The Best Things We Drank: December 18 - 24

This week's list is a bit longer than we've seen for the last few weeks. It is however the holidays, when special beers tend to get pulled out and like a kid on Christmas we're thrilled to have shared these gifts-in-a-glass with our Beer Santa friends.

The first two, both 2015 vintages of the FiftyFifty Eclipse series, were shared at a Festivus gathering.
Eclipse Coffee - A wonderfully complex version of this 11.9% imperial stout starts off full of coffee, then transitions the barrel characteristics making themselves known, finally finishing with cocoa-y goodness. 

Eclipse Grand Cru - This version was heavy on the cocoa throughout in the most wonderful, smooth way and was the crowd favorite of the variations opened that night. Even with the high ABV it was very drinkable, to the point that it was tempting to steal off to a corner with the bottle. 

The next set of beers on this week's list were shared at our local which is perennially filled with generous souls.
McMenamins Longest Night of the Year 2017 - Enjoyed, appropriately, on the longest night of the year, this barrel-aged English Barleywine was incredibly smooth. Not hot in anyway, even at nearly 11%, it was good enough that we'd encourage you, even those of you that aren't barleywine fans generally, to grab a bottle if you can find one. Like many of the other one-offs from the McMenamins' stable, it showcases the talent and skill their brewers possess. 

Beachwood Blendery Earthbound Misfit - Switching gears to the lighter side, this fruit lambic didn't appear to display much flavor from the kumquats but was nonetheless delicious. Primarily tart in aroma and flavor with a fun effervescence, the use of rye in the brew and time in oak barrels balanced the sourness. 

Jester King Omniscience & Proselytism (Blend 2) - Continuing on the sour path, this oak-aged beer that also spent time in a foudre with hundreds of pounds of Oregon strawberries tastes like summer. The wild yeast and bacteria allowed for refermentation, producing a dry, tart beer. 

This next beer wasn't new to us by any means but stands out for the fact that it was consumed twice, days apart, at different venues.
Boneyard Incredible Pulp - As much as we enjoy RPM, we hope that this mimosa-like beer will gain an even greater following. Unlike some beers, each time we've had it we enjoy it just as much as the last time. 

The final beer on this week's list comes from a gathering at a pizza connoisseur's place. The crowd may have come for the pizza but being primarily beer geeks as well, didn't show up empty-handed. Instead many delicious bottles were shared including...
Reuben's Breakfast Stout - A very tasty milk/sweet stout with coffee, even at 8.4% it would be easy to imagine drinking this in the morning. 

As we head into what may be the longest night for many of us, we hope that however you choose to ring in the new year you are surrounded by friends, family and fabulous libations. 

The Best Things We Drank: December 11 - 17

This week's best were a split decision between cider and beer, with all of the makers being relatively new to us. 

Starting off on the beer side we had two more beers from Revision Brewing Company out of Sparks, NV. The first beer we had from them was a triple IPA and made The List in early November.
Planet Lovetron - The label artwork has a fun (albeit perhaps sexist) pink/lilac theme that jives with the slightly hazy, mildly fruity New England style IPA contained inside. The combination of Amarillo, Mosaic and Citra hops and "pillowy bed of malted goodness" hit our taste buds just right, in line with its 4+ rating on Untappd.

The Bruff - Once again featuring one of our favorite combination of hops (Citra and Mosaic), this 8% New England style IPA is fantastically balanced. 

Heretic El Diablito - This was a beer that we were far more enamored with than our drinking buddies were. The 9% came across to us as pleasantly sweet (instead of cloying) and drinking dangerously crushable. As with their 12% Ecstasy barleywine, they seem to have the skill of "hiding" big ABVs in delicious drinkable packages. 

Now for the cider side of the list, starting with Bauman's Cider Company located in Gervais, OR (yeah, we had to look at a map, too, to find that it is about halfway between Wilsonville and Salem). These two ciders were a great introduction to them.
Loganberry - Light berry in flavor with a beautiful color, it is effervescent and temporarily transports one to the warmer days of summer. Loganberries are one typically one of the first berries to ripen with the trade off that due to their delicate softness, they must be hand picked. We applaud Bauman's for using them despite that and hope to find more of this cider in our glass in the future.

Clyde's Dry - Named for the cider maker's grandpa, this is a blend of 20 varieties of apples. What could have been a muddled, middling cider is in fact wonderfully complex and slightly funky. 

