Previewing the Portland Fruit Beer Festival

Now in its 8th year, the Portland Fruit Beer Festival returns to its original home at Burnside Brewing on the east side after a one-year excursion across the river. Pouring more than 50 interpretations of fruit beer/cider, the offerings will span a variety of styles from sours and lagers to IPAs and stouts, utilizing all manner of fruits from commonplace to obscure. We recently had the opportunity to try a sampling of the beers/ciders that will be poured at the festival and were impressed both by the brewers' creativity and their skills.

Juicy/Fruited
Cider Riot! Everyday Passionfruit - A back-sweetened, semi-dry cider, it is a less tart version than last year's and displays the mild flavor of passionfruit in an easy-drinking 6% cider.
Claim 52 Skrrrrrt - Using a mild Gose base, one could easily mistake this 4.2% pineapple and passionfruit beer for a glass of juice. A very tasty glass of juice.
Finnriver Berry & Bard - Combining heirloom, organic Washington apples with Olympic Peninsula rhubarb and aronia berries grown at Finnriver Farm the result is a fruity yet tanic/dry cider.
Hopworks Strawberry Milkshake IPA - Light-handed use of strawberries and lactose meld with berry-forward Australian hops and tropical Pacific NW hops in this 7.4% fruited IPA.
Reverend Nat's Blood Orange Viva La Pineapple - Taking things to another level, Nat put his festival-exclusive version of blended apple and pineapple juice into a slushy machine. So drinkable and fun, beware of a brain freeze!
Von Ebert Starcloud - Starting with their Sector 7 IPA made with Mosaic, Simcoe, Citra and Galaxy hops, tropical starfruit was added, resulting in a smooth and lovely 7.1% hazy IPA.

Hint of Fruit
Buoy Saison de Gewurtz - The buckwheat Saison base beer spent five months in Willamette Valley Pinot Noir barrels with house Brettanomyces cultures spiked with Oregon-grown Gewurztraminer juice. For the first mixed culture project released, Buoy is starting off with a bang. Make sure to have this delicate 4.9% offering early on.
Gigantic Brewing Gigantic & Juice - An updated version of the G&J made last year, the lightly juiced beer contains balanced amounts of pineapple, tangerine and grapefruit.
Widmer Strawbarbaric IRA - One doesn't see many India Red Ales in general and this version brings together strawberries and rhubarb with "red fruit nuanced hops" - Hull Melon, Mandarina Bavaria and more. 

Tart/Sour
2 Towns Easy Peasy - The first citrus cider from 2 Towns, it's a limited release offering that drinks like adult raspberry lemonade with a tartness coming from the Meyer lemons and Lactobacillus culture.
Allegory Sunshine Slammer - This POG (passionfruit, orange, guava) was crafted with a session outdoors in mind, deriving its sourness from a Lactobacillus pitch. One of the more [deliciously] sour offerings we tried!
Great Notion Blueberry Muffin - Known for their kettle-soured Berliner Weisses, it has a bright, blueberry tartness that if one has the chance, pairs well with an actual blueberry muffin.

Unexpected
Lompoc/Fruit Beer Fest/Repurposed Pod collaboration Cacao Cream Ale - Cacao pods are generally thought of as the starting point for chocolate but using the juice from the fleshy portion of the fruit and the cacao nibs from the seed portion this beer is a mind-expanding creation. Hazy apricot in color with an aroma that hints mildly of chocolate, this cream ale is perfectly fruity and drinkable. Representatives from Repurposed Pod were involved in the blending process and Lompoc is only the second brewery in the U.S. to use their Cacao Juice (Tired Hands in PA being the other). 
Migration Manhattan Transfer - If you're looking for a cocktail, Manhattan Transfer is the beer to have. The 7.9% cocktail beer was fermented on freshly emptied rye whiskey barrels with "heaps" of cherries and vermouth-infused oak and botanicals.

