Fred Fest 2010

Last night I attended my second Fred Fest and checked out the new Hair of the Dog brewery and tasting room for the first time. The fest was a lot of fun, and being able to check out the new space was an extra bonus.

I got down to the brewery a bit early to secure a good spot in line, and was glad that I did. The line got pretty long by the time the doors opened, and I was already on my second glass of beer when my friend finally made it in from further back in the line.

After I got my glass and raffle tickets, I made my way over to the bar for a pour of Cherry Fred from the Wood. A delicious beer! While this fresh, the cherries were very dominant, but I could see the fruit mellowing out a bit with additional aging to really let the Fred come back through. Still, even with the overbearing cherry presence, this was delicious, and it had me thinking about the last time I enjoyed a Cherry Adam (one of my favorites!). I'm really not sure which I prefer, but I felt like the Fred was a bit more drinkable. I could easy finish a 12 oz pour on my own, where I feel the Cherry Adam is best split with a friend or two. From the Cherry Fred, I joined the line in the back of the brewery for a pour of the Wild Duck Old Gnarley Head 2003 barley wine. I think this was a very nice beer, which mellowed out and softened up well with the age. It was a bit oxidized and had some metallic qualities, but it was very enjoyable none-the-less. Two more barley wines followed. First, barrel aged son of old yeller, and then a 1998 full sail old boardhead. The son of old yeller was as delicious and caramelly as I remembered from the barley wine and big beer festival, but for me the 1998 old boardhead really stole the show out of the first four barley wines I sampled. I'd also go as far as saying it was one of my favorites all night. Over the course of the rest of the evening, I tried several more beers:

• barley brown's - cherry wood-smoked rye whiskey. This one I really liked. I heard a lot of people complain that it was a bit TOO smokey, but I'd drink bacon if I could, so it was right up my alley.
  
• Bend Brewing's - Rocksy Stein Lager. Not as smokey and sweet as I would have expected from the description, but maybe that's just because I let this one follow the Barley Brown's.
  
• Bridgeport - Fallen Friar 2008. Meh.
  
• Cascade - The Vine 2010. Delicious. I actually had this one twice over the course of the night to help cut through the sticky malt coating that had developed in my mouth from all the barley wines. This was also one of my favorites of the night. Really nicely soured, and the white wine grape juice added a really nice refreshing clean and lightly sweet finish that kept me wanting to go back for more. I had to restrain myself to make sure everyone else had a chance or two to get a taste.
  
• Deschutes - Wood aged double black. I thought this one was overly sweet, lost a lot of the flavor I love black butte for, and was my least favorite of the imperial black butte varieties I've had the chance to try.
  
• Firestone Walker - Parabola. I followed my wood aged double black with this one and thought it was clearly superior. The nice roasty bitter finish really stood out and made this a more enjoyable brew. I thought even this fresh, that the alcohol was masked reasonably well, but I think this is one that would be a lot better with more time on it. I look forward to the bottle release later this month.
  
• Oregon Trail - SoboChePo. This one was really interesting and I enjoyed it a lot. The first thing I could think of when I tried it was the bells/de proef van twee - in that this is what I had hoped that one would have tasted like. I still have some van twee, which I haven't tried since last PIB, I'm optimistic that the flavors will have developed a bit since then.
  
• Rogue - John John Juniper. Meh.
  
• Roots - Epic Ale 2006. This is the third variety of Epic I've had over the last couple of months. I started with an 08 around the holidays, then at the barley wine and big beer fest I had the three year blend dubbed Epic Surprise, and now I had the unblended 06. This was another great one. It left me wondering though where some of the flavors I detected in the Epic Surprise came from. The 2006 tasted a lot like a mellowed 08 to me, and I didn't pick up any of the stouty/chocolaty flavors I noticed in the blend. Must have been a different year.
  

