Now two things are special as to why you should get this beer. Aside from it tasting like all fucking incredibleness in a glass, this beer is rare in the states on tap, and due to the recent explosion at the De Dolle brewery we need to support these guys. The 12oz glass is $7, but don’t you dare claim that’s expensive, after all you just dropped $15 on some damn Pliny the Younger which pales in comparison to this beer. After all, Stille Nacht is a 12% Belgian Strong that goes down like it’s half that ABV. From a 5 hour boil this beer pulls an incredible depth of flavors accentuated but subtle spicing that brings it all together. I know you can purchase bottles of this, but having the opportunity to compare it against the kegged offering is a wonderful experience, so make this a priority before the keg kicks.

If you’re not convinced yet, so be it…. but if you need just a touch more enticing don’t forget that The Victory Bar has a daily happy hour from 5-7pm. All beers are $.50 off, so now your glass of Stille Nacht is about the same as the bottle price at the store anyway. I also finally had a chance to try their renowned venison burger and baked spaetzle which were simply outstanding. Often when I’ve seen Elk burgers (the closest 4 legged antlered beast I can think of) offered on a menu they turn out rather dry and bland. Victory’s venison burger is beautifully prepared, juicy and tender with a spiciness that compliments the mild gamey note. The spaetzle, which is glorified mac n’ cheese, is just that, mac n’ cheese made really well. Rich and creamy, Gruyere cheese and shallots, topped with a sprinkling of diced bacon (the real stuff, no baco bits or beggin’ strips), all baked together giving the top a slight crunchy texture to play off the soft melt underneath.

De Dolle Stille Nacht and a Victory Venison Burger, now there is some hype I can buy into.

Over the last two weeks I’ve had lots of friends and family fly in from out of town, what this meant was less blogging and more dining out. One consistent favorite for people unfamiliar with the PDX beer scene has been the Deschutes pub, good food, decent prices, great range of beer for all tastes. Sure, a couple other places fit this bill also, but I’m selfish, I’d like to try something new as well and Deschutes never lets me down. We dropped in for dinner twice in the last two weeks, with that I had the opportunity to try 6 new beers. Let me repeat that 6 new beers. How many let me down? Zero. That’s pretty sweet. Oh, and I probably could have tried more new beers, but I stuck to the more interesting ones. Here are some quick notes in case you find yourself in the area with a thirst.

First up I tried out their Black Tie IPA. I fricken hate ordering these new fangled black IPAs cause some wise ass at the bar always has to chime in with “isn’t that an oxymoron?”, no shit, I bet you lead in with that every time you order the Jumbo Shrimp at Red Lobster too. Maybe he was just ticked off to find out there are multiple kinds of Kelloggs Total, I mean if it’s Total, why isn’t there just one, right?… jack ass. Anyway, not the best black IPA I’ve had, overly roasty siding more towards a stout. in fact I thought they poured me the wrong beer, so I asked the waitress to check. My preference with these is more citrus hop forward, this was just a hoppy stout. Still a tasty brew, disappointed? no. I believe they are still experimenting with this recipe, so I’ll try again next time I see it.

Next up was the Ivana Weiss. True to the German Hefe origin, dry and spicy with enough banana esters to give it that authentic accent while not turning into a sweet banana mess. This seemed to be the hit of the table, the sort of beer all palates can enjoy, refreshing and interesting. My glass went quick as everyone wanted to try it, then most preceded to order one. If you groove on Weihenstephaner or Ayinger go try this out. Maybe not as much smoothness from the wheat, but right in there with the esters.

Obsidian Stout + Coffee. We aren’t given many bottled stouts in the PNW to work with, so I sort of cut my teeth on Obsidian when I moved out here for college. It has been a favorite since. Excited was I when a coffee Obsidian was on the menu. Not over the top coffee, but a gentle edge that complimented the roasty Obsidian. I’ve always thought Obsidian had a bit of a black coffee edge anyway, so this added a bit more of a lighter mocha note to it, more of a fresher aromatic roast instead of that more bitter taste.

