yearinreview

Reflections, My Craft Beer Year

Posted on by oahuzer0

Another year comes and goes, and the ever changing world of craft beer delivers copious moments of glee, disappointment, and the occasional “meh”. Expectations were high. The status quo is an often looked upon bad word with breweries fighting tooth and nail to stand out amongst the emerging and in some cases the declining. We have been blessed with an over abundance and it has been my genuine pleasure to over indulge. As I sift through the hazy memories (pun not intended, but pun totally nailed) I can’t help but be optimistic that this train has no intention of slowing, and I’m setting up shop on the tracks. So where to start?….

The Tried and True Award

One thing that all enthusiasts appreciate is consistency. How many times have you been at the bottle shop and been stumped? What are we having tonight? This is the “First World Problem” of too many to choose from that it becomes difficult. So thank the beer gods for the no brainer, the always a good choice, like warm apple pie go-to beer/brewery that damn near guarantees smiles as opposed to the status quo “meh”. Locally here in Eugene you can go no wrong with anything from Ninkasi Brewing. Their staples are as good as they were when I first laid these lips upon them and their seasonal/special releases like Ground Control and the Megaladom give me the fizz in my special liver parts. Oh yes, they are special…

Favorite Beer Fest(s)

Still haven’t made it to a GABF, sue me. But I have made my way through the crowds of the massively lubricated and I can’t say that it wasn’t a fantastic time. A bucket list destination for me was Drake’s Brewing’s Hopocalypse Day and it did not hesitate to demolish my expectations. Mythical beers like the whale of a brew, Black Label Hopocalypse was my entire focus, and no one, not Ninkasi herself could have kept me from acquiring the “One Beer” to rule them all. I told my crew that they could come with me if they wanted but I was heading straight to the line to get my bottles. They came with, cuz… you follow obsession when it leads to oblivion it seems. I got my bottles and proceeded to douse my liver in a tsunami of hops and smiles provided by the Bay Area’s finest. It was a good Hopocalypse…

I would not be able to forgive myself if I didn’t mention my favorite Oregon beer fest. The Bend Brewfest was a spectacle of epic proportions. You know all of the stories you hear about Oregon beer? Put all of that in a field of tents, taps, and tokens and say goodbye to your friends and loved ones, because you’re home, in craft beer heaven. Rest In Pieces…

Biggest Surprise Beer

My liver is spoken for. When I yearn for beer the first brewery that comes to mind is Great Notion Brewing out of Portland, OR. Those who know, yearn with me. Those who don’t, I pity you. I found myself spending hours driving to the brewery just for a chance to pick up my allotment of cans for one of their Saturday releases, but what I was not prepared for was the mind f@&k that their sour IPA Luminous v.03 was about to unleash. This was a gateway beer to obsession. Strawberry, hops, haze, tart, eyes wide open and with a solitary tear of elation streaming down my cheek. I told others, “You have to try this!” They would ask if I could send them a can. I could not. I was not willing. And now I yearn. Is this my karma? So be it. I would do it all again. If you know then you understand, and if not… then I pity you.

Biggest Disappointment Beer

This one hurts. The first beer I remember loving was the Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head out of Delaware and the long distance affair has been strong throughout the years, however my affections have apparently wavered (as of this year anyways). Let me be clear, my heart is still strong for the Head of Dogfish, but when something you depend on gives you less than what you expect after years of dependability then it hurts on a much deeper level. The beer was good. Please do not let this rant say anything else if not that, but I have been accustomed to great when it comes to Sam and Co. I pray the punk rocks its way back into the light of praise this year. If not? I can live with a broken heart…

Best Beer of the Year

Astoria, OR is known for a few things. First, a little film called The Goonies. Ever hear of it? Second, Arnold insisted to his kindergarten class that it indeed was not a tumor. And most importantly, Fort George Brewing has been pumping out amazing brews that would cause any truffle shuffling adventurer seek them out. Their yearly collaboration beer, the 3-Way IPA always promises justified hype with the year before being the coming together of minds from Great Notion and Rueben’s Brews. So the follow up had some pretty big glasses to fill, and fill they did. They brought in SoCal innovators Modern Times and Seattle’s beer equivalent to a religious experience in Holy Mountain Brewing for this last years 3-Way and proceeded to make sweet, sweet love. This one, I was less stingy with and spread it far and wide, the way a 3-Way should be. I can’t wait for this years collab as I sit with these dirty thoughts.

