularly well with it is the Smoked Trout Hash. What it's lacking in visual appeal it more than makes up for with smoky flavor. Not a fan of smoked fish? Then perhaps you'll dig on their Chilaquiles, a pile of loaded tortilla chips served in a cast iron pan (think nachos that are better eaten with a fork), or the simply seasoned, carb-o-licious Crispy Potatoes. 

If you're more of a sweet-for-breakfast person then the Donut Bread Pudding is for you. It's usually listed on the specials chalkboard near the door but even if it isn't, ask your server. Created from buttermilk and blueberry (usually) donuts from their neighbors down the street, Delicious Donuts, this cinnamony treat somehow manages to avoid being overly sweet and retains the airiness familiar to most donuts. The "icing" on this "cake" is a super dense whipped cream that looks and tastes closer to ice cream than the whipped cream we're used to. 

While we hope you enjoy the Wau, Nessie! as much as we did, if you are there for brunch and hope to get anything else done for the day you may want to have just one. It goes down far easier than many 10% beers, a quality that speaks to the skills of the Burnside Brewing team. 

Through February 7th $1 from each Wau, Nessie! sold will be donated to the Cafe Femenino Foundation, an independent non-profit organization that funds community betterment grant requests proposed and managed by women in coffee-producing regions around the world.

One last note, perhaps as you rearrange your weekend plans to fit in brunch at Burnside, is that all day Sundays IPAs are a mere $3. So whether you go for the beer, go for the food or go for the killer Sunday price on IPAs, consider Burnside the next time you're heading out for brunch.

The Best Things We Drank: March 13-19

This edition of Best Things runs the gamut from light, spring-is-just-around-the-corner beers to dark, event/holiday-driven beers.

Since at this time of year, no matter where you live, you're probably itching for Spring to spring we'll start with the springy-ist of the Best...two goses.

• Anderson Valley GT Gose - Anderson Valley has really done of great job of remaining relevant with their line of goses. This version, "reminiscent of a classic cocktail, our GT Gose showcases botanical flavors and aromas of lemon peel, juniper, lemongrass, and grains of paradise, with a juicy lemon-lime tartness and a slightly peppery finish" was great when we first tried it last year, on draft then. This year it's joined the others in cans and we're thrilled to have a portable, lower ABV gin and tonic in beer form.
• Modern Times Fruitlands (Passion Fruit & Guava) - Modern Times has entered this market with guns ablazin' and this crushable beer adds to the track record of delicious beers we've had from them. Starting with a pleasant fruit aroma, followed by a moderate saltiness, we hope that it is available all summer.

 

Then a couple of beers showcasing those hops that we love...

• Burnside Isomer IPA - Last week we bopped on down to Burnside for the official rebranding celebration and were able to try this super drinkable for 8% beer. Ekuanot is a newer hop we're not familiar with the new name for Equinox hops (thanks, Corrie!) and we can't say for sure yea or nay on Meridians but in this combo Burnside has created, we're happy with both.
• The Commons Mr. Irrelevant - Anyone familiar with The Commons knows that in their six years in business they have never commercially made an IPA. When we heard that we had, we were eager to try it. It came as no surprise that the talented brewing team had created a superbly balanced IPA.

And finally, the darkest beers...

• Bell's Kalamazoo Stout - Last week was, of course, the first amateur drinking day of the year and while green beer and Guinness may have been sold in unfathomable quantities we were more concerned about drinking something we actually enjoy. Thus, when we went out, to a location we knew would not be overrun by said amateurs, we fully enjoyed the roasty yum of this Midwest favorite that is better than Guinness by miles in our book.
• Alaskan Brewing Barley Wine Ale (2013) - Barley Wines can be a tough cookie if they're young and still hot but they can also be great. This one, drank during part II of our Girl Scout cookies and beer pairing, was a bit hot yet after 4 years but it was great enough with Toffee-tastic Girl Scout cookies that we couldn't leave it off the list.

