PIB 2007 Wrap-up

I will begin this post with a confession: I had intended to go back to the fest on Sunday and didn't make it. That means no video and a smallish sampling of beers for review. By my notes, I tried 13 on Friday, which amounts to a little more than 10% of the total available, and I had saved at least a half dozen in my mind to try on Sunday. So obviously, what follows is a wee smattering of all the beers on offer.

That disclaimer out of the way, here are those I did try, with my notes.

Haand Bryggeri Dark Force - A stout in the American style--thick and chalky, robust. Not intensely nuanced, but roasty and nice. [B-]

iQhilika African Birds Eye Chili Mead - Wild sensation. The base drink is a standard dry mead. As you swirl it around your mouth, you get almost none of the chili--it's just a pleasant, sweetish note. But then as the liquid starts going down the hatch, it really heats up, and the finish is all pepper. [B+]

Coniston Bluebird Bitter - Wonderful recipe, taking advantage of such few ingredients (the guide says it's a 3.5% ale). Creamy palate, mild biscuity sweetness, earthy hopping. Yeast has a characteristically English quality. [A]

De Proef Saison Imperiale - Saisons are one of the hardest styles to brew, and De Proef proves the point, delivering a treacly ale that seems more tripel than farmhouse. Creamy and fruity rather than crisp and dry. [C]

Bink Bloesem - Another abbey-style ale but without complexity. Flat palate, musty, and thin, despite the alcohol. A dud. [C-]

Pinkus Altbier - Switching gears to a nice, subtle beer. Very crisp and dry, but somehow richer than the sum of the parts would indicate. An excellent warm-weather beer. [B]

Oudbeitje - [notes as written, with added comments to follow] "Tart but not complex. Okay, as I drink it, it is--but more subtly than I first appreciated. Smoky notes, some mustiness. Very earthy. Strawberry nearly absent, but like old strawberries, decomposing almost. Sally arrives, notes 'Smells like compost!'" This beer delighted no one but me, and it did delight me, more and more as I drank it. Unlike anything I've tried--so organic tasting that it was one step beyond. But I like it out there in the ultrafunky Belgian wilderness. [A]

Rodenbach Grand Cru - People were giving me such a hard time about the Oudbeitje that I decided to get a Rodenbach to show that I knew good beer. This beer was bought out by Palm in 1998, and everyone has feared the worst. Grand Cru is aged in great oak tuns at the brewery which are decades old and contribute the unique character to the beer--perhaps my favorite in the world. Palm's intention to "modernize" the brewery had caused panic. When the brewery reintroduced Grand Cru a year ago, I have to admit I was too scared to try it. But I plucked up my courage and went for a pour. The result? Magnificent. If you've never had a Sour Flanders Red, it's difficult to describe the experience. They are sweet and sour simultaneously, but deep and resonant of palate. In my notes, I wrote "just the same." Go buy a bottle if you haven't tried it before. [A]

Monchshof Schwartzbier - Faintly chocolaty, wet, not particularly distinctive. I would like it drier, and with a crisper malt palate. Not so hot. [C]

Spezial Rauchbier - This was actually Sally's beer, and she was nonplussed. I, however, thought it was quite nice. Perfumed with a very light, subtle smokiness. Roasty and malt-forward, with smoke lingering at the edge of perception, but a light, crisp, summery beer. Strikes me as a great example of German brewing. This beer is the oldest rauchbier still made (1536), in Bamberg, where the style was born. [B+]

Haand Bryggeri Norwegian Wood - Billed as "moonshine," this is actually a traditional brewing style from Norway, with a recipe dating back to a time when all the beer was essentially homebrew. Malt is kilned by fire, and juniper berries are used in place of hops as seasoning. I didn't know this at the time, but my notes bear out the recipe: "Smoky like a rauch, slightly viscous in a way that suggests other grains might be used in the mash. Sweet, hearty brown ale." If you ever see a bottle, buy it for the experience. [B]

HW Lees Harvest Legavulin - I somehow missed that this beer, at 11.5% alcohol, only had 25 IBUs. Hoy! It was like a beer reduction, syrupy sweet and undrinkable. Sadly, none of the Scotch aging came through, except--possibly--in the nose. Or maybe I was just trying to give it some credit. [D-]

De Ranke Kriek - I actually went with four bucks over to the ticket counter for the Lees Harvest debacle, and realized I couldn't go out on such a beer. So back I went to buy three more tickets for an always-reliable kriek. This isn't my favorite example, but it is intense. The sourness shoots it into some kind of physics-bending dryness. The mouth puckers involuntarily. Cherry is mild, and there's a cellary-musty quality which inclines me to think it's been aged a bit. I picked up a hint of salt, which was unexpected but not altogether unwelcome. [B]

Thems the notes. Sorry there aren't more. Ah well, there's always next year!

