2008 GADF: The Media Stumbling Around Town, Part 1

The media/visiting distillers tour yesterday for the 2008 Great American Distillers Festival unveiled some fine drinks and interesting projects in motion at some of our local distilleries. It also gave us booze hounds, err, spirits media a chance to taste products, interact with distillers and develop future story ideas to keep you, the reader, entertained. Proceed on for a photo tour and make sure you get over to the GADF before it ends tomorrow evening.

ROGUE SPIRITS


Rogue distiller Mel Heim in her element.


The base for dark rum - anyone for a swim?


Rogue's rum aging room - let's hide there until they close.


Just in case you've ever wondered what's in the spruce gin.

MCMENAMINS EDGEFIELD


Doing the research so you don't have to.


Edgefield aging room - another place to hide out until closing.


Yes kiddies - McMenamins is playing with absinthe.


Edgefield whisky always brings a tear to my eye...

HOUSE SPIRITS


Bow down to the Medoyeff Vodka god...


This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto.


In case you can't read, that says "Oregon Ouzo." Oh my...


Yes - that's Oregon Ouzo in a beaker.

Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of this distillery photo tour.

Distillers Gather This Weekend to Sample Their Spirits

This weekend here in Portland beer festivals give way to a relatively new event in the alcohol enjoyment spectrum: the 4th Annual Great American Distillers Festival, August 23 (1-9 pm) and 24 (1-7 pm) at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in the Pearl District.

This informal event will bring together a lot of Northwest distillers as well as other small operations from around the country. Two floors of tastings will offer you the chance to taste small batch rum, vodka, gins, whiskeys and brandies. Events will include a mixology competition and, on Sunday, a run of seminars focusing on different spirits topics. The most interesting of these may well be the "Faeries in Your Backyard: Q&A on Northwest Absinthe," a talk about the revival of absinthe.

I'll be off this afternoon on a media tour of distilleries in the area. Watch later for photos - that is, after my brain clears from the upcoming haze.

Mini Beer Fest in Seattle!

Check out some of the smallest (and newest) breweries in the Seattle area at this one-day festival:

SMALL SEATTLE BREWERIES UNITE FOR MINI BEER FESTIVAL

Laughing Buddha to Host Fellow Breweries

SEATTLE, WA – Four of Seattle’s smallest breweries have announced that they will hold a mini beer festival on Saturday, August 23, 2008 in South Seattle. Laughing Buddha will host Baron Brewing, Schooner Exact, and Two Beers Brewing in their newly expanded brewery space. Craft beer drinkers are invited to stop by and sample beer from all four breweries.

“We thought we should have a special event before we start filling up the space with equipment,” said Chris Castillo, co-owner of Laughing Buddha, a new Seattle microbrewery focusing on Asian fusion beers. The brewery tripled their lease space on July 1, 2008 in the South 93rd Business Park to support its current growth in production.

Baron Brewing is located in the same industrial complex in the South Park district of Seattle. Schooner Exact and Two Beers Brewing are both small-batch breweries that produce half a barrel of beer at a time.

“We met Schooner Exact and Two Beers for the first time at this year’s Washington Brewers Festival,” Castillo said. “It’s going to be fun having our neighbor and new friends over to pour beer.”

The mini beer festival will be held on August 23, 2008 from 3pm to 7pm at 9320 15th Ave S, Unit CE2, Seattle, WA, 98108. Attendees can pre-register at http://beerfest.eventbrite.com.

Laughing Buddha, brewers of modern Asian-style beers, began producing its first batches in the South Park district of Seattle in 2007. Their beers include Dragon King Lager, Pandan Brown Ale, Ginger Pale Ale, and Mango Weizen. For more information, visit www.laughingbuddhabeer.com.

Baron Brewing, brewers of German-style beers, was founded in South Park Seattle in the beginning of 2003. Their beers include Hefe-Weisse, Pilsner, Uber-Weisse, Schwarzbier, as well as a number of seasonal and special release beers. For more information, visit www.baronbeer.com.

Schooner Exact, brewers of the 3-Grid IPA, is a small batch microbrewery located in West Seattle. The schooner "Exact" is the ship that originally brought the Dennys and the other founding families to Seattle, landing on Alki Beach. For more information, visit schoonerexact.typepad.com.

Two Beers Brewing was founded in South Lake Union, Seattle in early 2008. Their beers include 20:20 Blonde Ale, Immersion Amber Ale, and Crooked Belgian Wit. For more information, visit www.twobeersbrewery.com.

Sign up now for Lonely Monks Trappist Tour in Oct.

Belgian beer expert Stu Stuart will be leading a group of people on The Lonely Monks Trappist Beer Tour of Belgium --Oct. 18-27, 2008. Ten days, nine nights. Visit belgianbeerme.com to sign up or for more information.