While all the great brews were the highlight of the day for me, there was a lot more going on that I really enjoyed. Getting to check out the new brewery was great. I think this place has the potential to be the best new brew pub in the city. The first thing I noticed was that the "tasting room" is huge compared to my expectations for it. This place isn't going to just be a couple of stools surrounded by stacks of barrels; it's the size of a large bar or restaurant. Although the late afternoon sun was blinding through the west facing windows, the tasting room had a surprisingly good view of downtown. As the sun set, the city lights brightened in the darkened sky. This will be a great view to enjoy with some dinner and beer. With so much work left to be done, it's still hard to really figure out what the finished plans for the space will include, and I don't want to speculate too much, but the space is beautiful and has a lot of potential, and if they can craft the space as well as they can craft a beer, it's sure to be a hit.

I finished the night off by winning a prize in the auction. I handed over my ticket and ended up with a Kwak glass and stand from Belgium, which will make a great addition to my collection of breweriana. Ironically, my winning ticket was the free one that was included with admission. The handful I paid extra for ended up being duds!

Anyway, I can't imagine a more enjoyable way to give to charity. Fred Fest is always one of my favorite days all year.

Getting excited for another Fred Fest.

After attending my first Fred Fest last year, I've been getting really amped up about attending my second round on Monday night. I've been checking the beer list regularly to see what I should expect, and it looks like the list has settled to the final line-up. While there were a lot of beers that I immediately recognized, there were also many that I was unfamiliar with, so I did a little digging to prepare myself for the fest. Below is a list of beers, accompanied by descriptions (when I could find them) that I yanked from all over.

* Toby Day's 2003 Wild Duck Brewing Auld Gnarley Head Barley Wine

In 2003 this beer won GOLD for Barleywine style Ale at GABF. This is the same Gold Medal winning batch, aged for 7 years.

* Barley Browns Brew Pub -Cherry wood Smoked Rye whiskey

* Bend Brewing Company - Rocksy Stein Lager

A collaboration between lost abbey and bend brewing. In order to achieve the candy sweetness and smoky aftertaste this brew exhibits, the brewers used an old school brewing method of super heating 300 pounds of basalt rocks and adding it to the barrels.

* BridgePort Brewing Company - Firkin 2008 Fallen Friar

A two year wood aged version of bridgeport's 08 belgian style tripel.

* Cascade Brewing Company - The Vine 2010

This Northwest Style Sour Ale is a blend of soured Triple, Blonde Quad and Golden ales that have been refermented with the fresh pressed juice of white wine grapes. The beer spent more than six months of lactic fermentation and aging in small oak barrels. 9.2% ABV

* Deschutes Brewery - Wood Aged Double Black

We took our original flagship beer and did it two times over. We created a beer that has all the Black Butte Porter characteristics but also has some new flavor nuances intermingled with the standard. As an added bonus we aged this beer in Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. This Imperial Porter is sure to excite the senses. IBUs: 56 ; ABS: 10.3%

* Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom - Cask Empire Strikes Back

This is a cask conditioned english style india pale ale that comes in at 6.2% abv

* Firestone Walker Brewing Company - Parabola

Parabola is a bold imperial stout. "Parabola has been a major component of past anniversary blends and is one of our most aggressive offerings. This beer features bold bourbon and tobacco aromas and a rich dark chocolate, charred oak flavor. Parabola is best enjoyed in moderation and is a perfect beer to pair with those chocolate dessert favs." 13% abv.

* Full Sail Brewing Company - Barrel aged Old Boardhead 1998 - then - 1999

11 and 12 year aged versions of full sail's barley wine, described as: "A deliciously rich barleywine that has spectacular depth and delicacy of flavor that is deep and robust. Its strong, sweet body is balanced with Centennial and Crystal hops for a pleasant hoppiness and finish. ABV 9% IBU 91"

* Hair of the Dog Brewing Company - Cherry Fred from the wood

As far as I can tell, this is the first time this beer has ever been available. The description tells the story.

* Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) - Organic Rad keller

* Laurelwood Brewing Company - Altenberg Smoked Pilsner

Drinking a pint of Altenburg Lager translocates oneself to the northern Bavarian town of Bamberg, the origin of smoked beer. Shy of a passport, plane ticket and layover in Amsterdam, this beer is as close as a Portlander can get to Bamberg style lagers. Using pilsener, munich and beechwood smoked malts produced in the town of Bamberg, and brewed by a Bamberg trained brewer, one sip of this carefully crafted lager will teleport you and your taste buds to the bier gardens of one of the oldest beer traditions in Germany. No doubt Beethoven, while composing his glorious ninth symphony, was drinking smoked bier.

* Lucky Labrador Brewing Company - Barrel aged Son of Old Yeller

Can't remember the full story behind this one, other than the original recipe was an accident, and that the resulting product was awesome. I had this at the lucky lab barley wine and big beer fest, and considered it one on my favorites. Very caramely and delicious.

* McMenamins -( Fulton St. ) - The Monkey Puzzle Triple

* Midnight Sun Brewing Company - 3767

Belgian-style IPA
with Brettanomyces
8.0 % Alcohol By Volume
70 International Bittering Units (IBUs)

The extensive distance between two breweries on the West Coast – 3767 miles – is bridged by this collaboration beer. Brewers Gabe Fletcher of Midnight Sun Brewing Company [Anchorage, AK] and Colby Chandler of Ballast Point Brewing Company [San Diego, CA] designed and brewed an exciting representation of their passions: hops, Belgian yeast, oak aging and Brettanomyces.

Just prior to the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Fest in JAN 2009, Gabe and Colby brewed a West Coast-worthy IPA at Midnight Sun Brewing Company. This hop-centric beer became the jumping-off point for other intense flavors. During its course to completion, 3767 was affected by three different yeast strains--including Brettanomyces, aged for several months in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, and then bottle- and keg-conditioned."

* New Belgium Brewing Company The Trip # V

Trip V, conceived by New Belgium brewer Andy Sturm, is a mahogany colored brown ale with vanilla, cherries and cocoa. 8.5 abv%, full-bodied with a hint of sweetness and a lingering cherry/cocoa finish.

* New Old Lompoc Brewery - Flamingo

"our Condor Pale Ale fermented with 35 lbs of sour cherries in a wine barrel and aged for three months"

* Ninkasi Brewing Company - PK - N'ICE

malt liquor

* Oregon Trail Brewing - Smoke Signal

Another rendition of traditional german rauchbier. This one is 7.3%

* Rock Bottom Brewery - Maude Flanders

Rock Bottom Portland's take on a flanders red. I remember this one being intense, sweet, weird, acetone from puckerfest last year.

* Rogue Ales - John John Juniper

Rogue Juniper Pale Ale aged in Rogue Gin barrels.

* Roots Organic Brewing - 2006 Epic Ale

This vintage was the second year that roots made the epic ale. "Epic starts not with the brew kettle, but earlier, when the Roots men smoke 55 pounds of Munich malt in a smoker of their own creation ("a special stainless perforated contraption"). The fuel for the fire is cherry wood that has been soaked in 18-year-old Glenlivet, cognac, rum, as well as cherries. They spend a week smoking the malt, hand turning 3-pound batches every 15 minutes for four hours. They use a massive amount of malt to brew the beer, resulting in a 14%, 80 IBU monster ale."

* Stone Brewing - Imperial Russian Stout / Old Guardian

Beers that need no introduction. I'm assuming this is two different beers, and not a blend of the two.

* Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - 8409 25th anniversary Double Alt 2008

"84/09 is basically a double-strength version of their famous and pub-only Altbier, the first beer they brewed and what was notorious, in the early days, for being the “only true Alt” brewed outside of Dusseldorf, Germany (at least, according to some aficionados). It’s 9.8% alcohol by volume."