Lava, moutains, high desert and beer...

Central Oregon offers some amazing beauty.  The high desert gives a "wild west" feel and makes for sparkly bright days and chilly, starry nights.  As part of the Cascade Mountain range, there are old lava flows, blown mountain tops, calderas filled with lakes and cool glacial rivers.  Of course, it appears to be the perfect climate to brew some incredible beers.   The Deschutes Brewery, which sits in Bend, Oregon, on the Deschutes River, takes inspirations from the natural formations found in the area  - Black Butte Porter, Obsidan (glassy lava rocks) Stout, (Mount) Bachelor ESB.  The senic, yet harsh environment also produces other great microbreweries like Three Creeks Brewery.  Yum.

Melissa, Michael, Lara and I headed to Bend for some great camping and beer drinking.  It's actually the perfect trip - hike on lava all day and drink beer all night.  The long meandering drive was beautiful.  We threw down our tent at La Pine campground and headed immediately to Deschutes Brewery in Bend for birthday dinner and plenty of beer drinking!  It was crowed on this last weekend in August but the hour wait turned out only to be 25 minutes - just enough time to drink down a pint before being seated.

And there was nothing disappointing about the evening from the food to the drink to the delicious dessert for Michael's birthday.

Horse Ridge IPA -  Hello - a very tasty IPA was served up to me when I said "I would like an IPA" curious to see what they would give me.  YUM - a little lighter than the Inversion (which I love to enjoy anytime), it was a smooth IPA that wasn't malty and had a fresh flavor.  And since you can only get it in the brewery, it was definitely worth a second. 

Saison de la Bond - A farm house ale that was, as Lara said, "*%&ing awesome!"  It was very floral and the flavor lingered - leaving plenty in your mouth to chew on and think about.  Beer Advocate gave it a B- (they also thought it was retired) though guests at the table thought otherwise as two of the four ordered it.

NW Mother Lode - they claim it's the "Red Chair's brother from another mother" - and though I'm not a big fan of Red Chair the Mother Lode was pretty good.

There are enough worthwhile and tasty beers at Deschutes Brewery to take you back for a second day (and possibly even a thrid) but there are also craters, rivers and mountains that beckon and we didn't make it back for a second visit... Next year's trip to Bend is going to be a week long.

Draft beer...

So I did not go out for tasty beverages with Bess tonight or even last night but after a nail biter of a WNBA Storm game, Lara, Julie and I went out for some nosh and a tasty beverage at a place in lower Queen Anne that called themselves a bar... I'm not sure why we decided to stay because their beers only came in bottles and started at $5.  And thought they tried to be fancy pants, the lack of a good draft beer was terribly disappointing.  Terribly. 

Don't call yourself a bar if you don't have beer... on draft.  

You say it's your birthday...um, not so much.

Today I was scrolling on the Deschutes Brewery website today planning my trip to Bend (with Comet, Michael, Lara and Waffles.) I was also looking for an auction donation and was completely distracted by their pretty awesome blog.

Sadly, Black Butte won't be celebrating 22 - which - in my book was an OK year anyway - not really worth celebrating.  (What was I doing?  Post college theatre degree, living in Cleveland, working two jobs so I could pay my expensive student loans and going out, maybe once a week if I was lucky.) 

I am not a fan of Black Butte because it's Bess' realm of beers (dark, rich, sweet).  I also don't think chocolate and beer should get along and clearly, in Black Butte XXII - they don't.

xo
Torture

I don't know many girls who read the Beer Advocate...

is what Mr. B. Ware thought when the server from Santa Fe Cafe on Phiney Ridge commented on his obsecure Minnesota brewery shirt - you know -  she had read about it in the Beer Advocate.  Turns out her partner had been the brew master at Goose Island and was now at Fremont Brewery.  She gave Bess and Mr. B Ware a few drink tickets...

Bess warned me that it would be difficult to find and sure enough I did a loop and ended up parking right in front of it before realizing... well that I was right in front of it. 

