Beer Around Town

2010, no more saying “oh” when stating the year, you’re now forced into the lengthy “two thousand ten” or “twenty ten”, unless “ten” alone catches on, but this still sounds strange, childish, trendy, and annoying to these stubborn ears. Why does 97,98,99 sound soothing while 10 sounds like an infant crying in the airline seat behind you? Maybe it will catch on with me, or more likely maybe it will continue to irk the crap out of me, end up on my hate list with words like quaff or twitter. Yah, I know it’s weird to hate words, but I do.

Anyway a few new things to ring in the new year:

Ezra the “Samuri Artist” launched a new beer blog The New School. Ezra is well connected in the PDX beer scene, so I’d make this one a frequent stop. Seems every time I bring up some new news to Ezra it’s old news to him, so this will probably be a great source of breaking news. Check it.

Upright Brewing is having a bottle release event this Sunday from 1-6 at the tasting room. Bottles of Billy the Mountain Old Ale and Gose will be available with a few other special beers on tap and some finger foods. Alex was kind enough to open a bottle of the Old Ale for a few friends and I and quite a treat it was. The brett C really dried this sucker out. Typically with and Old Ale my mind jumps to a sweet malty treat, this was a dry and bretty wild ale at it’s core with sweet subtleties to compliment. More Fantome Automne, less Harviestoun Old Engine Oil.

The Highland Still House, my local Oregon City favorite just tapped a keg of Russian River Publication. If you haven’t heard of this one it is a special brett Saison brewed in an exclusive series for top notch beer bars including Brouwers, Horsebrass, Toronado, and apparently the Highland Still House. At lease from what I originally read only the few designated pubs were going to get exclusive rights to this beer. All said a testament to the Still House’s status as a great craft beer bar.

Coming up soon will be a roundup review and tasting of my 2009 homebrews (that I have left): Cabernet barrel aged Scottish Ale, The Woodsman rauch strong ale, Pale, Stout, Dark Spiced Belgian, Tripel, Smoked Barleywine, Dark Saison, Amber Saison, Sour Red, Sour Blend.