Beer Blotter

Scandalous

Upright Brewing is one of the Northwest’s brightest young talents (to put in a sporting vernacular). In just 2 years they have managed to gain a much coveted spot on ratebeer.com‘s annual Top 100 Brewers In The World List (92 position) and they came in at number 14 in the top 50 breweries to visit list.  I’m fairly confident that if rate beer had made a top 50 list of best beer labels in the world that Four Play label over there would be highly ranked as well.

Needless to say, these guys are doing some really fantastic things.  They’ve effortlessly coupled innovation with pristine quality and impressive craftsmanship.  If you’ve had any of Upright’s beers and you’ve visited their basement brewery, I know I’m preaching to the choir.  It’s mostly just exciting that they have been acknowledged so quickly, especially since so many amazing NW breweries go under the radar.

For me, being a huge fan of saisons, Upright has become a brewery that I would rank very highly in my own list of most exciting breweries, either new, old or in between.  Their use of open fermentation is something that is most intriguing to me.   I still don’t know much about it, but it’s clearly working very well for these Portland fellows.  There is no doubt that Upright Brewing is a great inspiration to me and should be to anyone that has a dream of opening a brewery.

This anniversary party ranks up there in excitement levels (for me) with such recent Portland area events as the opening of the Cascade Barrel House and the opening of the Hair of the Dog Tasting room.  The prospect of getting a few bottles of Four Play and Apricot Anniversary Ale are what cellar dwellers dream of.  If anyone else is going down there let us know by adding a comment.  Maybe we can hook up and chat beer.

Here’s the details from Upright:

What/Why:
Oregon’s only farmhouse inspired craft brewery Upright Brewing is turning 2 years old and celebrating with a party on Sunday March 20th from 1-6pm at the Tasting Room. The party will also mark the return of perhaps the breweries most anticipated annual release Four Play a sour farmhouse cherry wheat beer aged in Pinot Barrels.

About Upright Brewing
During the last two short years the small production brewery just east of the Broadway bridge has been devoted to producing some of Portland’s most diverse range of beers, focusing on a French/Belgian inspired farmhouse-style, but brewing without inhibition as evidenced by their historic takes on English Old Ale and Oyster Stout or their authentic German Gose and Engelberg Pilsener.

Upright recently added three new tanks, using one to produce a year-round hop forward German-style pilsener for draft only. It’s called Engelberg Pils, a nod to Mt. Angel where all of the brewery’s hops are sourced. The other two tanks will enable the brewery to produce more one-off draft beers and also allow production of at least eight annual seasonal bottled batches throughout the year. As always, the numbered beers that Upright has focused on since the beginning will continue to be fermented in our unique open-top tanks. The new year has also brought expanded distribution for Upright’s beers with Lime Ventures now bringing the bottles and occasional draft beer to the Northern California market adding even more west coast cities that include north to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

About Four Play
In celebration of the brewery anniversary, it’s becoming tradition to release Four Play, a very Belgian-esque beer based on Upright’s wheat beer (named Four) but barrel-aged for a year with cherries, souring yeasts and bacteria. Four Play is blended from former pinot noir barrels that yield a rosy looking sour ale with wonderfully complex aromas and flavors. It’s always a limited release and the 2011 batch is represented by only 67 cases and 3 kegs, all of which the brewers believe is their finest and suitable for cellaring up to 5 years.

About the 2 Year Anniversary Party
In addition to the extremely rare Four Play one of only 3 kegs on draft Upright will also be releasing something even more rare in bottle, last years Apricot Anniversary Ale aged in Ransom Spirits Old Tom Gin Barrels of which there are less than 3 cases of 750ml bottles. To top it off look for a special cask of this years edition of the World Beer Cup award winning Gose stuffed Dry Hops and extra Salt.