King Cone Fresh Hop. It’s that time again, every brewery in town will have one if not eight fresh hop beers on tap starting soon. This was my first fresh hop of the season and turned out to be a great one to start with. Very well rounded over all, none of that rotting vegetable taste that some fresh hops seem to contain. This was another favorite of the crowd, fruity and balanced throughout. Hops gave off some tropical fruit notes with some good sweet fruit tastes like pineapple and peach. They also had this on cask, but I opted for the regular version.

Next I had a Saison, although the name is escaping me, Saison du Something we’ll call it. Well built overall, fruity and highly hopped like Dupont, although not as well attenuated. I really dug the hopping in this, citrusy and fruity pairing nicely with the spicy yeast esters. A bit more attenuation to dry out the finish and this could be one of the best Saisons I’ve had in PDX.

Lastly I had a go at the St. Abe’s Belgian Strong. Big rusty brown body with a thin khaki head. Nose was heavy on the malts and edgy on the spices. For 10% the beer was pretty easy going, dry finish but no fusels to be found. Had a lot of woodiness to it, although the menu didn’t claim it was oak aged. I feel it only just to give this a second tasting as everyone at the table wanted to try this out seeing that it came in a “cool glass”.

Anyway, if you find yourself downtown near 11th and Davis drop into Deschutes. Two things will happen, either you will find some of the above on tap or you fill find about another 6 quality new beers to try, either way you win. Oh, and ask to see a menu, they weren’t listing all their special beers on the chalk board.

I thought I would chime in with some thoughts and highlights so far from Puckerfest. We are now over half way through the fest and I have to say, this years line-up has been outstanding. I’m amazed at how long some of these beers are staying on tap (thank you non-sour drinkers of PDX!), leading me to wonder about their turnout this year. With a 30 minute drive from my home to Belmont, I have only made it in twice so far, the experiences each time have been very different. The Double Mountain Kriek tapping had lines out the door like we were buying iPhones or some crap, a good 15 minute wait to get an order in, 4 sour beers on tap to choose from. Probably a combo of being the first day of the fest and Portland’s love for Double Mountain, but it was a mad-house. Yesterday, on the other hand, the cafe was only half full, no lines, quick pours, 8 sour beers on tap. So what it boils down to, if you attended the first day of the fest and were put off, give it another shot. Go now, even one sour on tap isn’t all that common, to have a selection of 8 or so is bliss, compare a few side by side, pair them with some cheese, quick go before these sours run out.

Here are some quick summaries of what I’ve tried so far:

Double Mountain Devil’s Kriek – I recall last years having a nice sour punch to it, this years lacked that. I didn’t get much brett character from it either, cherries had a sweeter flavor than last year, but the whole beer felt a bit muted.

Double Mountain Rainier Kriek – I preferred this hands down over the Devil’s Kriek this year. The Rainier cherries weren’t quite as sweet as the Devil’s Kriek, but this had more tartness in the finish and the brett character seemed more developed amplifying the dryness of the beer more. The Rainiers were also much lighter in color giving much less of a hue to the finished beer. I thought the color difference between the two was quite amazing.

BJ’s Enfant Terrible (sp?) – Pretty decent beer overall, all lacto sourness in the finish, although not all that complex. Quick malt sweetness up front pairing off a mild acidic sour finish. I’m not sure if I’ve tried this in the past, but someone there commented on how sweet it used to be and how greatly improved it was, glad I caught it with some time on it.

New Belgium La Terroir – This has been the highlight of the fest so far for me, thanks to everyone for not drinking this up, I can’t believe this was still around from Sunday. Big acidic sourness, citrus and some hops in the finish. Flavors of berries seems to blend with a vinegar note, probably from acetobacter. I’m still stuck on one flavor in this beer, it seems so familiar but I just can’t pinpoint it… It bugged the hell out of me while drinking, but it was all good, so no complaints.

Bruery Zin – A sour brewed with White Zinfendel grapes… look out Cascade The Vine. I would really like to try Zin and The Vine side by side, from memory I think I preferred the grape flavor from The Vine, but the sourness of Zin was really appealing, so hard to say. The Zinfendel grapes give off a really pleasant floral spice. Finished with very mild acidity and lacto sourness. I really hope start seeing more beers from the Bruery, I’ve been impressed so far and heard really good things about some of their barrel aged stuff.