Don Younger's Lingering Influence on Display

Beer geeks and industry folks gathered at the Horse Brass last night to give another sendoff to legendary publican Don Younger, who passed away a year ago last week. The event was well-attended, as beer people packed the area around the back bar at the HB...and parking was scarce.

Two vices

The main event was the unveiling of a new John Foyston painting of Younger. Prior to the unveiling, Foyston tapped a Firkin of Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA for all to enjoy. Lots of mingling. Good times.

For the unknowing, another Foyston painting of Younger hangs over the mantle at Lompoc's Sidebar on North Williams. Younger was a partner in the Lompoc operation and the Sidebar painting was mounted just months before his death. When Don first saw that painting, he was shocked, but loved it, according to Foyston and Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter.

Foyston lifts a glass moments before the unveiling

The newly unveiled portrait is a painted version of a picture taken by Lisa Morrison, aka the Beer Goddess. It appropriately shows Younger drinking a beer from a glass (he's drinking from a plastic mug in the picture at Lompoc) and smoking a cigarette. His favorite vices. Morrison took the photo at Amnesia Brewing.

While we surely crossed paths many times over the years, I never formally met Don Younger. So my points of reference with him revolve around the legendary stories, which are many. I've always been drawn to the one about how he wound up owning the Horse Brass.

Fred Eckhardt and Rob Widmer enjoyed some chat time

The story is well-known. He evidently bought the place during the course of a day and night of drinking, and wasn't sure what he'd done when he discovered the bill of sale the next morning. He may have been a little groggy at the time.

After he took over, the Horse Brass would eventually become a place where players in the fledgling craft industry met to share ideas over a few beers. Some of those same folks, people like Fred Eckhardt and Rob Widmer, were on hand last night, honoring their departed friend.

This event and the people who attended it are proof of Younger's lingering and extensive influence. Without him, the Portland beer landscape would not be what it is today. Foyston's latest portrait will hang as a testament to that notion.

Under the Clear Tents: HAF 2011

 After a bit of travail, caused by a power outage that disabled MAX and forced me to ride a bus in the general direction of downtown, I enjoyed several hours at the Holiday Ale Festival Thursday afternoon and evening. Beer fests are always a good time. Why would this one be any different? Hint: It's not.

The Clear Tents
Let me first discuss the venue. Everyone knows Pioneer Courthouse Square is miniature compared to Waterfront Park, which plays host to the gigantic Oregon Brewers Festival. There isn't a lot of space here and organizers have to efficiently use every square inch. They do a good job.

The clear tents lend a spectacular ambiance

Clear vinyl tents are a terrific innovation for his festival. In the old days, it felt a bit claustrophobic under the tents. You couldn't see in or out. Now, we enjoy lots of ambient light (daylight hours) and you can admire the surrounding cityscape, not to mention the nicely lit holiday tree nearby.

The Cost
In my preview post, I discussed the cost of attendance. You pay $25 at the door for a tasting mug and tokens. You also get a program, which is good news. There are some good reasons why the cost is what it is. Winter festivals cost more than summer festivals, for one. Read my prior post here if you want more info.

I honestly believe one of the intended outcomes of charging higher admission is reduced attendance. This has everything to do with the available space. Nothing more. I've seen this place so crowded you couldn't move an inch, to get a beer or otherwise. They'd like to thin it down a bit, I think.

Non-existent lines for most of my stay = treat

The strategy seems to be working. I arrived down there much later than I hoped, around 3 p.m., thanks to the MAX snafu. There were no lines of any kind, for beers or to get in. Even at 5:00 o'clock you could still move around and get a beer with relative ease. When I left around 6:30, it was getting busy. But this was far later than I expected. I'll be interested to see what my fellow bloggers say about the weekend crowds.

The Brews
There are a lot of good beers here. If you're reading this, you'd probably like to know which ones are the best. First, I did not taste every beer. I know because I was able to walk out of the place and onto the MAX. Second, beer opinions are all over the map. I'm already seeing differing opinions on HAF beers from people who know what they're tasting. Opinions will differ. Period.