Follow Upright Brewing:

Website

http://www.uprightbrewing.com

Twitter

http://twitter.com/uprightbrewing

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/uprightbrewing

Blog

http://uprightbrewingblog.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

It gets a little crazy at GABF

Yes, that’s right, it’s time for the third and final installment of my Top 25 Breweries to Check out at GABF.  Just in case you missed the first two installments, click here for part one (first 10 choices) and here for part two (next 8 choices).

My final 7 choices begin now, and remember, these are in no particular order.

Flossmoor Station – When I think of Chicago area breweries I immediately think of Goose Island, Three Floyds and Flossmoor Station.  Oddly though, I have never had a single beer from FS.  I know them only by reputation.  Since they are technically a brew pub, they utilize their smaller scale and constantly experiment, more often than not, with positive results.  If I were going to GABF, I would be strongly inclined to check them off my list.

Stewart’s Brewing Co. – These guys are from Bear, DE which really isn’t that far outside of Philly, but oddly they don’t have a very strong distribution in the area (at least they didn’t when I lived there).  If things haven’t changed in a big way, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a decent amount of Northeast residents that are unfamiliar with Stewart’s completely.  They are extremely low-key to say the least.  I remember seeing them at some of my first ever beer fests in PA like Kennett Brewfest and Philly Craft Beer Fest and wondering who they were and where they came from.  Quite a few festivals came and went before I actually was brave enough to try their product and, once I did, I was appalled that I had missed out on so many opportunities.  From then on I never passed them by, and was never once disappointed.

Odell Brewing Co. – It wasn’t until Odell started their Woodcut Series back in ’08 that my radar picked these guys up.  This past May saw the 4th release in the line, an oak aged lager.  All four have a 96 or higher on ratebeer.com.  From what I understand, their standard offerings are pretty darn solid as well, especially the IPA.  Working with wood, a lot of hops, brett…these guys might be on the trend train, but I want on board.

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. – You know that other massive American-based brew fest, The World Beer Cup?  Yeah well it’s huge and Firestone Walker has won the Champion Mid-sized Brewery three times now.  As far as I know, that’s unprecedented.  It’s quite clear, these guys are one of the best around when it comes to making beer.  Union Jack is probably my favorite single IPA in the world.  Double Jack is easily in my top 5 favorite double IPAs in the world.  Abacus is very possibly my favorite all time barleywine.  Their anniversary beers are outstanding, Parabola, I mean come on… If I didn’t put these guys on the list somewhere I would have to kick my own ass.

FiftyFifty Brewing Co. – I would imagine that there is a few of you out there that read Draft Magazine.  You know, the Playboy of beer.  Beer porn.  Anyway, do you know the section called “What’s In a Name?”  That is where I first heard of FiftyFifty.  Though I can’t exactly recall the details of the story, I remember being intrigued.  I also liked the imagery and design that they evoked through their labels and website.  As it turns out, they make a killer imperial stout, or so I gather.  It’s a 100 on ratebeer.com and it won bronze at last years GABF in the “Other Strong Beer” category.  Obviously, Timperial Stout wants to take a stab at this one.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. – The San Diego beer scene is a force to be reckoned with.  Stone, Green Flash, Alesmith, Port/Lost Abbey/Pizza Port, Alpine, Coronado…I’m out of breath.  All of these breweries make amazing beer and It’s really impossible to dispute that.  If you were to fish for one thing that seems to tie all of these breweries together, it would be hops.  Every one of these breweries, with the exception of the Belgian style based Lost Abbey (but Tomme’s other labels pick up the slack there), make stellar IPAs.  Ballast Point makes at least three and each is more stunning than the last.  If you find yourself in dire need of a little IBU boost at GABF, take a gander at BPB’s booth and see if Sculpin is a flowin’.