PIB Interim Report

No time to do a full review on the beers I tried last night, but here's a thumbs-up/thumbs-down quickie in case you're still heading to the Fest. Most of the beers were in that middle category of average to excellent. Below are the sublime and disappointing.

Thumbs Up (Don't Miss These)

• Coniston Pale Ale. Amazing how much flavor you can get from so few ingredients.
• iQhilika African Birds Eye Chili Mead. In your mouth it's a sweet sensation (though quite dry for a mead) but going down the hatch, it heats up mightily. Strange sensation.
• Rodenbach Grand Cru. Amazing as I remember. One of the best beers in the world.
  
• Oudbeitje (Strawberry Lambic). This was wild stuff. Sally said, "It smells like our compost!" (It did.) It was sour, only very faintly strawberry-y, and had a rank, musky quality. I couldn't put it down.
  

Thumbs Down (Don't Bother)

• JW Lees Legavulin. I missed that it had only 25 IBUs--WAY oversweet and not a hint of the Scotch cask. An expensive dud.
  
• Bink Bloesem. For such a big beer, surprisingly little taste. Not horrible, but not worth a pour.

Best value: Flyer's Sick Duck. One token, and it appears to be leavened with a half-ounce of rum. Hoo boy.

Bait and switch: the printed pour prices are not the actual pour prices, so buyer beware. (You won't be surprised to learn that they are inevitably more expensive than listed in the guide.)

Further reax by the BS brew collective at Champagne of Blogs.

The Definitive Guide - Portland International Beerfest

Portland International Beerfest, July 13-15
North Park Blocks
Friday 4-10pm; Sat noon-10pm; Sun noon - 7pm
$1-$4 for a 4 oz serving (four bucks is rare); $20 buy-in up front (tickets and a glass); five free tickets in the first hour of each day
NO KIDS this year

The Portland International Beerfest is simply the most interesting, most pleasant beer festival of the year. True, there are few local beers--but then, you have several other fests that highlight Beervana. This is, rather, a showcase for the world. The range of beers is enormous, and far broader than is available any other time of year at any single location. It's one of the few fests you can take your friends who "don't like beer" to--because whether it's a mead, a lambic, or a traditional Norse moonshine beer, there's going to be something for everyone. So hit the bank, have a hearty meal, and head to the Pearl.

For the sake of user-friendliness, I've tried to arrange this guide in groups that may attract different kinds of drinkers.

The Old Classics
Oregonians are, somewhat counter-intuitively, less cognizant of world styles than beer geeks elsewhere. It comes from not having to work to find good beer. Well, now's the chance to bone up. There are nearly two dozen world classics at the fest, either landmark standards of the style or well-regarded, established examples.

• German Lagers. Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse - Only had Widmer?; try the original. Another classic is Spaten Oktoberfest, the world's first (brewed originally in 1872). Ever wondered why a lot of beers end in "-ator" (Terminator et. al.)? It's because of Ayinger Celebrator, the world's most famous doppelbock. A kin to porter, schwarzbiers are black lagers, and with their sweet/dry, faintly hoppy palate, they appeal to ale fans. You can try one of the classics, Monchshof. An interesting style of beer that inspired All of those beers are on tap.
  
• British Ales. The pickins are a little thinner from the isles, but there's a nice selection of Samuel Smith's ales, brewed in Yorkshire in the traditional open slate squares. Although the brewery has changed hands, another historic ale is Le Coq Imperial Stout, the original sent to Russia.
  
• Belgium. There are only seven brewing Trappist abbeys in the world, and three are at this year's fest: Rochefort (founded 1595), Westmalle (1836), and Orval (1931). The devilishly strong Duvel is the world standard Belgian strong, and Rodenbach Grand Cru, which was purchased by Palm in 1998, is the classic Flanders red.
• Other Countries. The original pilsner, from Plzen, Czech Republic, is fairly readily available, but it's here too--Pilsner Urquell. I don't know when Poland's Browar Witnica started producing Big Boss Porter, an obscure representative of the Baltic porter style, but it's worth a taster (it was a crowd-pleaser last year).
  