Tour Update:

This tour is a go! We have our minimum number to go. We still have some seats available, but they will go fast, so book now if you are even thinking about this special tour.

Mike Smith, head brewer for Eel River Brewing Co. (Fortuna, Cal.) will be joining this tour, which is exciting because Mike knows his beer and has the uncanny ability to get technical and still have anyone understand him. Mike's passion for beer and brewing is contagious and I look forward to having him on this tour. Eel River is an award-winning organic and bio-fueled brewery. Visit ellriverbrewing.com for more information on these great beers!

It also looks like we will be teaming up with our English friend, beer author, beer tour guide and beer guru, "Podge," for at least two days ofthis tour.

If these two additions were not enough, we will also be visiting the famous Marbehan (In Wallonia) and Herentalse Beer Festivals (In Flanders), which luckily will occur while we are there. These are two exceptional festivals. I had the pleasure of being at Herentalse this past year and it was great. Got to taste a 12-year old bottle of Piraat! Read more about Herentalse in Chuck Cook's article elsewhere on this website. Chuck is one of America's foremost authorities on Belgian beers and Belgium.

The Basics of this Tour:

Beer is one of the few indulgences monks are permitted and thus one of the reasons they know how to brew special beers so incredibly well. On this very special tour we will visit the seven Trappist Abbeys that brew beer (six in Belgium and one just across the border in the Netherlands) and sample their beers. The emphasis of this tour will be Trappist and Trappist-style abbey ales along with some of my other favorites.

The designation of "Trappist" is a legal one and encompasses a range of styles rather than a single distinct one. The seven Trappist beers are Westmalle, Westvleterern, Orval, Chimay, Rochefort, Achel and LaTrappe (known as Koenigshoeven in the U.S.). We will also visit the WWI museum in Ieper and Flanders Fields. You¹ll experience the four corners of Belgium as we traverse the country to visit these abbeys, from the bucolic farmlands of West Flanders to the pristine Ardennes mountains of Wallonia, to the beautiful countryside of the northern Limburg Province and the Netherlands. As with all our tours, fine cuisine, inviting hotels, camaraderie will be front-and-center, along with sightseeing, shopping and plenty of free time to unwind, explore and discover the beauty of Belgium.

The exact itinerary of this tour will depend on the size of our tour group and tour vehicle. Belgium has strict laws governing how many days and hours professional coach operators may drive.

Plans now call for overnights in Bruges, Mechelen, Beauraing and Aalst. In Mechelen we will be staying at the Hotel Carolus, which is part of and next to the Anker Brewery, brewer of Goudon Carolus and other fine beers.

$2595 land only, $575 single supplement. Deadline to sign-up Sept. 18, 2008

Seattle's Elliot Bay Goes Organic

Watch out Hopworks, Elliot Bay is nipping at your eco-friendly heels, quickly becoming one of the "greenest" breweries in Washington.

In a press release sent out by Elliot Bay's head brewer Doug Hindman: "Elliot Bay Brewing Co was recently awarded organic certification by the Washington Department of Agriculture for 12 of its draft beers, making it the first brewery in King County to produce certified organic beer and the only brewery in Washington to gain certification for such a broad range of its products.

Elliot Bay produces 15-20 types of beer, all of which use organic ingredients, from both its 10 barrel brew house in Burien and a seven-barrel facility in West Seattle.

The pubs also serve organic tea and locally roasted organic coffee; compost 100 percent of their food waste; recycle waste fry oil into bio-diesel, and reuse spent grain from the brewing process both as an ingredient in their burger buns and as feed supplement for livestock."

Latest Rogue Newsletter + New Rogue Web site

Rogue has released its latest newsletter, published below. Also make sure to check out its revamped Web site.

Welcome to the Rogue Ales & Rogue Spirits eNews: July 30, 2008

==> Rogue.com redesign to launch today
==> Rogue News from the brewery and distillery
==> Rogue Department of Agriculture grows its own
==> Rogue-Trip, events and promotions on the horizon

Rogue eNews is best viewed in 10 point courier.
To continue receiving eNews from Rogue, please signup on our new web page when it goes live! http://www.rogue.com
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Rogue.com News:
We are launching a new Rogue.com website today! The first Rogue email newsletter was broadcast in November 1995, a few months after the website was launched thirteen years ago! There have been two major updates prior to this redesign. In order to merge our email subscriber databases, and to follow the policy of permission based email marketing, we ask that you visit Rogue.com (once the new site goes live) and sign up!
http://www.rogue.com

Brewery News:
In Newport, John "More Hops" Maier installed a new brewhouse in October 2007 and continues to receiving international acclaim. The most recent award was presented in London on July 16th where Shakespeare Stout received the honor of the Worlds Best Stout at a competition hosted by Beers of the World.