AleSmith Brewing Co. – I shudder a little bit when I think about Alesmith, in the very best way possible.  I love this brewery so much.  I wish everyday that Seattle would distribute their product, though all it really takes is a trip to Portland for purposes of stocking-up.  I love Alesmith so much because I very passionately enjoy a lot of their beers.  I’ll never forget the first time I tried, well, most of the beers that I’ve tried by them.  The IPA is, like I said above, from San Diego.  There’s just something special about those SD IPAs.  Horny Devil is so perfectly Belgian with its fantastic sweetness and remarkably balanced spiciness.  Old Numbskull is all that you could ever ask for in a barleywine.  And Speedway Stout my friends…to drink Speedway Stout is to have a religious experience.  I can tell you that there was a large period of time when I was very quick to answer any brave soul willing to ask me what my number 1 favorite beer of all time was with, Speedway Stout.  Now I’m a bit more cautious to answer that question but, if I was forced to at gun point, my answer would be Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.  Possibly if I were to get a hold of the barrel aged version of Speedway, that answer would be different.

Well that about covers it.  If you are going to GABF this week, damn you, I am super jealous.  Please do your very best to enjoy each and every minute of it.  Visit the breweries that you know and love, but also visit the breweries that you have always wanted to try but couldn’t for whatever reason.  I am very hopeful that my musings can be found valuable to you in some way.  If you have other suggestions for our readers, please do not hesitate to post a comment.  If you end up checking out a brewery that I recommended and you have an opinion on their product, good or bad, let us know.  Safe travels to you all.

GABF is a comin'

When we last left off I had 15 more breweries to chose in my top 25.  If you missed the intro and the first 10, check this out.  Remember, these are in no particular order.  No sense in delaying any further… here is my next 8.

Weyerbacher Brewing Co. – If I where to say that these guys are the best production brewers in my home state of PA, I’d be telling you that they are better than Stoudts, Troegs, and Victory.  That would be a very bold statement, so I’m not going to make it, but they are the only one of the four that I’m putting on this list.  I miss their brews severly.  Double Simcoe IPA is outstanding, as is pretty much anything they attempt in the Belgian realm.  Oh, and Blithering Idiot Barleywine…what I wouldn’t give to have one of those in hand right now…

Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Company – You have heard our OH contingent gush about these Akron brewers for a while now.  HFB makes some seriously extreme stouts and IPAs.  It seems as though they have an endless supply of recipes for both.  Or maybe they just take one and let it manifest in as many ways as possible.  Either way, it’s very exciting to follow, and I know I’m not alone on that.  We all know what styles the beer nerds like the most – stouts and IPAs.  Good game plan boys.  Keep it up.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company – Over the past few years this NY brewery has been getting loads of praise from media sources of all kinds.  I’m sure being based just north of the Big City doesn’t hurt on that front, but they do have 20 beers with scores of 90 or greater on ratebeer.com.  From what I have read, they have a passion for sours and they do them very well.  Stroll up to their booth, ask about Flemish influence and see where it leads you.  I don’t think you will regret it.

Portsmouth Brewery – There is this little beer that comes out of a little New England brewery called Kate the Great.  Ever heard of it?  Talk about outlandish hype.  No matter what feelings you may harbor about wildly hyped beers, you know full well that, given the chance, you would want to taste and build your own opinion.  That’s where I’m at and that’s why I want to visit their booth.  Even if they aren’t pouring Kate, are they a one hit wonder?

Short’s Brewing Co. – My knowledge of Short’s is actually quite, well…short.  Since I have plans to go to MI for the first time this Christmas, I have been doing extensive research about breweries and bars to visit.  MI has to be one of the best states in the entire union to visit for beer purposes.  There are so many fantastic breweries there, it’s kind of absurd.  I’ve already mentioned Kuhnhenn, and will follow this addition with Founders.  I’ve decided to leave off Bell’s because, though I love them, they simply aren’t in the top 25 for me.  This is not to mention Jolly Pumpkin, Arcadia, Dark Horse, Dragonmead, New Holland, good god… so many to chose from.  Alas, I can’t chose them all.  Of those that I have never tasted, Short’s seems to have the most community support behind them at the moment, and thus, they make my list.  Oddly enough, I received a tweet from Short’s very recently announcing the beer that they will be pouring at GABF.  Instead of just posting the link here, in fear of you not taking my word for it and following said link and reading what they are bringing, I’m going to just paste it in below.  This is insanity to the nth degree.