New Classics
There are a few new beers that have become world classics in their own right and are worth seeking out: Traquair House makes a traditional Scottish Ale from the brewery in the oldest house in Scotland. It's a wonderful beer. The "Mad Brewers," microbrewers of 80s vintage, have an amazing winter beer called Stille Nacht (Still Night). Grotten Brown, a Belgian Brown designed by the illustrious Pierre Celis, was called "beer of the year" in 2003 by Michael Jackson. Try a true mild ale--and try it early--with Coniston Bluebird Bitter, a classic British bitter and champion English beer. Recall Hair of the Dog's "Jim" from last year's Winter Ale Fest? A secret ingredient was Maredsous, available this year. De Ranke's Kriek isn't a traditional, spontaneously-fermented beer, but it is regarded as a delicious example of the style (unlike, unfortunately, the commercial Lindeman's, also at this fest.) And although this isn't a classic yet, how can you miss a barleywine aged in a cask of the most famous Islay single malts? JW Lees Harvest Legavulin can't be missed.

Odd Beers
I haven't the faintest idea whether these beers will be sublime, horrible, or neither, but they stand out as unique. In no particular order: Tmsisje GUIDO, a Belgian made with honey and raisins; De La Senn Stouterik, a Belgian sweet stout (?); Eisenbahn Lust is a Brazilian beer made in the methode champonoise (it will sparkle and fizz like champagne); Hitachino, a Japanese brewery specializing in weird beers, is sending XH, a strong Belgian aged in a Shochu cask (a traditional Japanese liquor). Hanssens has mixed mead and gueuze for Mead the Gueuze, which seems like a really crazy idea, but maybe crazy enough to try. They also have a strawberry lambic called Oudbeitje. Two more of note that must be mentioned just for their names: iQhilika African Birds Eye Chili Mead (South Africa), and Haand Bryggeri Norwegian Wood, the traditional Norse Moonshine beer.

Scandinavia
There is apparently a brewing renaissance in Scandinavia, because there are (in addition to the moonshine) five Norwegian and Danish beers: Haand Bryggeri Dark Force (imperial stout), Nøgne-Ø Porter, Nøgne-Ø Imperial Stout, Ølfabrikken Porter, and Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout.

The Belgian Bigs
Although a number of Belgians have been brewed for centuries, what really characterizes the country is its love of innovation. In the past, they have been inspired by England and Scotland, and now it's the West Coast. Everything is hoppy and huge. I dunno if they'll be good, but see what Beervana has inspired in Brussels: De Proef Saison Imperiale and La Grande Blanche (imperial wit). De Proef K-O stands for knock-out, and at 10%, it will.

Cheap Drinks
Okay, I know many of you will ultimately look at the price and decide against the Bird's Eye Chili Mead (four tickets) and instead note that the Zatec Bright Lager is a buck. There's nothing wrong with this, but if money becomes your sole guide, you will inevitably miss out. Especially given some of the real jewels at two bucks. No worries: I got your back. Here's the pick of the litter:

• One ticket ($1): Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, Spaten (Ur Marzen/Oktoberfest and Optimator), Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Monchshof Schwarzbier, Black Boss Porter, Sam Smith's Taddy Porter.
• Two tickets ($2): De Proef Saison Imperiale and Grand Blanche, Maredsous 8, Ayinger Celebrator, Grotten Brown, JW Lees Harvest Legavulin, De La Senn Stouterik, Kerkom Bink Bloesem, Nøgne-Ø Porter, Isle of Skye Wee Beast, Rodenbach Grand Cru.
  

Domestics
There are some pretty interesting domestics here, and I'd normally gush about them. But this may be the last time you see Hitachino XH, so choose wisely. (I recognize that this is tough to do; my beer of the year last year, Ninkasi Believer, is comin' to town. Still.)

Not counting my cheap drinks picks, that's 36 beers--too much for any single trip. I guess I'll have to go twice. I'll update you after I go tomorrow, and do the same in comments.

Cheers!

PIB - Two Days Away

I hope to have a preview for the year's best event* tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a video I put together of last year's Fest.

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*Accolade now challenged by the Organic Fest, but what's two bests among friends?