There you have it. Now the only questions are what will you be drinking this weekend, where and with who? Because beer is just better with friends, ones you already know or ones you might find during the shared enjoyment of a delicious drink.

The Best Things We Drank: Bridging the January-February Gap

This week was full of fruit, tartness and stankiness...thankfully not all in one beer because as much as we love each of those things that might be weird to say the least. Then again there are highly inventive and talented brewers producing things that we wouldn't think would work. Until we find one of those, here are the beers that hit the highest notes for us last week.

Culmination Kriek Mythology - From the moment reading the label on this bottle at The BeerMongers, between the style and the brewery, it was nearly a sure bet this would be delicious. Drinking it confirmed that this Lambic-inspired sour red brewed with cherries was indeed solidly in our strike zone. A SweeTart-style of sour this complex beer finishes less tart than it starts, inviting one to have more...more...more.

Block 15 The Demon's Farm (2015) - On tap, also at The BeerMongers, this beer was a deeper, darker variation of the Culmination Kriek (although enjoyed on separate visits). This dark farmhouse ale also uses cherries and is a blend of beers aged in American oak bourbon barrels and French oak Pinot Noir barrels.

Burnside Morticia - It takes great crafting to produce a pale ale that hits enough hoppy notes for serious hop heads but Burnside succeeds here using Hull Melon, Vic Secret and Mosaic (a favorite!!) hops. The great, stanky aroma and sticky-stanky flavor belies its "crushable" 4.9% ABV.

pFriem Citrus IPA - Just as their Mosaic IPA spoke to the hoppy side of us, so too did this beer. The combination of grapefruit and tangelo zest and citrus-forward hops produce a beer that is full of stanky, citrus goodness.

Widmer Berry White - Did we surprise you with this last one? Well, it surprised us, too. Enjoyed at a private event this was a preview batch with full production coming and wide availability slated for June. We'll definitely be looking forward to this combination of berries and lime that avoids being gimmicky and packs considerable flavor into 4.1% ABV.

What's been tickling your taste buds recently?

The Best Things We Drank: January 16-22

Last week was a BUSY one over here - talking about beer events, attending beer events and then over the weekend judging beers in Bend. With all that going on the Best Things fell by the wayside. To make up for that we'll double up starting off with the middle of January.

This was an exceptionally good week for beer with the highest notes all coming from Oregon breweries. Some of these are more readily available than others but with a little looking any of them should be available.

Culmination Oregon Kara Sakura - Brewed for the Japanese market, specifically the Cherry Blossom Festival, most of it was shipped to Japan with the remaining, limited supply available in their tap room. It was brewed with wild yeast, Oregon cherries and rose hips from Jasmine Pearl Tea Company (just down the street from Culmination) with the result being a delicious, mild sourness.

Burnside Gin & Joose - Saisons aren't generally at the top of our list but put them in gin barrels and ta-da, magic! This French Saison aged in Ransom gin barrels with peaches, strawberries and lavender is a complex beer that is both imminently drinkable and something to covet.

Crux Stout - Dark as one would expect from a stout, Crux puts their own twist on this style with a beer that has great body and mouthfeel to compliment the dark coffee-chocolate-caramel flavors. The simple name belies the obvious craftsmanship that went into the brewing of this beer.

Saison Facile behind, dry hop in front

de Garde Saison Facile and the Dry Hop Cuvee version - de Garde is a bit of a polarizing brewery both in terms of their beers and their availability. One may recall that when they started very little was distributed; to get it meant a trip to Tillamook or friends who would bring some back. These days the supply is more abundant although the most special beers still require a trip. This rings a sour note for some. For others the sour notes in their beers, which we're a fan of, come across as one-dimensional. To each their own. This beer, or rather these two beers, that Chris shared with us were a fun back-to-back comparison. Both were great tart beers but the Dry Hop Cuvee slightly edged out the other providing stronger citrus notes and less effervescence.

