Hopworks Imperial IPA

The SNOBs met at the HUB today; I elected to try the IIPA, and it hit
the spot. An excellent, smooth, hoppy ale, with a kick.

C Note

Widmer Gasthaus

After a week of work, it's nice to go out and treat yourself
sometimes. Tonight I finally made it to Widmer, only to find that
they won't pour taster trays Friday and Saturday!

Instead, I chose to get a "taste" of the Ressurection Rye, Alt, and
the Albina Street Amber. The rye is a golden color, very mellow,
slightly spicy.

The Alt is my favorite of the three, extremely assertive, the malt
only revealed as an aftertaste. Very clean.

Albina is gentle by comparison, redder in color, well balanced and
complex, but quite restrained. A civilized brew.

For the finale I picked Old Embalmer to accompany a salad and burger;
it's a brew I've only tasted from a bottle until now. All I can say
is it is even better on tap. Ciao!

OBF

Beer chart from OBF pamphlet shows the way to hop heaven.

Hop Stoopid lives up to the name. Signature Lagunitas flavor.

Titan IPA from Great Divide is floral, hoppy and gentle.

Workhorse IPA from laurelwood is just what it ought to be - a hoppy beer that drinks easy.

Full Nelson IPA opened the festival as the featured brew from Widmer. Gentle by the standards of this fest. Tasty to boot.

Total Domination IPA Ninkasi brewery Eugene I'd say it is a medium hop well balanced with a citrus finish.

Zon from boulevard brewing co is a very fruity brew.

Stone Levitation Ale is next to last, but certainly one of the best today with a clearly superior balance of character.

Rocket Dog from Laughing Dog Brewing, Ponderay, ID is a tasty ale with vivid citrus notes and a nice bite.

OBF

Next up at the festival is Bridgeport Hop Czar. This triple hopped
bad ass has an aggresive flavor profile dominated by hops. Powerful
but not overpowering the Hop Czar does Bridgeport proud.

Oregon Brewers Festival 2008

Today I biked downtown to enjoy an afternoon at the Oregon Brewers
Festival. 72 brews on tap for three days of tasty libations.

My first taste is a dry hopped crystal pale ale from Boundary Bay
Brewery. Delightfully light and crisp with excellent hop character.
Good head and very nice malty finish.

Roots

Dropped in at Roots' brewpub today for an excellent salami sandwich and a taster tray.

Calypso is a fruity summer brew, with a very spicy feel. Light and easy drinking, the heat is a wise departure in a summer brew. As anyone who has sampled world cuisine knows, spicy hot food is popular in hot regions - probably because the sweating that follows enhances the natural evaporative cooling of the body.

Kolsch follows in good form, with a very mellow and soothing mouthfeel after the Calypso. There was a unique odor that I could not identify, and unfortunately it wasn't to my liking. Overall a decent beer.

Burghead Heather Ale comes third, using Heather flowers in place of hops. A very striking and unique brew yet extremely pleasant. A beer that proves even hop free brews can succeed, and a good demonstration of ancient techniques. Extremely tasty for a beer without any hops.

Roots' Island Red is a pleasantly hearty beer lover's dream, based on oats and English hops. It's essentially a dark red stout, and tasty as heck. Recommended.

Woody IPA is yellow-orange and bursting with hops. Mellowed with a little citrus note, this dry-hopped ale is assertive in a good way. Highly recommended.

Crannog Stout rounds out the selections today as dessert, and restored my faith in the ultimate goodness of existence. Caramel and coffee help form a dream of a closer brew. No bitter aftertaste, just a well executed stout that leaves me smiling. Hard to go wrong here.

Hedge House: C-Note

A visit today to the Hedge House allowed me to revisit an old favorite - the super hoppy joy known as C-Note. This brew has an Abv of 6.9%, a deep copper color, and seven 'C's. A rating of 100 IBU attests to
the potency of the combined Crystal, Cluster, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus and Challenger hops. Needless to say this is a complex brew.

The yummy beer is even more tasty on Tuesday, at $2.50/pint. Just remember that this place can be popular in the evening, particularly in nice weather. Here's to Oregon sunshine!

HUB round 2

I enjoyed four new seasonals today with my pear & nut salad.

The HUB's Wheat is a pleasant and cloudy one, sweet enough to drink without the usual lemon wedge. Very drinkable, slightly floral finish.

The Kölsch is light and effervescent, with gentle character all around. A dreamy, extremely light straw color - summer in liquid form.

The third seasonal, a Belgian, is still light enough for summer, but begins to reveal the more robust tendencies of the HUB's other offerings. Bitter enough to offend a delicate palate.

Summer Ale is the last seasonal today, providing a respectable interpretation of an Oregon summer ale. Very flavorful yet easy drinking - truly a beer for the season if you can handle the hops.