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.

Recommendations for 2017 Cheers to Belgian Beers

Today is the second (and final) day of the 2017 Cheers to Belgian Beers festival at the North Warehouse. We went yesterday and while we only had 17 of the 70+ beers we're happy to share recommendations based on the things we drank.

We, along with a majority of the folks we compared notes with at the festival, easily put pFriem Abrikoos and Crux In the Pocket on the "don't leave the festival without having these" list. Abrikoos was new to us and is a fantastic Lambic-style beer that’s a very drinkable 5.5%. In the Pocket, a red wine barrel aged Saison with Brett and a beer we'd had recently (bottles of it are around town) is also very drinkable...but with nearly double the ABV at 9.9%.

Two others that hit high notes with us were Baerlic Black with Two Sugars and Migration Quinn and Juice. Coffee is our second favorite beverage and Baerlic's masterfully crafted beer drinks like a cold version of it, with a luxurious splash of heavy cream (although there isn't actually any in it) and a touch of sugar. The hook on the Migration beer for us is that on the rare occasions we drink hard liquor, gin is our go-to. This beer displays the aroma of those botanicals and is accompanied by a surprising mouthfeel to create a dangerously drinkable package weighing in at 9.2%.

We happened to be drinking with one of our friends who is supremely talented when it comes to blending beers. Yes, that may be blasphemy to some but if you're game we highly recommend blending, in a one-to-one ratio, Baerlic Black with Two Sugars and Migration Quinn and Juice. It doesn't sound like it would work but trust us here, it does.

The other blending might be a little more intuitive but it's the ratio that is important here. Start with Ex Novo Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a Saison fermented with boysenberries and black currants, and add just a splash of Gigantic The City Never Sleeps black Saison. Start with a small splash and add another if needed to get to that perfect black beer base that's complimented by the berry flavor of Afraid.

With that, get on with the drinking and cheers!

Cheers to Belgian Beers
North Warehouse, 723 N. Tillamook
Saturday, June 3 Noon - 8pm
$20 (glass + 8 tickets)

Two Outta Three Ain't Bad

I recently mentioned four events on the horizon that featured a critical mass of fresh hop beers, possibly the only way to have any chance at trying a good percentage of the dizzying number available right now. While I didn't make it up to Concordia Ale House for their Hop-a-Palooza the week prior, this past weekend I hit up back-to-back fresh hop events starting with Roscoe's Fresh Hop Summit on Friday, followed by the Fresh Hop Beer Fest at Oaks Park on Saturday.

Between taster trays and tasting tickets I personally ordered about 20 beers. But since I went to both events with friends I had quite a few more tastes out of others' glasses. Reviewing the lists from those events it seems like the Pale Ale is the most used base beer this year. Being someone that prefers an IPA over a Pale Ale most days of the year one could guess that I wouldn't be blown away by most of them. One would be correct. That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy trying them, it just means that overall most of them were just OK. There were however three of them that rose to the top.

In no particular order, they were Gigantic Brewing Sodbusted Simcoe, The Commons Fresh Hop Myrtle and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Citra Fresh Hop Seizoen. All three come from breweries that generally impress me and these beers reaffirm that.

Gigantic's Sodbusted is a 6.8% ABV IPA with surprise, surprise Simcoe hops. It has an amazing aroma and being an IPA base from a brewery that excels at them, it's really a no-brainer that this one hit it out of the park for me.

Myrtle (pictured above) is a Farmhouse Ale and one of The Commons' spring seasonals. Not an obvious choice in my mind to be a base beer to brew with fresh hops, the citrus and sourness from the Lactobacillus strains work very well with the Meridian hops.

Logsdon Ales also chose a less-than-obvious beer for their fresh hop offering, Seizoen. While Citra hops were the primary ones used, eight other varieties supported the conversion of their flagship beer into an even better version of itself.

Since I know you've been drinking at least a few fresh hop beers, too, which ones have made your taste buds sing?

Cheese, Beer & Dessert - Does it get better?