Best Brewery

What do you consider a great brewery? Is it all about the people? Is it the beer that pumps its way into our glasses and helps us forget? Is it the atmosphere, the ambiance, what the French call a certain… I don’t know what? I don’t know Lloyd, the French are assholes, and I know how Great Notion Brewing out of Portland made its way into mine, and the hearts of many. There’s almost nothing worse for an ex-punk-ish hombre than the status quo, lemmings off a cliff, “lets do what everyone is doing” attitude, so it was indescribably refreshing when a brewery was doing hazy IPA’s, big stouts, and juicy sours with little regard to the norm. They’re tap lists on whatever day you may visit reads like a Willy Wonka wet dream. In the mood for pancakes? Brownies? Passionate for passion fruit? Enjoy hazy days on the citrus train? Like puckering them cheeks? All are welcome here to drink as you please with not a dilly dilly in sight. You’re going to drink a bit, more than likely a few liquid refreshments will pass through our lips to liver, and the menu is a smorgasbord of heart stopping munchies to soak up stout to sour. It’s nothing if not exciting for me as I approach the doors and find my seat. This place makes me feel like I am winning at life, and lets face it, we all need that as often as we can get it.

Most Anticipated Beer

There are beers that we look forward to coming out every year. Pliny the Younger is a yearly obsession that I will be happy to indulge until the well runs dry or nuclear Hopocalypse claims us all. KBS, B-Bombs and Dark Stars, Hunahpu’s, Bourbon County (you damn well know you look forward to that one too), and many more that have become old reliables will hit shelves for minutes if that, but what I find myself frothing at the mouth for are perched safely in my own cellar. Bottles of puckering Rare Barrel, de Garde greatness in great abundance, stouts and barley wines and sours, oh my. But the holy grail for hop heads takes up the most coveted shelf space. I’m talking about the copious amounts of 120 Minute IPA’s dating back to 2011 waiting for vertical consumption. Granted we are two years off from what promises to be the vertical to end all verticals, but I cant help but feel the excitement in the now. I imagine it will happen on the annual trip to The Bay for my Pliny, which those days will make for stories we will tell our grandchildren, if we can remember of course… or survive.

Reflection, A Year In Craft Beer

Posted on by oahuzer0

It’s been quite the ride. Another year gone and the oceans of craft beer from the past 12 months surges it’s way into memory and some into oblivion. This blog if anything for me is all about recollection, whether it be about experiences or simply tastes that stood the test of time in the otherwise spotted rinse cycle that is my memory. In honor of those that deflected forgetfulness this year, I have decided to have the first ever “Upright Drunk Best/Worst of Awards…Show…Ceremony…Thing”… Keep in mind that anything you read in this blog is completely self serving and though I value your outlook on craft beer, life, Donald Trump… I take that last one back… my opinions are just that, mine. So if you agree or if I have inspired you to make your own list, awesome. If you gonna hate, well, as a good friend of mine once said, “Bitches gonna bitch…” Aaaaaand here are our categories for…….

Biggest Surprise Beer of the Year goes to (drum roll)… Ballast Point Brewing’s Calm Before the Storm. So what’s the surprise you might say. It’s Ballast Point, and one should almost always expect greatness. And I do, but like the Grapefruit Sculpin the year before, I was not prepared for the curve ball that had me swinging for the fences with CBtS. They are slick over there in sunny San Diago (I know it’s Diego… Anchorman joke) and they hit you with a dark beer expectation being that it is obviously related to that gem of a brew in Victory at Sea. So imagine my surprise when my flight of Ballast Point brews from the nights tap takeover yields a light hued creamy sumbitch batting cleanup. “WTF is that?” I exclaimed. That my friends was a cream ale with coffee and vanilla. That was my mind blown all over the north facing wall. That, was craft beer revelation. 

Biggest Surprise Let Down of the Year goes to… and its a tie. Now before I divulge this pair of “Why did I put this in my mouth?” total disappointments, I have to preface that there may be a very good reason for my utter displeasure that may or may not have a chance for redemption in the future, but for now they are burnt into memory as they were. First the Molotov Lite from Evil Twin Brewing. Beer in a can? Hell yes. Evil Twin Brewing? Again, yes. What heinous aromas released I was not expecting and as first impressions go, this was not good. Expectations were high due to my adoration for its big brother the Molotov Cocktail, a 13% ABV behemoth of an Imperial IPA brewed with the amazing Simcoe hop (and just), so it had a long way to fall. And fall it did. Moving on to the next bit of heartache this year. The Stochasticity Project: HiFi+LoFi Mixtape from Stone Brewing. Now before you grab your torch and pitchforks allow me to explain. Like the Molotov Lite, the aromas were immediately off-putting and the sediment in this one was very unattractive. The flavor was bitter in a non hop forward kind of way. This one, like the ML, I believe was introduced to some beer spoilers. Infections kill beers, and it goes to show that even the most coveted breweries are not exempt from the infiltration of those terrorist microbes. Maybe one day I will give them another shot, but it may take some convincing.

