Portlandbeer.org | Brew, Drink, Repeat » Bottling

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Matt Wiater — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Old Lompoc Brewing’s C-Note Imperial Pale Ale!

OK, maybe 99 is an exaggeration, but Portland is seeing an increase in bottle releases from smaller breweries. From the serving tank to the pint glass, draft sales at local small breweries are an easy way to keep the cost of beer down. But many breweries have to turn to bottling in order to reach new markets and gain exposure for their beer. But it ain’t easy.

Smaller breweries that consider bottling turn to contract bottlers that bring the bottling equipment into the brewery for a day and bottle small batches. Though an on premise bottling line would help keep the costs down in the long run, the initial expense is high. Even more important it the amount of floor space required, and most small breweries don’t have a single square foot to spare.

So we see some seasonal releases pop up now and then, such as Laurelwood’s Moose and Squirrel Russian Imperial Stout, or Lucky Lab’s Old Yeller Barleywine. Breweries can offset the cost a little easier on these runs and price the beers a little higher due to the limited availability. But what about year round standard beers? These beers need to be able to compete on the shelves with other high volume releases, so the margins for the breweries get a little lower and production gets higher. This effort is sometimes hard to balance into the existing brewing schedule, which already has many constraints on time and capacity. Because of this, many smaller breweries will hand bottle very limited batches, contract bottle a few seasonal releases, or not bottle at all.

Of course, we see Portland beer on the shelves all the time: BridgePort, Deschutes, Widmer. It’s really hard though, to support smaller breweries at the local bottleshop or supermarket as many of them just aren’t bottling their beer. But this is starting to change, hopefully permanently. Roots’ Woody IPA and Island Red has been sharing shelf space for a year or two with a couple of Alameda’s beers such as Black Bear XX Stout and Klickitat Pale Ale. More recently, Laurelwood has joined the game with Free Range Red, Tree Hugger Porter, and Mother Lode Golden bottles.

If it wasn’t 9:30am, I’d be drinking these instead of taking photos of them!

Last week, Old Lompoc Brewing entered the picture by releasing two of their beers in bottles: C-Note Imperial Pale Ale and Lompoc Strong Draft:

C-Note Imperial Pale – This HUGE Imperial Pale Ale (100 IBU!) is a hop head’s dream. Using Crystal, Cluster, Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, Columbus, and Challenger hops. (6.9% ABV).
Lompoc Strong Draft – Portland’s new cult beer. LSD is an American strong ale with big body, a touch of smoked malt and a generous hop profile. (6.9% a/v)

Hopefully, this trend will grow into a thriving business for smaller breweries as they look to expand and test new markets for their products. We at portlandbeer.org welcome the new Portland beer bottle options to the shelves as it gives us even more ways to support our local breweries, and more ways for us to share our beer with the world!

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Laurelwood’s Moose and Squirrel Bottle Release

Matt Wiater — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:32:00 +0000

Laurelwood’s Moose and Squirrel, a Russian imperial stout.

Just a quick note about a great bottle release this week. Laurelwood Brewing Company just released their superb Russian imperial stout. For the first time, this brew is hitting the shelves in bottles, rather than just on tap. I’m not sure about the distribution, but these beautiful bottles are currently available at all of the Laurelwood locations.

This limited edition run created only 500 1 liter, swing-top, hand dipped bottles. They could disappear quickly, so run, don’t walk! Moose and Squirrel is also available on tap at the 51st Avenue location as of yesterday.

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BridgePort’s Raven Mad Imperial Porter Released

Matt Wiater — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:30:00 +0000

Each bottle of BridgePort’s Raven Mad Imperial Porter comes with 3D glasses to view it’s 3D label.

BridgePort’s newest seasonal release, Raven Mad Imperial Porter is part of it’s Big Brew series, which also includes Old Knucklehead Barleywine, Hop Czar Imperial IPA, and Hop Harvest Ale. About 185 Barrels of Raven Mad were brewed, making up 1300 cases of bottles, and the rest was kegged. This beer will be available in bottles and on draft starting Thursday, October 23rd.

Weighing in at 7.3% ABV, this Porter is a bit stronger than most, but not too strong to chase away the masses. This beer began it’s life back in April, when about 30 barrels were brewed and racked into bourbon and wine casks. Aging the beer in these casks allows the beer to absorb qualities of these containers, such as oak and bourbon flavors. Because these flavors can become too overpowering with time, the beer was blended back in with about 150 barrels of non-aged imperial porter.

