Great Leap Brewing

This well-hidden brewery in the hutongs of Beijing offers rotating taps for the intrepid beer enthusiast. Offering an assortment of brews credited with launching the brewery movement in the capital, and soon to expand production and distribution capacity, they have become a sanctuary for expat beer lovers.

Local regulars grab growlers of pale ale or stout to go, and smiles abound. There are usually around 6 taps of tasty libations to be sampled here.

I elected to start with the IPA called Little General. Yum. Served cask temperature with a nice balance of hoppy tang and a full body, this certainly is a welcome brew for an IPA fan in China. At 6.9%, it beats all the local beer handily for potency. It goes without saying. This is the place for beer in Beijing.

Hours are now 3pm-midnight (depending on the level of business) Tuesday through Sunday. Well worth your effort if you are a beer fan in China's capital.

Bridgeport Happy Hour

Strolled on over to the Bridgeport Ale House for Happy Hour. $3 imperial pints (20oz) and realistic food prices before 6pm.

I opt for the IPA and a pork sammy. Yum!

Everybody's Brewing

After a fun time rafting with the Wet Planet crew on the White Salmon river today, we stopped by Everybody's Brewing for lunch. This place is simply fantastic.

Out of ten beers, all were very good. Every brew showed character and incredible balance. I do enjoy audacious beers, and would love to see an Imperial IPA from EB. Until then, ten awesome brews on tap is impressive. Well worth the trip!

Ninkasi's Total Domination

The story of Ninkasi has been told elsewhere, but this is one success story that shows no sign of stopping. This upstart brewery out of Eugene, Oregon has taken the brewing world by storm, and has become a favored bottler for the connoisseur set. My taste for their IPA was whetted on a recent trip to Bend, where I enjoyed a Tricerahops Double IPA on draft at a downtown pub.

Today, I found myself back in Bend, and sampling yet another Ninkasi IPA - their Total Domination. This time it was prelude to a Walkfast show at Mountain's Edge. The Total Domination is actually a pretty straight up IPA, just super hoppy and very flavorful. It's a very drinkable, very Eugene response to the Mirror Pond that is ubiquitous in the area.

The Tricerahops is another animal entirely, and totally deserving of the huge amount of praise it receives. It is a fabulous double IPA - it has slightly less bite than most, while exhibiting no lack of character, and awesomely complex hoppy flavors.

Latest Tastes from the Rogue

HUB Update

Mt. Hood Brewing

A quick morning of snowboarding, some good beer (Ice Axe), and a few runs on the alpine slide. Happy Birthday to me!

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.

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.

Rogue ales

Biked to the Rogue ales pub today for a taster tray and a burger. As usual the brews impress, starting with a freebie American Amber. This brew is light and very easy drinking, flavorful but thin enough for summer. I followed with one of my favorites, the ever tasty I2PA which packs a nice wallop. Next on my list today was the YSB, a true local brew if ever there was. Bitter and smooth is an unlikely combination here embodied.

To lighten the potency, I turned to St. Rogue Red and enjoyed this delightful brew as an apéritif for my dessert - Old Crusty, of course!

The H U B

the keg hunter is back today and better than ever. iPhone enabled, my blogging is released. Hopworks Urban Brewery is the first to fall victim to the keghunter's 3g fetish.

Hard to resist the organic IPA, world beer cup gold medal winner.

Cheers to great local beer.