Short’s Announces Floor Beers for GABF

In true Short’s fashion, and keeping with the tradition of past Great American Beer Festivals (GABF), this years list of beers to be poured at the 2010 GABF certainly does not disappoint. Short’s will be pouring everything from cult favorites, to popular concept beers, and will even be including a highly rumored yet rarely seen barley wine behemoth!

Anniversary Ale
Blood Orange Wheat Wine
Estimated ABV- 9.6%
Estimated IBU’s- 76
Hops- lots, Simcoe
Malts- lots (from Briess in WI)
Notes- Blood orange puree fermented w/ a super hopped wheat wine, dry hopped and spice w/ blood orange zest and green peppercorns. The blood oranges lend a wonderful purple hue to this amazingly sessionable monster of a beer.

Bourbon Wizard
Barley Wine aged in Bourbon barrels for 10 months
Estimated ABV- 12%
Estimated IBU’s- 50+
Hops- Cascade
Malts- 6 different varieties
Notes- This beer had a boil time of 6hrs and 66mins, and was batch number 666 brewed on devils night 2008. It was also fermented w/ 30 lbs of raisins. Big sweet toffee flavors complimented by the sweetness of the raisins. The bourbon barrels add some subtle vanilla tones and slight oak qualities. A very session worthy barley wine.

Black Licorice Lager
Black Lager spiced w/ Vanilla bean, chocolate mint, and anise
Estimated ABV-6.5%
Estimated IBU’s- 24
Hops- Santium
Malts- lots
Notes- Sweet chocolate and roasted malt characteristics compliment the additions of vanilla bean, anise, and chocolate mint. The vanilla aromas are found in the nose and in the initial flavors up front, followed quickly by the anise. The finish (especially when it warms a bit) contains the chocolate mint, preventing the anise from becoming too overwhelming.

Key Lime Pie
Golden Ale made w/ fresh limes, milk sugar, graham cracker, and marshmallow fluff
Estimated ABV- 5.5%
Estimated IBU’s- 21
Hops- Cascade, Simcoe
Malts- Pilsen, Munich, Vicotry
Notes- This beer sounds too good to believe, but it’s exactly that. Attempted last year as a new concept beer, it has already been remade twice, and there are plans to distribute a limited amount in six packs. Made w/ fresh limes, milk sugar, graham cracker, and marshmallow fluff we were able to recreate this popular dessert into a heavenly drinkable version.

Imperial Spruce India Pilsner
Imperial Pilsner hopped as an IPA and spice w/ Blue Spruce needles
Estimated ABV- 7.2%
Estimated IBU’s- 90
Hops- Summit
Malts- Pilsen and maze from Briess Malt in WI
Other Notes- fermented w/ tons of N. Michigan blue spruce tips. The spruce presence is enormous giving the beer a refreshing “gin like” quality when it is cold, that almost becomes “sap like” as it warms up. Surprisingly light bodied considering the big flavors of spruce and complimentary summit hops

Founders Brewing Company – Everyone that I know that has ever tried the product of Founders considers them to be one of the best breweries in America.  I have tried their product and I think they are one of the best breweries in America.  If you go to their website and take a look at their 5 year round beers, 3 seasonals and 7 specialty releases, you will most likely be impressed.  What they do, they do extremely well.  This is one of those breweries that you could blindly approach their booth, outstretch a finger, and no matter what ends up in your glass, you will not be disappointed.

Clipper City Brewing Co. – You may know these guys as Heavy Seas.  Not at all unlike Founders above, each and every beer that CCB makes is outstanding.  I’m a beer geek, and light pilsners are generally boring and worthless to me.  Hand me a Small Craft Warning Pils and I’d thank you twice.  The thing that would most excite me about visiting the CCB booth at GABF is the fact that, when I lived and drank in PA, the Pyrate Fleet (see brewery website) was all there was.  I want some of that Mutiny Fleet so bad!

