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I attended a beer dinner the other night.  It has taken me a few days to digest (pun intended) exactly what happened.  This was a fundraiser for Morrison Children and Family Services in Portland.  A description of their services follows.

The event was deemed “Chef’s Challenge” in that seven of Portland’s finest chefs would combine their talents to pair their dishes with Deschutes’ beers in a very friendly competition.  I was lucky enough to be one of the judges of this august contest, at least I thought.

Along with me as judge was John Foyston, noted retiring beer columnist for the Oregonian; Cole Danehower, of Northwest Palate Magazine; Amy Faust, of The Wolf 99.7 FM; and Alan Kropf, of Mutineer Magazine.

The evening started off innocently enough with a trio of appetizers from Deschutes Brewery’s own Chef Jeff Usinowicz, who made Cortes Island Oysters on the half shell with a hop infused ponzu sauce, quail egg yolk, and tabiko caviar and the first, Ale Pretzel with a warm chantrelle mushroom taleggio cheese sauce for the second and a hop and lime marinated wild gulf prawn with a mango glaze.  All paired with Cascade Ale.  This was a delightful way to begin and a great palate conditioner.  Then things began to get serious.

Chef Pascal Chureau of Fenouil prepared a Rabbit Loin Crepinette with Chantrelles Faro Risotto, Bone Marrow Butter and Maple Syrup and Bourbon Gastrique paired with Miss Spelt Hefeweizen.  Everything went very quiet at the judges table.  We all agreed that whatever the flavor of Bone Marrow Butter actually was, it was a huge hit and the only criticism was there should have been more of it on the dish.  Admittedly, I was not excited about the pairing on this one at first.  But after trying it the pairing was done brilliantly!  The esters of the yeast and husky graininess of the spelt knitted perfectly with the rabbit and even the marrow butter.  We were off and running for sure.

Next, Chef Adam Berger from our neighbor Ten 01 paired our D Straat Dubel with House made duck and hazelnut sausage with cranberries.  This was done in a much more Germanic preparation, but, again, a brilliant pairing.  The sausage was laid on a bed of cooked red cabbage with cranberries on the side.  The sausage was sprinkled with crushed hazelnuts and tangy salt.  The fruity sweetness of the Dubel worked its way into the tanginess of the cabbage – no doubt cooked with vinegar – and the sweet tanginess of the cranberries with the soft gaminess of the duck sausage and, finally, the salty, nutty hazelnuts all touched every sensory gland in my mouth.  I was beginning to sense this event was, truly, something special.

Next came Chef Paul Bachand from Farm to Fork prepared a Smoked Trout, Leek and Potato Mason Jar Pie, with Fresh Herb and Winter Radish Salad.  Going in I didn’t know what a Mason Jar Pie was, but I sure learned.  Resembling a Pot Pie, it was comfort food on steroids.  Soft, warm and savory with the smokiness of the trout, the pie was accompanied by an herb (mostly frisee) and winter radish salad.  Taken all together it paired (again) brilliantly with the Long Shadow Black IPA, contrasting perfectly with the beers bright herbal hoppiness and the roasted astringency of the malt it was another of many surprises for me that evening.  I think it was at this point that John Foyston turned to me and said, “We are so screwed!” Of course referring to the inevitable judgment we would be required to make.

The next course was from Chef Kurt Spak of Alba Osteria.  He paired Jubelale with  Agnolotti al Plin with Oregon Black Truffles.  This turned out to be my favorite of the dishes that evening.  Of course, it’s wonderful to do a dinner in truffle season.  The soft, rich agnolotti and the rich earthiness of the truffles paired seamlessly with the malty, hoppy Jubelale .  It was game-on now as Amy turned to the rest of us with a wistful look and said, “I didn’t think I had any love left!”  That pretty much summed up what the rest of us were feeling as well.  But our work was far from done.  The amount of love we all carried would be sorely tested for sure!

Our final “dinner” course was Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana who paired Obsidian Stout with Cauliflower Sformato with Oregon Black Truffles.  This is where we all went into a bit of sensory overload.  Rich, creamy cauliflower pudding covered in cheese sauce with generous slices of truffle all over.  My kind of food.  Cathy outdid herself with this one!  What can I say about the pairing except, perfection.  Simple, humble, perfection.

Finally, it was time for dessert.  This dish prepared by our own Pastry Chef Jill Ramseier who made a bevy of delights entitled, Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Bon Bons with Root beer Meringue.  These “bon-bons” were two and quite different.  One traditional bon bon and one of peanut butter ice cream.  The Root beer Meringue had everyone mesmerized and they worked around the chocolate butterfly Jill made to wow the crowd with her presentation.  All this paired with, what else? The Abyss.  Unbelievable!

