So while the rest of Portland was at Hopworks Urban Brewery’s Biketoberfest event, I spent some time at Nano Fest at Green Dragon Brewpub in Oregon. It’s still going on today until approximately 9pm, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Green Dragon is a new venture affiliated with Rogue, and they JUST began brewing their own beer. They’re located at 928 SE 9th in Portland, and the brew fest occupies that entire block.

What exactly is a nano brewery, you may ask? The approximate definition is a brewery that doesn’t brew more than 1,000 barrels a year, or 2,000 kegs. So all of these guys brew commercially. Some brew a little by choice, and others are hoping to break out of the nano category within the next year – and certainly have the capacity to do so. One of such breweries is the Klamath Basin Brewing Company.

Klamath Basin, in my opinion, was the star of the show. Brewmaster Corey Zschoche, who I had the chance to interview (to be posted later this afternoon), brought his Drop Dead Red and Crystal Springs IPA. I was extremely pleased with the red – a difficult style to do, and there are so many poor examples out there – and the IPA was a well-rounded, enjoyable west coast IPA. Klamath Basin Brewing Co just started bottling their beers, and I’m going to see if I can find some for a proper review soon.

Others worth mentioning – Walkabout Brewery in Central Point, OR, Upright’s Five and Six, and Natian’s Lumber Jane Stout were all quite good.

So yeah, an afternoon of fun, for sure. I’m considering going back again today

So I started this new job in Portland that has been sucking up all of my time. No worries, though, because I have some fantastic news for you all.

I’ve been invited to write for Examiner.com as the Northwest District craft beer examiner. Just a few of the breweries that exist up in this little corner of Portland:

• Deschutes
• Bridgeport
• Rogue
• Lompoc
• Laurelwood
• Tugboat

…and a bunch of others in close proximity. Really very cool. So I’ll be covering events and beer from these quite regularly as my examiner site gets up and running. Links forthcoming.

Anyway, today, I’m heading to the Nano Fest, an event geared around ‘nano’ breweries – those with super super small production facilities. It’s held at Green Dragon, a new brewery associated with Rogue in the inner Southeast of Portland. I’m really quite excited for it. So I’ll take a bunch of pictures for you, and you can live vicariously through me. Or just show up. Details:

Much love, my friends. Talk to you soon.

- Jameson

So as you know, I tried to live blog the media event at Oregon Brewers Festival yesterday, and it didn’t work out very well. So I shot some 20 second reviews with my other camera, and just put them together. See below:

My favorites of the tasting were Terminal Gravity’s Single Hop Double IPA, Boulevard’s Tank 7, and Green Flash’s Le Freak. Very good, and very memorable.

Much love,
Jameson

And I’m trying something new – uploading directly from my phone without any editing to see if we can get some more immediate coverage on the beer festival. Listed chronologically from oldest to newest:

Alright, so I had some serious connectivity problems with my phone while at the festival. Just now getting videos up – I apologize for the wait! Didn’t work out as well as I had hoped.

I’m heading to the Oregon Brewers Festival media event in just a few moments, and I’m really quite excited. As some of you know, last weekend was the Portland International Beer Festival, run by a group out of Seattle – but the thing I’ve noticed about Portland in particular is that they LOVE to have things locally done, organized, and supplied. So this one is exclusive to Portland, and the attendance numbers show that – over 70,000 people last year, 20,000 more than other large festivals such as GABF in Denver. That’s a lot.

The only other festival I’ve been to since I moved to Oregon six weeks ago is the Organic Brewers Festival – significantly smaller than even the various Kansas City brew fests I’ve had the pleasure of attending. So I’m anxious to see what a large scale festival looks like – and the weather is absolutely perfect for it.

I’ll grab some video and make sure to review my favorites, and see if I can’t get the full report up by this evening.

More on the festival website at http://www.OregonBrewFest.com

From the press release:

Event Name

23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival

Venue

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon

Main entrance at S.W. Oak Street and Naito Parkway

Dates

July 22-25, 2010 – “Always the last full weekend in July”

Times

Thurs through Sat, taps are open from Noon to 9 p.m.

Sun, taps are open from Noon to 7 p.m.

Token & mug sales cease one-half hour prior to the taps closing

Admission

Admission into the festival grounds is free. In order to consume beer at the OBF, you must purchase a taster

package. Taster packages are available in $10, $20 and $50 increments.  All packages include a 2010 souvenir

mug, which is required for consuming beer (mugs from previous years will not be filled); a souvenir program that

includes a map of where the beers are located onsite; and various quantities of tokens, which are used to purchase

beer.  Patrons pay four tokens for a full mug of beer, or one token for a taste. Additional tokens may be purchased at

$1 apiece.

• $10 package: one mug, one program, four tokens
• $20 package: one mug, one program, 14 tokens
• $50 package: two mugs, one program, 40 tokens

Description

The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the

west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves

craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of

Portland.

The festival exists to provide an opportunity to sample and learn about a variety of craft beer styles from across the

country. Eighty-one craft breweries from all parts of the nation offer handcrafted brews to more than 70,000 beer

lovers during the four-day event.  There’s also a Buzz Tent featuring tastes of more than 50 limited production brews

from the participating breweries.

The event features live music all four days, beer-related vendors, beer memorabilia displays, beer writers and

publishers, homebrewing demonstrations, and an assortment of foods from a variety of regions. The Crater Lake

Root Beer Garden offers complimentary handcrafted root beer for minors and designated drivers.   Minors are always

welcome at the festival when accompanied by a parent.

The Oregon Brewers Festival strongly encourages responsible drinking, and urges patrons to take advantage

of the MAX Light Rail line, located just one block west of the festival on SW Oak Street.   The festival also offers

complimentary manned on-site bicycle parking.

