Heineken Triumphs in Asia Beer Deal

Heineken Triumphs in Asia Beer Deal: LONDON-—Heineken NV secured a stronger foothold in the lucrative Asian beer market Friday as it finally triumphed in a multibillion-dollar battle for control of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, maker of the popular Tiger and Bintang lager brands. The ...
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Heineken Triumphs in Asia Beer Deal

Heineken Triumphs in Asia Beer Deal: LONDON-—Heineken NV secured a stronger foothold in the lucrative Asian beer market Friday as it finally triumphed in a multibillion-dollar battle for control of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, maker of the popular Tiger and Bintang lager brands. The ...
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Fests aplenty: The Beer Here for the week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 4

Fests aplenty: The Beer Here for the week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 4: Fests aplenty this week with Pacific NW Brew Cup and Hood River Hops, Roscoe's German Beer Summit and Oktoberfests under the St. Johns Bridge, in Newberg and at the Pod Bar on Carts on Foster...,

Weekend of Beer: Hood River, Astoria, Portland

Weekend of Beer: Hood River, Astoria, Portland:

If you're not one of the 99% that are fans of fresh hop beers, then you may be one who is looking for something to do other than attend the Hood River Hops Fest this Saturday. With more than 50 fresh hop beers, the Hood River Hops Fest is definitely the place to be, but I can't ignore some other great events happening around Oregon like the Pacific Northwest Brew Cup and Occidental Brewing's Oktoberfest.
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Portland Fresh Hops Fest

Portland Fresh Hops Fest:


10/6/2012

Portland Fresh Hops Fest

Oaks Amusement Park

7805 SE Oaks Park Way

Portland

12-8pm

BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE ONLINE

CASH ONLY PRICE – DAY OF EVENT

$15/glass + 5 drink tickets.

$20/glass + 10 drink tickets

$40/two glasses + 20 drink tickets

21+ to drink – 1 person per glass – Cash only – Minors permitted – Glass sales til 7pm – Drink Ticket sales til 7:30pm.

Root Beer + Lemonade for sale-proceeds benefit the Llewellyn Elementary School Foundation

Kid’s activity area from noon-5pm sponsored by:



Homebrewing Demonstration by Portland U-Brew & Pub

Full Sail's 25th today --- and more

Full Sail's 25th today --- and more: Full Sail's founders, Irene Firmat and brewmaster Jamie Emmerson, are going to be bi-toastal today, leading 25th anniversary toasts at the Hood River brewery this afternoon, and then at the Horse Brass Pub at 6:30 or 7 p.m. tonight

Full Sail Brewing Celebrates Hop Harvest with Fresh Hop ...

Full Sail Brewing Celebrates Hop Harvest with Fresh Hop ...: HOOD RIVER OR Located in the heartland of hops every year the Full Sail brewers wait with thirsty anticipation for hop harvest and the chance to celebrate ...
www.brewbound.com/.../full-sail-brewing-celebrates-hop-harv...

Rogue: Floor-malting the revolution

Rogue: Floor-malting the revolution: This is an expanded version story I wrote for the current issue of the new magazine Oregon Beer Growler: and it's already out of date, because Rogue has built a new floor-malting operation at its Tygh Valley barley farm and won't malt in Portland anymore, so this is a fascinating bit of beer history, is what it is..

Bend gas station among first in Northwest to offer growler fills

Bend gas station among first in Northwest to offer growler fills:

At most gas stations, you fuel up, grab a soda or perhaps a six-pack of your favorite beer. Now a Bend station is taking that to the next level. The Stop & Go Shell station on Highway 20 and 27th Street has something no other gas station in the Northwest. They now have 30 different West Coast beers all on tap so you can fill your 64-ounce (half-gallon) "growler" of beer.

Video >> KTVZ.