Afterward, the judges awarded Chef Spak’s agnolotti first prize while the audience favorite was Chef Bachand’s Mason Jar Pie.  In private conversations John Foyston and I agreed that after attending hundreds of beer dinners over our careers (and some very, very good ones) this may have been the best one ever.  If you were there you will know what I mean.  If you missed it, well, you really missed it.  We will look forward to doing more as we continue to push the envelope.  Records are meant to be broken, after all.  Watch our website for announcements of coming events.  You will want to make the next one for sure!

Cheers,

Gary

Links:  http://www.morrisonkids.org/

Morrison Child and Family Services provides a comprehensive range of mental health, substance abuse, juvenile justice, and prevention services. Each year we touch the lives of more than 5,000 children and their families who are struggling with physical and sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to drugs and alcohol, learning disabilities, depression, and serious emotional trauma. Our programs include residential, day treatment, outpatient counseling, parent education, home and school-based programs, and foster care.

Well, lots has been going on around Deschutes Brewery lately. Everyone has been so busy; keeping up with communication sometimes does not get the priority it deserves. I am writing here on the day after The Abyss release. This is probably the most anticipated event of the year here (although Hop Trip day is pretty cool too). People line up early to make sure they can get their supply. It becomes an event of its own. I went down to the pub last night and enjoyed some of the nectar myself. They had the ’07,’08 and ’09 versions all on tap at the same time. Quite the unique experience keeping up with how the product really ages. As we stood by the bar enjoying our libations, some of the brewers and myself were discussing, among the various attributes of The Abyss, the difference between the “vintages”. Certainly, the older versions were more oxidized; after all, that is what the aging process is. But the flavors were knitting together in very interesting ways. The ’09 tasted pretty “linear” to me. All the various flavors were on display in their individualistic forms. The alcohol, roasted malt, molasses, licorice, etc. were easily identifiable. With the older versions, whereas the flavors were all there, they seemed to be creating new flavors as the sum of their parts. The wood was a pleasant background as was the bourbon, although the vanilla characteristics of both were working pleasantly with the tannins in the roasted malt now. The molasses had lost much of its sweetness, leaving earthy flavors that seemed to meld with the licorice in perfect harmony. The longer the liquid sat in my mouth, the more it revealed. As my palate seemed to get more accustomed to the product being there, more layers appeared; dark fruits and spices, roasted herbs and more earth. All in all it was a truly rewarding experience because the time, efforts and patience of so many seemed to be rewarded so appropriately.

We have always believed our Reserve Series beers would age well. But, until we actually could experience it, we would not know for sure, or for how long. I believe they have significant aging capacity, particularly with products like The Abyss and The Dissident because of their acidity and the tannins that provide the structure on which these beers will age gracefully for many years. How fun the discovery!

Our Reserve line of beers has created some very interesting opportunities and some interesting challenges as well. We have attempted, with all our products, to push our own limits in beer making. We have created beers that will age like wine, use many non-traditional ingredients (whatever that means, because tradition is an elusive thing very conducive to selective memory), age in various types of wood barrels and date the bottles in a completely confusing way.

Larry Sidor, our Brewmaster, and I periodically have private tastings where we sit in his office and drink whatever esoteric beer we might have recently come upon, solving all the brewery’s and many of the world’s problems at the same time. Sometimes the beers we drink come from abroad, often from Belgium. As we all know the Belgians can be somewhat creative in the ways they make beers and in the ways they market those beers. As we were sitting there one day examining the label of a particularly unique Belgian offering (no, I don’t remember which one it was) we noticed the date code on the label said “best if consumed after . . . “ The date was set at least a year out (not knowing the bottling date we could not be sure). “What a clever idea!” We had been struggling with date coding our Reserve Series beers because we knew they could cellar well for several years, just how many we could not yet be certain. It is likely, that with some, they may last for a decade or two, or more. So, last year we started date coding our Reserve Series bottles with a “Best After” date that was set one year from bottling. We thought the beers were better off having a year to age and would only improve from there. Well, people were certainly confused. “Is it ok to drink before one year?” “Will it make me sick?” The answers are simple, no it will not make you sick (Unless you drink too much and we all know we drink responsibly, don’t we?) And, yes it is ok to drink before one year. As evidenced by our experience last night, it is not only ok, but terribly delicious as well.

So, our recommendation is as always, buy enough bottles so you can enjoy one now and have others to enjoy as far in to the future as your patience and self discipline will take you. Keep it “cellared” appropriately in the mean time (in a cool, dark place), so your efforts will yield the maximum benefit. Maybe you can put on your own “vertical” tasting for family and friends and show what you really know one day.

Cheers!

