Blog Category: Looking Ahead

The label says Spring 2012 and I might be more excited about this beer than I am about the Spring season itself. American Brown Ales should be big on chocolate, caramel, and well-roasted malts, creating a medium to high viscosity sweet body, balanced out by some nice hop bitterness. Gentle aroma and flavor hops can be used by professionals of balance, but these can often muddle what should be a clear malt showcase. Well, that's... Read More »

Looking for something new on the shelves? Here are a few releases that will be hitting the stores, well, sometime. While not new to draft lines, this is the first year that Hopworks' Galactic Imperial Red is being bottled. Draft description: "Our Galactic Imperial Red boldly goes where no Red has gone before. We gave it all the Centennial and Cascade hops we've got to bring the floral and citrus flavor and aroma to Warp... Read More »

Being released at Laurelwood's 10th Anniversary Party, Imperial Workhorse Double IPA should satiate the most aggressive hopheads out there.  There isn't much to say except: I can't wait for this beer.  There will always be a large place in my heart for big, bitter, floral beers and the fact that this brew shares some DNA with my favorite IPA in town, it's already heading straight for the bullseye.  The first sip will tell, but I think I... Read More »

Many things exist on paper before they are fully realized. With the exception of BridgePort's Nightcap (released on November 11th), the labels below represent planned releases from the breweries. No specific dates yet as the press releases have not hit the streets. BridgePort Brewing Nightcap Winter Ale Full Sail Brewing Bump in the Night Cascadian Dark Ale Full Sail Brewing Imperial Porter Widmer Brothers Galaxy Hopped Barleywine Ale Widmer Brothers Nelson Imperial IPA Widmer Brothers... Read More »

Not much on the label, except that we can expect: a 22 oz bottle of hoppy, Imperial IPA, sometime in 2011, IBUs: 80, ABV: 7.5% This should be another great release from John and Phil down at the Portland Waterfront location! I'll have more information when the press releases start dropping, but with 2011 on the label this one is probably at least a few month off. Normally, we don't report on things too far... Read More »

The crystal ball has sent out its predictions again. From big, bold winter releases to a Framboise that's been in the works for nearly two years, these upcoming seasonal releases should help you through the rainy season! Read More »

Portland needs more great year-round Brown Ales. It's an often neglected style here, with many breweries opting for the hoppier Red Ale to fill in the color spectrum of styles. In fact, over at Laurelwood, their Free Range Red has long held the title of being their biggest seller. But this did not dissuade them from creating one of the best Brown Ales in town: Hooligan. Rich, malty, complex, available year-round at the brewery, and... Read More »

Sled Crasher Although summer got a late start this year, we are already peering around the corner to Fall, with some notable releases slated for Widmer Brothers Brewing. While there is no release information on the Sled Crasher label, this beer is classified as a Winter Warmer, so I doubt it will be released until the Fall. This is part of Widmer Brothers Collaborator series. From the Oregon Brew Crew page: "The Collaborator Project is... Read More »