feeling salty

There are a few things in life that are good in just about any form. Coffee and chocolate are two that I can think of…a cup of coffee, coffee candy, coffee ice cream, coffee beer…you get the picture. One of my other loves is salted caramel. The salted caramel macaroons from Pix, salted caramel candy bars, salted caramel ice cream…in fact, I just finished a bag of chocolate covered salted caramel eggs. So when Michael saw Breakside Brewery’s Salted Caramel Stout he immediately thought of me and brought it home. Especially since it was brewed in collaboration with Salt n Straw, who just so happens to make my favorite salted caramel ice cream: sea salt with caramel ribbon.

My Quest to Dragon’s Gate

This past weekend I visited a new brewery while I was in the thriving metropolis of Milton-Freewater. What?! You’ve never heard of it? Well, it’s a town of about 7,000 located in the northeast corner of the state. This being Oregon, of course it has it’s own brewery (well it’s no surprise at least). The town is literally a stones throw across the stateline from Walla Walla, WA, where I met up with my college besties for wine tasting and a weekend away. If you’ve never been out that far into Oregon / Washington, go! The scenery is reason enough. The rest is just gravy.

After driving for miles with nothing but fields for as far as the eye can see, and then winding through farmland along country roads, some without names, you’ll find a gravel drive that leads you to Dragon’s Gate Brewery. Unless of course you come from the Walla Walla wine trail in which case you are just a few turns and a couple vineyards down the road.  Either way you might feel like you are a little lost, I did, until I saw the cute little shed, an a-frame sign, and a dozen or so red adirondack chairs just waiting for the sunset.

I’ll take some MOA

Damn it’s been a long week. And I’m about ready to embark on another one. Although this one should be better. Last week brought four doctor’s appointments, a MRI, and six prescriptions – I probably shouldn’t be having a beer. But sometimes you just need one, or at least a taste of one. I can be honest with all of you since none of you know my doctors, and I’m positive none of my doctors read this blog. Luckily, Michael was willing to “take one for the team” (hah!) and help me drink this little gem so I wouldn’t feel too guilty.

I picked up this bottle last week at the Tin Bucket. One of my favorite new neighborhood hangouts and beer places here in Portland. They know their beer, always have a new selection, and the service is still great. Plus, they have a house deck of Cards Against Humanity for those “special” nights. Hmmm…maybe I need to do a future post on them. But for now just know that they have a great selection on tap that you can drink in-house or take in a pressurized growler to-go, and they have a great selection of bottles in the cooler. This little bottle of MOA, an Imperial Stout aged in Pinot Noir barrels, caught my eye and it’s been tempting me every night when I look into my fridge. So, here goes, I hope it’s been worth the “wait.”

Reader’s Choice 6: Alaskan Brewing’s 25th Anniversary Perseverance Stout

It’s that time again. What time, you ask? Time for me to review a beer selected by our readers. This one took some time because there was a tie for months, but finally the special 25th Anniversary Perseverance Ale, a Russian Imperial Stout by Alaskan Brewing Company prevailed. I’m not sure when I picked this one up, but it was released September 2011. I’ve been hanging on to this one for a while but not because I haven’t wanted to enjoy it. So, thank you, our awesome and tasteful readers for picking this one out of my cellar. Here goes.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 Whether you are celebrating the landing of cupid’s arrow or the feast of a mysterious saint or whether you prefer to observe Galentine’s Day, I hope you are doing so with a beer. Nothing better than raising a pint of lovely craft beer to toast your friends, your mom, your partner, your daughter’s birthday, your own awesomeness…you name it.

For such a special occasion, you may want to consider a 22oz bottle of Block 15’s Super Nebula.  We just enjoyed the 2011 Vintage and it is just God Damn Beautiful!