John brews a couple of dozen styles of ales and lagers under the Rogue brand in Newport, Oregon where he has been Rogue Ales' brewmaster since 1989. Always ready to think (and brew) outside the box, John's latest elixirs include the 2008 release of Brewer Ale, a new recipe called Double Dead Guy Ale, and the reformulation of Yellow Snow Ale IPA, which will be released to select mountain communities in a 5 liter can.

Rogue Nation's Allied brewpubs have their own brands and brewery locations, Tracktown in Eugene and the Frog series from Issaquah.

Eugene City Brewery hosted many of the athletes, judges and spectators during the 2008 Track & Field Olympic Trials in June. Trevor received Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at competitions across the globe for his Honey Orange Wheat, Tracktown IPA, 100 Meter Ale, 200 Meter Ale, and Triple Jump.

East of Seattle, Hutch is brewing some new and unique beers at the Issaquah Brewhouse. He continues to wow the consumers and judges with award winning beers including Frog Rye IPA, Smoked Frog, Menage-a-Frog, Cherry-Bourbon Stout, and Issy's original Bullfrog Ale.

Spirits New:
Rogue Spirits, distilled in Newport and Portland will release a hat-trick of new elixirs this summer. Pink Gin (aged in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels), Pinot Vodka, and Dead Guy Whiskey will be added to the existing Rogue Spirits portfolio which includes Spruce Gin, Hazelnut Rum, Light and Dark Rum. Spruce Gin took Double-Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2008.

Rogue Grows it own:
Rogue Nation has expanded, adding a Department of Agriculture to oversee its farms in 2008. The Rogue Hop Farm is on the Willamette River, south of Independence, Oregon on the former John Haas Alluvial Hop Farm. Four varieties are now being planted on 22 acres with an initial harvest in 2009.

The four varieties are Perle, Sterling, Horizon, and Centennial. The hops will be processed and bailed on the farm. A webcam went live this week which you can view on the new Rogue.com website on the locations page.

In 2008 a fresh hop beer will be available from the farm. The Rogue Nation Postal Service will issue a commemorative stamp marking the occasion.

In 2009 Rogue will create an all Oregon product using Oregon hops and malt from their farms, yeast from Wyeast in Hood River, and Oregon Free Range Coastal Water, in commemoration of Oregon's 150th Birthday.

http://beernorthwest.blogspot.com/2008/07/rogue-now-growing-own-hops.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogueales/sets/72157605186257318

You too can brew your own! Rogue has two homebrew kits, Dead Guy Ale and Brutal Bitter, available from Rogue.com or your local homebrew supply store.
Here is some background information from BrewCraft:
http://craftbrewcast.com/wordpress/2008/02/21/homebrew-rogues-dead-guy-ale/

Rogue-Trip:

Here is a sample of the events Rogue Ales & Rogue Spirits are participating in. Please check rogue.com for information on these and other events:

July 30: Vosges Haut-Chocolat ~ Ice Cream Social with Rogue, NYC.
August 2-3: Bones & Brews (BBQ & Beer), Portland, OR.
August 5: Spring Lounge Launch of Eugene City & Issaquah Brewhouse in NYC.
August 6: George Keeley's Rogue promo (beers and cocktails), NYC.
August 5-8: Great British Beer Festival, London, UK.
August 9: Bronze, Blues and Brews, Joseph, OR.
August 8-10: Bite of Oregon, Portland, OR.
August 15-16: Novare Res hosts Rogue withg 28 beers on tap. Portland, ME.
August 23: Hops in Humboldt, Humboldt, CA.
August 23: Alefest, Dayton, OH.
August 23-24: Great American Distillers Festival, Portland, OR.
August 25: Depwood Restaurant, Rogue Dinner, Columbus, OH.
August 27: Lola's on Harrison hosts a Rogue dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood, FL.
August 30-September 2: Slow Food Nation, San Francisco, CA.
August 30-31: Harry & David Event, Medford, OR.
September 5-6: Great Canadian Beer Festival, Victoria, BC.
September 6-7: The Gathering LongBoard Competition, Newport, OR.

2008 OBF Draws 70K Worth of Beer Lovers

With the 2008 Oregon Brewers Festival now one for the books, the Oregon Beer Guild announced a recap of the festival. You can read the full details here, but the essentials are below:

• Record attendance with around 70,000 people - 15 percent increase over last year.
• 15 percent increase in beer sales.
• Prices remained at the same for tasting despite rising keg costs.
• 73 different craft beers from 18 states.
• Top selling beer - Cascade Brewing’s Razberry Wheat out of southwest Portland.
• Also popular: Hell or High Watermelon by San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery, Widmer's Full Nelson.
• Estimated economic revenue for the state: $1.5 million.
• Begin planning for next year - July 23rd through July 26th!!