I tasted around 15 beers and most of them were pretty good...because I chose them from a list before I arrived. Some styles I'm not fond of, and I intentionally kept them off my tasting list. Something like Chocolate Mint Stout isn't going to make my tasting list, although I see it did make Ezra's list over on the New School blog.

The volunteer elves are doing their usual great job

If you're looking for a breakdown of HAF beer types by style, you won't find it here. I tend not be all that interested in stuff like that. However, you can find that list over on the Beervana blog. Jeff produces this list for the most significant Portland beer festivals and his stuff is always top notch. Go there if you want these details, I command you.

Don't Miss
There was a lot of pre-fest buzz over the Firestone Walker Barrel-Aged Velvet Merkin. This is a fantastic beer, loaded with character yet balanced to the hilt. This is a stout and I generally don't care for stouts. But I particularly enjoyed the chocolate and vanilla notes. This beer is just excellent and should not be missed.

I visited Bear Republic Brewing just last week, tasting almost everything they had. But they didn't have Old Saint Chongo, apparently made for this festival. This is described as winter chocolate wheat ale. Sounds funky, huh? I thought it was pretty good. Nicely balanced chocolate character throughout. And mellow.

Good times? You betcha!

Lagunitas Brewing was another target last week. I loved that place and will get around to writing about it in due time. I've always liked Old Gnarly Wine...the version you can get in a 22 oz. bomber. The HAF version is just what I expected...nicely hopped and full of flavor. At 10.6% ABV, you better be careful with this one.

Elysian's Bye Bye Frost is another great one. This is a strong pale ale and the hop character is pretty intense at 80 IBUs, but balanced out via lots malts. It's dry-hopped with Amarillos, which provide an excellent aroma. Oh, another huge beer at 10.6% ABV. Watch it.

Near Hits and Misses
There were several beers that came close to the mark. Deschutes Super Jubel was really good, smoother and better-balanced than the current bottled vintage. Coalition's Lost Glove was right there, very tasty with a nice hop punch. Lompoc's Cherry Christmas is good, but I thought it had a little less punch than when I tasted it several weeks ago at the Sidebar. Perhaps my pallet was overwhelmed by all the megatron beers.

The only beer I thought was seriously bad and poured out was Mjolnir Imperial IPA from Fearless. The program describes this beer as "a constant work in progress." Maybe they're between tweaks. I found it to be void of flavor or body and completely unable to disguise 100 IBUs. I like big IPAs, but not this one. As noted above, opinions may differ on this beer.

Thanks
As always, thanks to Chris Crabb for her efforts in making this event the success it is...and for helping out all the pretend media folks like me. Big kudos to Preston Weesner, who does such a great job of bringing in rare and unique beers.

Happy Holiday Ale Festival!

Fifteenth Ave Hophouse Looking Good

Spacious outdoor seating adds to the experience

We've seen a lot of new breweries and pubs opening their doors in recent times. I particularly enjoy seeing the new pubs and tap houses that bring in quality beers from around the region and beyond. These places don't brew so their only loyalty is to great beer.


The Fifteenth Avenue Hophouse (cross street is NE Brazee) opened a few weeks ago and is just now gaining momentum. This place is connected to the Hawthorne Hophouse (41st and SE Hawthorne). I visited the Hawthorne location over the summer and was impressed by the beer selection and vibe.

The Fifteenth Avenue location is follows the same line of thought. They have more taps here, 33 in all. Most of these taps pour beer, but a few pour cider and wine. There are no bottles of any kind here, which swerves away from the recent trend of pubs doubling as bottle shops.

Like its brethren on Hawthorne, Fifteenth Avenue has a pleasant ambiance. There is a spacious, comfy outdoor seating area. The interior is quasi-plush, in keeping with the general theme of the surrounding Irvington neighborhood. They had a gent playing acoustic guitar and singing when I visited, adding to the vibe.