Carlton Cyderworks Summer Set - Located just down the road from Bauman's is Carlton Cyderworks in McMinnville. This is the third offering we've had from them, the others being a perry and their 2017 Willamette Week Pro/Am offering. A straightforward 50/50 blend of Dolgo Crab apples from Sunnyside, WA and Gravenstein apples from Wheatland Ferry, OR, it features a slightly funky aroma with a pleasantly tart flavor.

We have been keeping our eyes open, and starting to do some stocking up, of beverages for the holidays in anticipation of the gatherings we'll be attending and hosting. It's a bonus that all the beers and ciders on this week's list are available in packaged/portable form. 

The Best Things We Drank: December 4 - 10

This week's best beers take us from breakfast to the beach.

Fort George City of Dreams - Technically a pale ale, this 5.5% hazy beer makes a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee (trust us, that's how we started football Sunday). What it makes up for in visual appeal in the glass it more than makes up for in citrusy flavor, with an eye-catching label on the 12oz cans to boot. 

If a glass of hop juice is a little to much to start your day with, then this next beer is a great alternative.

StormBreaker Mocabe Lo Sabe - A coffee cream ale made in collaboration with Groundwork Coffee it is smooth and creamy, thanks to the flaked oats. Also clocking in at a morning-appropriate 5.5%, coffee beer lovers should seek this out before it's gone.

Breakfast behind us, grab a towel and let's head to the beach.

Urban Family Island Crusher - A dry-hopped sour with pineapple and Amarillo hops, it starts with the aroma of freshly slathered on cocoa butter and the flavor follows with a pineapple/hop bite. Between the green and yellow of the label and the beer inside we dare you not to imagine being transported to the tropics.

As we approach Christmas and the day drinking it likely entails, consider picking up at least one of these for yourself or to share. Remember, Santa sees all.

The Best Things We Drank: November 27 - December 3

The last month of the year, the holidays, things are getting busy on this end so this week's Best Things is a short but sweet two-beer list. 

Baerlic Woodworker Thunderbolt Bourbon & Pinot (2015) - Enjoyed while browsing the handiwork of local craftsmen and women, it would have been quite easy to sit down and enjoy a whole bottle of this 7.9% oatmeal porter aged in bourbon and Pinot Noir barrels. The bourbon characteristics were restrained, supporting the oatmeal porter base, with the Pinot barrels giving it a most lovely, slightly tart flavor.

Mother Earth Hop Diggity - Clocking in at just a slightly higher ABV than the Woodworker, this is apparently Mother Earth's most popular Double IPA and we can see why. Starting out with a pleasant fruity-stanky aroma the flavor is just a hair lighter, making for a super easy drinking beer. Look for it in easily portable, highly visible 12-ounce yellow cans the next time you're peering in the door of the beer cooler at your favorite joint.

Now, get moving. Get all those little errands done whenever you can and for gods' sake, get those cards and packages in the mail sooner than later! Because once it's done you can really settle in to enjoy some delicious beverages.

The Best Things We Drank: November 20 - 26

This week's list is all over the style spectrum but solidly in the land of Get Your Hands on These Beers If You Can.

Montavilla Hunter of Shadows CDA - Getting your hands on this one might be beyond the realm of possibility as only one keg of this beer that was dry-hopped with Cryo Citra hops, Idaho 7, Magnum and a 'mystery hop' was produced and was tapped last Thursday. That being said even limited beers have a way of popping up unexpectedly and if was as well received by the rest of the people that drank it as it was by us then Michael and the crew need to make more. Roasty and dark without being bitter and clocking in at a moderate 6.5% this would be one we'd like to enjoy throughout the dark months ahead.

The next two beers, both from The Commons, graced our lips thanks to generous beer friends who not only invited us to join their Thanksgiving feasting but broke out multiple beers from their cellar.

Photo credit: Untappd user Rico S.

Good Problems - When this bottle was pulled out we couldn't help but think about foreshadowing as it is a collaboration with Modern Times that was produced at the end of 2015. A Saison with brettanomyces strains from both breweries and nebbilo grapes (an Italian red wine variety) from the Columbia River Gorge, all of the components of the beer were present and as would be expected from both of these breweries, perfectly balanced.

Bourbon Little Brother (2014) - On paper a Belgian Strong Dark Ale wouldn't catch our eye however when it's been produced by The Commons it's a different story. We first enjoyed this Heaven Hill bourbon barrel-aged beer nearly six years ago, the first year it was produced and it was good then. This three year old vintage has held up well and is tasting wonderful, amazingly easy drinking for 10%.

