10 Questions with Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog Brewing

Brewer's Name:
Alan Sprints

Brewery:
Hair of the Dog

1) If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only choose one pound of either hops, water, barley, or yeast, which would it be, and why?
Hops, at least I could remember what Beer smelled like.

2) What is the best aspect of NW beer drinkers?
The support they give to local Breweries. We have some of the most educated Beer consumers in the world.

3) What is your favorite beer style, and why?
I guess I have to say strong ales, because I make so many, but I really feel that I have no favorite. I enjoy a good Pilsner when the time is right as much as an aged Lambic. My favorite style is the one I feel like at the time.

4) What is the first beer you brewed that was worthy of a name?
Umbilical Ale, I produced for my first child's birth 9-1-1992.

5) Where do you get your inspiration from when creating new beers?
People I know and places I've been.

6) What is the most misunderstood aspect of being a professional brewer?
Long hard hours with low pay.

7) What characteristics of Portland make this area so popular for brewers, breweries, and consumers?
For me it is just a great place to live. There was a time when our water was enough to get Brewers to build.

8) If “Northwest Ale” was added as a new style of beer, what would it be?
How could there be one style that represents the NW? I think the NW style is Quality and Variety.

9) What is the most underrated hop?
Who rates hops?

10) What are the relationships like between competing brewers? Is there a sense of community, friendly competition, etc.?
We work together on most Issues and have a very tight Brewing community.

We Need Street Workers!

No not street walkers--get your head out of the gutter. We need people to report back from their local watering hole and let us know what's on tap. You know, feet on the street. We currently need 4 out of the 5 quadrants in Portland covered: N, NW, SW, and SE. So, If you're in one of those areas and frequent one of the breweries there, please let us know so that we can enroll you in our street walker, er, worker program--now my head's in the gutter.

With all of the seasonal beers released in this city, it's been very hard for us to keep track, so please help out. Just send your name and the breweries you'd like to cover to taplist__at__portlandbeer.org and we'll let you know how you can help. It'll be as simple as sending us an email once a week or so. Can't promise you'll get rich from it, but we'll put your mugshot on the site.

Cheers!

12 days of Abyss (part 4) (DO NOT TYR THIS ATHOME!}

Tonight's intake (at home, on the couch, with a sitter):

1) Lazy Boy IPA (22oz)
2) Stone Old Guardian (22oz)
3) Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard (12oz)
4) Deschutes' The Abyss (22oz)

OK. Normally, I'd segregate and enjoy my beers. Well, it's not like I'm not enjoying my beers, I'm just rushing a little. I haven't had a day off of my day job in 18 days, and my beer collection has been growing since I haven't had the time to sip. Now that I've got the time, I need to get through the backlog. And this only means one thing--work my way up to another Abyss. I've enjoyed it under other conditions, why not this condition?

So, what did this little experiment reveal? For sure, 78oz of beer can make you drunk. 78oz of strong beer can make you relly drunk. Super drnk. Plus, drink plenty of water--ounce of water per ounce of beer. Seriously, especially beers of this high octane (At this point, I'm basically talking to my self so that I remember to do this) . These beers will suck the moisture out of your brain until it's just a brutally painful rock rattling around in your skull the next morning.

Out.
Brett.

[Author's Note]: It's now the day after. Ouch. And what a bunch of BS rambling that is above. But, sometimes beer has an ugly side and I've left it here for all to see, much to my embarrassment. Oh well, I will stick by one thing above: water -- drink it.

Website Consolidation

OK, we've consolidated a few sections of our site onto this blog: Articles, Photos, Beer of the Month, and Ten Questions. This is a one stop shop for most things related to the Portland beer scene. You can visit, or grab all of this information in a single feed.

However, the "classic" area of the site was better suited to produce the New Beer Releases and Portland Beer Events feed, so there they shall remain. These items are generated from our massive database and allow us greater flexibilty when presenting or ditributing this information. So, most likely, this information will be available in the sidebar of our blog section so that everything is available in one spot.

Please let us know what you think!

Photos: Hopworks Urban Brewery Preview

Photos from Hopworks Urban Brewery.




Check out the rest of the photos here.

Hopworks Urban Brewery Preview

Owner Christian Ettinger enjoying the warmth of his custom fireplace.