Ordnance Of Chimpanzees Porter - Ordnance makes an appearance on the list for the second consecutive week with a coffee beer that uses Home Town Coffee Roasters coffee and has the aroma and flavor of cold brew. The name is a bit weird but has a great story. Coffee fiends will want to swap out their morning brew for this! And at a drinkable 5.3% perhaps you can.

Style preferences, at opposite ends of the color and flavor spectrum, once again showed themselves this week. Dark and coffee anchored one end with light, fruity and sour at the other. We might be somewhat predictable but we do keep it diverse.

RingSide & Burnside Put a Ring On It

Before you get any further just go ahead and get the song going (you know you want to). Ok, everyone feeling sassy? Good, now for the important stuff...beer!

Burnside Brewing Co. has created a signature beer for RingSide named Put a Ring On It, a pale ale is made with coriander and Buddha's Hand fruit, gently hopped with Citra hops to accentuate the citrus' sweet floral fragrance and mild zest flavor. It will debut on Monday, January 23rd and be available for a special price of $4 per glass at all three RingSide properties - Fish House, Steakhouse and Grill. The beer will remain specially priced weekly on RingSide Fish House's Dollar Oyster Mondays menu 3pm to close. How long it will be available will depend on customer response and after that we have been told to expect to see another RingSide-exclusive beer from Burnside in an ongoing collaboration.

As breweries and restaurants alike strive to remain relevant in the ever crowded food and beverage landscape of Portland, competing for consumers' finite dollars it's exciting to see new partnerships crop up. Only time will tell the success of this one but for those (like us) that are forever on the hunt for the next beer we haven't yet had it's worth a trip to check it out, which is what I'll be doing later today at the Fish House. See you there?

Burnside Brewing Celebrates 5th Anniversary Deliciously

Craft beer, people and breweries both, are notoriously generous and recognize their success is based on the people who enjoy their products. Burnside Brewing just celebrated their fifth year in business and invited people into the brewery to say thank you with a golden rye beer brewed five ways and a spit-roasted pig served five ways.

Excited to try the beers that had been specially brewed for the event along with the food pairings, I showed up just as things were starting. Having run into a friend on the way in we approached the jockey boxes to get the details on how to pay and how to order the pairings. To our surprise we were informed that there was no charge. All of the beer and the food being prepared just off to the side were there for our enjoyment, as much or as little of it as we cared to partake in.

Recovering from that unexpected news we dove into the first pairing, pleased that the pours and portions were small so that one could enjoy all five. As we made our way through, more people arrived and "the kitchen" got into its groove so that soon the brewery was comfortably filled with people enjoying sips and nibbles.

In short it was all great. My personal favorites were:
Beer - Rum & Bosc Pear Barrel Aged Golden Rye (Natalie's recipe)
Food -Sweet Heat BBQ Pulled Pork with Roasted Fresno Pepper & Napa Cabbage Slaw
Beer & Food Pairing - Top Secret Dry Hop Golden Rye (Hopsteiner experimental & Apollo hops) + Chilaquiles with Radish Salsa

I'd love to see Burnside incorporate the rest of these (the chilaquiles are already on the menu) into their regular offerings. Kept in small portions like were served yesterday, they'd be great happy hour items. And the bahn mi, pulled pork and porchetta could easily be scaled up to be full sized meals.

Thank you, Burnside, and here's to many more years!

June Preview

July may officially be Oregon Craft Beer Month but with the 10-day run of PDX Beer Week and other events in June it certainly rivals July for beer geeks' attention. There are too many things going on in June for me to list them all but there are some I'm really, really looking forward to. Expect more in depth preview posts throughout the month but for now, a quick snapshot of where you can expect to see me.

Friday, June 7 5:00 - 8:00 pm: Red Duck Ketchup Day at Coalition Brewing
I don't like to play favorites but Coalition is one of my favorite breweries in town and the idea behind this event, to celebrate National Ketchup Day, is a fun one. If you haven't heard about it, make sure to click the event link to read about the beer and more that will be there.

Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14: 5th Annual Fruit Beer Festival at Burnside Brewing
I've attended three of the last four years of this festival (had to miss one year due to a beercation to Colorado) and I always look forward to the creativity of the brewers that use not only traditional, sweet fruits but also less traditional fruits (that are sometimes miscategorized as vegetables) like tomatoes.

Friday, June 19 - Sunday, June 21: 11th Annual Oregon Garden Brewfest in Silverton
This will be my third year attending this festival and although the change in date from spring to summer puts it in greater competition with other beer events I'm excited to visit the gardens (traditionally our Friday morning post-breakfast, pre-festival plan) when they're in full bloom. Like the Spring Beer & Wine Fest, this is one where some of the smaller breweries that you won't see at larger festivals make an appearance.

Sunday, June 21 12:00 - 5:00 pm: 4th Annual Beer & Cheese Festival at The Commons Brewery
I waited too long last year and the event sold out before I could buy my ticket. Having greatly enjoyed this festival in the past this year I made sure to snag my ticket early. Some are still available if you haven't gotten yours but do expect it to sell out again this year.

Two Creative & Delicious Pumpkin Beers

Historically the only pumpkin beer I have actually enjoyed each year is Southern Tier Pumking. This year I haven't had any of it [yet] but I have found two others that shocked me by how good they were. They also served to remind me that just because I generally don't like a style of beer doesn't mean there won't be some brewer(s) out there that will use their creativity and talents to craft something delicious.

The first that captured my attention was Punkuccino from Elysian Brewing. While they utilized usual suspects cinnamon and nutmeg, it was the twist of also using coffee that really made this beer stand out for me. Specifically they added a Stumptown coffee toddy with pumpkin to the mash, kettle and fermenter.

The second made me take notice was The Dapper Skeleton from Burnside Brewing. Here the goodness is the result of a great balance of Cherry wood smoked malt, chilies and cocoa nibs. As with their Sweet Heat, the amount and type of chilies used are just right so that they are present in the beer but compliment instead of overwhelm the other ingredients.

In addition to what's contained in the bottles, both breweries did a great job with the label artwork. I'm hopeful that next year even more brewers will work outside of the standard pumpkin and spice box to create beers that rival these for my attention.

Have you had any particularly outstanding pumpkin beers?

Beer and Cereal...The Pairing Journey Continues

After a successful first round of pairings I had hoped to get to the rest soon after. Like often happens, however, life got in the way.

For this second round I picked the two cereals that I thought would be the easiest to find pairings for - Kellogg's Corn Pops and Special K. I'm not sure that before this experiment I'd ever eaten Special K but Corn Pops was one of my favorites as a kid. It turns out Special K tastes a lot like Rice Krispies (NOT one of my favorites as a kid), just in a different shape.

Stillwater Artisanal Why Can't IBU?
Besides a catchy name, this 6% ABV Belgian IPA was a surprising "like." I found it to remind me a bit of a pilsner, mild enough on the Belgian characteristics with enough hops for me to enjoy. Eating Corn Pops with it brought out the Belgian characteristics a bit more.

Full Sail Cascade Pilsner
Not a fan of pilsners in general, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. If this is what most pilsners tasted like you can bet I'd be drinking a lot more of them. Special K doesn't have a whole lot going for it but at least with this pilsner it tasted less like cardboard or wood chips. The Corn Pops brought out a bit more of the pilsner bite in the beer.

Burnside Brewing Thundarr the Barvarian
Another great-named beer, the description on the bottle talking about the banana and clove flavors made me wary but being an imperial wheat redeemed it in my book. Just as the Full Sail had done, Thundarr made the Special K more enjoyable to eat. The Corn Pops seemed to contribute a honey flavor to the beer, a not all together surprising find but one that was tasty.