New Holland Incorrigible Reserve White Sour Ale with Mango & Pineapple - The lightest of the list at 4.5% it is packed to the max with tropical aromas and flavor, balanced by just the right amount of sour bite. We enjoyed it at Imperial Bottle Shop on SE Division and as of this posting, it's still on tap. As good as it is, however, it probably won't be around for long so find an excuse* to pop in for some of this sunshine get away in a glass. 

Cheers to not just surviving, but hopefully enjoying, this holiday season we find ourselves smack in the middle of.

*We're good at excuses, for example:
- some holiday shopping that needs to be done at one of the many nearby shops
- a hungry belly that needs to be filled at one of our favorite places, Bollywood Theater
- you just need to sit down to escape the crush of the holidays.

The Best Things We Drank: November 13 - 19

This week's list focuses on our recent trip to the coast, Oceanside and surrounding, for a long weekend getaway. 

Starting out with a newer, and completely new-to-us, brewery is Public Coast in Cannon Beach. Last time we were there in town they weren't yet open, but in the interim we've heard great things about them.
Black Stack Stout - Named after a "very big rock" just off Cannon Beach, the beer presents with a great roasty aroma and a chocolate/slightly chalky flavor. Served as we prefer, on nitro, it is a creamy, drink-all-day beer. 

Checking out a place not far from our Oceanside rental in Netarts we found The Schooner to have a disappointing beer selection overall BUT they were serving the next beer just the way we like it.
Deschutes Obsidian Nitro - This is only the second time we've found this beer on nitro (not that we have been actively searching), the first being earlier this year in Bend. Since that first try, we're convinced that's the only way it should be served and therefore find it nearly impossible to pass it up. 

A second close-to-our-rental joint was the Upstairs Bar & Grill. This place was far superior in many ways to The Schooner and had we been in town longer we would likely have gone back.
Crux Cast Out - The stanky BO aroma and lovely hop flavor from the Galaxy hops make this a solid IPA choice. Add to that a creamier-than-most-IPAs mouthfeel and we could enjoy plenty of these. Fun side note: The name Cast Out comes from the Galaxy hops from Australia, a country once populated by English cast outs/outlaws.

This next place was the find of our trip! Black Squid Beer House was opened just a few months ago by a couple that moved to the coast from the west metro. Located on Hwy 101 in Lincoln City where a surf shop formerly resided, owners Sara and Andy have created a friendly and inviting feel for this bottle shop and taproom. They've also curated a very nice tap list and cooler selection.
Mother Earth Say When - We haven't had a ton of Mother Earth beer but this foray will encourage us to try more. Melony and yum, we love the flavor and would love to see a hazy version that would impart more body. 

Finally, a return visit to the Tillamook outpost of Pelican Brewing. Having stopped in a few years back, shortly after they opened, we were happy to be in the area for more of their beer.
Bad Santa - We know we've seen this beer around often but surprisingly hadn't tried it previously. More chocolately-roasty than bitter-roasty we enjoyed this CDA as is but really would have like to have been able to try it on nitro, too. 

The short getaway was just what we needed to recharge our batteries, both with relaxing views of the beach from the hot tub at our rental and the enjoyment of checking out new places and beers.

The Best Things We Drank: November 6 - 12

This week's edition is dedicated to The Commons. As anyone living in Portland knows, last Saturday was the last hurrah for the current incarnation of The Commons. We say that because we firmly believe that we will see them again in the future, especially if Mike's recent collaborations are any indication. We showed up at opening Saturday and during the course of our time there were fortunate to be able to say a "see you later" to Mike in person. In addition, Travis' familiar face was to be found behind the bar, a face we hope to see popping up somewhere else around town after the transition is complete.

We enjoyed all of the beers that found their way from the menu board to our glass, but these four in particular.
Eidolon (R) - We first enjoyed this sour, barrel aged amber farmhouse five years ago. Noting at that time that it was a "great approachable sour" we agree with that first impression. The beer was matured on two strains of Brettanomyces in wine barrels but the Brett holds a supporting roll. The shining star is the super fun combo of Meyer Lemon peel, jasmine green tea, jasmine flowers and New Zealand Hallertau hops.

Anderlecht (L) - Our favorite of the day we were so stunned with its flavor that we can't express just how delicious it was other than to say it is simply an outstanding wood aged lambic. If we could have gotten growler fills of it, we would have rounded up all the growlers we had and happily handed over how much ever they were asking for it.

Galaxy Myrtle (L) - We've been quite pleased with the few hopped sour beers we had, with this one continuing the trend. Here the bright Myrtle tart farmhouse base found a great partner with the Galaxy hops used. Starting with a definite hop aroma, the flavor is a melding of the two.