Christian Ettinger was kind enough to give me a tour of his new place, Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). If you're thinking that this will just be another place to add to Portland's already extensive list of breweries, you're quite a bit off the mark. But I don't blame you. I thought that as well before getting a glimpse of the future HUB empire.

Let's start with the owner. Christian Ettinger's been involved in the Portland beer scene for quite some time. Many of you will recognize his name from the award winning beer coming out of Laurelwood Brewery. As Laurelwood's Brewmaster, he often came back home from beer competitions with a fistful of medals. His beers have epitomized the bold Northwest style that people equate with Portland. After a few years at Laurelwood, Christian decided to venture out on his own and start his own business.

Hopworks: Beer Time.

Well, Christian didn't just find a building, drag some brewing equipment inside, and fire it up. Though this was an option, he decided to go with the more difficult and time-consuming option so that the HUB would would be an extension of his lifestyle and a contribution to the community. Many businesses blindly take in services and materials based soley on cost. On the other end, waste goes out the same way: out the door and out of the mind of the owner. This narrow mentality has a large effect on the community by ignoring the lack of efficiencies in the process and the environmental impact of cutting corners to save money.

Since it's inception, the HUB has been an example of a green business, based on sustainability. Rather than demolishing the old Sunset Fuel building to create the new space, the building was carefully deconstructed board by board and nail by nail so that as much of the old building could be used in the new structure. From interior lumber, to cubicle shrapnel, most of the old building found it's way into the building.

24 Barrel Brite Tank.

Even old plumbing made it's way to the bar as a foot rail. But my explanations probably make it sound like refurbished junk yard. Very far from it. All of the old pieces were refinished in various ways to make them all appear brand new and blend seamlessly in with the actual new pieces. As far as food and beer, the all organic brewery is a direct fire system which will use biodeisel for fuel. There are also plans for an organic greenhouse to supply the kitchen with fresh vegetables. The lots surrounding the building were also engineered so that runoff enters into a retention pond on the property to lessen the stress on the city system.

Whew! And that's not everything. Check out the HUB's website for details and more information. The grand opening is soon and I can't wait to support this business by way of enjoying great food and drinking a lot of superb beer!

12 Days of Abyss (Part 3)

So far, I've done a good job of talking about the idea of the beer, now I'm going to talk about the actual beer. Deschutes' The Abyss is categorized as an Imperial Stout. I'm going to slide it into the Russian Imperial Stout category as recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).

Out of the bottle and into the glass...

Just like an IPA to India, a Russian Imperial Stout was overhopped and had a higher gravity to withstand the journey from England to Russia and surrounding regions. However, as many dimensions as an IPA may have, the Russian Imperal Stout can have many, many more. For example, an IPA brewed with black cherries ends up being more of a novelty than a by-the-guidelines IPA. Not that this type of experimentation can't produce a wonderful IPA, but strictly speaking, the beer is starting to leave the IPA category. With a Russian Imperial Stout, you can almost thow anything into the black void--fruits, spices, herbs, etc.--and still remain within the category. The complex, roasty malt bill and high alcohol content are usually enough to calm down a lot of other ingredients and push them to the subtler areas of the brew.

The BJCP Style Guidelines say that the overall impression of a Russian Imperial Stout should be: "An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play."

The elusive bottle of Deschutes' The Abyss.

Deschutes Brewery says "This exceptionally popular imperial stout, aged in French oak, pinot noir, and bourbon barrels since March 2007, has immense depth with its rich and complex flavors. True to its name, subtle notes of coffee, chocolate, molasses and licorice pull you in deeper and deeper. Cherry bark and vanilla bean added during the dry-hopping process are the proverbial “cherry on top”!"

You'll definitely notice all of these flavors and more, especially if you pair it with different foods. This is not a session beer, so relax and enjoy it with your favorite meal or snack.

12 Days of Abyss (Part 2)

11 bottles of beer in a box, 11 bottles of beer, take one out...

You'll notice something strange in the photo below. When I got the case home, there was already one missing. Don't worry, it's not a mistake. Within ten minutes of purchase, I had already given one away. A friend of mine had his last day at work the same day that the Abyss appeared. As a fellow homebrewer and beer lover, I had to leave one on his desk as his going away present.

But to be fair to this adventure, I'll be making up for the missing bottle by replacing it with a growler of Abyss directly from Bend. Yeah, I know. How much luck can one person have?

