The Best Things We Drank: June 5 - 11

Four of the best things we drank this week come from a PDX Beer Week event that we hadn't even planned to attend. Big thanks to Larry and Kate for inviting us to join them at Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom's 4th Annual Weird Beer Bonanza!
54º 40' Vita-Beer Shandy - Who remembers Sunny-D? Yes, you can still buy it but for those of similar age to us you may remember when it came on the market. Around our house that was considered a treat so there are good memories linked to it. This beer brought back those memories right from the start with its aroma. The flavor continued to take us down memory lane, although it is lighter and less sweet than the juice drink. And while its 4.8% is a sessionable ABV it drinks like there's no alcohol in it at all and we suspect it would make great beermosa.

Baerlic Fancy Umbrella Drink - In addition to making an appearance at Imperial, this was also Baerlic's entry for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival and available in their taproom starting last weekend. With a great guava aroma and nice tartness (although minimal/no salt) it certainly lives up to its tagline: "Toes in the water, ass in the sand, a smile on your face and a Fancy Umbrella Drink in your hand."

Trinity Sour Cherry Threads - Tied with the Wolf Tree entry for highest ABV of the fest at 12% and similar in the use of cherries, this one hit much higher notes for us. Both have tons of cherry on the nose, but where that one goes down the Belgian road, this oak barrel aged lactic beer displays the lovely horse blanket funk that we love along with cherries. It was most certainly worth the additional tasting ticket!

Nectar Creek Raspberry Chocolate Mole Mead - This mead definitely lives up to its "weird" billing when one considers the gorgeous, rich berry color that the eyes behold but the disconnect as one takes in the aroma of mole. But it works. It's super fun and tasty, with the smoke and spice from the ancho and chipotle peppers being balanced by the chocolate, raspberries and wildflower honey. Being the other two ticket offering at the event, it, too was worthy.

As our time at Imperial wound down Larry and Kate mentioned that they would be heading over to The Commons as they had heard that Biere Royale was on tap. A beer we enjoyed multiple times in 2013, we were just as pleased with it now as we were back then. And the color...can't get enough of its beauty!

The remaining three to make this week's list all came our visits to The BeerMongers, shared by and with our frequent drinking buddy, Chris.
Alesong Touch of Brett: Mosaic - A dry, French-style Saison, the Brett it was fermented with is just slightly more prevelant than the Mosaic hops that provide ripe pineapple, mango and grapefruit flavors. Both components are favorites and this one masterfully blends the two.

Modern Times Monsters' Park Aged in Bourbon Barrels (Mexican Hot Chocolate 2017) - Modern Times has been a frequent flyer on our list and this 14.6% barrel-aged imperial stout is simply fabulous, especially after it sits for an hour and the full flavor profile - cinnamon, cocoa nibs, chilies and vanilla - blooms.

Fremont The Rusty Nail - Fremont makes good beers but where they really shine are with their aged, high ABV beers. This one begins with an oatmeal stout base, brewer's licorice, smoked barley and pale malt aged on cinnamon bark. That beer, called The First Nail, begins its second life after spending 15 months in 12-year old bourbon barrels, the result of which is an amazing dark, sour and smooth creation whose 13.2% is an afterthought.

PDX Beer Week continues through Sunday, offering plenty of options for great, unique beers and events. And even if one isn't attending "something special" there always seems to be special things waiting on the shelves and taps of our favorite places. Here's hoping you're finding some gems!

Beer & Cheese - A Game Day Winner

Today's the Super Bowl, which of course means you'll be having some beer and in case you haven't figured out some eats to go along with that beer, let me suggest a very easy solution: cheese.


Before, all nicely laid out, waiting to be tasted.

Friday night we got together with some friends at our usual haunt for an informal evening of beer and cheese pairing. We each picked up a variety of cheeses and throughout the night picked out beers that either we wanted to try on their own or ones that we thought would go well with our selection of cheeses. The beer that paired well with the most number of cheeses was Calapooia Brewing Chili Beer. Mag picked this with the idea that it would pair well but we were surprised by just how well it went with so many, including Irish Murray's cheddar and our "white trash" cheese entry of the evening, Trader Joe's Pub Cheese cheddar with horseradish. The creaminess of the Irish cheddar nicely balanced the spice of the beer and Chris found the combo to be reminiscent of nachos.