Fremont Brewery calls it their Urban Garden - open-brew-house-beer-pouring-adventure - of course I stumbled upon a hipster-party-in-action and was immediately was annoyed as I got the - who-invited-you-to-this-party-look. Um.  Too many dashes. I waited for a few and then decided I might as well drink.  The server was the NICEST guy ever and made up for the hipster-stare-down.  I asked him about the Cask IPA(s) and when he was done explaining I said "Though I love hoppy, it's a warm night my friend..." so he awesomely suggested the Cask IPA with Orange and Lime - as it was cooled to 44 degrees and would be the most optimal choice fitting my request for a hoppy but refreshing IPA on a warm Friday night.  Bess showed up with her dog Shamus who won over the heart of hipsters and non-hipsters a like.  (And wanted to be friends with every single dog that walked by.)

Cask IPA - Orange and Lime -  was cooled which made it wonderful event for your mouth on a warm Friday night. It was less bitter/hoppy than the Interurban - but also a much smoother beer.  It's like a wine with a nice finish.  It's a beer that leaves you wondering what might come next.Worth getting another.  YUM.

Interurban IPA - good IPA - but not distinguishable.  Hoppy IPA - like synomyous. Very tasty but if given a choice of the two - pick the Cask IPA - with fruit. 

It's cool little brewery.  If you find yourself outside of Fremont and one of their beers is on tap - you can't go wrong.  There are plenty of other beers to taste at the Fremont Brewery - and we suggest you go down and try them out.   But keep your eyes open - you'll probably drive right past it - only once.

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering – the obscure Minnesota brewery referenced above is Surly Brewing Company.

xo

Bess & Torchy

PS - A fun video just for you..

Finally drinking beers on Friday!

Bess and I finally got together after two months of lamenting - and had a couple of beers together - on Friday.  (It almost qualified as a miracle.)  We met down at the Beer Authority (BA) on Lake City Way where Mr. B. Ware works a couple of shifts.  They had like a gazillion beers.  Seriously.  It's mostly a beer shop with a gazillion beers and a half dozen on draft.  There is a smattering of tables and chairs (and a small patio outside).  It's quite cozy and you can have a beer or two before picking out some for the weekend. We were there with Lara and chatted throughout the night with some regulars/new friends, Colin and Kristi. Kristi also works some shifts at the BA. They had two beers on draft that are good standards.

Caldera IPA - it's the best IPA in a can (I'll mention this often) and even better on draft.  It qualifies as and IPA and your non-IPA-loving friends (you should keep this to a minimum) will enjoy it too.  Delicious. 

Godon Pale - Holy Cow is this brewery JUST AWESOME. They make Dales Pale - which let me tell you right now - is one of the best 6 packs you can bring to any party. Very few people know about it and those that do will give you the approving nod and your coolness will grow by 7.42 points. (And if you don't care about cool - PBR will earn you different points and it's cheaper.) Oskar Blues does not disappoint and Gordon is no exception. This beer is also most often enjoyed in a can and even tastier on tap. Oh, but a note on the coolness quotient – it’s called ‘Gordon’. If you refer to it as ‘Gordon’s’ you’re sure to lose some of your hard-earned points. This one gets a thumbs up for being a nice mellow brew that still has a little something going on; tasty, mellow but not boring.

Cheers,
Bess & Torchy

Tasty beverage anyone?

CNN posted an article today about more Americans drinking beer - and it's all kinds of Americans who are drinking - not necessarily more often - just more of them.  There are many ways to interpret this data and what it means socially and culturally.  To us, as health-nuts-and-lovers-of-most-things-hoppy, it means you need to drink more water with your beverages.  A 1:1 ratio (water to beer) is a great rule of thumb - especially in summer.  Of course, as you drink more tasty beverages your memory of this important rule goes out the window... 

Poster from the early 1970's.  Awesome.

Happy 4th and 3 to celebrate with!

A 37 degree night at the base of Mount Rainier (with pea soup visibility and rain all night), a sleeping bag whose limits was 40 degrees and a long week contributed to a three hour night of sleep as I joined childhood friend Kathy Torma and the Kenston Field Experience.  A former participant and "student chaperone" of the trip, I was excited to join them for a day or two of hiking on Mt. Rainier and St. Helens.  However, Saturday's lousy visibility, bone chilling cold and "the mountain" eluding us, we drove down to lower levels and hiked around the base - not idea - but beautiful just the same.