Vote now for America's Best Beer Bar

Vote now for America's Best Beer Bar: Craft Beer.com wants your help in naming America's best beer bars in an online poll. Who knows what this kind of thing actually means in the real world, but Oregon's lone nominee, Apex, is definitely one of America's best, so I'll cast my vote...

Full Sail Brewing's 25th Anniversary Party

Full Sail Brewing's 25th Anniversary Party:

Full Sail Brewing Co., an Oregon classic and an employee-owned brewery based in Hood River with a pilot brewery at Portland's Riverplace, is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Thursday, September 27th. To commemorate the occasion the brewery has crafted "25," a Pale Doppelbock.
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Rogue Ales pays tribute to the troops KPTV FOX 12

Rogue Ales pays tribute to the troops KPTV FOX 12: Military members, veterans and their families were invited to enjoy complimentary food and drinks at the Rogue Distillery and Public House Saturday.
www.kptv.com/story/.../rogue-ales-pays-tribute-to-the-troops

James Bond on a secret mission in global Heineken® campaign

James Bond on a secret mission in global Heineken® campaign: 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Heineken®, the world's leading premium beer brand, today announced a thrilling new TV and digital campaign in anticipation of the upcoming release of SKYFALL™, the 23rd James Bond adventure, in which Daniel Craig brings his ...
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Henry Weinhard’s brand goes national

Henry Weinhard’s brand goes national:

Update: The New School reports that MillerCoors won’t renew its production contract with Full Sail Brewing next spring
Press Release:
(Chicago, IL) – Henry Weinhard spent considerable time and effort exploring the Pacific Northwest and searching for the perfect location for his brewery. More than 150 years later, beer drinkers across the country have the chance to explore the taste of the Pacific Northwest. This month, Henry Weinhard’s is launching three beers nationally: Private Reserve, Redwood Flats Amber Ale and Woodland Pass IPA.
The affordable, uncomplicated craft beers pair well with easy-going foods, such as nachos, burgers and steak.

• Woodland Pass India Pale Ale:  Originally developed for British sailors stationed in India, IPAs were aggressively hopped to help prevent spoilage on long ocean voyages. Henry’s has eased up on the hoppiness just a bit to let the caramel malts shine through and let beer drinkers appreciate the hops in all their glory.

• Redwood Flats Amber Ale:  With its beautiful copper color and subtle hop aroma, Redwood Flats Amber is our traditional take on a modern American classic. Featuring a unique blend of American hops and malts, this beer is bold and assertive, with a smooth, hoppy flavor that’s easy to drink.

• Private Reserve:  A crisp, clean, American Pale Lager, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve blends Henry’s German heritage with the natural ingredients of the Pacific Northwest. It’s brewed with 100 percent Cascade hops from Oregon.

“Today, we swim in an ocean of beer options, from ultra hoppy IPAs to stouts aged with kiwis in whiskey barrels,” said Katie Cowan, brand manager for Henry Weinhard’s.  “While we respect these breweries for pushing the boundaries of beer, Henry’s is serving up rock-solid, uncomplicated beers that are textbook examples of Henry’s original motto:  craft good ingredients into quality products.”
There’s never been a guy who cared more about making good beer easy to enjoy than Henry Weinhard.  He left Germany in 1856 with nothing but a recipe, a copper kettle and a thirst to share his beers with the people of America.  He was a savvy businessman, a straight shooter and generous to a fault. Legend has it, he even offered to pump free beer through a public fountain so people could enjoy it at will.
The three Henry Weinhard’s beers are now available in bottles, priced around $6.49 per six-pack.   Woodland Pass IPA and Redwood Flats Amber are also available on draft.
About Henry Weinhard’s
In the spring of 1856, a young brew master from Germany traveled months aboard a cargo ship to America and arrived in Oregon Territory.  Young Henry established his brewery outside of Ft. Vancouver and had a steady stream of thirsty trappers, soldiers and loggers to enjoy his high quality brews.  Demand quickly increased for Henry’s fine brews and he continued to share them with the people by purchasing saloons, delivering beer to neighboring cities via horse-drawn carriages and even shipping beer aboard barges to San Francisco.  By the end of the century, Henry became a leading citizen of Portland and was revered for his craft of brewing.  He passed away in 1904 and left behind a wealth of friends and a tradition of high quality, authentic beers, brewed with ingredients from the Pacific Northwest, including Woodland Pass India Pale Ale, Redwood Flats Amber Ale, Private Reserve, Blue Boar, Northwest Wheat and Blonde Lager.

