The conference included a lot of fun events, including the keynote “fireside chat”with craft beer pioneers Ken Grossman (founder of Sierra Nevada) and Fritz Maytag (savior of the Anchor Brewery). The introduction from Tom McCormick of the California Small Brewers Association, described the family tree of craft brewing, and it was easy to see that we were all gathered at Grandpa Fritz’s knee to hear the stories of the early days. Throughout the conference week the roots of the tree were clearly visible.

Bob Brewer gives a tour of the Anchor brewhouse

Don Barkley, who was the first brewer

“hired” by Jack McAuliffe at the New Albion Brewery (he had to apprentice actually) in Sonoma in 1976 was on hand promoting the beers he now makes at NapaSmith brewery.

San Francisco and Oakland’s beer bars were a testament to that family story. Craft brewers have  certainly “gone forth and multiplied.” From the classic Tornado to newer places like the Trappist and Beer Revolution in Oakland, the family is alive and well. There were said to be people from  650 new startup breweries at the conference, showing that that growth continues. There are currently 1717 brick and mortar brewing facilities in the US, up from about 35 in the 1970′s when McAuliffe got his start.

Look for more detailed information on this year’s CBC coming soon.

My main initiative at the moment will be to archive some of my previously published work from assorted publications.

Matthew O'Hara of Beau's All Natural in Ontario with Sue, the tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton at the Field Museum for the CBC opening ceremony

Piece was established in a former roofing company space in the Wicker Park neighborhood in 2001. A huge vaulted skylight and exposed joists make a welcoming open atmosphere. The hooped trusses have interesting 2×6 lattice work connectors. The bar reflects the shap of the trusses, arking around a 22 degree corner which holds the 7 barrel brewhouse and fermentation area.

The impressive thing about Piece are the number of different yeast strains used to produce the nine beers currently on draught. The Golden Arm Koelsch 5% abv has the distinctive perfumey aroma of Koelsch yeast, and a pilsner malt flavor. A Bavarian wheat, and Belgian single (which is like a 4.5% tripel, beautiful bubblegum yeast notes) all employ signature yeast strains. There is also a Belgian Wit, with emphasis on the wheat flavor provided by a dry wit strain.Of the standards the Koelsch is a standout. The Full Frontal Pale Ale 6% is a Northwest-style pale with huge grapefruit aroma and grassy dry-hop flavor.

My favorite beer in the lineup has got to be the Big Black Mariah, a 7.5% porter with just a hint of smoked malt. The smoked malt is a subtle aroma note, but balanced quite well in the flavor with milk-chocolate like malt flavors. One of the reasons I’m such a fan is that it reminds me of Sailor Hagars’ Sherpa Porter, down to the milk-chocolate like mouthfeel.

The Sasquatch Brew Fest raises money for the Fund, and features beers often brewed in tribute to Falconer, who was a hophead, and liked to brew big malty beers. This year the event will be held May 15th at the Eugene Hilton.

Anyhow. Sunburn: Best press kit yet. I love well-thought out press kits, things that were obviously a ton of  fun for someone in a marketing department or PR firm to put together. The best press kit I ever got was for a Noise music compilation, and involved a tsunami in a box, complete with sand, twigs and figurines and houses to strew about as you listened to the record. The Sunburn media kit was nearly as good. I’m used to getting sample bottles, so I opened the package expecting a couple of bottles of beer, and a blurb about the beer. To my consternation I opened the box to reveal a bottle of olive oil, and one of red wine vinegar and a jar of thyme. Also enclosed was a recipe for Sunburn Summer Vinaigrette, and behind a partition in the box two bottles of the Sunburn (aka Citra Blonde by Widmer Gasthaus regulars). I have yet to mix up the salad dressing, but I must say it is brilliant marketing.

The 15 IBU, 4.3% abv beer is a revival of Widmer’s Blonde Ale brewed with the coveted new Citra hop variety. Confusingly the bottle doesn’t tell you what style the beer is, and simply reads “summer brew.” Maybe Widmer was afraid Blonde Ale is no longer marketable in the Northwest. (A sentiment I would probably have to agree with. I think there is a perception that blonde or golden ales were crossover beers brewed in the 1980′s and 1990′s to appease mass-market lager drinkers. Sometimes though a softer beer is just what the doctor ordered. I’m working on a piece on session beers for American Brewer magazine, and Greg Hall brewmaster at Chicago’s Goose Island said “beer geeks  don’t like refreshing beers.” I think that danger definitely exists, my comfort beer, the beer I go back to at the end of the day really is a massive NW IPA, but there is room for subtlety and diversity.

a sample of Goose Island beers, including Burtons Maplewood Farm Maple Bacon Stout

Burton’s Maplewood Farm Maple Bacon Stout 6.5% abv, is served with a garnish of bacon. The garnish presents the drinker with a bit of a puzzle: eat it, dunk it, or drink around it. Not wanting to get grease on my cheek, I opted for the first option. The bacon sweet, soft and mildly smoked. After eating the garnish, the flavor of the bacon used in the beer is subtle.