How do you follow up an amazing progressive beer dinner? How about an amazing night of cheese and dessert paired with beer? Yep, that'd do it.

This Brewvana tour started at award winning cheese monger Steve Jones' shop, Cheese Bar. Modest in size but much larger in quality - the cheese selection, the extremely knowledgeable staff and consistently great tap and bottled beer selection - Steve has created an environment for enjoying and learning about cheese. On this night, we were also greeted with a table set and waiting just for us.

After getting seated Steve presented the first pairing - Daily Bread Common Ale from Everybody's Brewing and Mt. Zion, a raw goat's milk cheese from Fern's Edge Dairy. The cheese was not a soft goat's milk cheese but one that had more dryness, not as much as a Parmesan but going that direction. Both the beer and cheese were mild, yet flavorful partners that worked together to compliment one another.

The second pairing - Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout with an English cheddar from Montgomery's - was given a bit of mystery when during the introduction Steve asked us to think about flavors from childhood. The assertive cheddar melded with and was mellowed out by the chocolate and coffee flavors of the beer and Steve was right, that was something familiar here. I wasn't able to figure the riddle out but was in agreement with him when he said it was reminiscent of a peanut butter cup. Beer + cheese = candy? Yep, and if you don't believe me or Steve, stop into his shop and try it yourself.

Being only the first stop, we didn't have much time to linger but time enough for a couple of bottles to be bought for the road. Then it was off to Gigantic Brewing where Steve continued to share his knowledge of pairings and obvious love of both beer and cheese.

Co-owner of Gigantic Brewing, Ben Love, filled our glasses with Gigantic IPA while Steve handed out Hannah, a mixture of raw cow and sheep's milk cheese, from Ancient Heritage Dairy. The firm, acidic cheese really made the hops pop in the assertive beer. Another winner of a pairing.

Next we headed inside for a tour of the brewery, including a look at something that made me very happy - used barrels from Buffalo Trace Distillery and others. Ben didn't give specifics but you can bet I'll be keeping my ears open for when the aging is done and the beers are ready for consumption.

The evening was marching on and in no time we were hopping back on the bus, traveling across the river to Hillsdale. The welcome mat was rolled out for us at Sasquatch, complete with cones reserving space for our bus to pull up right outside their doors. Inside the table was set with half of our first pairing - Chinook-Hopped Chocolate Truffles with toasted hazelnuts and fleur de sel.

Salted chocolate is always a winner in my book but pair it with a CDA and I'm one happy camper. Sasquatch's Celilo Cascadian Dark Ale had a flavor profile similar to the truffles but with enough hops to counter the sweetness. I'd love to see these two-bite truffles become a standard on their dessert menu; they're perfect when you want just a little something sweet at the end of the night.

The next pairing took us away from the dark side and into the light with a beer you wouldn't usually find in my glass. Their Belgian Blonde came matched with balsamic whipped cream and warm strawberry-basil filling stuffed in a shortcake biscuit. I would have enjoyed the dessert on its own but the beer, which I probably wouldn't enjoy on its own, made the dessert even better. The whole experience at Sasquatch from the warm welcome to brewer Charlie Van Meter's descriptions of the beers to the chef's food insights made for a great end to the tour.

Beer Hunting

Tonight I go beer hunting. I have three specific targets and I know their habitat well. It's going to take discipline and structure to be successful in my hunt. There's no room for sloppiness or lolly-gagging around if I hope to be victorious.

Two of them are fresh, green if you will, and new to me. I only have the reputation of their siblings and the masters that brewed them to go on. The third, a delightful red-hued tart, is familiar prey.

Perhaps you'll be out hunting tonight as well. Maybe you've already bagged one of these. If so, tell me what you think. 

Oh, wait, you don't know what I speak of? Silly me, I got all excited about the impending hunt I forgot to share that information. Here you go: Gigantic Brewing The Most Interesting Beer in the World (fresh hop), Coalition Brewing Green Pig and 10 Barrel Raspberry Crush.

