The Champagne of Blogs

Editor’s Note: Calendar for May is looking surprisingly sparse. If I’ve missed something, please let me know and I’ll add it to this post. I’m happy to include your event for June, as well – just drop me a line to dave at bsbrewing dot com.

Bridgeport’s Haymaker Release Party
Thursday, May 3rd
6 to 9 p.m.
Bridgeport Brewpub
1313 NW Marshall

Come on down to celebrate the launch of Haymaker Extra Pale Ale, BridgePort’s newest seasonal brewed by Oregon’s oldest craft brewery. Admission is FREE! Complimentary Haymaker samples + Food specials + Live knee-slapping bluegrass music by The Josh Cole Band. Huckaman & the Haymakers will perform its song, “Huckaman’s Ode to Portland,” recorded at Mississippi Studios in honor of BridgePort Haymaker!

Grand Opening, Full Sail Tasting Room
May 4th, 2007

The Full Sail Tasting Room & Pub will have a Grand Re-Opening celebration Friday, May 4th in Hood River. The new design features more comfortable seating that highlights the view of the Columbia River Gorge and a special menu designed to celebrate Full Sail’s beers.

via Guest on Tap

National Homebrew Day
May 5th, 2007

Watch this space for coverage of a special BS Brewing event on May 5th …

You’ve always wanted to brew beer of your own, right? The first Saturday in May is the time to act on that desire. National Homebrew Day involves thousands of home brewers around the country and the world brewing up one of three recipes: Griffin Spit IPA, a Belgian-style golden called Striking Gold or Hailbrau Doppelbock. There’s also a worldwide toast at noon central time, or 10 a.m. our time.

Yes, that’s a little early to have a beer … but the homebrewers of the Oregon Brew Crew will already be an hour into no fewer than four brewing demonstrations by then. They’ll be set up in the back room of Portland’s oldest homebrewing supply store, F.H. Steinbart, where they’ll demonstrate brews of varying complexity from a beginner’s extract brew to an all-grain brew. Saturday, May 5th, 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., F.H. Steinbart, 234 S.E 12th Ave.

via John Foyston

FredFest
May 12, 2007

Note to the fan club: representatives from BS Brewing will be attending this event. Please have Sharpies and commemorative glasses ready for autograph opportunities with our brew crew.

What started last year as a surprise 80th birthday party for world-renowned beer writer Fred Eckhardt is coming back around this year as a fundraiser to assist a longtime friend and supporter of the state’s craft-beer community.

At least a dozen rare and unusual beers created by Oregon breweries will be featured at FredFest 2007. The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 12 at Hair of the Dog Brewing, 4509 SE 23rd Avenue in Portland.

Via AltPortland.

Zoo Brew
Saturday, May 19, 2007
5:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Enjoy beer and ale from your favorite Northwest local breweries, fantastic food from Oregon Zoo Catering and live entertainment featuring Lions of Batucada, Sneakin’ Out, and Anomalous Quintet.

This Esquire list is incredible. I’ve done a few of them, and look forward to trying a few more before I hit the big taproom in the sky. Quite a few ideas for extreme food in there, too:

34. Refried doughnuts.
When and where can one sample the unholy union of Krispy Kreme and hot bacon fat? In your kitchen, whenever you make one.

I wonder what you’d call a Luther Burger made with refried doughnuts?

I’ve heard it said that Oregon winters are probably as much responsible for our great beers as any other reason. When the weather is crappy outdoors (October – June), staying indoors around a hot kettle drinking beer seems like a pretty good idea.

Last weekend, the BS Brewing crew attempted to buck this logic by brewing not one, not two, but three different beers on what might have been the rainiest Saturday in Oregon history. Okay, that might be exaggerating a little. But we did get wet.

My own brew was a Pacific Northwest salute to a Belgian Salute to the Pacific Northwest: La Chouffe’s Houblon Dobbelen Tripel IPA. I’m not entirely sure what that all means, but when I tried this beer on Chris Tacy’s recommendation, I was intrigued. All the floral hops of a Northwest IPA, with the yeasty funkiness and malty bigness of a Belgian Tripel. I searched for a recipe online, and through bits and pieces of conjecture and some intriguing clues, I conjured up a recipe of my own.

BS Brewing’s Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel Clone
I began by steeping 1/2 lb. of Flaked Wheat and 3/4 lb. of Cara Pils malt for 30 minutes at 155 degrees F. After that, I added 10 lb. light malt extract, 1 lb. Candi sugar and 1 lb. Orange Blossom honey. I used 1 oz. Columbus hops for the boil, and another ounce of Domestic Saaz (aka Sterling) for aroma. After cooling with the home-made wort chiller, I added 2 oz. Amarillo hops to the fermenter as a dry hop treatment before transferring from the brew kettle. I pitched White Labs’ 550 Belgian yeast, which is reputed to be the Achouffe strain.

My target gravity was 1.090, but I think I overdid things a bit and ended up with a whopping 1.100 gravity at 66 degrees F. In retrospect, I think I’d cut the malt extract to 8 lbs. or so. Still, the wort was flavorful and smooth, one I’m sure those emigre yeasts will munch to delicious ends.

Continuing in the Northwest/Belgian spirit, Bruce created a Wit Recipe, complete with sweet and bitter orange peel, cracked coriander and local Oregon honey.

Thom worked out a completely different Northwest clone, a Dead Guy recipe using Rogues’s Pac Man yeast, offered a few months ago by Wyeast.

Andrew stirred and sucked down several glasses of Bored Seaman IPA.

As Oregon weather often does, the afternoon improved immensely, and we were able to finish, transferring three different 5-gallon batches of wort to three clean fermenters under a clear blue sky.