Well, it was the best line up yet for Cheers to Belgian beers… but there were still a lot of rather so-so beers. On the good side I had a couple that were truly outstanding, and on the other side I had one in particular that really wasn’t fit for human consumption, we’ll get to that. Overall, the fest was really well run, efficient and comfortable. It was a great afternoon of comradery with brewers, friends, fellow bloggers, and there was even a Dr. Wort spotting.  On to the beers.

Oakshire La Ferme (gravity defying)

First up was Cascade’s Frite Galois. A quick babelfish translation spit out Fried Welsh, which may sound odd, but fits with Ron’s sense of humor. The first pour of this beer I tried was completely flat leading to a watery body and rather bland flavor. Luckily from a friend’s recommendation I went back for another pour and experienced a much better beer. Much more sour throughout, notes of peach and apricot. Light lacto funkiness, sort of dried hop earthy quality. A-

Widmer Biere De Table – The lightest offering of the day, and surely looked the part, very light in color, just a soft straw tone. Nose of NW hops, maybe some simcoe and nobels. The yeast gave off a lot of banana esters and a touch of earthiness. Malts were bready and had a touch of honey sweetness. Very drinkable and showcased the yeast strain nicely, although some higher fermenation temps might have brought out some of the more tropical fruit notes of the yeast. A-

Lucky Lab Doggie Kong – I heard many people expressing their approval for this, but I was really turned off by this one. The sourness had a sort of unfinished flabby taste that my homebrewed versions get when they are only a couple months in. Sort of off funky almost rubber like flavors possibly from autolysis, and a bit of diaper note. Overall this may turn around with some time aging. C-

Next up a friend and I did a side by side tasting with the Double Mountain Bonne Idee and kriek version. The regular portion I thought was far to bitter. Big NW hops, sharp bitterness, nothing really pulling the beer together. The kriek version had an odd metallic note that was really distracting and also suffered from the strong bitterness. C & B-

Block 15 La Ferme de Demons

Block 15 La Ferme de Demons – Recently I proclaimed Block 15 as my #1 Oregon Brewer, so my expectations for this beer were high… well they delivered. Big barrel character that provided many layers of flavor. Bourbon backed the sweeter notes of the pinot barrel while also pulling out hints of chocolate and cherry. The finish gained a nice tartness from pairing of the pinot and cherry. Really outstanding beer that I’d like to sit down and have a couple glasses of to get to know better. A

Oakshire La Ferme - Really well done saison. The grains of paradise really brought out a drying pepper note, soft tropical fruit from the yeast strain. NW hops provide a nice citrus punch in the finish with a nice crispness. A touch more carbonation would have really helped, but I like my saisons dry, and not much they could do about that at the fest. A-

Rogue John’s Dark and Scary - Dark brown pour with a thin beige head. Notes of cherry, chocolate, and plum from the malts and banana from the yeast esters. Overall a sort of hoppy dark dubbel, maybe a bit to sharp on the bitterness, but overall rather well done. B+

Hopworks Diablato – I was a bit nervous about this one due to the short turn around time, three weeks for a 11% Belgian is cutting it close. The boozy notes were a bit heavy, but overall this turned out well. Apple and honey in the nose. A bit like a hoppy Duvel, although not as dry and carbonated and a bit more sweetness, so maybe more like Delirium.  B+

Old Lompoc Norman Invasion – Another beer that everyone I talked to really enjoyed but I didn’t care for. I picked up a lot of vegetal notes in this like I typically get from the La Chouffe yeast strain. Sort of under attenuated and boiled artichoke like flavor, but maybe I’m just sensitive to some flavor. C

Upright Mingus and Monk – I tried this on tap at Upright a week ago and much preferred it then over the samples at CTBB. Firstly the fest sample very cold, but also the high carbonation of the brewery sample brought out the currants and wine barrel more. This beer is really interesting, about a dozen flavors all coming together and competing for your attention. I think more aging may help the flavors meld more, but I really can’t complain about its current state… or should that be currant state? Chocolate and currant unearth themselves as the beer warms, soft pinot flavors enhance the tartness in the finish. Sort of earthy, even musty hops in the background. I think I need more of this to come to a complete decision on this. B+

Green Dragon King Ghidorah – Not sure about the Bier de Garde style on this, more of a Belgian Strong Golden, but well done to say the least. Apple and banana esters followed by honey malt and hops. I didn’t really pick up any barrel character from this, but with such little time in preparing for this fest you don’t get much contact time on the barrels. A-

I had samples of a few others that were rather middle of the road, but I need to make space for one special beer that is still stuck in my memory. This years “Dumpbucket Champion” had to go to McMenamin’s The Big Worm. Sick joke maybe, but this beer should have never seen the light of day, nor been served to oxygen breathing creatures (sorry plants you took one for the team today). With a nose of pure nail polish and menthol and a flavor stuck somewhere between cough medicine and bitter poop, this beer can only be described as “all shittiness”.

With all that out of the way I think the event is getting better each year. Hopefully next year the yeast strain is chosen earlier to give brewers more time to work out recipes and let the beers really meld before they are served. Can’t wait for next year.

Oh, and my friends Josh, Sean and I won a silver… verrry nice!

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.

Friday after work I headed down to the Double Mountain meet the brewer at Henry’s Tavern and found myself flat out disappointed. It wasn’t the beer or the brewer, it was the location. I’ve been trying to cast aside old notions of Henry’s, working to give them another chance, but this was just such a poor effort at an event that I left with the “never again” kind of feeling. Now in saying that it is only fair to point out that it wasn’t all the establishments fault, their crowd could probably care less about a meet the brewer event, Henry’s has never really been know as a “Beer Geek” sort of place, but a little promotion or interaction might have helped a bit. I arrived to a pack house as always, Pearl District persona crowded in to get a Friday afternoon beer, but where was the meet the brewer event even being held? Ohh, I found them, stuck back in the corner with 2 small tables, patrons seeming oblivious that one of Oregon’s best brewers was there to talk about their beer and give out free samples. I ordered a glass of their barrel aged Terrible Two and had a nice chat with Charlie about what they’ve been up to and what to expect from Double Mountain in the next few years. I think I might have been one of maybe 4 people that even knew there was a meet the brewer event going on. In the end I left feeling confused, did they really make him drive from Hood River for this?

Frustration in full effect I headed out to Baileys taproom, calm, comfortable, Cascade? I still hadn’t found the opportunity to open up one of my bottles of Cascade The Vine yet, so upon hearing that Geoff had some for sale this seemed like as good of a time as ever. At 9% ABV this isn’t one I could drink by myself, so thankfully my friend Josh was there to split a bottle with me. I had tried this beer months ago when Ron had a sour tasting at the brewery, then the beer was sweet, minimal sourness, I had assumed the lactobacillus hadn’t taken full effect yet, so I was expecting the bottles now to be more in-line with his other sours. The bottles claim that they have aged for over 6 months, but still the sourness is very minimal, sweet white grape comes through, slight spiciness to it like a geverztraminer, prickly carbonation with a slightly tart finish with hints of Martinellis apple cider to it. If you go in hoping for a sour you’ll be let down, with that said the resulting beer is delicious in its own right. The 9% alcohol is almost undetectable, this beer will sneak up on you for sure. I’m going to hold onto the few bottles I have for another 6 months to see if the sourness picks up at all.

Anyone else try this yet? thoughts?