Brewery Ommegang Game of Thrones Take the Black Stout
It has a mouthful of a name and reminded me of a sweeter version of Guinness in flavor and in thinness, which for once is not a knock against the beer. Had it been more full bodied it would have been too much. This way it makes for a nice morning beer (even though it's 7%) to enjoy with some Special K, which you won't have to worry about tasting.

In general I was disappointed with this round of pairings. I'm not sure if I just wasn't picking the right beers or if the mild flavors really are more difficult to pair well. If the latter is the case, the lesson is, "don't be a milk-toast."

Progressive Beer Dinner with Brewvana

One of the many specialty tours Brewvana offered during PDX Beer Week was a progressive dinner led by Lisa Morrison (the Beer Goddess and new co-owner of Belmont Station). The tour was a three course, three stop evening of food and beer pairing deliciousness.

First up was Beer, the taproom and bottle shop housed next to Meat Cheese Bread on SE Stark that opened at the end of 2012. Waiting for us when we arrived was a mini version of one of my favorites from the Meat Cheese Bread menu, the Park Kitchen, paired with Ninkasi's 2010 Critical Hit Barleywine. The oversized slider was packed with flank steak, blue cheese, greens and pickled onions. Both the sandwich and the beer were bold flavor offerings, with neither overpowering the other. The pairing was so perfect that I would have been happy to spend the entire evening with more of the same. Alas, after a palate cleansing sample of Coalition's Wheat the People it was time to move on.

Next it was off to Burnside Brewing for the evening's entree. As we were getting settled in and our meals prepared we were poured glasses of Burnside's very refreshing Lime Kolsch.  The entree, a choice of smoked jerk chicken leg atop crispy rice cake with pickled bok choy or gnocchi with king trumpet mushrooms, dried tomatoes and pea tendrils on a bed of spring pea puree was paired with Premier Enfant Biere de Garde. Hesitant about the muscovado sugar and cocoa nibs new brewer Sam used in his first beer I was pleasantly surprised to find it very enjoyable, particularly with my plate of gnocchi. And the pea puree, well that goes right up there on my list of foods I've most enjoyed at Burnside, along with their white bean truffle spread (which sadly is not currently on the menu).

For the final course of the evening we headed across the river to Deschutes. There we were presented with not one dessert, but a trio of desserts and a three-glass paddle of beers to pair with the sweets. The lightest of the desserts, in both color and flavor, was a passion fruit creation that was somewhat overpowered by the 8.6% Double Impact Belgian IPA. Perhaps a more mildly flavored or lower ABV Belgian beer would have paired better. Instead of pondering that question I answered the call of the other two pairings. A beautifully layered "beer-a-miso" was paired with one of Deschutes' signature beers, Obsidian Stout, that was served on nitro. The combination of chocolate and raspberry flavors was stupendous. The pairings were only getting better and I was eager to dive into the final one that consisted of a petite salted caramel tartlet no bigger than a half dollar and Mr. Spelt Dunkelweizen. The salty, dark chocolate flavors of the tartlet were bigger than one would think could come from its diminutive size and my general dislike of dunkel beers was forgotten as I relished in the beauty of the pairing.

It was a night filled with delicious food and beer with the added bonus of being surrounded by a great group of people who were as excited about the experience as I was.

#PFBF: Year Two

After attending the first year of the Portland Fruit Beer Festival last year I was very excited for year two. So excited that I took advantage of the opportunity to get in an hour before general admission and purchased VIP tickets. And like usual I came prepared with a cheat sheet that had me starting off with tarts/sours and working up to the stouts and black saison.

Delicious Tart Beers
Bend Brewing Ching Ching - Even though I'm quite sure I've had this beer before, it was first on my list. I wanted to start the fest off on the right foot and this award winning beer was just the way to do it.

10 Barrel Raspberry Sour - This was not only one of the prettier beers of the festival but was tasty and drinkable, like liquid sour raspberry candy without the sweetness.

