Oscar Sunday on the Brewvana Bus

I can't say I'm a big fan of the Academy Awards. I enjoy watching a good movie as much as the next person, but the televised awards show has gotten dreadfully bad. This year's edition was another new low, it seems to me. But never mind.

Of course, distractions can be a welcome thing and spending Sunday afternoon on the Brewvana bus was nearly perfect as distractions go. There were four tour stops, each illuminating in its own way.

You know Brewvana Tours if you hang out in or on the fringe of the Portland beer scene. The little magic buses (Angel and Rose) can be seen carting beer fans between breweries and events in Beervana and beyond. These guys are your ticket to discovering the local and state beer scene.

Sunday's tour kicked off at Buckman Botanical Brewery, located inside the Green Dragon. Head  (and only brewer) Brewer Danny Connors showed us the ropes of his little brewery and explained what he's up to. He essentially uses minimal hops in the creation of his beers...and mostly in the boil for mild bitterness. To achieve flavor and aroma, he uses a variety of things other than hops at the end of the boil...orange peel, ginger, apple juice, etc.

Inside the botanical brewery

We tasted several Buckman beers. They are a fairly interesting lot, all vaguely experimental. The consensus seemed to favor the Ginger Ale...not quite the same as the Canada Dry version. The ones with apple and orange were also pretty good. These beers aren't going to be your thing if you like hoppy, but I suggest beer cocktail connoisseurs take note. The Buckman tasting concluded with Brutal IPA, a Rogue standard and palette cleanser.

Our next stop was Amnesia Brewing on Mississippi. There wasn't quite enough sun for the outdoor area to be packed the way it will be once the warm weather returns, but it was busy enough. We worked our way through several pitchers...Dusty Trail Pale Ale, ESB, Porter and Desolation IPA. All good beers I've had a time or two before.

Our guide Nikki talks Amnesia

On the subject of Amnesia, their website says the new production brewery and tasting room in Washougal is now open. There was some suggestion on the bus that they were not yet open, but a quick call to Washougal verified that they are indeed open up there. Time for a short road trip, it seems.

Next up was Rogue Hall, in the heart of Portland State University. I'd never been to this place before. It's pleasantly warm and friendly. Lunch was served here and it was really good. Beer tasters were already on the table when we walked in and included Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout, Dead Guy Ale, Hazelnut Brown Ale and PSU IPA.

Tasting the plank

I think palettes, including my own, were pretty mangled at this point. And the food didn't really help. I did like the stout, which was on nitro and damn smooth. Otherwise, the beers seemed to run together...and that normally would not be the case.

Our final stop was Hair of the Dog Brewing. The Dog's old world big ales may not have been exactly what we needed on our last stop, but this place is always fun to visit. We were served tasters of Greg, Fred, Adam and Blue Dot IPA. Each of these beers is terrific in its own way, although I'm not sure they go together very well as a tasting flight. But never mind.

Dog day Oscar afternoon

All in all, it was a fun little tour and a good time was had by all riders. The Brewvana folks have a variety of tours to choose from and there's something for everyone. Trust me on that. As they like to say, Hop on the Bus!

Full disclosure: From time to time, Brewvana offers complimentary rides to members of the beer media. That was the case on this tour. Thanks for the ride, kids!

Craft Beer Month's Main Event is Underway

There's something terrific about a warm summer day, large tents teeming with beer fans and, yeah, a bit of beer drinking. Day 1 of the 25th Oregon Brewers Festival is in the books and I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all...or most.

I spent a casual afternoon floating from trailer to trailer, sampling more than a few beers. There were stops along the way to hang out with local beer celebs and friends. The Brewvana Tours family was front and center making friends. Fred Eckhardt was drinking water from his mug when I ran into him. I suggested a Rainier, which drew a smile. There were many more

Getting ready to tap the ceremonial kegs

The day opened with the tapping of the ceremonial first kegs from Cascade Brewing, this year's host brewery. I've been to three or four of these now and I have to say they tend to turn into a bit of a cluster. This time around the TV/video people crowded around the kegs, blocking the view. Last year, the McMenamin's Hammerheads starred in a similar role. Oh well.

A tip of the hat to Art Larrance and the OBF's longtime organizer, Chris Crabb, for introducing representatives of the three founding breweries...Widmer, Bridgeport and Portland Brewing. This being the 25th year, it was more than appropriate to acknowledge Dick and Nancy Ponzi (Bridgeport), Kurt and Rob Widmer (kinda obvious, huh?) and Art himself (Portland Brewing). None of these folks had a clue, in 1988, that the OBF could or would become what it is today. They were simply looking for a way to promote their fledgling breweries. Today, this event is the crown jewel of an industry that has made Portland and the state of Oregon an international destination for craft beer fans. It's pretty amazing to consider what has been built here in 30 years. Wow!