The festival starts on Friday with a five-hour preview session (20-ish beers/ciders) and goes into full festival mode Saturday and Sunday spanning Burnside Brewing's parking lot, a portion of NE 7th Street and the parking lot adjacent on the west side of the street. 30 core beers and ciders will be pouring throughout with three to four rotating rare and special tappings. Pours will range from one to three tickets in cost with additional tickets available for purchase.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival
Friday, June 8th 4 - 9pm
Saturday, June 9th 11am - 9pm
Sunday, June 10th 11am - 6pm
Tickets on sale in advance and at the door, $20 (BPA-free, non-breakable Govino branded plastic cup + 12 tickets) or $25 (collectible branded glass + 12 tickets)

The Best Things We Drank: Pro/Am Edition

This week's list is dedicated to the masterful work of the pro and amateur teams from Saturday's Willamette Week 5th Annual Beer & Cider Pro/Am. As you'll see from the list below, the ciders weren't an afterthought by any means; they easily held their own with the beers.

Fort George Bat Sh!t Hazy - It should come as no surprise that Fort George (with amateur Lisa Morrison) would turn out a stellar hazy IPA. Soursop and tangerines combine with "crazy amounts of hops" to create spot on aroma and flavor.

New West Cider Whistlin' Pete's - The first offering we've had from New West (with amateur Keegan Fennel) is like a cold cider version of a hot toddy. Aged on Jim Beam Choice and American Oak the whiskey notes are appropriately balanced with the bright lime and mildly spicy ginger.

Carlton Cyderworks Bitter Witter - Another cidery we don't have much experience with, along with amateur Coyan Corder, produced what we feel is a spot on dry English cider. The multi-varietal apple blend was 50% wild fermented and 50% Champagne yeast fermented with the resulting product named after Coyan's wife.

Reverend Nat's Riff Raff Banana Royal - Switching to a cidery we've had tons of experience with and feel is one of the best around, they teamed up with Bit House Saloon's group who call themselves "Team Riff Raff." Those familiar with Reverend Nat's know that they do not make sticky sweet ciders and once again, even when creating a cider that has "notes of coconut and vanilla mingling with rum raising ice cream and banana richness" that is truly dessert in a glass, it remains deliciously drinkable.

Fat Head's Mexican Gose - We tend to associate Fat Head's with great IPAs and the amateur they teamed up with, Ritch Marvin, knows his way around peppers. Their creation is a "margarita-like Gose with accents of lime and Serrano pepper" that mimics the drink's flavors without the disgusting sweetness. Peppers grown by both the pro and the am were used in the brew. 

Zoiglhaus Sweet Mild of Mine - While the hazelnut aroma and "layers of chocolate and hazelnut" in the flavor surprised us coming from Zoiglhaus (with amateur George Dimeo) what didn't surprise us was the incredible craftsmanship that packed all of that flavor into a 3.3% beer. We'd love to drink this beer all day, every day!

McMenamins Wonderberry: Spiced Cranberry Berliner Weisse - Standing by and supporting our assertion that McMenamins creates one-off beers that will rival anyone (here with amateur Mike Marsh) is this kettle soured Berliner Weisse. Sporting a lovely color from the cranberries used, its slightly sour aroma screams "THANKSGIVING." The flavor perfectly melds cranberries and oranges way better than the relish often found at family Thanksgiving dinners and if we had the chance we bet our relatives would agree.

Gigantic Saison L'enorme - Taking the very highest rating in our book it completely surprised our not-always-on-board-with-Saisons palate. The "unique blend of farmhouse Saison-Brett beers refermented with apricot puree" is the result of blending barrel-aged creations from Gigantic and amateur Dean Ehnes. What turned us from "unsure" before trying it to "hells yeah" once we tasted it was the Brett fermentation. Great funk supported by the apricot and mango flavors. 