Should be a blast. See you all there

- Jameson

So my dad and I were out about a month and a half ago, paroozing around Lawrence. We ended up at a new(ish) mexican place – Esquina – on the corner of 8th and Mass street. Negra Modelo, my favorite Mexican beer, was in order.

Interesting thing about this particular dark Mexican beer is that it is the perfect style example of what a Vienna Lager should be. See the video for more:

So here’s the breakdown:

• Originality within style (16): The benchmark for the toasty Vienna Lager, therefore not terribly deviant from it.
• Nose (15): toasted malt, hints of vanilla, caramel
• Mouthfeel (18): full and viscous without being too heavy.
• Character (17): Something I could drink all day and not get bored, yet nothing in particular stands out.
• Overall Quality (18): Hell, it has been consistent every time I’ve had it…
• Total (84): A Mexican beer that deviates off the beaten path, much to everyone’s delight.

Beer: Negra Modelo
ABV: 5.4%
Brewer: Groupo Modelo – Mexico
Availability: everywhere.
Reviewed by: Jameson Huckaba (twitter: @jamesonhuckaba)

So I went to Free State Brewing Company (http://freestatebrewing.com/) one last time before I left Lawrence, as it is one of my favorite breweries in the whole world. Happened to have my video camera with me, and I shot a review while at the bar.

Bumper Crop Saison is one of their seasonals that comes out late spring, and a superb example of a spicy saison. It is hopped with Simcoe hops, a favorite of mine.

Check it out:

So here’s the breakdown:

• Originality within style (16): Classic spicy Saison, marvelous complexity
• Nose (17): complex floral notes, some black pepper and other spices
• Mouthfeel (20): Marvelous full assault on the palate, perfect blend of body and high notes
• Character (18): Interesting, not too intense, and totally sessionable
• Overall Quality (18): The beer varies from year to year – this year is spot on, and awesome.
• Total (89): Fun spicy Saison that is something to look forward to every year. Free State should bottle this.

Beer: Bumper Crop Saison
ABV: ~7% (from RateBeer.com)
Brewer: Free State Brewing Company
Availability: Late Spring. Lawrence, KS and surrounding area
Reviewed by: Jameson Huckaba (twitter: @jamesonhuckaba)

I had the opportunity to pull my lovely mother, Nancy Huckaba, in on a beer review. People say to me, “Jameson, this website of yours is really cool, but I don’t drink beer. I don’t like beer.”

Hmm. To which my answer is always ‘yes, you do. I can guarantee that I can find you a beer you’ll like.’ Lindemans Framboise is one such beer that usually goes over quite well. It’s important to keep in mind, despite the ridiculously sweet flavor profile, that this is still beer. Pretty cool stuff. So check out our review below:

Have you had this particular one? Let us know how you liked it in the comments section.

So here’s the breakdown:

• Originality within style (20): Lambics are wide territory as it is, but this firmly plants itself as the definition of fruit-based lambic.
• Nose (18): Raspberry. Wild Yeast. Pungent, and delicious.
• Mouthfeel (18): Cloying – may be a bit much for some, but perfect in small quantities. Perfect carbonation
• Character (20): Pretty different and distinct, and spontaneous fermentation adds a story to tell to the uninitiated
• Overall Quality (20): Well done for the style. Quite consistent despite the fermentation method.
• Total (96): The beer for non-beer people. They’ll fall in love and immediately want to know more.

Beer: Lindemans Framboise Lambic
ABV: 2.5%
Brewer: Brouwerij Lindemans – Belgium
Availability: Year-Round, whole country.
Reviewed by: Jameson Huckaba (twitter: @jamesonhuckaba)

Boulevard’s Amber Ale. Seems as if most larger microbreweries around the country have an amber of some sort – it’s a bit of a requisite style. Every bit as much as a Pale Ale or some sort of American Wheat. So Boulevard Brewery in my hometown of Kansas City decided to produce one. We’ve reviewed it below:

Alright, not a bad beer, and as we said in the video, ‘Highly Quaffable.’

So here’s the breakdown:

• Originality within style (15): A classic amber, albeit on the dry side. Nothing particularly standout, and that’s not bad.
• Nose (16): Notes of toasted malt, vanilla, caramel, all very subtle.
• Mouthfeel (17): Perfect spring or fall session beer, with just enough character to not be boring.
• Character (13): Just enough character to not be boring. The dryness at the finish is different.
• Overall Quality (16): Boulevard does a quality job of packaging great ingredients into a beer people will drink.
• Total (77): Can’t complain. Very decent. I wouldn’t specifically seek this one out, but most certainly wouldn’t refuse.

Beer: Boulevard Amber Ale
ABV: 5.1%
Brewer: Boulevard Brewing Company – Kansas City, Missouri
Availability: Year-Round, half the country. Check Boulevard for distribution area.
Reviewed by: Jameson Huckaba (twitter: @jamesonhuckaba)

One of the completely kickass things about being a beer lover in Oregon are all the festivals that are constantly going on. Being brand new to the area, I JUST came across the North American Organic Brewers Festival going on just outside of downtown Portland. So I’m hitting that in about 30 minutes, and will report back with my favorites.

There are some absolutely killer organic brews out there, including mainstreams such as New Belgium’s Mothership Wit, and St. Peter’s Organic Ale, and a whole slew of smaller microbreweries that do their own organic brews, including a new favorite of mine – Portland’s own HopWorks Urban Brewery.

You can check out the Brew Fest’s website here: http://naobf.org

Off I go – I’m stoked. Check you guys later.

Much Love,
Jameson

P.S. – Jeffrey got engaged, not me. Just so you all are aware