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.

Impact of 2017 Oregon Brewers Festival & Changes for 2018

Image courtesy of the Oregon Brewers Festival

It's an annual tradition that a study of the economic impact of the Oregon Brewers Festival is done, the legwork and analysis by Jeff Dense, professor of political science and craft beer studies at Eastern Oregon University and his team of students. They interviewed over 900 festival attendees to come up with their estimates. It's a bit geeky, unless of course you're one of the festival organizers or perhaps one of the tourism-related businesses that benefits from the total $23.9 million impact the 2017 festival had on Multnomah County.

Those who lean geeky, especially numbers geeky, may be interested in the one-page executive summary. The rest may be satisfied knowing:
- 48.7% of attendees were out-of-town visitors, 30% of which stayed with friends or family, leading to a 38% decline in lodging expenditures
- 44.2% of attendees were women, who Dense says "are the key to the future of the craft beer industry"
- 47.2% of attendees were attending the festival for the first or second time, a number that speaks to the vitality of the festival in its ability to attract new visitors
- 28.3% of attendees were 50 years of age or older, a population segment that is highly desirable due to their high level of disposable income

Now about those changes for the 2018 festival:
- The festival will revert to a four-day event, taking place Thursday, July 26 - Sunday, July 29, 2018.
- The tent that in recent years has featured specialty or international beers will go away.
- Replacing the departing tent will be two ciders and some wine offerings, designed to address those with celiac issues as well as to be more inclusive of equal opportunity and non-beer drinkers.
- There will continue to be a map of the festival grounds but no longer the extensive, multi-page printed program. An electronic listing will be made available.

Whatever your personal thoughts on the changes it's important to note that change, for anyone, for anything is essential. It would be foolish to think that a festival looking down the barrel of their 31st year could have lasted this long without making changes along the way. We congratulate the festival on the 30 years under their belt and raise a glass to another 30.

Second Profession Brewing Gives Second Life to Former BTU Space

Whether you drive the stretch of NE Sandy Blvd often or not, you've likely heard that BTU Brasserie was for sale and has been acquired. Sporting a new paint job outside and in, founder and brewer Charlie Goman has established Second Profession Brewing. 

Charlie has no commercial brewing experience and is drawing on a combination of his homebrewing experience, mentoring by Tomas Sluiter of Culmination and assistance from Marc Martin of Northwest Brewery Advisors. Working on the nearly new Portland Kettle Works system that was part of the acquisition, Charlie plans to brew beers that are heavily Northwest-influenced, spanning a variety of styles. At a recent media preview we tried two of their beers (others this close to being ready were finishing in the fermenters). Professional Pale Ale, an English-style pale with NW influence from the Cascade and Mt Hood hops, drinks true to its description. Their Rye IPA is most certainly spicy with more rye spiciness coming through than many other examples of the style we've tried. Both beers, in addition to being enjoyable on their own for those looking to drop in for a pint, are also good companions to the food menu.

That menu, described as "German comfort food" is made up of dishes from Charlie's home of Milwaukee, WI and are executed by their chef who comes from the now closed Der Rheinlander. Sausages sourced from Zenner's, in full in-bun format as well as sliced in sampler platter format for easy sharing, are the focal point of the menu and entirely too delicious. Sides include warm German-style potato salad, soups, green salads and the winner in our book, garlic fries. The fries are very good on their own but what is even better is the sage aioli they're served with (incidentally, in the cutest mini-buckets). One could probably dip slices of drywall in this aioli and eat through a sheet, it is that good.

As for the name, one component of it is fairly obvious in that the decision to open a brewery is a second profession for Charlie. He previously sold copiers, something he didn't find fulfilling, and churned through lots of ideas about what he would do instead before settling on taking his love of homebrewing to the next level. Another part of the decision to settle on the name of Second Profession came from a conversation with a buddy who commented that "brewing is the second oldest profession." Finally, Charlie feels many of his customers will identify with their second profession as being what they choose to do during their time outside the office. The logo, created by Room Service Creative, illustrates a second profession for many Oregonians - enjoyment of the abundance of outdoor activities available - while perhaps for others our second profession would be described as enjoying the abundance of craft beer available.

A few additional components of the new venture to note:
- The brewery, with the exception of the seats at the actual bar, is family friendly and the menu will include a couple of kid-focused items. 
- The menu, although in its soft-opening format succinct state is sausage-heavy, will also offer vegetarian and vegan dishes. Thank goodness, because even if kids weren't allowed no restaurant will survive here without allowing (wait, inviting) vegetarians and vegans.
- The drink menu includes a section of beer cocktails Charlie hopes will bridge the gap between beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers.
- They hold a full liquor license and will stock a supply of basic liquors.

Second Profession Brewing
5846 NE Sandy Blvd
Open Wednesday - Sunday 4 - 10pm
Grand opening October 27 - 29 (more details)