This Friday and Saturday Cheers to Belgian beers takes place at the North Warehouse, 723 N Tillamook Street. For those who may have heard about the closing of Metalcraft Fabrication that used to be housed there, that closure will not effect the festival as the business and the physical facility had been separated previously. It now functions simply an event space it is once again hosting this unique festival that will feature the B45 Gnome Belgian yeast strain.
Per our usual pre-festival routine we have scoured the list of over 70 beers, identifying the ones we're most excited to try. Since Belgian beers can be hit or miss with us, our preference skews to those with fruit, those that have been soured and those that have been barrel aged. The result is a hit list of 17 beers and we'll do our best to report back on them (but feel free to cyber-stalk us on Untappd).
Yachats Blackberry Sour - A fruited sour? Right up our alley!
pFriem Abrikoos - Just reading the description, a Lambic-inspired ale with 2.7lbs of fresh apricots per gallon, has us salivating.
Thunder Island Gnome de Plum - We're looking forward to see how the use of plums and Lactobacillus influence the Belgian Dark Ale base.
Ex Novo Are You Afraid of the Dark? - A dark fruited Saison, it's fermented with boysenberries and black currants, and sounds fruity-nummy.
The Commons Blackberry Saison - With their overall farmhouse take on beers, we expect them to be on the money with this beer and its "tart, dry, bright fruit profile."
Little Beast Dutchy - This festival is right in Little Beast's strike zone and we're eager to see what brewer/owner Charles Porter's Dark Belgian ale with Montmorency cherries and cacao nibs tastes like.
Culmination Pinot Evil II - To start, that's a great name. Hopefully the 9.5% Tripel that is barrel aged with wine grapes tastes as good as the name sounds.
Back Pedal Prismatic Passion - We're a fan of the more-hoppy-than-Saisony base beer, Prism, and excited about the addition of passion fruit to it.
Migration Quinn and Juice - When we're drinking liquor instead of beer our go-to drink is a gin and tonic so it's no surprise that gin barrel aged beers tend to hit the right notes with us. We hope this Old Tom Gin barrel fermented Belgian Strong Pale follows suit.
Deschutes Death by Brunch - Absinthe is a liquor we're divided about here at Beer Musings. One says yea, one says nay. Should be interesting to see how the Absinthe botanicals and spices used in this Strong Gold fare with our collective taste buds.
Mt Hood Soundgarden Gnome - Our experience with Mt Hood beers is zero but this one has us intrigued. Why? Well, there were no hops and no fruit used but it does contain organic hibiscus flowers and five strains of Lactobacillus. If their claim of "super juicy" is true we suspect it will be a hit with us.
Sasquatch Babarella - A rhubarb Belgian? It might work or it might not but we're game to try it and weigh in.
StormBreaker Kumite IPA - IPAs are definitely in our wheelhouse and this one, described as one with tangerine citrus and tropical aromas reminiscent of pineapple, with a hint of pine sounds lovely.
Baerlic Black with Two Sugars - Another great name and featuring our second favorite beverage - coffee! This may be the first Belgian Dark Strong Ale we've had with cold-steeped roasted wheat and cold brew toddy coffee. Even though we generally take our coffee black, this might be the equivalent of our twice-a-year coffee drink we indulge in.
Three Mugs Lewd Garden Dude - Belgian Strong Dark Ales aren't necessarily in our wheelhouse but points must be given for using the phrase "cockle warming" in the description.
There are a couple beers on the list that we've had previously but one in particular that we may have to have more of at this festival. That beer is Crux In the Pocket. A red wine barrel aged Saison with Brett, it drinks so smooth and so good that you'd never guess it's 9.9%. If you haven't had it, you definitely need to.
Cheers to Belgian Beers
Friday, June 2 1-9pm
Saturday, June 3 12-8pm
North Warehouse, 732 N Tillamook
Tickets, in advance or at the door: $20 (glass + 8 drink tickets)
When the bottle of Portland Brewing Raise the Roost Belgian-Style Red Ale showed up on my door I was intrigued. As a self-described "non-Belgian" fan (with a list of Belgian-style beers that seems to grow daily and says otherwise) I wasn't expecting to love it but was curious to taste what Portland Brewing had crafted with Belgian yeast in the form of a red ale.
The aroma was most definitely Belgiany and I tried to keep an open mind as I tasted it. The flavor played true to the aroma but to my pleasant surprise the characteristics I generally dislike were muted or mitigated by the choice and usage of malts (2-Row, CaraRed, Melanoidin, C-120 and roasted barley) and hops (Liberty, Nugget and East Kent Golding). It struck me as a beer that nicely bridges the gap between the heavy, roasty beers of winter that are slowly departing and the lighter beers on the horizon that will herald the return of spring.
Will this be a beer for you? I don't know and there's only one way to find out - give it a go. I'll be interested to hear what you thought of it.
As a super beer geek I'm always on the lookout for what's new on the shelves or the taps. I won't deny that there are certain styles I gravitate toward but if someone gives me something to try that I haven't had before, regardless of style, I'm willing to give it a go. Sometimes I'm right in finding that I did not like the Belgian Quad that my drinking companion let me try. Sometimes I find myself pleasantly surprised by the Rauchbier whose initial smell was intimidating turned out to taste pretty good.
Such was the case with the Portland Brewing Rose Hip Gold that I was gifted. Being a Belgian-Style Ale, based on its style alone I would have been hard pressed to order it. However from the start, pouring it out of the bottle, I was surprised. With "gold" in the name I expected something a color along the lines of a blonde ale, not this rich golden/amber color that filled my glass. The aroma continued to surprise, subtle and atypical to what I expect from a Belgian. Then to the flavor, again a subtleness instead of an overpowering, disagreeable, banana-clove bomb.
I'm not suggesting that this beer made me, or will make you, a Belgian beer convert but I would suggest giving it a try. Rose hips are an interesting ingredient, one I know I haven't had a beer containing it before, and I appreciate Portland Brewing working to remain relevant in the craft beer market. Just like Summit and Schell's (MN breweries) that are part of the old guard, resting on their laurels is dangerous. I don't like every new thing they are trying out but the effort is appreciated. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