Craft beer sales jump for MillerCoors

Craft beer sales jump for MillerCoors: MillerCoors LLC created a special craft and import division, Tenth and Blake Beer Co., in 2010 that has been performing strongly. In its most recent quarter, net sales grew 4 percent for MillerCoors, the Chicago-based beer manufacturer with a major ...
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Oregon Brewers Festival adds $30 million to local economy

Oregon Brewers Festival adds $30 million to local economy: Eastern Oregon University prof Jeff Dense and several of his students interviewed 680 attendees during the first three days of the 2012 Oregon Brewers Festival to get the data for this study - a sample large enough to yield a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Dense says the $30 million that the festival generates should be of interest to the policy makers and tourism bureau officials alike: "In a down economy, that's generating jobs,"

The Audacity of Hops

The Audacity of Hops: A craft brewer makes less than 6 million barrels a year (a barrel contains 31 gallons; Anheuser Busch, by contrast, shipped 97.9 million barrels of beer in the United States in 2011), and the vast majority produce significantly fewer. But craft beer is ...
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Elysian Blight Pumpkin Ale debuts on September 21st

Elysian Blight Pumpkin Ale debuts on September 21st:

It’s the end of the world as we know it! Come celebrate with us as we release the ninth of our 12 BEERS OF THE APOCALYPSE :: BLIGHT Pumpkin Ale. Blight will be available on draft, cask and in bottles with labels featuring the artwork of comic artist Charles Burns from his weirdly apocalyptic Black Hole series. 4PM – Official tapping of Blight Pumpkin Ale.

via newsletter.

Red Robin Beer Milkshake Debuts Ahead Of Oktoberfest

Red Robin Beer Milkshake Debuts Ahead Of Oktoberfest: Red Robin, home of the ghost pepper burger, has launched a beer milkshake today, made with Sam Adams Octoberfest draft, soft serve vanilla ice cream, vanilla syrup and caramel. It is available to customers 21 and over for about $5 and will be sold ...
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Stone Brewing's Mitch Steele Authors the Definitive Guide on IPA

Stone Brewing's Mitch Steele Authors the Definitive Guide on IPA:

Mitch Steele is often not given the credit he deserves. Though Stone Brewing Co. was co-founded by Greg Cock, it was when Brewmaster Mitch Steele was hired that the beers really began to sing. An unquestioned master of style and technique, his years working for Anheuser-Busch taught him science and perfection and at Stone he has brought craft to his repertoire. So as a style aficionado and homebrewer, or simply for a craft beer education, I am excited for his new book all about the IPA. Here is some more info from the recent news release:

India pale ale (IPA) has become one of the most popular craft beer styles in the world, and Brewers Publications is pleased to present the authoritative guide to the brewing techniques and history behind this iconic beer. IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale, by Mitch Steele, is a must-have addition to any brewer's library.
Arguably one of the leading authorities on hoppy beer, Steele is currently Stone Brewing Co.'s brewmaster, and his brewery experience ranges from the small-scale San Andreas Brewing Co. to the Anheuser-Busch specialty group. In this new book, he explores the evolution of an influential beer style, India pale ale. IPA covers techniques ranging from water treatment to hopping procedures, including 48 recipes ranging from historical brews to recipes for the most popular contemporary IPAs made by craft brewers such as Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Pizza Port Brewing and Russian River Brewing Company.
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Portrait of a Pacific NW Brewery with Full Sail's Irene Firmat

Portrait of a Pacific NW Brewery with Full Sail's Irene Firmat:

Full Sail's Irene Firmat and Jamie Emmerson

On Monday with the news that Henry Weinhard's beers would no longer be produced in Oregon as parent company Miller is not renewing their brewing contract with Full Sail Brewing got me talking to co-Founder and CEO Irene Firmat and her story alone warrants an entirely separate article.