Fresh Hop Myrtle (R) - More lightly hopped than the Galaxy non-fresh hop version, this beer features Meridian hops. Effervescent and easy drinking, we enjoyed this as much as we did when we first had it in 2013.

Now on to two other great beers we enjoyed to finish out our list.
Revision Dr. Lupulin 3x - We've just started seeing Revision's beers hit this market and so far we've been impressed with the offerings from this, hold on to your shorts...Sparks, Nevada brewery. Before we get to the beer, a bit about the brewery. Sparks is essentially a suburb of Reno, sitting on the Western edge of Nevada, and less than a day's full drive from Auburn, CA. That's relevant because Auburn is the location of Knee Deep Brewery, the brewery Revision's founder Jeremy Warren founded seven years ago. The full backstory is on Revision's website but the short of it is that Jeremy left, taking with him the first brewer he hired at Knee Deep, Jeb Taylor. Officially open just eight months ago, if this triple IPA is any indication of what is to come, we are totally on board because to make an 11.3% beer with massive IBUs this smooth is an incredible feat. 

Crux Tough Love [BANISHED] 2015 - Our favorite of the three vintages offered at The BeerMongers during their Tough Love event the big, Russian Imperial Stout offered a licorice aroma and flavor that was smooth with a tannic finish that makes one want to keep drinking it. 

This time next week we may all be waking up with a hangover (of the food variety). Before then, however, we'll be taking a look at some cranberry offerings that have recently come across our radar. Stay tuned!

The Best Things We Drank: Oct 30 - Nov 5

This week's list is composed mostly by California breweries, although if you consider that Modern Times will have a brewing location in Portland in 2018, our list is equally split between California and Oregon beers. The bonus this week is that they were all enjoyed in packaged form meaning if you look around you, too, should be able to grab them, for enjoyment now or soon.

We start off with two beers from Beachwood Blendery, the offshoot small batch beer producer established in 2014 by the same folks behind Beachwood Brewing. The Blendery focuses on Lambic style beers from Belgian using ingredients, equipment and brewing methods steeped in tradition but with an admittedly modern twist.
Strawberry Provence - Made with strawberries and Herbs de Provence, this is the most amazing strawberry aroma we've ever experienced in a beer, like peak-ripe strawberries. From there the flavor takes a deliciously tart turn for a complex, enjoyable experience. 

Dia De Los Mangos - According to the local distributor of Beachwood Blendery (who shared the Strawberry Provence with us), this beer uses the same base as that one. We would have never guessed as it is completely different and so complex. A blend of one year old barrels aged on mango and tamarind for eight weeks and infused with Ancho, Aleppo, Aji Amarillo, Guajillo and Green Serrano chili peppers the beer displays pleasant chili characteristics without being a spicy bomb.

Moving to the currently-California-brewery-but-soon-to-be-in-Portland-brewery is Modern Times who you may recall that we've been quite enamored with even before the announcement that they would be filling the vacancy that The Commons will leave when they vacate their inner SE Portland location.
Spaceship Earth - Described as an "outrageously tasty pale ale," we couldn't agree more. Juicy in aroma and flavor, hazy in appearance we think both pale ale and IPA fans will enjoy the mouthwatering flavors of tropical fruit and citrus found here. 

The final beer making this week's list is Little Beast Animal Family. It is one of the two recent foeder-aged bottle releases from Little Beast. There are quite a bit of winy qualities found in this beer which may strike some odd (including us initially), but we found the oddness very appealing. Thanks to Chris for once again sharing an outstanding beer with us! 

The Best Things We Drank: Halloween Edition

With the exception of one, all of the beers making this week's list reflect the turn in the weather and daylight, taking us down the path of darkness. The majority were dragged up from various cellars and enjoyed at fall's celebration of darkness that was filled with beer lovers.

Book ending our rundown are the non-Halloween beers and we'll start off with the lone light beer, Bend Peach Offering, before descending into darkness. The 100lbs of Oregon peaches made themselves known in both the great peach aroma and flavor with the whole chamomile flowers contributing soft fruit flavors and delicate floral notes and Lactobacillus providing that lovely, bright tartness that we so enjoy. A mere 4.5% its light and refreshing qualities would make it a great start to any holiday gathering.