The Brewvana fam-bam: Sal, Ashley and Pam

The Beers

I promised to deliver some thoughts on the beers I tasted. You may recall the tasting list I posted the other day. I was fortunate enough to arrive early enough and stay late enough to taste most of the beers on my list and still make it home safely on the bike. Slow drinking and plenty of water was the key to that. There's more tasting to come.

Lagunitas OBF Fusion was the first beer I ran into. This thing seemed more bitter than 40 IBUs. The reason is the beer has almost no malt backbone. It isn't bad, but I definitely didn't find it all that memorable.

The ceremonial first beer

I moved on to Cherried Alive from Old Market Pub and Brewery. They used a truckload of sweet and sour cherries to make this beer and the name is fitting. The beer is slightly tart and I thought it worked well. A friend didn't care for it. Such is the slippery slope of reviewing beers.

Huckleberry Hound IPA from Alameda Brewing wasn't a failure as an IPA, but I didn't smell or taste much in the way of huckleberry. Whatever juice is present seems to take a backseat to the hops.

Redhook's Peach Trippel was surprisingly light, slightly tart and refreshing. At 8.2% ABV, drinking too much of this stuff isn't advisable...although opinions will differ on that.

Things were buzzing in the Buzz Tent

Because I was trying to save my palette, I didn't taste any big IPAs right away. So there was a gigantic line for Gigantic's Dynomite Double IPA when I finally got there in the mid-afternoon. The reason was instantly apparent. This beer is essentially a bigger version of their standard IPA, which is pretty good in my view. Lots of pineapple, grapefruit and citrus notes. This beer packs 8.9% ABV, but it's not that obvious. If you want to taste this one, get it early. It's on the North side.

Berry White from the Ram Restaurant and Brewery was another nice beer, with a great berry flavor and a mildly tart finish. As advertised in the program, hops are in the background.

The Buzz

They've got a bunch of terrific beers in the Buzz Tent, which is just south of Token Sales. It was pretty busy from the outset and I didn't bother going in there until late afternoon. High Class Blonde from Cascade Brewing was terrific...nicely tart. Freik Cherry Raspberry from Odell's Brewing (Ft. Collins, CO) was also yummy. I don't want to dive any deeper because I have no idea what will be pouring in there the rest of the way.

One point I do want to make about the Buzz Tent: It really bothers me that there is essentially no information on the beers. Some of the servers had snippets of info, but that was it. "Wait a second," I thought. "We ought to be getting a bit of information for double token beers." Indeed we should. Hopefully, they'll find a way to resolve this issue for next year, if not this year.

Cheers to festing!

Update: The crowd arrived earlier than usual and was huge for a Thursday. There were lines for some beers by 2 p.m. Thursday is evidently no longer a secret. I'm guessing this year's attendance will break records, although cooler weekend weather could mess with that theory.

Brewvana Tours: A Ticket to Ride in Beervana

If you're a fan of the Portland beer scene and you don't know about Brewvana Tours, you can be forgiven. The organization has only been in existence for a year...and celebrated their first anniversary on Sunday with a gathering of friends at Laurelwood on NE Sandy.

Ashley Rose Salvitti is the brains and muscle behind Brewvana Tours. She became a fan of craft beer at a young age and eventually wound up working in a brewery. She moved to Portland so she could pursue her passion for great beer more completely and has been doing so ever since.

The anniversary celebration is on!

The beer tour concept is borrowed from what wine people have been doing in the Portland area for many years. You hop on the bus and ride to a handful of excellent destinations. In this case, fantastic beer is the beverage of choice. Once on site, you tour the brewery and often get to hear brewers discuss their beers. Seriously, it doesn't get much better.

What's really cool about the Brewvana arrangement is that Ashley often has guest tour guides from the beer community. There's a nice list of brewers, bloggers and other connected folks who have shared their personal knowledge of the local and regional beer scene as tour guides. And there are more to come.

Did I mention the bus doesn't stop at the Portland city limits? Brewvana Tours has embarked on trips to Hood River, Astoria and Bend. And I may have missed one or two destinations. 

Under intense interrogation on Sunday, Ashley told me the business started slowly, but is picking up nicely now. She also said she's looking at purchasing a second bus to accommodate the increasing interest. Although she didn't say so, I suspect summer is going to be really busy.

If you're reading this, you just might have an interest in craft beer. If you do, a Brewvana Tour is an ideal way to get immersed in the area beer scene. Tours work well for all levels...from novices to complete beer snobs. 

It doesn't matter if you live in the Portland area or in Timbuktu. Hopping on the Brewvana bus is a ticket to an enjoyable and informative experience. You can view a list of recent and upcoming Brewvana tours here.

Full disclosure: I received no freebies or other considerations in exchange for writing this piece.