Full Sail Brewing is one of Oregon's biggest and best craft brewers, one of our proudest achievements really because it's a company like few others. In addition to being employee owned they have also helped to pioneer Barrel-Aged beers with their Black Gold and Top Sail series and fresh hop beers with the Lupulin series. They operated 2 brewpubs and a test brewery that let world famous brewer John Harris play with his own devices. Lastly they reaped profits from contract brewing Henry Weinhard's beers and their own popular brands that they invested into energy, time and cost saving sustainable features like the incredible Mash Filtration System they installed that processes water more efficiently and creates less waste.

However over the last 2 years I feel like I have seen and heard less from Full Sail than ever before. One blow was news earlier this year that Brewmaster John Harris was leaving the company after 10 years to start his own brewery. Before that Full Sail had axed most of the Brewmasters series of beers that often put out their most interesting brews. Recently I was disappointed to learn they would not be brewing any of the Lupulin series of fresh hop beers this year. Now top that all off with the news that MillerCoors is pulling the plug on contracting out to Full Sail and it makes me wonder what is up. Happily, Irene's Firmat is happy to talk about these things and is one of the easiest top 25 brewery CEO's to get ahold of.
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Deschutes Jubelale returns in October

Deschutes Jubelale returns in October:

Press Release:
(Bend, OR) – For the past 25 years, beer fanatics have made their holiday seasons complete by enjoying a spicy, malty, hoppy bottle of the Deschutes Brewery’s winter seasonal, Jubelale. Almost as anticipated as the beer itself is the beautiful labeling and packaging artwork, which features the creations of a different local artist each year. That’s why, in a majestic nod to the past, the 2012 label artwork is a grand amalgamation of 25 years of art.
The 2012 label is literally “layered” with meaning –the artwork was created through a complex collaging process by Bend, Oregon artist Kaycee Anseth Townsend. She uses small scraps of paper to create designs, and she comprised the 2012 packaging entirely from pieces of Jubelale labels from years past. Fans may even be able to see a recognizable scrap or two from years gone by inside the incredibly intricate final design.
Anseth Townsend said, “My artistic process of collaging a completely new image from tiny bits of paper often feels like working a puzzle, and using only the past years Jubelale labels as my materials for this project added an extra challenge to the process. It allowed me to really get to know each past label, appreciate the work that went into each one, and also think about how I could repurpose different aspects of that work: sky was used to create snowflakes, snow became light, cabin roofs became trees, a pint glass became a lamppost.”
Jubelale was the very first beer to ever be bottled by the brewery, and it epitomizes the season with a big – and a welcome – warming alcohol temperament. A new regional artist is commissioned every year to create an original work of art, inspired by Jubelale, to be transformed into label and packaging art.
Memorable works of art, like Jubelale, offer fitting tribute to any seasonal gathering one might attend. Distinctive flavors establish Jubelale as the ultimate luxury to share with friends and family.
Jubelale will be available in 6-packs, 12-packs and draft this October through December in all 19 states and both provinces where Deschutes beer is sold.

Alcohol by Volume: 6.7%

IBUs: 60
About Deschutes Brewery

Located on the banks of the Deschutes River in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Deschutes Brewery is in the business of daring people to expect more from their beer. That’s why we started off back in 1988, selling Black Butte Porter at a time when others were sure a dark beer would never catch on. Our brewers love to buck convention, especially if it makes someone nervous. For us, however, the highest praise is a raised glass and a toast of “Bravely Done!” For more information about Deschutes Brewery and its courageously crafted beers, please visit www.DeschutesBrewery.com.

