Blog Author: Brett Nelson

Well, it's the height of Barleywine season. I also say that in April, July, September, and the rest of the months. I just can't turn them down. I didn't turn them down last night either. After the first two, I had some amazing thoughts and decided to create a new segment on the blog: Changing the World After a Few Beers.I sat down to watch Flight of the Conchords, turned on the television, and there... Read More »

Abyss After the release of my "12 Days of Abyss" posts, I was accused of buying, and then drinking, all of the Abyss in Portland. Sure, I drank a lot. But based on unbiased third-party research, it turns out that I only bought and drank 83% of that fateful 2nd small batch delivered to PDX at the end of January 2008. See?But it's not over. On Monday, March 17 Belmont Station will be "tapping two... Read More »

Welcome to the Abyss. OK. I tried. It was a dare. Actually, it was a bet. But it was a bet without money, and that's pretty much just a dare. The idea was to buy a case of Deschutes' Abyss and drink one a day for 12 days. Simple. Or so it seemed.In fact, I upped the ante and said, "12 days? I'm not an amateur! I can do this blindfolded by the end of... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

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... Read More »

Dear Deschutes Brewing,I've just read that you will be opening a brewery in the Pearl, here in the beer capital of the world. Too many breweries? Never! I say welcome! A mug from the 2007 Bend Brewfest, a stone's throw from the massive Deschutes brewing operation on the river. We Portlander's love beer, and because we have so many great breweries in town, we can be quite snobbish. So what? We have high standards. While... Read More »

I'm torn up about this. Really. I think I'm going to take a half day at work, just to ponder (and, of course, drink). What I probably won't drink though, is Beertown Brown, Bridgeport's newest brew to hit the streets. Bridgeport Brewpub and Bakery, Downtown Portland. First of all, let me say that this beer is a good representation of the style: Northern English Brown Ale. But it's the Northern English blandness that's the problem.... Read More »

I was in a market last night looking to pick up a six pack when I noticed myself leaning toward choosing some California beers. Specifically, Lagunitas and Stone varieties. As I stood there I thought to myself that California has a lot of great bottled beers. And that scared me. The all too infrequently seen bottle of Deranger from Laurelwood Brewing Company. Portlanders love big beers. We are situated on a latitude where hops are... Read More »

I'm going to tackle another sensitive issue here today. So, if you don't have a strong stomach, look away. If you're still with me--my topic today is beer mixing. To mix or not to mix? This subject matter seems to be very polarizing. Some people mix, the rest find this to be an abomination. Now, usually, there is no right answer to these types of questions, but this time there is: mixing is a good... Read More »