In 1994, brewmaster Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog Brewery in Portland, Oregon set out to create a beer like none other. That beer was named Dave and clocked in at a whopping 29% ABV. It sold for an outrageous $80 for a 12 oz bottle back then. At my recent visit to Hair of the Dog, I saw Dave on the menu for $1,500 a bottle, to be consumed only in the tasting room.
What’s the big deal with Dave? Dave is a unique type of
Today is the final day at the Holiday Ale Festival in Portland, Oregon. Time for me to get back to the North Pole, but first here are 5 more winning Christmas beers. Stickmen Brewery of Lake Oswego, Oregon and Alameda Brewing of Portland are new to me.
Stickmen Brewery The Twerking Elf (2013) is a Sour Brown Ale. It pour brown with a lacy tan head. It smells sour with plums and cherries. It tastes slightly sour with malts, Granny Smith apples, sour plums, and dark fruits. I find it
The Holiday Ale Festival in Portland, Oregon is in full swing with a lot of rare and barrel aged beers for the tasting. In this second report, I update a couple of barrel aged version of beers I’ve already reviewed, and explore three more. Cheers to my new friends who spurred me on as a wrote reviews! Here’s 5 more special beers.
No-Li Brewhouse Whiskey Barrel Aged Winter Warmer is an American Strong Ale with lots of oak. No-Li took their hoppy Winter Warmer (see my review here) and filled first-use Dry Fly Distillery wheat whiskey barrel hours after
I’m at the Holiday Ale Festival in Portland, Oregon this weekend tasting many specialty and rare Christmas beers. I tasted a number of barrel-aged gems. Here’s my first report of 5 rare beers.
First up, Cascade Brewing’s Gingersnaps. This is a Northwest Style Sour Strong Ale. It pours cola brown with a root beer style bubbly head. The nose is ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and light bourbon. It tastes like
Next up, an Olde Ale by Terminal Gravity Brewing Co. of Oregon. It’s no surprise that Festivale Strong Winter Ale is loaded with hops and balanced with rich malts.
Festivale pours ruby brown with a thin tan head of foam. My nose picks up sweet malty notes, with a bit of dried dates. The flavor begins with hop bitterness, slight citrus, then moves to
Full Sail Brewing makes special beers for release only in it’s Hood River, Oregon pub. Occasionally, one of these makes it into limited production. Wassail is a limited release winter warmer from the Full Sail Pub Series. It’s available for only 90 days!
Wassail pours deep mahogany with very little head. Aromas of caramel malts and a slight nuttiness greet your nose. It tastes well-balanced with rich toasted malts and floral hops. I pick up nutty, bready malts, with
The Holiday Ale Festival announced their 2014 beer line up this week. It looks fantastic! With many rare and specially-brewed beers.
Tickets are now on sale for the 19th annual Christmas beer festival, taking place Dec. 3 through Dec. 7 in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon.
The popular event will feature 53 big, bold ales in the main festival, plus another two dozen rare, vintage and specialty beers that will be tapped at various times throughout the event — including