Expect great beers here. They were pouring beers from Ninkasi, Nectar, Oakshire, Boneyard and Natian, among others. I tried Red Nectar from Nectar brewing, on the barkeep's advice. Wow. This is a perfectly matched mix of malt and hop flavor, aroma and bitterness. I wasn't surprised to learn Firestone Walker makes this beer or that it won a Gold Medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival in the American Amber category. Great stuff.

They are still in the process of getting their menu completely up-to-speed. Fifteenth Avenue apparently has a larger kitchen than the Hawthorne location and they expect to serve some higher end fare to go with the standard pub menu we all know and love.

They had some issues getting this place open due to opposition in the neighborhood. But it  isn't a strip club and it isn't a tavern, either. The low key ambiance goes perfectly with the surrounding area. I suspect the Fifteenth Avenue Hophouse will do well.

OBF Day 1

Day 1 of the Oregon Brewers Festival was near perfect. The weather cooperated perfectly and the crowds materialized. The sheer number of people involved in the breakfast and parade forced organizers to have two ceremonial kegs (actually barrels) this year, which says a lot about where this festival is headed. Art Larrance will apparently expand the festival to Tuesday next year. More details to come.

Over in the media tent, they took us through 15 "seminal" beers chosen mostly on a subjective basis. Some of these beers were really good. Others not so much. People coming to the festival over the weekend are looking for a cheat sheet of good beers. So I'll offer a few thoughts.

If you're looking for a great starter, one that's clean and refreshing, but not too high in alcohol, try Ninkasi's Helles Belles. This beer is a lager, which is off-brand for Ninkasi, mostly known for heavily hopped ales. Helles Belles is a light beer with depth and soul. It's highly drinkable in the warmer weather that is expected to last through the festival.

Art Larrance (right) gives Fred Eckhardt his due.

Next in line is Collaborator Hopfinium, a hoppy lager. You heard that right...lager. This is basically an IPA with a cleaner, dryer finish courtesy the German lager yeast. For the unknowing, Collaborator is a collaboration between Widmer and the Oregon Brew Crew. Some Collaborator beers show up on guest taps around town. This apparently won't be the case with Hopfinium, as they only brewed enough for the OBF. Come and get it!

Boundary Bay, from Bellingham, has always been a favorite of mine. This year's OBF submission is Double Dry Hopped Glacier Pale Ale. The name comes from the Glacier hops added four different times. This beer occupies an interested space. It's likely not hoppy enough for hopheads (45 IBU), but too hoppy for novice drinkers.

Fort George's Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale is a pleasing and well-balanced beer with a heavy citrus component, thanks to lots of Amarillo and Centennial hops added at the end of the boil. As the OBF program suggests, you could have some of this for breakfast in place of grapefruit and cereal.

For hopheads, a must try is Firestone Walker's Double Jack. What a fantastic beer! A fairly malty character does a great job of reducing the sonic blast of 100 IBUs and 9.5 percent alcohol. Lots of fruity aromas here. This beer is so tasty you'll be tempted to come back for seconds and thirds. Best enjoyed in moderation is my advice.

Another excellent choice is Amnesia's Dopacetic IPA. Locals will recognize Dopacetic as the imperial version of the Copacetic IPA they pour at the brewery. Dopacetic has a great balance of flavor, bitterness and aroma. Amarillo hops used in dry hopping add significant character.

If you like smokey porters, don't miss Donner Party Porter from FiftyFifty Brewing of Truckee, Calif. This is a complex and silky smooth beer that uses 11 different grains, toasted oats and a shot of Molasses. Hop character is in the background here, just enough to back things up.

Possibly the most loved beer in OBF history, 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, returns. It isn't that hard to find...just look for a long line. While Watermelon Wheat isn't my favorite beer or beer style, I understand why this beer is so popular. It's light, the fruit flavors and tartness are subtle and low hop levels make it highly drinkable. Don't feel guilty for loving this beer!

Cheers to festing!