And now for the adult goodies shared at that Halloween party...
Surly Darkness 2014 - The only recent year vintage that we don't have in our beer cellar, we counted ourselves lucky to have been around when a bottle of this delicious chocolate-licorice goodness was cracked open. The other vintages we've had lately also seem to be doing well, making it tempting to break into all of them however they also show that they are holding up well as they age. Oh, the conundrum.

Block 15 2011 Imagine Barrel Aged (bourbon) - The only Imagine we've tried, save for the delicious Cherry Imagine two years ago, the 15% barrel-aged Belgian imperial stout started with a fruity-molasses aroma. The flavor feels perfect for the holiday season, a beer we can imagine sipping as we relax in the warmth and comfort of friends and family. 

Kane Sunday Brunch - A beer we first became acquainted with last year at GABF, it was a treat to enjoy it again. The imperial milk porter with coffee, cinnamon and maple syrup drank like Mexican hot chocolate without being overly sweet. The only two times we've had beer from this New Jersey brewery we hope to find ourselves in the company of others in the future that have obtained some of their Belgian-influenced ales.

The Commons Brotherly Love - The party's host shared this beer that felt particularly special in light of their impending closure. The craftsmanship of this 10% barrel-aged Belgian dark strong ale matured with tart cherries and roasted cocoa nibs was both clear and bittersweet. While we savored it, just as we will savor the remaining days of The Commons, we also jealously wanted to steal away to down the whole bottle.

Finishing off the list with the other non-Halloween-enjoyed beer is Cascade Tidal Bore. Ordered a bit by accident due to a too quick perusal of the menu upon arriving tardy to a gathering, this was a very happy accident. The imperial stout started off with an amazing aroma and drank incredibly smooth for 10+%, yet there was enough booze presence to remind us to slow down, savor and share.

As we enter the often hectic holiday season we are going to try to slow down and savor many things, perhaps with a glass of something delicious in our hands, and hope you'll be able to do the same.

The Best Things We Drank: October 16 - 22

We're going back to the sour well this week with five of the six beers making our list in that camp.

Little Beast Dream State - Receiving one of our highest ratings this first fruit beer from Little Beast is outstanding. Generally strawberries are one of our least favorite fruits to be used in making a beer but the 100lbs of hand-picked Oregon strawberries displayed their heady aroma up front and with their lush fruit character following the mid-palate funk. It would be easy to drink the full 375ml bottle by one's self but we were fortunate enough that the person that shared it with us was feeling generous. 

pFriem Bosbessen - Switching berries to blueberries, they impart a gorgeous color and tart blueberry aroma into this barrel-aged lambic-style ale. That's where they depart and the funk goodness takes over, dominating the flavor in the most delicious way.

Almanac Tropical Galaxy - The name Almanac is nearly synonymous with sour/wild beers although this one is distinctly different from many of the fruit-forward ones we've enjoyed before. A dry-hopped farmhouse aged in oak barrels with mango, lime and coconut the aroma is pretty funky with a flavor that is both smooth and balanced between the various components. 

Our next two beers come from the same brewery - Urban Family - but couldn't be more different.
Guava Dawn, displaying a bright color from the pink guava that also infuses the aroma, it is subtly balanced by the Brett, Sacc and Lactobacillus mixed culture it was fermented with. The result is mimosa-like and crushable.

Dark Perennial goes to the dark side of sour beers with a nearly opaque color, a combination resulting from the blackberries, boysenberries and Midnight Wheat. The rhubarb contributes tartness, which often makes for a bit of an astringent mouthfeel, but here is pleasantly overpowered by the Midnight Wheat to provide the a velvet mouthfeel we've not before experienced in a sour beer. A fantastic winter sour.

Departing the sour train, the final beer making this week's list combines our second favorite drink - coffee - to create the most recently enjoyed lovechild of this union.

Ruse Grizzly Menace - A robust coffee porter that was conditioned on cold brew from Coava, the aroma is all coffee with a combination of coffee and chocolate characteristics in the flavor. Complimenting the aroma and flavor is a silky mouthfeel that could be associated with the use of lactose but here it comes from oats. While we love lactose for the mouthfeel and sweetness it imparts, the use of oats is more appropriate for a porter base and keeps the result from being sweet. We've had IPAs, sours and now a coffee porter from Ruse and we're thoroughly impressed with all of them. You can bet we'll be visiting their space along the orange Max line once it's open, currently slated for early 2018.

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: October 2 - 8

Last week while our taste buds were clearly tuned to "sour" the three beers making this week's list span the seasons.