Craft Beer's NFL Season

Craft Beer's NFL Season: The return of football season not only brings with it Super Bowl aspirations, but also one of America’s ultimate pastimes: tailgating. Here's your team-by-team craft beer guide to this year's NFL season.

Oregon Brewers Guild: nearly 100 in-state fresh hop beers to be brewed this fall

Oregon Brewers Guild: nearly 100 in-state fresh hop beers to be brewed this fall:
Press Release:
(Portland, OR) – Fall is coming to the Pacific Northwest and that means the return of fresh hop beers and the Oregon Brewers Guild (OBG) fresh hop Fests. Four Fresh Hop Fests – similar to traditional outdoor beer festivals – are scheduled across the state in September and October as part of the Oregon Bounty culinary tourism program. Each Fresh Hop Fest will feature original limited release fresh hop beers produced by OBG members. Fresh hop beers are only produced during the small window of Oregon’s hop harvest, which typically takes place from mid-August to mid-September. These once-a-year beers are ready for consumption in September and October and are packed with unique flavors that simply aren’t available the rest of the year.
Oregon is home to 120 brewing companies, and nearly 100 fresh hop beers will be made during the hop harvest. “We are lucky to have so many breweries within minutes of the hop fields that supply the aroma and flavor hops to the US craft beer industry,” explains Brian Butenschoen, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild. “The goal of the Fresh Hop Fests is to gather these limited beers in one location for consumers to try and enjoy – in many regions, this is the only time for consumers to try so many fresh hop beers at the same time.”
Fresh hop beers are growing in popularity across the nation, but Oregon’s abundance of hop vineyards and status as the second largest hop-growing region in the United States gives the state a distinct advantage in fresh hop beer production. Fresh hops are extremely fragile and need to be dried or used within 24 hours, ideal for Oregon, where nearly 140 of the state’s breweries are within 150 miles of a hop field. Fresh hops are picked straight off the vine, then bypass the hop kiln and are shipped directly to the brewery to be immediately added to the brew kettle. “Oregon’s hop growing community is especially rare,” explains Nancy Frketich of the Oregon Hop Commission. “I can’t think of any other brewing community in the world where you have 100 specialty fresh hop beers made around a single harvest.”
Fresh Hop Fests will be held across the state between September 29th and October 20th, 2012. Fresh Hop Fests hours vary and can be found at http://oregonbeer.org/freshhopsfest/. Most events start at Noon and Souvenir tasting glasses are required to sample beers. Individual beer samples are $1 each. Food will also be available for purchase. Fresh Hop Fests dates and locations include:

• September 29th – Hood River Hops, Downtown, Hood River, OR

• September 29th – Sisters Fresh Hop Fest, Village Green Park, Sisters, OR

• October 6th – Portland Fresh Hops Fest, Oaks Amusement Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland. $ 15 for a glass and 5 drink tickets. $ 20 for a glass and 10 drink tickets. Cash only – Minors permitted – Glass sales till 7 PM – Drink ticket sales till 7:30 PM. Free root beer for kids courtesy of Portland U-Brew & Pub. Homebrewing demonstration by Portland U-Brew & Pub.

• October 20th—Willamette Valley Fresh Hops Fest, Lane Events Center, Eugene, OR

For more information or to view video of last year’s Fresh Hop Fests, please visit http://oregonbeer.org/freshhopsfest/
About the Oregon Brewers Guild

The Oregon Brewers Guild is Oregon’s non-profit trade association for the state’s independent breweries. The Guild, which receives no state funding, comprises 90 brewing companies, 63 Associate or supplier members, and nearly 3,300 enthusiast members or S.N.O.B.s (Supporters of Native Oregon Beer). For more information, visit www.OregonBeer.org.