Three Floyds Brewing Co. – I just laughed to myself.  You know, of all of the breweries I have listed so far, for some reason this one seems the most obvious.  It’s Three Floyds people, it’s Three Floyds.  Ok, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t make such assumptions.  TFB makes a beer called Dark Lord.  It’s an imperial stout.  It’s amongst the most sought after beers in the world.  TFB also makes an imperial IPA called Dreadnaught.  If Dark Lord didn’t exist, Dreadnaught would easily take it’s place as one of the most sought after beers in the world.  Oh yeah, and everything else that they make is delicious.  Another note – they host the best brewery tour that I have ever experienced.

Sorry folks, but you are going to have to wait just a bit longer for the remainder of my choices.  Don’t fret, you’ll get them before your plane leaves for rocky mountian high…

Saint Somewhere Brewing Co.'s Saison Athene

***This was originally published on 1/1/2010. But with it being summer, and with St. Somewhere finally distributing to Seattle – its time to whet your appetite for a damn tasty saison.***

Enjoyed on 12/23/2009

Brewery: Saint Somewhere Brewing Co.

Location: Tarpon Springs, FL

Beer: Saison Athene

Web: http://www.saintsomewherebrewing.com/

Presentation: 750 ML – Brown Glass Bottle, corked and caged

Vintage: 2009

Style: Belgian Saison/Farmhouse Ale

Barrel: N/A

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: N/A

Hops: N/A

Malt: N/A

Vessel: Tulip

Recommended Serving Temp: 50 degrees

Notes from the bottle: Saison Athene is brewed in the spirit of the great farmhouse ales of the Wellonia, a region of Belgium near the French border.  Saison translates to “season” and was traditionally brewed in the winter, to be enjoyed in the summer.  Saison Athene is brewed in Florida, the land of the endless summer, and can be enjoyed year-round.  Spicy, rustic, refreshingly hoppy, a little wild and funky with a dry finish, Athene is hand crafted with attention to the Art of Brewing using only the finest ingredients. Unfiltered and bottle conditioned, Athene can be cellared like a fine wine.  The flavor and aroma will continue to develop and change for several years, but why wait?  Take one to enjoy now and another to save for a special occasion.

Food Pairings: Thai, sausage, hot summer picnic food

Cheese Pairings: Camembert, asiago, gorgonzola

Beer Advocate: B+

Rate Beer: 90 (3.56)

Timperialstout’s Notes:

Saint Somewhere Brewing Co. is the latest addition to the long list of breweries that have added Washington State to their distributorship this year.  I hadn’t ever heard of this one before I saw it at 99 Bottles in Federal Way and co-owner Tiffany expressed her excitement about its arrival.  She had apparently been asking her distributor to carry it for some time, and alas, it arrived.  I’d like to thoroughly thank her for her efforts.  This is an amazing saison.

Saint Somewhere is a small batch craft brewery that produces bottle-conditioned, un-filtered Belgian-style ales.  They only brew with Belgian malts and whole leaf, noble hops.  Along with the use of their own Belgian yeast strain, they use their own dark candi sugar and inject a dose of Brettanomyces yeast at bottling.

As of now it appears as though they only bottle 3 different brews: Saison Athene (Belgian Saison/Farmhouse Ale, found here), Lectio Divina (Belgian Strong Pale Ale, review coming soon), and their newest, Pays du Soleil (Belgian Dubbel, not available in WA, that I know of).  The brewery website says they only distribute to FL, NY, PA, and MA.