While we considered including only Pro/Am beers in this week's list it just felt wrong not to include the following three beers which were enjoyed earlier in the week. 
Surly Darkness (2011) - Pulled out of our cellar in part to celebrate the Vikings win over the Packers and to bring some luck to the Timbers playing later in the day (it worked!), we were pleased to find that at six years old it is even better than when we had it the year it was produced. It was pretty awesome back then but with the age on it slight smoky aromas are coming through along with dark fruit flavors. Two more bottles remain in our cellar; perhaps we'll share some with you. 

Upright Shades - There is so much cherry-Brett lovely in this "Fantasia on cherries" we have to thank Chris for sharing with us. The blonde color belies what is found in the flavor and should you find a bottle available we highly recommend grabbing it. 

Bruery Terreux Beret - Another "thank you, Chris" beer, it combines slight funk with a hint of fruit for a delicious, dangerously drinkable 8.5% sour. 

If you've made it all the way through this marathon list, thank you! We hope you've had some great things in your glass lately and would love to hear if any of these hit high notes with you, too.

The Best Things We Drank: September 4 - 10

Hops ruled our week however in this season of fresh hop beers, only one of those made the list. We've found we've become less enamored with fresh hop beers on the whole in the last couple of years but it's still a joy to find ones that hit us just right.

Fremont Field to Ferment Centennial - Field to Ferment is a series of fresh hop beers used with a pale ale base. Being that Centennials are the first that are ready to be harvested, thus they are the feature of the first batch. Yummy, yummy Centennials.

Firestone Walker Propagator Generation 1 - An unfiltered IPA, it runs the line between those popular-right-now NE style IPAs and the typical West Coast IPAs. Whatever the style or un-style, when it comes to hoppy beers Firestone Walker is rock solid.

Three Magnets Big Juice Smoothie - The biggest of the beers this week at 8.5%, it starts with a grapefruit aroma that follows through to the flavor and is accompanied by a bit of lactose to round the edges, all contained within a handy to-go 16oz can.

The last beverage on this week's list is a cider and a simply amazing cider at that. Made by our favorite cidery, Reverend Nat's, and shared by one of our favorite (and generous) beer buddies, Chris, this cider is the result of Revelation Newtown Pippin, fortified with dark Muscovado sugar, being refermented in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels. 17% sounds daunting until one finds it in their glass and must resist the urge to grab the bottle and run. So. Very. Good.

Super Saturday: 5 Awesome Events

Saturday will be a GREAT day to be a beer lover in Portland! And we'll be out of town...but in another good beer town (Bend). So that you can plan your day, here's a rundown the things we'd be deciding between. Do one or do 'em all!

4th NW Coffee Beer Invitational
Saturday 12-7pm
Goose Hollow Inn
1927 SW Jefferson Street

 

This is the event I am most bummed to miss! Being a coffee fiend and having attended for the first three years breaking the streak is bittersweet. This year the event will feature 14 breweries and 2 cideries inside a cozy tent in the Goose Hollow Inn parking lot. The location makes parking challenging but historically this has been one of the most enjoyable festivals we've attended due to both the small size of it and, duh, coffee beers! Dave Fleming and his wife Jean bring the neighborhood feel of the Goose Hollow Inn to the tent for a festival where you're likely to see more people you know than you have time to chat with (especially if you're going to make it to any events beyond this one). Tickets are $15, available at the door only, and in the past the two of us have been able to drink through all of the beers by sharing.

Artisinful! The Portland Beer and Chocolate Festival
Saturday 12-5pm
Culmination Brewing Company
2117 NE Oregon Street

There's always something beer-and-food going on at Culmination and after last year's success Artisinful! is returning for its second year.  Tickets are required to attend ($21) and include entry to the Chocolate Hall where 8+ local chocolatiers will be sampling and selling their chocolate, a $5 certificate good toward the purchase of chocolate, tasting glass and four tasting tickets. The tap line up will include 10+ beers that either have chocolate in them or have been selected because they pair well with chocolate. Call it an early Valentine's celebration or preparation for Valentine's Day but if you love chocolate we're told this is a not-to-miss event (which is expected to sell out again this year although tickets were still available as of 7am Friday).