Raven Mad’s labels on the bottling line.

The result is a complex beer that contains not only the rich roasted coffee and chocolate notes of the porter, but also hints of oak, vanilla, and bourbon. The higher alcohol content of this imperial beer also mingles well throughout the taste. At 7.3% ABV, this beer is on the low end of the imperial spectrum, as some imperials can finish at around 12% ABV. The ABV piece of the brewing puzzle is easily predicted through the recipe, so the brewer just has to decide how they want the alcohol to fit with the other flavors in the beer profile. In Raven Mad, the alcohol is definitely subordinate to some of the other flavors in the beer.

So, as the days cool off, keep your eyes out for the releases of local fall and winter seasonals. BridgePort’s Raven Mad Barrel Aged Imperial Porter is one that helps our palette’s get ready for the chilly days and nights ahead.

Check out the rest of the photos here.

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Bridgeport’s Hop Czar Imperial IPA Preview

Matt Wiater — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:46:00 +0000

Bridgeport’s Imperial IPA: Hop Czar. Available in 22oz bottles next week.

Bridgeport’s Assistant Brewmaster Jeff Edgerton gave the media a preview of their new release for their Big Brews series today. The Big Brews program started last October with their Hop Harvest Ale and continued on with Old Knucklehead and Stumptown Tart–all 22oz limited release bottles. Continuing this journey, Bridgeport has taken their flagship IPA, stuck a bike pump to the bottle, and had the employees hand pump for weeks, until–POP–out came a bigger version: Hop Czar Imperial IPA–well it’s sort of like that.

“Hop Czar, an Imperial IPA brewed from BridgePort’s award-winning IPA recipe, is a triple-hopped (brew kettle and two separate hop jack charges) bottle-conditioned, Imperial-style IPA. It carries a deep malt background with enthusiastic citrus and floral notes paired with high hop bitterness. Sitting at 8-percent ABV (alcohol by volume) and 100 IBU’s, Hop Czar is a strong blend of Nugget, Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops.”

Assistant Brewmaster Jeff Edgerton gives a tour of the brewery.

Bridgeport IPA is often overlooked in a town where everything is hopped, hopped more, and sometimes over-hopped. Now, don’t get me wrong, I seldom turn down hop-bombs, but I also feel that they tend to stretch the IPA category a bit thin. IPAs, while they can be hop heavy, should still be a balanced beer, with a noticeable malt character. For me, Bridgeport IPA has always been the IPA that exemplifies the IPA category. I have recommended it for years to people who want to know where to center themselves in the world of Portland IPAs.

That is precisely why I was so excited to hear that the Hop Czar was based on Bridgeport’s IPA foundation. The tasters we had were directly out of the bottles that were filled earlier today. It pours perfectly, great aroma, and a is very well-balanced Imperial IPA. Jeff told us that their hopjack, which has about a 70 pound capacity is first filled with hops. Then, half of the Hop Czar batch(about 37 barrels) is run through the hops . The hopjack is then emptied, refilled, and the rest of the batch is run through for a total of about 140 pounds of dry hops per 75 barrel batch! As it should be, it’s definitely in the “very hoppy” category, but my favorite aspect was the hop bitterness. With 100 IBUs, it going to be bitter, but the malt profile does a great job of not letting that bitterness overpower the beer.

Hop Czar on the bottling line.

Hop Czar Imperial IPA will be available starting today at their downtown on draft only. 22oz bottles should start appearing on store shelves next week. And thankfully, the Big Brews series doesn’t stop there. For their next release, we will be seeing a bourbon barrel aged porter.

ADDENDUM (Same Day): I just got back home after bringing my only bottle over to a friends place, so that three of us could try it against some Bridgeport IPAs. Wow, this really puts it in context! Everyone was impressed. Definitely a great beer–grab ‘em when you see ‘em!

Check out the rest of the photos here.

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Elephant in a bottle?

Matt Wiater — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Was it real, or just a dream?

True story? I’m pretty sure. I’ve got a witness. Unfortunately, neither her nor I were given permission to break the silence. But, on the other hand, we weren’t told not to break the silence. So, in the spirit of ambiguity, I’ve got a tale to tell. But, good journalists don’t expose their sources and good journalists don’t sit on important stories either. Luckily, I’m not a good journalist. So here we go. What I’m about to tell you did not happen and the photographs accompanying this story are faked. Really.