The caramelized onion cheddar was the most difficult cheese to find a mate for but eventually we did in Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. Sounds like an odd combo, right? Sam may have described it best, "It's like Burger King...when Burger King was good."

A couple of the "of course" pairings we enjoyed were Roughtail Coffee Tsar (part of a just-arrived shipment from a beer buddy) Russian Imperial Stout and Rogue Creamery blue cheese, Uinta Birthday Suit Sour Farmhouse Ale and blueberry stilton, which tasted like blueberry crumble, and cranberry stilton with both Ex Novo Gose Either Way blackberry gose and Trinity Brewing Chilly Water baltic porter.

So whether you want to have a more organized beer and cheese plan or just pick out some of either that you like and have at it, it's pretty hard to go wrong. You don't even have to go to a great cheese shop (although that's always fun to do); all of the cheeses we picked up came from Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's.

After, the table scattered with remaining bits.

Colorado 2013: Day 2

Our second day in Colorado started off much more promising, albeit slightly rocky. We planned to have lunch at Bristol Brewing, a place that we had visited last time we were in Colorado Springs however upon arriving at the address listed on their website, there was no brewery to be found. Instead we found a vacated space which upon further inspection directed us a short distance away to the Ivywild School. It seemed odd but we followed directions and sure enough, arrived at a former school which is in the process of being renovated to house a variety of businesses, including Bristol.

The new taproom was much larger than its former self with windows overlooking the brewing space, some of which was currently being used and some of which was still being installed. They were out of a few of the beers listed on their menu but there were still plenty to try and enjoy. Tops for me was, surprisingly, Red Rocket Pale Ale. It's not a style I usually enjoy but Bristol's version was nicely hopped and full of flavor. Their Compass IPA was also enjoyable and available both "regular" and on nitro. As with other IPAs I've had on nitro, I didn't enjoy it as much as the hop bite I so enjoy gets muted.

Our next stop was Great Storm Brewing, housed in a small, unattractive strip mall in a fairly unattractive area of Colorado Springs. It wasn't however hard to find and once inside it was easy to forget the exterior surroundings.

In addition to full pours they also offered 8-oz and 4-oz pours, which I took advantage of with my first beer - Rum Raisin Stout. Generally I wouldn't start with an 8.1% oatmeal milk stout but my cohorts had already ordered "the usual suspects" and I wasn't overly interested in the remaining offerings. The beer was a meal in a glass - sweet, roasty and one that would be difficult to finish in full pint format. Through the course of subsequent orderings of 8-oz pours we made it through all the beers and were pleasantly surprised to find that Get Buzzed Honey Beer, a golden braggot, and Shine On, an oaked Belgian strong, were really great beers. Their styles are ones I'm not usually drawn to but both had sufficient sour characteristics that won me over.

The last stop, Trinity Brewing, was the one that I was most looking forward to due primarily to the release of their Berliner Weisse that afternoon. We arrived before the release and perused the beer menu. There were six of their own beers on tap, another 10+ 750ml bottles of their other beers and an assortment of guest taps. Our first round consisted of Sunna Wit, Soul Horkey Ale, an IPA and Slap Your Mammy double IPA. The IPA was the best we'd had on the trip, with a great stanky aroma and flavor.

Our waitress came around once the Berliner Weisse, Ten Minutes of Pleasure, was available and we promptly ordered a bottle. It was a delicious representation of the style and one that ranks right up there with ones being produced in Portland. After starting down the bottle road we proceeded to try Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta and TPS Report. As fans of "Office Space" we appreciated those references along with others in the beer names (Oh Face) and the artwork adorning one of the barrel-based outdoor tables. The TPS Report gave off huge coriander and citrus notes although those flavors were more muted in the flavor, likely due to the barrel aging. I will most certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for some of these bottles to hit Portland shelves in the coming months as the head brewer has family in Oregon and will be making a trip to Portland to introduce his beers to the market.

While we hit the same number of breweries as the first day, day two was far more successful and enjoyable. Day three was certainly going to have some big shoes to fill in order to equal it and giant sized ones to fill in order to exceed it.