Later that evening I ended up at the Publican with a number of Oregon and Washington brewers. The Publican is a gastropub, but it is also a shrine to the humble hog. From its iconic image of two pigs peeking from behind a barrel, to the larger than life paintings of porkers that adorn the walls it is clear that they take their pork seriously. The charcuterie plate was fantastic. Highlights were the pork pie, served could with a flaky crust, and the head cheese noir, which was flavored with citrus zest. For the evening the pub was featuring exoctic beers from Three Floyds and Dogfish Head, and oysters flown in from the coasts. As a coastal person eating shellfish in landlocked Chicago didn’t appeal, but apparently with its major airport the city gets fresh seafood daily and the Atlantic oysters I tried were excellent.

This is what retirement looks like

A large contingent of Cascadian brewers were there to wish Ralph well. I felt right at home, and saw a large number of brewers and beer folks from other parts of the US and Canada (well OK, US, Canada and Quebec).

After the Hopunion party, it was off to a Stone/Surly party at Jake Melicks, a beer bar with mad amounts of flatscreen TVs showing sports which reminds me of the Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY, or St. Augustines on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, BC. Surly founder Omar Ansari went to my alma mater, Macalester College,  in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the company based in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of the Twin Cities makes some amazing beer.  I had Surly’s Schaudenfreude, described to me by the barman as “their take on a session beer” which was like a massively hopped English brown, super malty and tasty.

All evening there were many enlightening conversations about beer, and sustainability. This week will hold many more fantastic conversations over fantastic beer, I’m certain. Stay tuned to brewsville.com for the latest.  Cheers.

It’s been said that Pentiction is the Florida of Canada. The mild climate of the Okanagan Valley is conducive to peach, and apple orchards, and draws many retirees. The beachfront on Lake Okanagan is lined with hotels and even the odd casino. Penticton  boasts a thriving beer scene for a town of its size (43,000 in the metro area) with two breweries (Tin Whistle and Cannery) and a brew pub (The Barley Mill).

Each year the town plays host to the Okanagan Fest Of Ales, an indoor beer event that features breweries from across BC, and beyond. A good number of Washington brewers attend, as do a number of importers pouring beers from Belgium, China, and Germany.  The festival draws a mix of attendees from 19 to 90. Tickets for Friday and Saturday sessions are very limited, and often sell out in advance. Click here for info.

This year the festival celebrates its 15^th anniversary April 9-10. The festival hosts a unique two-tiered competition. The People’s Choice Award, is given to the brewery that gets the most votes in public balloting, and the Industry Choice award, which is given to the brewery to get the most points from secret judges selected from brewers and beer media. Crannóg Ales, an on-farm organic brewery from Sorrento BC has taken the Industry Award for Best Beer for the last 5 years running.

While in Penticton be sure to visit Salty’s Beach House, which serves amazing Thai curries and is located on the beachfront. The Book Shop downtown offers an amazing array of used books with reasonable prices. The store is has 5000 square feet of space, all of which is jam-packed with books, making it one of the largest used bookstores in Canada. Also recommended is a stroll along the beach to investigate the grounded paddle wheelers at the west end of Lake Okanagan. These stylish boats once plied the lake as passenger ferries. Penticton also hosts an Iron Man Competition, with a swimming component, so don’t be surprised to see locals training by swimming in the frigid April lake. Look closely though, as Lake Okanagan is rumored to be home to Ogopogo, a Loch Ness Monster type creature, with sightings dating back to the 1870′s.

The West Coast Randall and Oakalator in-line oaking system

Brewsville-Portland, Oregon

When Hopworks sent out a press release announcing the release of its Gigabit IPA at 2pm Thursday April 1, I was certain this was the latest April Fools joke from the brewers at the SE Portland organic brewery. (I had collaborated with the brewery’s Christian Ettinger, when he was brewing at Laurelwood on the “West Coast Randall” in 2004, so I expected this was more of the same. (the West Coast Randall was a 100 gallon water heater stuffed with hops, ala a Randall (organoleptic hops transducer), a nose thumbing at the emergence of the Randall phenomenon on the East Coast.

Funnily enough the joke was on me this time. Gigabit IPA is a real project, and a very tasty beer. The beer was brewed in an attempt to lure the high tech behemoth to bequeath Portland with its favor as a test site for its broadband internet network, that has a one gigabyte speed. I had a chance to try the 5.9% abv beer at the Spring Beer And Wine Fest, where it was one of the full pour beers to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The beer has 75 IBUs and a great Northwest hop flavor, and its label is styled to look the Google homepage.  Seems like pretty good bait to lure the company to Portland to me.

Alex Ganum with his new open fermentors in early March 2009

fermentation, and a warm-room in which he conducts bottle-conditioning in 750-ml bottles.

Upright does not limit itself to saisons though, and brews a wide variety of styles. In the first year it brewed 21 separate specialty beers in addition to its 5 standards. Upright’s specialty beers have incorporated everything from herbs such as yarrow and sweet gale  to fruit and peppers to oysters.  Its bottle conditioned beers are available in Oregon, Washington, and BC, and use predominantly organic malts and all Oregon-grown hops.