In the late afternoon, we separated ways - they went on to St. Helen's and I left exhausted heading back to Seattle with two things on my mind - my soft, warm bed and a delicious IPA.  I met Lara, Julie and Meagan at the Barking Dog - a quiet Ballard favorite - that has pretty good food but awesome rotating taps of microbrews.  We arrived at happy hour!  Three very different imperial pints of IPAs were ordered - West Coast IPA (Green Flash Brewing Co.), Hales 2010 Double IPA (Hales Brewery) and Lagunitas IPA (Lagunitas Brewery).   They were all delicious and quite different - I was in IPA HEAVEN - literally.

West Coast IPA - a taste of this beer caused my companions' lips to pucker and noses too wrinkle.  Too bitter! - the other two bears exclaimed.  Just right!-  for me.  An IPAs lover's IPA -  this is a super bitter, make-the-hair-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck- though-not-malty, delicious IPA.  These are my favorite kinds of IPAs - like 4 star Indian food - enough to make your eyes water and wanting more.  (I had two.  They were equally fantastic.)

Hales 2010 Double IPA - never disappointed by Hales' IPAs, their 2010 is the official beer of beer week - and it deserves it spot.  A bit smoother than their Super Goose (a new "old standby") - the 2010 will be around for a limited time and any of you who love a good IPA - should pick one - or three - up and enjoy.  It subtly raises the IPA bar.

Lagunitas IPA - an old standby. If you favorite watering hole carries only one IPA - it should be Laguintas.  Bitter but not so much that even your non-IPA loving friends can enjoy - still with IPA integrity.  Always a good 6 pack to take to a party (you'll make friends).

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Finally!

The spell was broken - with a win against Tucson Rollergirls -  and a Hop Stupid (in the brown bag) while skating around Seattle Center after the Pride Parade. 

Delicious!

Hoppy Friday!

This last weekend I was hanging out with my friend Pygmy (no, she's not a roller derby skater and yes that is her real nickname) and some of her old high school friends from Wisconsin Gayle and Jack.  We were talking about beer.  They had traveled up Highway 101 from California and had stopped at various wineries and breweries along the way.  They had a whole case of Rouge's Double Dead Guy IPA which the brewery folks had said you couldn't get in Seattle yet.  (Of course I'm pretty sure I've had it up here but probably just not this year's batch.)  That then lead into talking about hops and how he wanted to grow his own hops and brew his own beer.

Hops.  Washington state is the largest grower of hops in the country - more than 77% of US hops are produced there - 40% of the world's hops are grown in the Yakima Valley.  I learned that at Snoqualmie Brewery two winters ago (when a group of us went there instead of Leavenworth in the blizzard.)

Still Thirsty!

In early May,I was at my friend James' apartment in Washington DC enjoying a Dortmunder Gold when he started reading off GQ's list of "50 beers you must try before you die".  Of course, I had tried a bunch of them (IPAs and ales) and some of them would likely never cross my lips (porters and stouts).  In the middle of the tasty conversation, I started wondering why there wasn't a "50 beers you must try" listed in any woman's magazine. I decided then and there that we need a beer blog written by women who love beer - and I knew the perfect partner in crime.  A few text messages later, Bess and Torchy Drink Beer on Fridays was born...

Our love of IPAs is a binding factor in our relationship.  (It's a special moment when you find someone who loves bitter beer as much as you do.) We would drink beers and write reviews for everyone to read (because everyone will want our opinion) in our beer blog on Fridays.  We would both drink IPAs but Bess would also take care of the darker porters and stouts and I would enjoy the lighter wheats/whites and pales.  We would get guest tasters to drink those things we don't love (like ambers and sours) and it would be a delicious, tasty fun time on Fridays! 

However, in one of our finer moments at the Midwest Brewhaha where the Jet City Rollergirls were fresh off their win against Arch Rival and on our way to winning the after party (also very important), we (Molly, Bess, Maude, Indy and I) decided that we would give up beer until we had kicked Tucson's butt at the end of June. We raised our delicious glasses of Horny Goat and sealed our fate - delaying the start of this blog and truly - not drinking beer on Fridays.

Ooops. 

We're still thirsty!  And there will be some delicious beers waiting for us soon enough.

Mmmmmm.