Portland Holiday Ale Festival 2009

Last night, I attended the blogger preview of Portland’s 14th Annual Holiday Ale Festival. This was my first time attending the festival, which I hope will evolve into a yearly pilgrimage. This was also my first time being invited to an event because of my website; go-go gadget Beer and Coding!

I arrived at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 3:45, after spending 20 minute driving in circles, attempting to locate the parking structure at 4th and Yamhill. Once at the event, I asked a gate worker the location of the upper bar. She told me that this was her first day and she had no idea what I was talking about. I tried the same question at the station where you can purchase you glass and tickets. I was pointed to Chris Crabb, who got me checked in and on my way to the media event. I headed up the cat walk to the upper bar, where my lack of ability to follow verbal instruction got the better of me again. I bumbled around the upper bar for a good ten minutes before I noticed the entrance to the media area.

I got settled in and had the opportunity to meet Bill from It’s Pub Night, Charles from An Ear For Beer and several other PDX bloggers who’s names I cannot remember. Man, I am bad with names.

Preston Weesner, organizer of the Ale Festival, did a terrific job; acting as both storyteller and curator, as he guided us through a selection of standout beers from the festival. I made the mistake of sitting in the far back, so all of my pictures turned out like the one below; a distant shot of Preston, a lot of the back of Bill’s head.

We were treated to 7 beers at the event, three of which were already on my “must try” list; Full Sail’s Wassail Holiday Blend, HotD’s Jim 2009 and Cascade Brewing’s Sang Noir.

Full Sail Wassail Holiday Blend – Preston mentioned that most years Full Sail just sends a dry-hopped version of Wassail, but this year they blended off something special. The Wassail blend was 35% Imperial Porter, aged three seasons in Maker’s Mark barrels and 65% fresh Wassail. The beer smelled great; very grassy, with hints of sweet fruit. It tasted a lot like mellowed out Wassail. The inclusion of the porter cut down the hoppiness and imparted a strong woody flavor, giving the ale a smoother, polished taste. I was hoping a bit more of the porter qualities would shine through the blend, but the Wassail-strong beer was still very good.

Hair of the Dog Jim 2009 – Jim 2009 was served alongside several stories of the late Jim Kennedy, for whom the beer is named. Blue Dot and Doggie Claws were both large components of this year’s blend. Jim had a big piney, citrus nose, with an underlying sweetness. The pine wass present in the taste, but much more muted that the smell would have you believe. As the hops subsided, a candied fruit taste made its’ way to the surface, creating a sweet finish. There were so many flavors happening that I’m sure I missed at least half of them, but I am still confident in saying that it is one of, if not the best tasting, best smelling beer I have ever had the pleasure of trying. Later in our tasting, we were treated to the 2007 vintage; Preston’s favorite of the Jims. This was a much different animal than 2009; omitting Blue Dot and relying heavily on Adam, Fred and Doggies Claws. Personally, I preferred the more direct hop presence of ’09 and can’t wait to see how it evolves over the next couple of years.

Cascade Sang Noir – Our tasting ended with Cascade’s Sang Noir, and as Preston promised, it did indeed blitz my palate. Sang Noir is a blend of several barrel aged beers. Parts spent time in Marker’s Mark and Pinot Noir barrels. Blond Quad aged in Minnesota oak, Bourbonic Plague and 100 pounds of sour pie cherries were also added to the blend. It is labeled as a Double Flanders Red, but a more apt definition would be “insane concoction of mad scientist, maestro and Belgain ale-ologist; Ron Gansberg.” Sang Noir was immensely sour from start to finish, with moments of slight sweetness. Both the cherry and grape flavors were very pronounced. While sampling it, I was strangely reminded of some tart candy from my childhood, but the name escapes me. If I make it back to the festival on Saturday I am going to have to try this one again. That is assuming there is any left.

The other ales we sampled were Bear Republic’s Baba Yaga, Fort George’s North III, and Deschutes “Lost Barrels” of Mirror Mirror.

Bear Republic Baba Yaga – As the name implies, Baba Yaga is a big, weighty Russian Imperial Stout. It was an interesting beer. I could pick up some asine and a deep wine taste from the carbernet barrels used to age it.

Fort George North III – North III is a Belgian Tripel, rested on 60 pounds of sugar plums. It had a big, sweet fruit taste, yet remained fairly bitter. There was also a bready quality that I could detect in both the smell and taste. I have no doubt that this will be a fan favorite of the festival, but I think a more concentrated plum flavor with a little less sweetness would have put it over the top.

Deschutes Mirror Mirror “Lost Barrels” – As for Mirror Mirror, it was yet to wow me. I have had ’09 both on tap and bottled, and both times there was a medicinal quality to the finish that turned me off. The “lost barrels” we sampled had an extra year to age, bringing out deeper oak and raison notes, and mellowing out the finish. I definitely preferred this Mirror Mirror to what I had back in the spring. The flavors all feel more refined, but it still is just not my cup of tea. If you liked Mirror Mirror the first time around, you will probably love these “lost barrels.”

After the media event, I headed back down to the festival. The other two beers I wanted to try were BridgePort’s Bourbonezer and Upright’s Holy Herb, both of which I had a chance to sample before leaving.

BridgePort Bourbonezer – Bourbonezer is a mellowed out Ebenezer; picking up a big oak taste and a little vanilla from the barrels. It had a nice warming alcohol finish. I would drink this for the rest of the winter if given the chance.

Upright Holy Herb – Holy Herb is a Farmhouse Ale, brewed with hyssop, aged on eucalyptus and open fermented. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. What I got was mint, and a lot of it. The hyssop gave it a strong mint smell and equally strong taste. There was also general fruitiness about it, probably brought out by the Belgian yeast. I wasn’t picking up a lot from the eucalyptus, but that might have been due to the boldness of the other flavors. My notes say, “homeopathic.” This is what aromatherapy candles should smell like.

Before I left, I threw up a couple scatter shots and ended up trying Ninkasi’s Unconventionale and Redhook’s Roggenhammer, both good. Then I found Bill and Charles again, gave them the rest of my tickets and headed back toward Eugene.

The experience was fantastic. I called my wife on the way home to tell her that we needed to come back up to Portland on Saturday. There are still a lot of beers I want to try. I want to give a special thanks to both Preston and Chris for putting on a great event.

If you are in the Portland area, I highly recommend you stop by the Holiday Ale Festival before it ends on Sunday. All of the event information is available on the Festival’s Website, including a beer list with descriptions and information about the special tappings. If any of you are planning on being at the festival on Saturday, let me know and I will try to find you.

Cheers!
Kevin