Delicious Non-Tart Beers
Burnside Red Light District - An imperial stout made with chocolate and strawberries, I went into it unsure that the product would be successful but Burnside came through. The chocolate-strawberry aroma was followed by a smooth, medium bodied beer.

Gigantic Hot Town, Summer in the City - New kid on the block, Gigantic, had already won me over with the base beer, an Imperial Black Saison, and continued the winning streak combining just the right amount of heat from the fruit of the pepper plant in this beer.

Delicious Rare Beers
Even though I only had a few of the rare beers, the ones I tried were very good and worth the extra ticket.
Short Snout Blueberry Hibiscus Wheat - Their second commercially available beer (the first, Rye-teous Dude debuted at Friday's Rye Beer Fest), wouldn't win any beauty contests but it is most definitely delicious. The light blueberry aroma was followed by a delicately balanced combination of blueberry and hibiscus. It would not only be a great warm weather drinker but would be a great way to introduce someone to fruit beers.

Widmer 2009 Port Barrel-Aged Cherry Doppelbock - At the other end of the fruit spectrum, a heavier beer that appropriately blended true cherry flavor with the wood from the barrels it was aged in.

Did you go to the fest? If so, what were stand out beers for you? If not, I beg of you to mark your calendar for the second weekend of June 2013 as "busy" right now. Congrats to Ezra and all involved in the planning and execution of the festival - another great job!

#PFBF

Yesterday was the first ever Portland Fruit Beer Festival, the brainchild of Ezra, who seems to have his fingers in darn near everything related to craft beer in Portland. While his full bio and exactly how he got his great gig are things I don’t know, what I do know is that his experience and connections means he can put on one heck of a festival.

I won’t go into all the details, you can find that on their Facebook page or at Burnside Brewing’s website (the fest was held in their parking lot), the bones of it are that there were about 15 “regular” beers and an additional 15 that were considered “special”, with two on tap at a time, being replaced with another one as the keg blew.

Before I get into the beers themselves, you should know that this was a fruit beer fest, not a girly beer fest. Sure, the more beer-timid drinker was probably able to find enough approachable beers to say they enjoyed their time. However, to be able to fully appreciate and enjoy the offerings, you’ll need to be going further afield than Leine’s Berry Weiss or Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat as many of these beers had sour or Belgian characteristics.

Enough chatter, let’s get to the part you care about, the beer. Of the 15 regular beers I had all but one, Dogfish Head Festina Peche, not because I wasn’t interested, but rather because it’s a beer I really like but know I can get just about anytime I want it. As for the special beers, there were only three available during the time we were there and I tried all three.

Favorites:

• New Belgium Ooh La La – It’s hard for me to say it, being that I think New Belgium is a bit over rated in general, but this just goes to show that they can make a really exceptional beer. Raspberries were used here and it was the beer that had the most fruit flavor, almost like drinking a glass of perfectly ripe raspberries, except there’s the added fun of 8.5% ABV.
• Beetje Zure Kreten – One of Portland’s nano-breweries, this beer was just about the polar opposite of Ooh La La. Instead of the fruit (currants) standing out, the beer exuded the cheese stank I love.
• Burnside Gooseberry Berliner-Weisse AND Marionberry Berliner-Weisse – The former was part of the regular beer selection and extremely refreshing, something that would hit the spot on a hot, humid day. The latter was one of the special beers and extremely fruity, with fruit particles floating in it, giving it the look of a glass of freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice.

This is a two-day festival so there is the opportunity for us to make a return visit today, to try some of the special beers that are available and have some of our favorite regular beers (unless the kegs have blown, in which case there may be some replacement beers that weren’t available yesterday). I don’t know if we’ll make it or not but if we do, I expect another knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark experience.

Thanks to Michael for the pic!

*Update: We did go back for round two on Sunday, but there weren't any beers that eclipsed what I tasted on Saturday and for the most part I kept going back to the well of two "runner up" beers: Block 15 Psidium and Widmer Himbeere Gose.