New Moon Mandarin Release Party & Chinese New Year Celebration
Saturday 4-11pm
Reverend Nat's Hard Cider
1813 NE 2nd Avenue

Technically not a "beer" event, most beer drinkers also at least dabble in cider and for our money, Reverend Nat's makes some of the best. New Moon Mandarin was made by "channeling the best champagne mimosas" using heirloom apples  that were fermented with a champagne yeast and blended with orange and lemon zest, a complex background of chamomile, fennel, coriander and cardamom, finished with a touch of orange blossom honey. The cider will be available on tap, in bottles to go AND through a special randall with fresh mandarins. To accompany the cider Chinese Lucky Dragon Food Cart will be slinging crab puffs, Buddah skewers, pork belly bao, pork and vegetable pot stickers and mar far chicken wings.

Stout Bout IV: Awards Ceremony & Public Stout Tasting
Saturday 1-5pm
Baerlic Brewing Co.
2235 SE 11th Avenue

With home brewing nearly as big as commercial brewing (maybe bigger) this is one of the events throughout the year that celebrates the two. From 1-3pm attendees can sample and vote on 12 stouts that were advanced from the Portland Brewers Collective Stout Bout Home Brew Competition for free and purchase raffle tickets. For the second half of the event winners, both People's Choice and those from the judges, will be announced along with raffle winners.

Base Camp's Collabofest
Saturday 2-8pm
Base Camp Brewing Company
930 SE Oak Street

This event showcases the collaborative spirit and creativity of 15 of Portland's breweries. Attending the event means all of the beers will be available in one space but if you don't make it they will be popping up at the breweries around town in the coming days/weeks. General admission tickets are $25 +fees and include festival mug, beer festival passport and 8 tasting tickets. For those looking to get a jump on things, $40 +fees VIP tickets allow for early entry at 1pm and an upgrade from festival mug to a festival branded Miir stainless pint along with the aforementioned items.

If you're going to try to make it to all five events, godspeed. There are sure to be motivated folks who will do so; others (like us if we were in town) would probably just pick one (maybe two) to fully enjoy. But whatever you do, pick at least one (for us, if for no other reason). Cheers!

A Pairing Dinner to Remember - Featuring Cider

Last night was one of the most outstanding pairing dinners I've been to and yet I have not a single picture of the meal to share. Maybe that's not a bad thing although the dessert and third courses were certainly as much a feast for the eyes as for the mouth.

If you can get past the lack of foodporn I'll do my best to use my words to tell you about this first ever pairing dinner held at the Alberta Street Pub. They teamed up with Reverend Nat's, makers of some of the best cider being produced anywhere, for an intimate meal.

Sacrilege Sour Cherry with Fernet & Sour Cherry-Glazed Hazelnuts
Not only is this a beautiful cider to look at, it's absolutely delicious to drink and complimented the hazelnuts wonderfully. The glaze, made with a reduction of the cider, was slightly sweet and while it worked I'm curious as to how roasted, salted hazelnuts would be with the cider. It's something I may have to explore as I will most certainly look to enjoy more of this cider, which according to Nat this version is slightly different from past batches and will be the recipe going forward. Yum!

Tepache with Guajillo Chile Braised Pork Cheek Tacos
I generally think of Tepache as a summery drink but when paired with this exceptionally tender and flavorful pork was transformed into a comforting, cold weather drink. As with the first course, the cider was used in the preparation of the food, no doubt infusing just the right amount of sweet into the dish. The portion size was very generous - two tortillas (not made in house, but you could have fooled me by Mike, their kitchen manager) chock full of hunks of meat and slaw - and could have been slightly smaller. That said, I finished every last morsel on my plate (and would have eaten more).

Winter Abbey Spice with Shepard's Pie
Whereas Tepache represents summer, this cider, which was aged for six months on raisins, exemplifies all that is winter. In this pairing it cut the richness of the Shepard's pie - served in muffin sized ramekins, a bottom of tender, flavorful meat and topped with cheese-crusted mashed potatoes - but was even more spectacular with the soda bread. This bread was no afterthought; the flavors from the raisins it contained clearly intended to play off the aging of the cider and the outside perfectly crusty to compliment the melt-in-your mouth interior. As an added bonus the cider was a delight with the remaining hazelnuts from the first course.

