As a coffee drinker and a beer drinker I consider coffee beers as the perfect union. I don't recall what my first coffee beer was but two that have been around for a while are Surly Brewing Coffee Bender and Furthermore Oscura. I don't get many of either these days but thankfully I've seen a considerable uptick in the number of coffee beers in this market.
Over the weekend I stopped in at Bailey's Taproom and had an amazing one - Old Town Brewing Ol' Joe. Brewer Bolt Minister has been turning out great beers in general and this is just another example of his fine work. Technically it's an old ale brewed with coffee, thus the 7.25% ABV, which is likely the reason for the amazing mouthfeel. Combined with great flavor, this is a beer I hope to enjoy more of.
Beyond coffee beers that have the expected dark color both Cascade Brewing Black & White Oblique Coffee Stout and Harvester Coffee Pale Ale are delicious head scratchers. They have a color you would expect from a pale ale or IPA so that's what you would expect from the flavor. But no! A second taste, this time with one's eyes closed, and you would swear that the color must be a dark brown or black.
All of this coffee beer talk leads me to a festival coming up this Saturday. Goose Hollow Inn, on the west side of downtown, is putting on the NW Coffee Beer Invitational. Since I first heard about it a couple months ago it's something I've been looking forward to. The festival will showcase the work of 12 brewers that incorporated locally-roasted coffee into their entry. If you enjoy coffee beers I'm pretty sure you don't want to miss out on this.
NW Coffee Beer Invitational
Saturday, January 25th 1:00 - 7:00 pm
Goose Hollow Inn
1927 SW Jefferson St., Portland
$12 admission includes a festival glass (actual glass) and six tasting tickets
Yesterday kicked off the 18th Annual Holiday Ale Festival at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was an appropriately chilly day but between the bright sunshine and the heaters, it was cozy inside the tent.
I came armed with my trusty cheat sheet of beers I wanted to try and determined to drink them in the pre-thought out order that roughly started with the lowest alcohol, most mild tasting beers. Right away my resolve was put to the test as I was told by multiple people that the High West Whiskey barrel aged Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas was amazing. It was one of the highest alcohol beers at 12% ABV and the one I had designated to be last on my list.
As I started in I did take into consideration the input of my fellow, trusted beer friends and ended up skipping a couple of beers I had intended to try due to poor reviews. I mean, heck, it wasn't like there would be any lack of beers to try. In fact, I knew that it would be surprising if I tried all of the ones that I wanted to on this first visit.
Of the 12 beers that crossed my lips my favorite, and one that I ended up getting a full glass of, was The Twerking Elf from Stickmen Brewery & Skewery. This 7.2% ABV Northwest Sour Brown was the second beer that I had and was an excellent example of the style. For every person that told me about the Lagunitas, I told them about the Stickmen.
Other beers that I enjoyed included:
- Old Town Brewing Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum, a 7.5% rum barrel aged old ale. I hope that Bolt made more than the amount he sent to HAF because I'd love to have this again, served at a more appropriate, warmer temperature.
- Coalition Brewing Shenanigans, a 9.8% barleywine. The same goes for this beer, it was good at the festival but I think it would be even more enjoyable warmed up a bit.
- Lagunitas High West Whiskey barrel aged Cappuccino Stout, a 12% stout. My friends were right, the aroma was intoxicating, the flavor even more amazing. Michael hit the nail on the head when he said that it was, "the Velvet Merkin of two years ago."
There are still four more days of the festival so there's a fair chance I'll make it back. One beer that will be on my visit #2 list will be McGuinness from Nation Brewery. Mag really enjoyed this 9.2% imperial milk stout that was aged on Kahlua-soaked oak. I'll also be keeping my ears out for what you, my beery friends recommend.