May whatever you're hunting this weekend be as mouth-watering as you hope for.

Beer & Cheese

These are two of my favorite things. Generally, however, I don't make a concerted effort to have one with the other. But they do go incredibly well together so when the opportunity arose to attend an event that was curated by Portland's own award-winning cheese monger, Steve Jones, hosted by The Commons Brewery, there was no way I could pass it up.

The first Beer and Cheese Festival was one of the last events of PDX Beer Week and what a way to wrap up a great 11 days of beer events. The advance sale only ticket price of $27 entitled attendees to 10 beer and cheese pairings, a glass snifter plus a huge variety of cured meats and pates from Chop Butchery & Charcuterie. On the surface "10" might not seem like a lot and I'll be honest that I thought I might end up buying extra individual tickets. However, once the fest began and I got a few pairings in it was obvious that 10 oz of cheese and approximately 30 oz of beer was going to be plenty.

My top three, in no particular order were:
Solera Berlinerweiss/Grisette Blend with Sartori Bellavitano (cow's milk cheese from WI)
Solera is one of Oregon's newer breweries and this was probably my favorite beer of the day. Sartori is a cheese maker I was already familiar with, in particular their Raspberry BellaVitano that is soaked in New Glarus Raspberry Tart ale. The bonus was that I had the chance to meet head brewer Jason, who worked under Minnesota's own Mike Hoops.

Gigantic Rauchweizen and the Bandit with Willamette Valley Cheese Co Brindisi (aged Fontina cow's milk cheese)

I have to admit this was a pairing I wasn't looking forward to as I'm not a Rauch beer fan. As suspected, the beer was smoky in both aroma and flavor. When paired with the noticeably salty cheese (and I mean this in the best way possible) my eyes were opened to a way to enjoy the style. I would love to see Gigantic start to carry this cheese as I'd happily purchase the pair next time I meander down to the taproom.

Block 15 Figgy Pudding with Colston-Basset Stilton (cow's milk cheese)

Figgy Pudding is a big (11%) brandy barrel-aged beer that is strong enough to stand up to the deliciously assertive blue cheese flavors of the stilton. Mag described the pairing as feeling like, "I'm doing something naughty," and I agree that this was the most decadent pairing of the day. It was also my final pairing and the perfect "dessert."

As with the Fruit Beer Festival last year, I hope this first year festival returns in the future. It was a great time and something that while simple in concept, was executed very well and from all the comments I heard, an absolute hit. Thank you to Steve for allowing us to benefit from his mastery of cheese, The Commons for hosting, Chop for sharing their delicious work, Ezra for putting together another great event and all of the other folks that made it possible.

#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!

A Miss, Then a (Gigantic) Hit

Wednesday night was the grand opening of Gigantic Brewing and I couldn't go. Absolutely no how, no way. I was bummed...until I heard from the "lucky folks" that the place was packed. Considering my aversion to crowds, especially when they stand between me and beer, I felt a little better.

I felt even better the next afternoon when Mag informed me that their hours, starting now, included 3 - 9 pm Wed - Sat. That meant they were open! After making the short jaunt down the street I found a fuller than expected tap room and some very tasty beer.
 
In addition to some guest beers and two of their collaboration beers (Collabo Wabo and Hoppy Hoppy Nano Beer, which I had tried over Zwicklemania weekend) they had three new offerings: The City Never Sleeps Imperial Black Saison, IPA and St. Tennenholz Pale Ale. All three were delicious and I'm looking forward to many more walks down the street to enjoy their brews.

The story here: It's not a real taproom until you have taxidermy (check out the stuffed boar head when you're there), a gun and a bladed weapon.

The full hours. Check out how the days are described.

Go, Go Gigantic

Saturday's visit to Gigantic Brewing and the sampling of two of their collaboration beers made an impression on us. Remembering that Apex had recently had four Gigantic collaboration beers on tap, Sunday morning I checked their "Live Beer Board" (on a side note, this is such a great, yet simple feature that I wish more places would adopt the practice) and was pleased to see that we hadn't missed the boat. The Board was still showing four collaboration beers on tap.