Whiskey Sour with Sea Scallop Masala
Not being a mixed drink drinker I can't say how true to the drink this cider is but if so I may have to start ordering them. Tart and lovely it played well with the smoky, perfectly cooked (if slightly over salty) scallops and was surprisingly stunning with the oven roasted tomatoes dotting the plate. Those tomatoes were reminiscent of the tomato confit I made recently and has planted the idea to make them again soon, pairing them with this cider, bruschetta-style.

Revival with Panna Cotta with Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Served in a stemmed dish the creamy panna cotta was topped with a chunky, fresh sauce and bordered with fresh orange slices. The most straight forward cider of the evening, a semi-dry cider aptly named, combined with the dessert to provide a refreshing end to the meal. I was revived and ready to start the whole thing over again.

The dinner wasn't without some issues from the kitchen - some courses coming out too close to one another, others with a significant pause between them and some dishes that were closer to room temperature than hot - but just like a newly opened restaurant, I'm more than willing to give them a pass. The quality and flavors of the dishes were outstanding and for the first time out, from a 10x10 kitchen no less, there's most definitely promise. I'm looking forward to getting information about their future dinners and I encourage you to do the same.

In the meantime, head over to Reverend Nat's tasting room or grab a bottle at your favorite shop to enjoy the liquid portion of this meal or visit Alberta Street Pub to enjoy the on-menu versions of the Irish Soda Bread, Pork Cheek Sliders or Shepherd's Pie.

Barrel Aged Ciders: A Collaboration Between Reverend Nat's and Raven&Rose

Warning: This post is not about beer. It's about cider that's almost as good as beer.

Reverend Nat's, always on the cutting edge of the cider world, has teamed up with Raven&Rose to produce two barrel aged ciders. Raven&Rose provided the Eagle Rare Bourbon barrels where Revival and Sacrilege ciders sat for about four months. This Thursday those ciders will be available at the Rookery Bar above Raven&Rose.

Before we get to the ciders and happenings  on Thursday, I wanted to share some of what I learned during the "lecture" owner Nat West gave to the Oregon Bartender's Guild. "Lecture" isn't really fair since it was one of the most interesting presentations I've been to (not to mention there was cider being poured throughout). He covered the history of cider in the US and abroad, the process of making cider and the varieties of cider.

Some of the most interesting takeaways:

• Prohibition was even more devastating to the cider industry than the beer industry. Thousands of apple varieties, suited only for cider making and not eating, were lost when there was no market for them. Unlike beer, when Prohibition was lifted producers couldn't just start making their product again; they had to wait for apples to be grown before they could resume their business.
• The Pacific Northwest is the fastest growing region in the US for cider. This is due in large part to easy (and inexpensive) access to apples from Washington, the nation's top apple-producing state.
• Glucose is the sugar in apples. Maltose is the sugar in grains. Glucose is much easier for yeast to eat. (Things got really science-nerdy here.)
• Most cider makers in the US use white wine yeast. Nat's a bit different (in case you missed his experiments with Angel of Death and Kumiss Mongolian Milkwine) and he uses Belgian yeast.
• All yeasts have different nutritional and temperature requirements. Nat is dialed in to what his yeast needs and has been known to show up at the cidery at all hours of the night to make sure they're able to do their job optimally.
• Even with all that attention, yeast used to make cider cannot be repitched, they're just too tired (true across the cider industry).

Now, back to the upcoming release of these two barrel aged ciders. I had a chance to try each and I can assure you that the barrel did its work on the Revival, imparting a ton of bourbon aroma and flavor. Not being a bourbon connoisseur the subtleties may have been lost on me but those more well-versed in the spirit should enjoy the side-by-side boilermaker experience of the cider and the bourbon from that barrel. The effect of the barrel on the Sacrilege is completely different and the result is a very dry and tart product. Intended to be a primary component in the Old Fashioned, generally a very sweet drink, the goal was to enhance the sour, dry and funkiness of the cider. Both the boilermaker and the "Old Fashioned" will be available for $10.

