Note: I'm away from my computer for a while, so I'm re-posting some of my favorite items from the past years. Enjoy--I finally got my hands on Bud's American Ale, which seems simultaneously to be: 1) over-compensation for a company that's no longer American, 2) an acknowledgement tha

Note: I'm away from computers this week, and so I'm re-posting some of the more interesting pieces from past years. On January 1, 2009, Oregon banned cigarettes in bars. I posted this reminiscence. 18 months on and I find I have less nostalgia than I expected.The first time I ever in

Note: I'm away from my computer for a while, so I'm re-posting some of my favorite items from the past years. Enjoy--A thought experiment. Imagine that you sat down at a pub to try the new, say, Ninkasi Hopposaurus and were stunned by the aroma--a piquant blend of passion fruit, bl

Note: I am away from the computer for a few days. Below are some of my better entries, re-posted for your amusement. In today's installment, I was ruminating on the question of a good beer town--perhaps following the last silly row with Asheville, NC.Beer is local. In the middle ages

Note: I will be away from the computer for a few days--probably through Sunday. Rather than just leave the site idle, I've dug around and found some old posts I liked--probably a lot of you won't have seen them the first time. In today's edition, I considered Full Sail's Session. At the time, I w

One of the quandaries of the Honest Pint Projects resides in the type of serving vessels available to publicans. One question I regularly get asked is, "but if the HHP requires 16 fluid ounces for certification, doesn't that mean imperial pints?" Actually, no. Behold Astoria's Fort George Brewing, and their stylish Mason

I will be away from my computer for the rest of the week. It's possible I'll do some phone-blogging, but likely not. In anticipation of this, I've scheduled some re-posts from the last couple years of my favorite items. Lots of people will have missed them anyway, so it's a good excuse to do a few days of best-of posting

As a post-OBF palate-cleanser, I turn to the weekend's news that BrewDog has released The End of History, the newest highest-alcohol beer in the world. BrewDog has been competing with Germany's Schorschbräu for the "strongest beer" title, and every

The Oregon Brewers Festival begins with a parade, as the ceremonial cask is ushered into the fest for a ritual tapping. Below is a photo essay. I should also admit, sheepishly, that this was the first one I'd attended. It will definitely not be the last. Big fun--

It takes a certain kind of person to walk into the Fest with the opening parade and stay through til the taps run dry, and I am that kind of person. There's an adjective that describes this behavior, but you may supply it yourself. In any case, my exploration was fruitful, and I will pass along my discoveries for those of

I didn't mention the Buzz Tent in my preview because the beers featured there will come and go unpredictably. The list is here. After last year's overly complex system, this year's will be far easier: anyone can go at any time, and you just

And so it begins.The Oregon Brewers Festival is perhaps the most famous non-award fest outside of Munich, and it's a force of nature--hurricane or solstice-like celebration, your choice. No matter what beer shows up, if the temperature is below 90, the throngs will arrive. Once the showcase event

The waxing and waning of trends is fascinating to behold, particularly when you adopt the long view. Take fruit, for instance. Shortly after the inception of craft brewing, fruit beers were huge. The popular ones, however, bore a stronger resemblance to wine coolers* than beer, and this led breweries down a dark path. T

President Obama is a man who appreciates a beer. Do a Google image search of "Obama" and "beer" and you'll see a number of images of him brandishing a frosty one. When he visited Oregon during the campaign, there was even a short video clip of him being urged to try an Oregon IPA--a suggestion to which he appeared recepti

There are good and bad things about social media. Mostly it's good. But as I have learned in the last few weeks, social media offers a tantalizing opportunity for the blogger to corrupt himself for traffic.

The last few years, I've done an edition of OBF by the numbers--and it often came off as a bit of an indictment. There weren't very many styles, a huge proportion of the beers were IPAs or pale ales, and major breweries were just bringing their same old beers. Ah, but numbers can also tell you when things are looking good

I must be living right, because across the street from me resides a beer fairy. Periodically, he'll leave a bottle on the porch--generally of something unavailable in Portland. Last week, he left me a beer I've been trying to track down for weeks: Bell's Two Hearted Ale.Two Hearted Ale is a legitimately legend

Rogue has its critics. Some of the sniping is well-earned (overly pricey beer and food at the pubs, sometimes pretentious hype), but some of it is just a culture clash. Rogue has a national presence, and it dotes less on locals than any other major brewery. But I come today not to nitpick Newport's finest, but to praise

Note: post updated with my recommendations after last night's visit.I had, as usual, a delightful time at the Portland International Beerfest last night. Sally and I were in line by 3:35 and I scored a table in the shade as a base of operation. Although the fest gets more p

My sojourn to Astoria has been rich with discoveries, but the richest lode may have come last night when I visited Drina Daisy, a Bosnian restaurant downtown.

Portland International BeerfestNorth Park Blocks (entrance at Davis and Park)Fri 4-10, Sat noon-10, Sun noon-7pm.No children allowed, but dogs are okayThe Portland International Beerfest rolls into town tomorrow, brin

A word to the wise: politicians seeking a little quick publicity should mention beer. Yeah yeah, unemployment sucks, and there's something going on in the Gulf of Mexico. But, whoa, did you see this--Senator Wyden

Travel is good for the soul. Even when you decide to just take an impromptu trip an hour and a half down the Columbia River to Astoria, the change is a balm. Take for instance my experience in Rainier, where Sally and I pulled off to get an afternoon jolt of caffeine. In two adjacent parking lots were two venders. The b

More big news, once again broken by John Foyston: Roots is dead, ending a sad final chapter in the story of what was one of my favorite breweries. [Owner Craig] Nicholls had been trying to sell the

Charlie Papazian has long been a champion of small craft breweries. He's made it his life's work to popularize homebrewing and create a market for flavorful, hand-crafted commercial beer. If you were to identify a half-dozen people most responsible for the revival of good beer in the US, Charlie would definitely make the

Yesterday afternoon, John Foyston sent the intertubes a buzzing with this story about founding BridgePort brewmaster Karl Ockert:Karl Ockert founding and longtime brewmaster at BridgePort Brewing Co., an

The something-annual Portland International Beerfest (PIB) pulls into the North Park Blocks this weekend. (The event must be at least in its tweens--I seem to recall going in the 90s.) For the student and and fan of international beer styles, it's easily the quickest ways to educate oneself about the standards. More than

Man, this sucks:Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. today by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller.

Beer and wine aren't radically different--both are mildly alcoholic, social beverages that go well with meals--but the people who make them are. Wine makers are steely, artistic types who don't mind impressionistic results. They have some control over aggregate circumstances--where they plant their grapes, which kinds, ho

Last week, I was going to make a big deal about how the two final sides, Germany and Netherlands, were from big beer-brewing countries.