In an alley in Portland last night, there was a knock at my window. Normally, I don’t roll down my window in these type of situations, but I recognized the shadowy figure. Without a word, he dropped something in my lap, hopped back in his car, and sped away down Sandy. As my girlfriend said “What kinds of people do you hang out with…”, I turned on the interior light in the car and discovered a bottle of mythical proportions. Sitting in my lap, was a 22oz bottle labeled “Organic Green Elephant”. I looked out the windshield in time to see the mysterious taillights fading into the distance. Could it be? While my source was reliable, this was a bit too hard to stomach (well, until I got home and cracked it open).

Laurelwood’s Organic Green Elephant IPA

Those of you in town know that this is one of the most sought after beers in town. Last year a seven-barrel batch–draft only–was demolished within 3 days of it’s release. This year, several hundred cases of 22oz bottles will be available at undisclosed locations. As with other limited Laurelwood bottle releases, my guess is that they will be available for purchase at the restaurants and breweries and some retail outlets in town.

So, if this story is indeed true, and if I did indeed drink the contents of the bottle pictured here, then you should be seeing these bottles popping up (and then disappearing) around town. Grab them while you can!

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Bridgeport Brewing Company Unveils its First Fruit Ale — Stumptown Tart

Matt Wiater — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:14:00 +0000

Bridgeport Brewing Company

Pucker Up for the Debut of the Next 22-Ounce Big Brew, an Oregon Marion Berry Belgian Style Infused Ale, at the Stumptown Tart Release Party April 24th

PORTLAND, Ore. – April 7, 2008 – BridgePort Brewing Company, Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, is unveiling its next limited-edition 22-ounce Big Brew Stumptown Tart, a Belgian Style Ale infused with Oregon Marion Berries. BridgePort’s Stumptown Tart, at 8.3-percent ABV (alcohol by volume) is more than just a pretty face. She’s a stong beer with a pink hue and packs a refreshing tart finish!

BridgePort will host a Stumptown Tart release party Thursday, April 24 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the BridgePort brewpub + bakery in the Pearl at 1313 NW Marshall St. Free and open to the public, attendees can be among the first to try free samples of the new brew while supplies last and purchase the limited-edition 22-ounce bottles of Stumptown Tart. Guests will also be given the opportunity to have their bottles signed by the featured bottle model on the label who will be guest appearing at the event.

About BridgePort’s Stumptown Tart Belgian Style Ale
At 8.3 percent ABV, Stumptown Tart is a lightly hopped ale that is blended then aged in French Oak Pinot Noir Barrels. This Marion Berry Infused Belgian Style Ale created and brewed from Northwest Cascade Hops, is a perfect indication that summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. With 1,800 cases being brewed, BridgePort’s Stumptown Tart Ale will be sold at BridgePort brewpub + bakery, BridgePort Ale House and at select retail grocery stores throughout Oregon and Washington.

BridgePort’s Stumptown Tart Stats:
IBU’s: 8
ABV: 8.3%
Color: Pink/Purple
Ingredients: Northwest Pale Barley Malt, Northwest Cascade Hops and Oregon Marion Berries
Description: Belgian Style Ale infused with Oregon Marion Berries. This strong pale ale is blended with berries so it has a tart, sour finish.

About BridgePort Brewing Company
As Oregon’s oldest craft brewery, BridgePort is celebrating its 24th anniversary this year. The brewery has reached this milestone by evolving from a microbrewery to a regional leader in the craft brewing market, while remaining faithful to its commitment to producing high-quality, innovative craft ales. The BridgePort family of ales includes IPA, ESB, Black Strap Stout, Ropewalk Amber Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, Old Knucklehead and seasonal beers, Beertown Brown, Haymaker Extra Pale Ale and Ebenezer Ale. BridgePort Brewery is located at 1313 N.W. Marshall St. For more information, call 503-241-7179 or visit www.bridgeportbrew.com.

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Deranger 2008 Release

Matt Wiater — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:33:00 +0000

Pictured here in bottle form, but you can get yours on draft now!

Just a quick note to let you know that Laurelwood has their unbelievable Deranger back on tap. Brewed as an entry for the 2008 World Beer Cup, you can get a local taste before it leaves for world domination. I know it’s on tap at the Sandy & 51st location, but it may be available at the others as well. As the end of March nears, we’re starting to leave Big Beer Season, so grab these while you can!

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