Dionysus Super Funkadelic - Shared by one of our frequent drinking buddies at The BeerMongers, this dry-hopped gose hit the perfect balance of sourness and hoppiness. On the big end for a gose at 6.5% it's still incredibly drinkable with the hop profile making it feel like a suitable fall beer. Bonus points for a label that is as cool as the beer is good.

Buoy Benedict Cumberbatch - Another gose, this one featuring freshly chopped and juiced cucumbers and Jacobsen sea salt, it is super refreshing. It would be a great summer drinker so we'll have to hope it shows up next year but we would be quite pleased to continue drinking it throughout the winter.

North Coast Berliner Weisse Cranberry-Quince - One might recall seeing North Coast's other Berliner Weisses making our Best Things list but this one is quite possibly the best of the series so far. The most gorgeous of this week's list, the fruits used in it are ones we associate with fall and winter. Both the color and the flavor profile would make it a great beer to take to holiday gatherings. 

What's hitting your high notes recently? Seasonal offerings like fresh hop beers and Oktoberfests? Your go-to style, be it Pilsner, IPA or stout? 

The Best Things We Drank: Welcoming in October

It may be the first week of October but that doesn't mean we will be seeking out pumpkin beers. We might try one that is offered to us but it's unlikely you'll find one gracing on this list. Instead we have a mix of beers we hope to enjoy throughout the coming dark months and some of our preferred flavors of the season. 

Melvin Uncle Ruckus - Enjoyed at a beer pairing dinner, this double stout has a great cocoa-y profile on its own. This night it was part of the dessert course, paired with a creamy leche flan-topped chocolate cake that was drizzled with a berry puree, all atop a smear of Eliot's Adult Nut Butters espresso nib peanut butter spread. The combination was the perfect ending to an incredible dinner.

Firestone Walker Mocha Merlin - Another stout, but with almost half the ABV, it does seem that they used a bit of "seasonal sorcery" to pack so much coffee and cocoa flavor into the beer. The oatmeal and lactose combine to provide a creaminess and roundness to further elevate the flavors. No surprise it was drank at The BeerMongers but by lucky happenstance, Sean was sharing some soft blue cheese and that combo was fabulous!

Founders Nitro Rubaeus - A favorite from this Midwest brewery, we've enjoyed it in the past but never on nitro. It appears to be popping up around town on nitro taps and after trying it, for good reason! The berry flavor leans even further towards juice when served this way with the bonus of a smooth, creamy head.

Fort George Fresh IPA (2017) - It seems that we're enjoying more fresh hop beers this year (or perhaps we're just being more selective about the ones we're ordering, upping the probability of "success"). Either way this can of tasty Citras is a worthy follow up to our most recent favorite from Fort George, the now-gone-from-shelves-and-taps 3-Way.

Breakside What Rough Beast Fresh Hop - A version of a beer that we've already been smitten with, this might be better. Whether it's the "ground breaking liquid nitrogen hop shattering technique" or just that Mosaics are one of our favorite hops, we're thrilled with it.

Firestone Walker Bravo (2017) - Circling back to the dark beers that hit the highest notes for us, this bourbon barrel aged imperial brown ale starts off full of huge barrel aroma. The balanced booze flavor (13.2%) is rich, toasty and chocolaty with just the right amount of noble hops. 

Thanks for reading, friends! Whatever your favorite styles of the season are we hope you're enjoying them to the fullest.

The Best Things We Drank: September 18 - 24

We drank a ton of great beer last week! And like last week those beers fall squarely into to two quite dissimilar categories - stout and sour.

Barley Brown's Don Vanuchi 2017 - This first beer is one we were lucky enough to drink thanks to Chris' recent trip to Eastern Oregon, which included a visit to his favorite brewery, Barley Brown's. In past years this Russian Imperial Stout has been barrel aged and while we enjoyed that, it really shines without the addition of the qualities the barrels imparted. It drinks bitter, like really good dark chocolate, which pleasantly masks the 9.5% ABV.

Adroit Theory B/A/Y/S (Ghost 546) - Another Russian Imperial Stout, its cocoa-bitter flavor is balanced with just a touch of sweetness making for a very drinkable 10%.

Belching Beaver Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout - Formerly called Viva La Beaver and Living La Beaver Loca, the aroma is predominately peanut butter with the flavor speaking more to the chocolate/cocoa part of the name with just the slightest bit of heat. It's no surprise that it is Belching Beaver's highest rated beer and that it has been awarded numerous gold and silver medals. 

Allegory Fresh Pints!!! - This 4.2% fresh hopped sour ale starts with a great sour aroma, followed by a pleasant, drinkable sour flavor with just a touch of the characteristics from the fresh hops coming in at the end. A refreshing beer and a refreshing take on a fresh hop beer at a time when so many places default to an IPA, pale ale or red ale base. 