For those not able to make it to Raven&Rose Thursday there are a limited number of bottles of each barrel aged cider. But I can't tell you more than that...just yet. Keep up with Reverend Nat's online or check back here. I promise to let you know more as soon as I can.

Eagle Rare Bourbon Barrel Aged Ciders Release Party
Raven&Rose's Rookery Bar
1331 SW Broadway
Thursday, June 25th 6-10 pm

Cider Themed Bottle Share

I've participated in more bottle shares than I can count, from ones we've hosted at our house to larger ones put together by friends and #pdxbeergeeks, but yesterday was the first one I had attended by @PDXbottleshare. It was held at Reverend Nat's and was appropriately cider themed.

Arriving at the appointed hour I wasn't surprised to find there were plenty of familiar faces and bottles of cider and beer already gracing the bar. More people and bottles continued to arrive until the bottles nearly spanned the length of the bar and the taproom space was crowded with a friendly, excited group.

Nat (above) kicked things off by opening a bottle containing the first cider he brewed seven years ago. Not your standard appley cider, but a very smoky cider, a great start to lead off two hours of tasting. There was a multitude of ciders I'd never heard of, much less tasted (like Grasshop-ah), in addition to beers ranging from IPAs to barleywines.

It was a great time and I'm excited about the upcoming November and December dates, which have been announced and and put on my calendar. The nominal entry fee of one bottle of craft beer doesn't begin to speak to the great time to be had. Perhaps I'll see you there.

Huge thanks to Reverend Nat's for hosting and Hotlips for donating pizza!

Upcoming bottle shares:
November 16th 2 - 4 pm at Bridgetown Beerhouse
December 14th 5 - 7 pm at Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom

NAOBF 2013

NAOBF lucked out this year in terms of weather. After a soggy festival last year, this year's four-day event highlighting organic beer is turning out to be sun-drenched. Many of the beers pouring are lighter in flavor and alcohol, perfect for drinking outdoors on a beautiful summer day.

We arrived Friday afternoon, the second day of the festival, just before the gates opened at noon. While waiting we ran into a couple of friends who, after the gates opened, hightailed it to nab a table under a gigantic tree (something I would highly recommend). Between our shaded and relatively cool seating area and the beer tents was a pretty warm, muggy walk. For the most part the walk was worth it; I found few beers that I disliked among the 10-15 I tasted.

My favorites included two "light weights":
Hopworks Totally Radler, a 60/40 blend of their lager and lemonade. Clocking in at a mere 3.1% ABV and being skillfully blended so that it refrained from being too sweet and retained some beer flavor, this beer screamed, "I'm perfect for drinking today!"
Ft George Spruce Budd Ale, an ale made with, yes, spruce buds/tips. While there was a certain lager quality to the aroma and the spruce tips were more of a suggestion than an outright flavor, it was a very enjoyable beer. As with the radler, this, too was a sessionable beer at 5% ABV.

Then there were a couple "middle heavy weights":
Ambacht G++ Ale, an 8.5% ABV bourbon barrel aged beer. This was the only two-ticket beer I had and I was skeptical that it was going to be worth it. Thankfully my doubts were washed away with a very obvious bourbon barrel aroma and a pleasant cherry flavor that had a hint of sourness to it.
Reverend Nat's Overlook Heirloom Cider, a deceptively easy drinker for 8.7% ABV. There was a bit of barnyard to this cider and none of the cloying sweetness sometimes found in ciders. The only downside to this beer is that it was made specifically for NAOBF. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll get enough good feedback to make it again in the future so that I can enjoy more of it.

Overall it was a great afternoon of beer and friends on a summer day. There are still two more days of the festival and it looks like the summer weather will hold out so get out and enjoy!