Mid-afternoon we made the short jaunt to Apex and ordered the other two collaboration beers Gigantic hadn't been pouring. No surprise, Mag went with the Cascadian Pilsner, a collaboration with Laurelwood, and I was happy to fall on the grenade of the Hoppy Hoppy Nano Beer IIPA. He's a pilsner fan to begin with but usually I'll take one whiff and be turned off. Occasionally, a beer will pass my sniff test so I'll move on to a small taste. Of those few that pass the sniff test, quite a few more fall by the wayside after tasting. This was one of those rare times when a beer made it past both tests, as it offered none of the "pilsner stank" I so dislike. In fact, as I told Mag, this is a pilsner I would actually order and enjoy drinking. My guess is the Cascadian part of the name indicates that it is hoppier than most pilsners and possibly there are non-standard pilsner style hops being used (this is pure speculation on my part). So while I enjoyed the beer, if you're a true to style pilsner fan, know that this will be quite different than that. Who knows, though, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised as well.

By the time I got around to tasting my beer I'd already been impressed with three Gigantic collaborations - the Cascadian Pilsner as well as the Schwarzenfreude Baltic Porter (which interestingly I didn't feel was completely true to style either) and Collabo Wabo (amber/red) was pleasantly hoppier than many ambers/reds. Therefore I'll freely admit I was primed to enjoy this beer, too. Hoppy Hoppy Nano Beer IIPA, a collaboration with Breakside Brewing, was bordering on "big" with 8.2% ABV and poured a beautiful red. For a double IPA I found it to be more hoppy than sweet and although it drinks a bit heavy I wouldn't have guessed it was above 7% ABV.

The moral of the story is that if these collaborations are any indication of what Gigantic will be producing on their own, we're in for many tasty treats.

Now I’m a Hypocrite

Remember yesterday when I said I had no interest in partaking in Zwickelmania? That was the truth…until I saw a tweet…and it stopped raining…and I decided a little walk wouldn’t kill me…

That tweet was from one of Portland’s newest breweries, Gigantic Brewing. A brewery which happens to have selected a site only six blocks from where we live. A brewery which, up until now, has not been open to the public. It was a temptation too strong to resist.

It’s currently a non-descript grey building with a red panel, no sign. Had it been any other day it would have been all too easy to miss. Yesterday however, by the time we arrived, there were already folks inside and more making their way in. (Not too many however to induce a fear of having to wait in line for beer.)

For Zwickelmania they were pouring two collaboration beers: Collabo Wabo, brewed at Oakshire, and Schwarzenfreude, brewed at Pelican. Collabo Wabo appeared to be unfiltered and tasted of a hopped up red. Schwarzenfreude, a Baltic porter, was a balanced version of the style. Both were tasty brews and I hope to try more of their collaboration beers until they are up and brewing on their own.

After taking a look at the brewing space and having a chat with Van, who estimated the tasting room should be open by the end of March; we finished our beers and headed out. The visit was inspiring and we decided one more stop wouldn’t kill us. We made the return “trek” home, retrieved the car and made the short, two mile drive north to The Commons.

As we walked in Josh’s friendly face greeted us and directed us to one of the corners of the brewery to start with some zwickel. Set up in front of fermenters holding 3-day old Flemish Kiss, 9-day old Urban Farmhouse and 26-day old Biere de Garde, Mike was pouring samples of each. After trying all three we headed back to the front and moved on to full pours – The Gods Must Be Crazy for Mag and Madrone, a tart Saison that I had desired for the last few days since it was put on, for me.

We might have actually continued on to a few more places, but we were due back at the ranch to have a repair done. That’s probably for the best since after all my huffing and puffing about what a clusterf$%# I expected the day to provide, I might have had a coronary upon finding even more places with reasonable crowds. As it stands, I’ll eat my crow like a good girl.