O'so Tuppen's Demise - Shared by another Chris (who also goes by Tappan, not to be confused with the name of this beer), it's an outstanding blended barrel aged tart beer that's lightly effervescent and displays a gorgeous rosey color from the Michigan blueberries in it.

Flat Tail Dam Wild Raspberry and Lime - Flat Tail continues to impress us with their sour beers, this one full of berry flavor tempered every so slightly by a splash of lime. Clocking in at a surprising 7.5%, it's easy drinking and perfect for Indian Summer days.

Urban Family Zested - A newer beer from another brewery that excels at sour beers, the best way we can describe this is as the love child of lemon curd and beer. If you dig on bright and lemony, you should dig on this. 

The Best Things We Drank: September 11 - 17

An interesting combination of beers made this week's list. On one end two sour beers, on the other end two darker beers. Each pair also contained one low-to-moderate ABV beer and one on the high end of the booze spectrum.

Bruery Terreux Confession - One of the beers gifted to us at our recent housewarming party, the Riesling characteristics of this variation on their sour blonde ale came out splendidly. Even at nearly 10% ABV this was quite easy drinking and we recommend sour beer lovers seek this out.

Grimm Artisanal Ales Living Daylights - Hailing from New York, Grimm has recently come to the Portland market and this one was shared by a friend who loves sours. A Citra dry-hopped imperial Berliner Weisse (yet only 5.8%), it is also "aggressively dosed" with Mosaic and Simcoe lupulin powders. This may be the first lupulin powder beer we've had and we'll be keeping our eyes open to see what other breweries start experimenting with it, hopefully as successfully as this bottle of goodness. 

Fish Brewing Fish Tale Organic Porter - Bought primarily because it was Thursday (so we wouldn't be negligent on New Brew Thursday ticks) this was a surprisingly rich canned porter with an unassuming label. 5.5% with a medium body it has just the right combination of rich and bittersweet chocolate notes, finishing pleasantly dry.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Vanilla Maple Shake - Mikkeller tends to be hit or miss with our palate but this one hit the right notes with its motor oil look and molasses flavor. If only there had been some sticky buns around to accompany it and perhaps help soak up some of the 13% ABV. Oh well, maybe next time...

The Best Things We Drank: August 21 - 27

Over the weekend we had friends over to help us break in our new digs and being that our friends tend to be beer geeks, generous beer geeks, many of them showed up with bottles of very delicious, often rare beers. Some of them have yet to be opened but others we enjoyed that night and as expected they were fantastic.

Dionysus Currantly Noir with Vanilla #02 - The first beer we've had from this two year old Bakersfield, CA brewery was an incredible introduction to them. A golden sour ale aged six months in Pinot Noir French oak barrels with black currants and vanilla, it has just the exact right amount of sourness for us. 

The Commons Fishing With Hallet - Listed as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, on the surface it wouldn't appear to be a beer that would trip our trigger. However, being brewed by The Commons increases the chance that we'll like it and sealing the deal is that the amount of sour character is sufficient to subdue any Belgian characteristics that in other instances might turn us off.

Bruery Terreux Frucht: Lemon & Cherry - The level of sour, especially from the lemon zest, may be a bit much for some but we really enjoyed the combination of lemon and tart cherries in this Berliner Weisse-style sour. Apparently it is the first beer in their Frucht series and we'll be looking forward to seeing what this subsidiary of The Bruery turns out in the future.

Firestone Walker Krieky Bones - Picked up by Mag, it starts with a tart cherry aroma and follows with the best tart cherry cobbler flavor we've ever run across. It was brewed to celebrate David Walker's 50th birthday and is a Flanders Red style beer that was aged for eight months in a French oak foeder with sour cherries that allowed for a secondary fermentation. We suspect that the Vienna malt used is what gave us the feeling of cobbler.

Image courtesy of Founders since ours didn't properly show the awesome can.

The lone beer to make this week's list that was not consumed at our party was enjoyed earlier in the week at The BeerMongers. Cans of Founders Green Zebra sport fun, bright artwork and inside is a take on a gose.

This one won't be for everyone but we enjoyed the heck out of the flavor that is reminiscent of watermelon Jolly Ranchers with just a touch of salt, a primary component setting this style of sour beer apart from others. Considering how many bad (like REALLY bad) watermelon beers we've had this is yet a further achievement. A "limited" beer, according to their website, it's definitely worth grabbing a can before summer transitions into fall. As a bonus, the beer was brewed to benefit ArtPrize, a non-profit international art competition in Grand Rapids, MI. Drink good, do good.

