Beer and Coding 2009 Wrap Up

That’s right, it’s the obligatory end of the year post (half way into January), where I get to have my Oprah moment and talk about my favorite moments from 2009. Originally, I wasn’t going to write one of these, but being Beer and Coding’s inaugural year, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a few minutes and reflect.

I registered beerandcoding.com back in July and published my first post on August 9th. December 30th saw my 63rd post; the final of the year. A lot happened in between those two blocks of type. I attended a couple festivals, tried a dizzying amount of new beers, met and corresponded with several brewers and become part of our vibrant NW beer community. Here are a few of my favorites from 2009.

Favorite New Beer: Upright Brewing’s Four. What can I say that hasn’t been said already? Upright came out in ’09 guns blazing. Their core lineup, Four a tart Wheat, Five a traditional Farmhouse, Six a Rye Beer and Seven a NW take on a Saison, are all fantastic. Each one is fermented with the same French Saison yeast, giving them a cohesive and identifiable “Upright” taste. For a much better synopsis of why Four is great, check out Jeff’s Satori Award 2009, also won by Upright’s beer

Favorite New-to-Me Beers: Double Mountain’s Kolsch and Hair of the Dog’s Ruth. Yes, neither beer was minted in ’09, but they are my two favorite beers that I had not tried previous to last year.

Double Mountain’s brew is probably no surprise. While not the most authentic Kolsch, it is an amazingly well-crafted brew. Unfortunately it is fairly hard to get down here in Eugene, so I’ve only been able to enjoy about four pints so far.

Ruth might seem a bit more out of left field. It is HOTD’s most diminutive brew and from my perusing of the interwebs, apparently their least appreciated. Sure, Ruth only has around half the ABV of the brewery’s signature beer Adam, but for me, Ruth is the perfect APA. It is crisp, slightly sweet and packs a huge amount of hop flavor without needlessly escalating the IBUs. Like the rest of their brews, Ruth is fermented with a Scottish Ale yeast and bottle conditioned, giving it the distinctive HOTD taste.

Favorite Surprise Beer: Oakshire’s Cerise Noir.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of wheat beers. They have to be pretty special to impress me. This year, the only two to do that were the previously accredited Four and this brew from Oakshire.

Cerise Noir was a very limited release, aged on Oregon cherries in Pinot Noir barrels; creating a tart wheat beer with a resonating wine quality and a champagne-like carbonation. I tried the beer while attending the Smokin’ Bagpipes release. It was my last beer of the evening and completely took me by surprise with its intensity and well-blended flavors.

Favorite Festival Moment: The first time a glass was dropped at the Sasquatch Brewfest back in June. Despite all the noise, the crystal clear sound of that glass breaking triggered a collective “Oooh” that rolled through the entire crowd. It was definitely one of those great “community” moments.

Favorite Place to Grab a Beer: Sam Bond’s Garage. Located in the Whiteaker neighborhood, Sam Bond’s sits just down the street from Ninkasi’s brewery. I found myself spending several Friday evenings there last summer; hanging out in the back yard with my wife and friends, enjoying a beer and watching the resident cat patrol the grounds. It is a very laid-back bar with some good grub and an always solid tap list. They also manage to attract some respectable musical acts to their little establishment.

Favorite Example of Unintentional Stalking: Myself. Living in Eugene, I only have two local breweries to bother, Oakshire and Ninkasi. Since Ninkasi has focused a lot of its attention on Portland, most of my local event coverage revolves around showing up at various Oakshire events. A while back my wife pointed out that it probably seems creepy that I’m always showing up with a camera and asking to take pictures.

Well, the guys at Oakshire have been very understanding about my unintentional stalking. Matt has always been polite, posing for pictures and taking my Beer Survey. And at the last event, their Smokin’ Bagpipes lauch, Co-founder Chris Athouse found my wife and I and spend a good half-hour talking with us.

Since there aren’t any new breweries slated in Lane County for 2010, I’ll probably be spending this year bugging them too. Heads up guys – if you are reading this, my wife asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, and I told her that I wanted to start by swinging by Oakshire. See you guys on the 16th.

Favorite New Beer Blog: Samurai Artist’s The New School – A Beer Blog. Ezra “ninja’d” an introduction post in on December 27th, qualifying him for inclusion in 2009′s running. I could have given the award to myself, but from the little Ezra has cranked out so far, I am confident that he is deserving of this one.

Runner Up: Beer and Coding in Eugene. You probably have never heard of this little blog, but it is a decent read; give it a try. I didn’t say I wasn’t completely shameless.

And on that note, I think I am done looking back on 2009 and ready to get on with 2010. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged or contributed to this website; friends, fellow bloggers, breweries and most importantly my always understanding wife. Best wishes to everyone for this new year.

Cheers!
Kevin