12 Days of Abyss (Part 1)

By now, everyone has either uttered the word, or heard it whispered in the dark corners of your favorite bar: abyss. As soon as the word hits the air, it evaporates into a ghost of a rumor, a tall tale, a big fish.

It's nice when it's cold enough outside to keep beer cold.

Riding on a huge wave of publicity generated by Men's Health magazine recognizing The Abyss as the World's Best Stout, this beer is damn hard to find. Well, it's actually not hard to find, it's hard to find before it's gone. This beer is walking out of most places by the case as soon as it hits the shelves. I bought mine before it even hit the shelf. It was sitting in a shrink-wrapped pallet at the end of a non-beer related aisle at the store. There were two cases, one of which had already been infiltrated by the employees before leaving the loading dock! I inquired about the unopened case and they gave it up without a fight.

I can see a beer of this caliber stirring up emotions in different cities around the world, but here in Portland? Here, you are never more than 7 steps from a great beer. So how can one beer have this much of an impact in a city where great beer is ubiquitous? Now, don't get me wrong, it's a great beer. I had last years on tap here in Portland. I also had it straight from the teat in Bend. Delicious, strong, and a great example of a multi-barrel aged Imperial Stout.

You can hear the sigh from accross the house when my girlfriend opens up the fridge to see this.

So, what's all the hubub, bub? Well, I'm going to find out. I've got twelve 22oz bottles to "test" in different settings, possibly paired with food, probably paired with other beer. I'm not sure where this journey is going to take me, but I'm almost certain that at some point along the way, I will hallucinate--most likely if I pair and Abyss with another Abyss. So, over the next two weeks or so, I will be checking in with you to deliver the savory details.

10 Questions with Van Havig of Rock Bottom Brewery

Brewer's Name:
Van Havig

Brewery:
Rock Bottom Brewery

1) If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only choose one pound of either hops, water, barley, or yeast, which would it be, and why?
I'd take the barley, basically since you didn't mention if it was malted, so I'll assume it isn't. I could then plant it, grow more, and eventually start a plantation – have you seen the price of barley these days?

2) What is the best aspect of NW beer drinkers?
No one really thinks craft beer is sexy or strange here, which is great. Northwesterners see craft beer as just beer, not some fancy stuff that only yuppies and geeks drink. It turns out that we (craft brewers) won here, everyone drinks our beer.

3) What is your favorite beer style, and why?
Saison is my geekdom, closely followed by sour beers. Saison is great because it's a beer style that is pretty open to interpretation, (spice or don’t spice, choose your yeast strain, pick an alcohol level) the control of fermentation is really important and it goes great with food. I love the sour beers just because I do.

4) What is the first beer you brewed that was worthy of a name?
I believe it was an Abbey style Dubbel, I was so proud of it, that I just enjoyed it and never bothered with a name.

5) Where do you get your inspiration from when creating new beers?
"It's in my head and it's in my heart" I think Kevin Seconds said that.

6) What is the most misunderstood aspect of being a professional brewer?
That I want to hear what anyone has to say about my beers. Honestly, this is my profession, not my hobby. My job is to make beers that sell – period. It is not to have my own personal beer playground in which I am free to make whatever beer I want. I don't think your average beer "afficianado" understands that. Every brewers job is to make the people THAT BUY THE BEER happy. If those people really want to drink Kolsch, then make Kolsch. If they want to drink Imperial IPA, then make that.

7) What characteristics of Portland make this area so popular for brewers, breweries, and consumers?
It's all about quality of life isn’t it? Beer is obviously part of that, but so is a livable city close to the mountains and ocean. I know of few brewers who live in Portland that want to leave.

8) If “Northwest Ale” was added as a new style of beer, what would it be?
Anything over hopped. Sorry, just my opinion.

9) What is the most underrated hop?
Nugget. No one gives Nugget any credit. It's tough to use as an aroma hop, and probably shouldn’t be, but man does it give a nice, clean, easy to work with bitterness at a very reasonable cost.

10) What are the relationships like between competing brewers? Is there a sense of community, friendly competition, etc.?
In general, I think they're great. I've made a lot of friends in the brewing community, both here in Portland and around the country – and I've met very few brewers that I don't like. We tend to help each other out in lots of ways, and even those breweries in direct competition with each other are often on good personal terms.