Beer Review #66 — Hopworks Ferocious Citrus IPA

  Happy Spring folks! We're officially out of Winter, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. The rain and cold may continue, but I wanted to reach for something bright and vibrant in hops of encouraging the weather to do the same. Hopworks in Portland is going through a [...]

Beer Review #66 — Hopworks Ferocious Citrus IPA2018-10-18T13:21:36-07:00

Beer Review #60 — Commons Bourbon Little Brother

  Happy Snow Day! I thought I left Colorado to avoid the snow, but truth is I love the snow...In small doses. I can do a snow day here or there, just don't give me sustained temperatures below 10º with snow and ice that never seems to fade. A nice fresh [...]

Beer Review #60 — Commons Bourbon Little Brother2018-10-18T13:21:44-07:00

The grossest ingredients in beer

Beyond the four main ingredients in beer (malted barley, hops, water and yeast), many brewers also use a variety of other ingredients, including spices, chocolate, fruits, vegetables, sugars, roots, you name it. But some brewers take things a bit further by adding extremely uncommon or shocking ingredients. Sometimes they do this as gimmicky marketing [...]

The grossest ingredients in beer2018-10-18T13:22:43-07:00

The Portland Dilemma: Why an Excess in Breweries Does Not Equal a Craft Beer Community

The author's opinion does not necessarily reflect that of Tap Trail. In the world of craft beer, a question that always seems to pop up is, “How big is too big?” Whether we’re talking about a brewery’s production level or the number of breweries per city, there seems to be an [...]

The Portland Dilemma: Why an Excess in Breweries Does Not Equal a Craft Beer Community2018-10-18T13:23:25-07:00

Beer Review #18 — Cascade Brewing: Blackcap Raspberry (2015)

Welcome back fellow beer lovers! Firstly, I wanted to have this up earlier in the week, as it was fresh in my mind, but I came down with a bit of a head cold, which may or may not have been directly attributed to numerous beer week shenanigans...the verdict is still out [...]

Beer Review #18 — Cascade Brewing: Blackcap Raspberry (2015)2018-10-18T13:24:57-07:00

Elizabeth Station SourFest Preview!

Bellingham Beer Week is fast approaching, celebrated here from September 11th through the 20th, it is chock full of fantastic events (we'll highlight some of these in the upcoming days), but the main attraction, the culminating event, the capstone course, is Elizabeth Station's SourFest. It will cap off beer week, hosted [...]

Elizabeth Station SourFest Preview!2018-10-18T13:27:35-07:00

Public Wake for Fred Eckhardt this Sunday

On August 10 we lost Fred Eckhardt (1926-2015), one of the most influential beer personalities the world has ever known. Called the Dean of American Beer Writers and Craft Beer’s Muse, among many other titles, Fred was one of the first homebrew advocates, he was a leading beer writer (with regular columns in [...]

Public Wake for Fred Eckhardt this Sunday2018-10-18T13:27:36-07:00

Portland man visits 77 breweries in one day

On Saturday, Aug. 15 (2015), John Lovegrove of Portland, Oregon, along with beer writer Brian Yaeger and a film crew, completed the “Spirit of 77 Breweries Challenge” by visiting 77 Portland-area breweries within a 24-hour period. This broke Lovegrove’s 2012 record of visiting 50 breweries in one day, and it more [...]

Portland man visits 77 breweries in one day2018-10-18T13:27:37-07:00

Key Statistics from 2015 Craft Beer Conference

The 32nd Annual Craft Beer Conference and BrewExpo wrapped up last week in Portland. The basic takeaways are that the craft beer industry is booming. Over 3,200 breweries, but the following statistics from Craft Brewing Business take an even deeper and more telling look at the current craft beer boom. One of [...]

Key Statistics from 2015 Craft Beer Conference2015-04-22T16:17:43-07:00

Aslan Brewing Collaborates with Base Camp Brewing on “Night Riders” Imperial Steam Lager

Aslan Brewing Company and Base Camp Brewing Company recently collaborated on two separate beers, but one style. This "cascadian collaboration" was built around mutual interests, the great outdoors and their love of beers that don't follow traditional style guidelines. The first collaboration beer was brewed at Base Camp about 5 weeks ago, [...]

Aslan Brewing Collaborates with Base Camp Brewing on “Night Riders” Imperial Steam Lager2018-10-18T13:28:57-07:00

How Bellingham Inspired a World Class Career in Craft Beer

The good folks at Chuckanut Brewery had a great idea: Team up with Jason Oliver, BrewMaster of Devils Backbone Brewing Company of Virginia, for a collaboration brew of epic goodness. The owner of Chuckanut, Mari Kemper, invited me down to Chuckanut for brew day and I got to know Jason. Turns out it [...]

How Bellingham Inspired a World Class Career in Craft Beer2018-10-18T13:29:00-07:00

Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo Begins in Portland

The Craft Brewers Conference runs from April 14th - April 17th in Portland, Oregon. This is no small affair, as you can see from this photos of last year's conference in Denver, Colorado. There will be over 15,000 attendees, 575 businesses, and 16o presenters. Portland last hosted the conference in 2001, [...]

Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo Begins in Portland2018-10-18T13:29:01-07:00

Winners of Oregon Beer Awards Announced

Oregon's Willamette Weekly created the Oregon Beer Awards to honor the best breweries, tap houses, bars, beers and festivals. We were happy to see former Chuckanut Brewery Head Brewer, Josh Pfriem's brewery win! Here are the winners! Best New Brewery Buoy Beer Company – 49pts StormBreaker Brewing – 40pts Ex Novo [...]

Winners of Oregon Beer Awards Announced2018-10-18T13:31:27-07:00

Portland Home Brewers to Make Beer from Treated Sewage Water

12 Portland breweries will be partaking in a competition put on by county authorities to brew beer with treated sewage water. The competition is intended to showcase the various ways you can use recycled water with the intent of stirring discussion about long term water needs. From the article. "Is there another [...]

Portland Home Brewers to Make Beer from Treated Sewage Water2018-10-18T13:30:24-07:00
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