The Best Things We Drank: August 14 - 20

There were a considerable amount of mixed feelings as we reviewed our drinking and rating of the beers from last week. Why? Well, because in a rare turn of events, every beer that made the list is a beer that we've had a least once before (if not multiple times).

The internal dialogue went something like this:
"Really? We just had things (or at least good things) that we'd had before?!?."
"Are we really so fickle, so set on trying and finding new and great beers that we can't just enjoy and be happy with having had some past favorites?"
"It's ok to enjoy the same beers we had in the past because we DID quite enjoy them."

Perhaps some of you reading this understand the conversation we had with ourselves. Others may be questioning our judgment. Either way, here's what we had (again) and enjoyed.


Uinta Hop Nosh - Uinta's flagship IPA, the first time we had it (nearly six years if anyone's counting), we were impressed by its grapefruit and stank qualities. Since then we've relegated it to an any day or first beer of the day. Perhaps it's our taste buds. Perhaps the recipe has changed a bit.

Fort George 3-Way IPA - Far and away the highest rated of this week's list, pictured here at Church, we can't say enough good things about this fruit-forward, hazy IPA collaboration with Great Notion and Reuben's. We thought that the supply was nearly gone but have hear that another batch may be on its way this week. Please, please, pretty please let this be true!!

Georgetown Johnny Utah - Pale ales generally have a hard time competing with IPAs for us however this one, likely because of its pronounced grapefruit and pine flavors and minimal amount of maltiness, is a great go to.

Fire on the Mountain Wonderin' Rye - Four years ago this beer first graced our lips and since then we've always had it AT Fire on The Mountain (Burnside). It's basically our default beer when enjoying The Best Wings in Portland.

Culmination Choco Mountain Milk Stout - This sweet/milk stout rides the perfect balance between sweet and dry. Combined with its easy drinking 5.6% this is a stout for any time of the year and is a great adult chocolate milk beer, especially when it's served on nitro.

If there are any beers above that you haven't had, we definitely recommend trying them. For the most part they won't be too hard to track down and if you order one and don't like it, just give us a buzz and we'll come finish your pint for you.

The Best Things We Drank: August 7 - 13

This week's list starts off fruity and light, with four of the offerings from the 1st Annual Portland Radler Festival that was held at StormBreaker Brewing last Saturday. With generally low ABVs one could enjoy these all day (but be careful if you're prone to sugar overload).

54 40 Ginger Lemonade - Their Kascadia Kolsch was taken to the next level (in our humble opinion) with the addition of organic lemonade and freshly grated ginger. It's so well crafted that the 3.2% ABV completely disappears.

The Commons Lemon Urban Farmhouse - We thought Urban Farmhouse was pretty close to perfect to begin with and have to admit we were a bit worried by altering it to be their festival entry it wouldn't be up to snuff. Silly us!!! The lemon works perfectly with the beer and we'd love to see it offered every summer in the taproom.

Great Notion Blueberry Muffin Radler - This radler version of their Blueberry Muffin kettle soured beer, it is a tad more tart than the non-radler version and just as good (maybe better?).

Wild Ride Thorny Bushwacker - A 50/50 blend of Wild Ride's Tarty to the Party apricot sour and blackberry soda, they nailed balance between fruit tartness (apricot sour) and fruit depth (blackberry soda). An added bonus is the mouthfeel that apricots naturally impart.

The rest of the list is a mixed bag of yum, all of which are as easy drinking as the radlers (with a lighter sugar bill).

Prairie Artisan Prairie Flare - Office Space fans will appreciate the name and super fun can. A citrus fruit-added gose, it displays great tartness, staying mild on the coriander with enough salt is present to qualify as gose in our book.

Ex Novo His Name is Robert Paulson - The darkest (but not highest ABV) beer on this week's list, it gets an enticing coffee aroma from the Columbian coffee used which combines with the Ecuadorian cocoa nibs and honey "dry hopping" for a coffee-chocolate milk flavor that we would will drink all day, any day.

Smog City Brix Layer (2017) - A wonderfully complex, balanced beer (great choice, Mag!) it starts with a barrel-sour aroma and is an easy drinking 8.8% wine barrel-aged sour blonde with Reisling.

As you gear up to hunker down or party it up for next Monday's eclipse make sure to have plenty of delicious beer, perhaps some of these, on hand.