Barrel Aged Reflections and Honorable Mentions

It almost seemed this year that you couldn’t throw a bottle cap without hitting a barrel aged something or other coming out of every brewery. I’m not complaining of course. The nuances that the barrel adds to our brews either make or break an experience. Here are some of my favorites from this past year, barrel aged and otherwise. Goose Island hits us again with yet another amazing variety of Bourbon County Brand Stouts that define the genre. Honestly, I do not know of anyone who does it better and more consistently than the Goose. Clown Shoes rocked some palates this year with a couple barrel aged sumbitches that caused for a standing ovation. The Crasher in the Rye will leave you exhaling some serious fumes. Stay away from open flame. Rexx, the imperial red ale that was aged in bourbon barrels is a game changer and unique to experience. You can’t talk about barrel aged beers this year and not mention some of the palate manipulators at Deschutes. Anytime I pick up one of their wax dipped wonders I turn in to a little kid waiting for Christmas. They gave me The Abyss, Black Butte anniversary (any year), The Stoic, Not The Stoic for hops sake. Jubel, The Dissident, Mirror Mirror, the list can make a grown man, well to be honest, very drunk, but hopefully upright. A steady diet of Pliny the Elder was my pleasure along with a lucky happening upon the very special Heady Topper. Amazing IPA’s that will always be at the top of the heap. If you can find yourself one of those then jump on it along with a Silva Stout from Green Flash and Southern Charred from Arrogant Bastard Brewing (apparently not Stone Brewing anymore). Barrel aging is showing no sign of going away and should probably be its own category. 

Best Brewery

Everyone has their favorite brewery that is ingrained in the souls and livers of all that partake in the craft beers. This is not a sentimental pick for Best Brewery of the Year. This is based on the experiences that this brewery has provided consistently this year and every year for that matter. Without further adieu, The Upright Drunk’s pick for Brewery of the Year is Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits. More than one tap takeover in these islands gave us an intimate look at the BP lineup. They amped up their production of the Grapefruit Sculpin and shocked the world with the expectations shattering Calm Before the Storm. They jumped on the session IPA bandwagon with their interpretation called Even Keel which packs a hop punch on par with the bigger ABV boys. They pioneered their Homework Series which highlights the home brewing achievements of the deserving. Then I’ll be damned if they didn’t hit me with some sour brews that knocked my socks off, if I were wearing socks at the time. They brought back Victory at Sea with a vengeance and for the first time in Hawaii we actually got to celebrate Victory at Sea Day where the peanut butter, toasted coconut, and peppermint variations made their way here for our enjoyment. Along with the classics that they pump out every year I can’t think of another brewery that is as consistent and fulfilling as this San Diego house of hops. What else would you expect from a billion dollar brewery?

Most Anticipated Beer of 2016

What do we have to look forward to this year? Craft breweries have pushed the boundaries of barrel aging and have squeezed every last bit of lupulin out of the hop, so what can possibly get this heart muscle thumping? Dogfish Head has promised to up the production of my favorite brew, 120 Minute IPA, and with Arrogant Bastard going out on its own we can definitely expect some punishing brews from them. I am very much looking forward to getting my mitts on a Hopocolypse Black Label from Drakes Brewing but there is one above all that has me on the edge of my seat. I will be in Santa Rosa, CA this February for the white whale brew known as Pliny the Younger. It takes but a mild suggestion from a friend, barely a whisper and plans have been set in motion to brave the air in flight to the welcoming doors of Russian River Brewing. I have no words for the anticipation. This is what “The Search” is all about.

Best Beer of the Year

And finally, the Best Beer of the Year. This was a hard one. It was like trying to choose what my favorite breath of air was this year, quite literally there were a number of beers that made me feel alive. The one this last year though, that is still a reoccurring bit of lust in the liver, was the versatile, ever expanding, end all be all beer of 2015, Hopocolypse from Drakes Brewing Company out of San Leandro, CA. I raved about my visit to Drakes this year in February and have been fondly reciting it’s glories all year. They served a barrel fermented version at the brewery that was just another version of awesome. Their Black Label version is on the high anticipation list for this coming year and I will not rest until it is had. 

Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey through the brew landscape of 2015. I have nothing but high hopes for this year to come so get out there and support your local breweries because that is where you are going to inspire the ones who will one day brew the best beer you’ve ever had. Cheers brewthren.