PDX 12

Ah, summer vacation. You were too short. My wife and I are just a few days back from a trip to Portland, Oregon, and there's some of my loot. Harvester brewing on the left. Don't know much about them but I wanted to see what a gluten-free pale ale tasted like. Next to that is a Logsdon Saison, which they spell the Flemish way, Seizoen. They specialize in farmhouse ales and I've been sampling saisons whenever I can, as I recently brewed my first one. (Well, turns out it's not really a saison because I used the wrong yeast--but that's another post.) Did I mention it's organic? That's pretty much de rigueur in Oregon these days it seems like. The two swing-top bottles are from an interesting outfit called Captured by Porches, a testament to how Portland nano-breweries can defy the economic laws that rule every place else, i.e. a nano-brewery shouldn't be able to survive on its own. But in Portland it seems that niche culture is vibrant enough to keep them afloat. The Invasive Species IPA on the left was nice with some pungent Swedish cheese on a lovely afternoon last week. The Emma Goldman Amber is going to wait until a suitable occasion comes along. Maybe May Day 2013, or the next Occupy Tokyo event? The little guy in the front is a Rogue Imperial Red, a gift from a Japanese brewer friend living in Portland. Another friend commented under his breath one evening that "Portland people don't really drink Rogue any more." Wink implied. I recalled how quickly in-the-know Portlanders will disown something once it becomes common currency outside of their secret domed city. Provincially cool to a fault. Gotta love that. Anyway, that last one there is the first ever commercially released CDA, from Oakshire in Eugene. Loyal readers will recall my interest in this style, and my quest to brew the perfect example.

Our trip was a good balance of family and friends time, sightseeing and of course beer related quests. Here's a slide show partially documenting that. Enjoy it full screen in stunning HD!

I'll try to give a break-down of some of the things featured here soon. It's too much for one post, so stay tuned.