Saison is the French word for “season” and is a beer style, sometimes called a Farmhouse Ale, that was developed in the French speaking region of Belgium.  Traditionally, they were brewed in the winter months for the farm workers to enjoy in late summer, read: harvest season.  It’s clearly winter in North America, and us here at Beer Blotter have been doing our best to bring the winter/Christmas beers to the forefront, but sometimes…It’s really fun to get into a beer from/for the opposite season and fantasize about the exciting elements that define the season furthest from us.  Before moving on I’d like to briefly return to the idea of brewing a special beer for the farm workers.  Now I realize that the advent of water treatment has rendered this concept defunct, but man do I wish my boss would feed me this brew (or any beer at all for that matter) on the busiest days of the year.  I’d work like a damn dog!

She pours a cloudy gold that’s just so inviting and bright.  Strong carbonation for sure.  A beast of a voluminous, rocky head rises on the pour and leaves thick blobs on the glass.  It’s slow to subside and never really completely dissipates.  Bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass for quite a bit, fooling the eye into seeing chunky, bottle-conditioning yeast.  Though this is indeed bottle-conditioned and a layer of white sludge can easily be seen on the bottom of the bottle, there doesn’t seem to be any loose yeast settling in my glass.  Never-the-less, the fluid has poor clarity…chalked full of flavor.

According to the ratebeer.com page, this one was brewed with chamomile, fresh rosemary and black pepper.  How on Earth does the website not say that?!  The pepper was evident before I read that, and now that chamomile flowers are on the mind I can pick them up, but rosemary, not catching it.  I am getting a lot of clove, cinnamon, green apple, earthy hay, and a little funk from the Brett.  Actually, that cinnamon aroma is quite relevant, and perplexing.  Slightly medicinal.  Really, really inviting scent.

The flavors, for the most part, match the scent, which is epic (not sure if I mentioned that).  The carbonation makes the flavors pop and the funky Brett adds to the complexity without being overbearing. The aftertaste is dry, but fills me with ideas of what I’m tasting and urges me to take another swig.  Hops present a lot of citrus, mostly lemon, a drizzle of pineapple juice, but all-in-all, an acidity that dances with the funk and makes me giddy for more.  I would venture to say this is the best saison I have ever had, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I bought it.  Needless to say, I will be buying more of this one, not only to enjoy it again in all its glory, but to support the brewery’s decision to ship to WA (or the distributor’s decision to acquire it).
I now must plead to you.  Try this beer, soon.  And if you like it, keep buying it so that we show FL that WA knows and loves great craft brewing, and hopefully we will then be able to get any and every beer that Saint Somewhere ever makes, and our lives will be better for it.

If you like Saison Athene, you should try…

Dupont ‘s Avec les Bons Voeux; Southhampton’s Saison; and Ommegang’s Hennepin

Disclaimer: This beer was purchased on my own with my own hard earned money at a local bottle shop.

Naked City: Congrats on making the Top 50 List!

Every year, ratebeer.com publishes their “Top 50″ lists. Top beers, top beer bars, top retired beers, Beer Gods’ top beers….you get the point. Local Seattle beer bar, Naked City Taphouse clenched spot 42 out of 50 for best beer bar in the US of A. CONGRATS!

Naked City is just over a year old and has an undeniable cult following.  Let us divulge why Naked City made the Top 50 Best Beer Bars on ratebeer.com and why its one of Beer Blotter’s favorites as well. First of all, Naked City is one of the only beer bars in the entire country that consistently updates their tap list online via the bar’s website and twitter page. The moment a tap is changed, the bartender or manger on duty heads to the back and inputs the information into a computerized register. Once the new beer is selected in the register, the twitter page and website are automatically updated.  Its like magic.

 With an extensive tap list of approximately 2 dozen beers, there is always something for everyone and a wide range of breweries.  Speaking of breweries, Naked City has several beers on tap that are made in house. Currently, the following Naked City beers are on tap: Brother Orchid- Abbey Style Brown Ale; Simplicity- Belgium Style Singel; Une Terreur Sainte- Belgium Style Strong Golden; and Hoptrocity.

Monthly, sometimes weekly events range from a previews of local beer festivals to featured brewers nights.  Come early if you want a seat or wait and mingle with the crowd. Either way your guarenteed to have a great time and an amazing beer.