Gary Fish, owner

As our country and state fall further into financial chaos, large gaps are left in state and federal budgets and our elected leaders are challenged for ways to deal with them.  Historically, they have turned to “so-called” Sin Taxes, taxes on tobacco and alcohol.  I won’t deal with tobacco here because while alcohol can be abused, when consumed per manufacturers instructions (moderately and responsibly), alcohol causes no harm and there is ample scientific evidence it may actually contribute to a healthy lifestyle. (Duhhh!)
In Oregon, as in some other states, legislators have decided to target the beer industry (not wine or spirits or junk food or Britney Spears, just beer) for a significant increase to the excise tax on beer.

Excise taxes are taxes assessed at the point of manufacture or import.  The tax proposal in Oregon would affect all beer sold in Oregon regardless of where it is produced.  It would not affect beer we produce and sell out of state. (Those state’s excise tax would be assessed upon our beers importation into that state.)  The key here is where do you sell most of your beer?  For Deschutes Brewery, we sell half of the beer we produce in Oregon so we have a much larger exposure to heavily taxed beer should the current proposal pass.  Other Oregon brewers sell ALL of their beer in Oregon.  This places them at a significant disadvantage when competing with out of state companies that can average costs over a broad range of territory.  What it really means is that Deschutes Brewery’s state excise tax bill would go from $220,000 to $4.5 Million!  If you think that will only amount to 15 cents per beer, you should think again.

Oregon’s craft brewing industry did not exist 25 years ago.  In that time, the industry has grown to the healthiest in the nation.  The percentage of craft beer sold in Oregon (that is made in Oregon) is more than double that of the next highest state.  Portland (also known as Beervana) has the most breweries of any city in the world.  The reasons for this are many.  Among the most important, though, is the relatively advantageous excise tax environment we enjoy in Oregon.  (We say “relatively” because all excise taxes are inherently regressive and unfair, but we do compare favorably to our neighboring states**).

If we were to suggest to the legislature that we could provide in 25 short years a new industry that would provide 5,200 family wage jobs, would be clean, green, very involved in their communities, popular with Oregonians and provide an attraction for visitors that would exceed the state’s wineries, companies would forego any tax breaks plus agree to pay tens of millions of dollars for the privilege of doing business in Oregon, what would the legislature say?  Yet, that is exactly what we have done.  Meanwhile, the legislature has provided millions to California’s film and TV industry to try and lure them here so they can take their dollars back to California.  (Make no mistake, California needs those dollars!)

Oregon’s brewers have been accused of misstating facts and being pawns of the large international brewers.  Meanwhile no one seems to want to question the “facts” alleged in the legislation itself, or the motives of its authors.  Our motives are clear.  We must protect our industry, our companies, our co-workers and our communities.  We know there is no amount the tax can be raised that will not damage all four, to say nothing of what a 2,000% increase will do.  In this economic climate this is truer than ever. 

So, who is really manipulating who?

Tell your legislators, Don’t tax my beer!

For more information on how to fight for what’s right, go to:  http://oregonbeer.org/2009/02/17/sign-our-online-petition/

** Excise tax rate per barrel
Oregon $2.60
Washington $8.06
California $6.20
Idaho  $4.65
Wyoming  $0.62
Montana  $4.34
Missouri $1.86 (home of Anheuser Busch)
Wisconsin $1.86 (home of Miller)
Colorado $2.48 (home of Coors)

Ok, so many of you have been asking about the Experimental IPA moniker on Hop Henge.  I’m sitting here with Larry Sidor, our brewmaster and we  have a bit of a story to tell you.

Whoops!

We have been experimenting with different hops and hop addition techniques.  Some new, some old and some quite unique.  Through all of this, our quest has been to produce  a teeth staining, mouth numbing, tongue scraping IPA that would impress the most iron-lipped hop head.  We have come a long way and, judging by the reviews I’ve read on BeerAdvocate.com many of you also think we’re doing pretty well with that. 

But, here’s the story:

We have always stated the IBU’s on the Hop Henge label (International Bitterness Units) and listed them as 95 IBU’s.  We thought that was pretty acurate as we, like most other small brewers, calculated on paper what we added and how many IBUs that would produce and that was good enough.  And, we were adding as many hops in as many different ways as we could think of, so we were pretty confident.  This year, with the experimental moniker, we gave ourselves ample license to really blow the lid off (so-to-speak).  And, quite literally, that’s exactly what happened (more on that later). 

But 95 IBU’s turned out to be so much wishing.  Our first brewing of Hop Henge this year produced the following result.  The very vigorous ferment, with a fermenter at capacity, blew our precious dry hops all over the floor depriving us of all the goodness therein.  The result was a beer we calculated to, on paper, 243 IBUs!   In the bottle, we only got 80 IBUs.  Still, as I mentioned earlier, you apparently loved it.  So, what did we do?  We made another batch, added more hops, only filled the fermenter half-full and thought we would blow the doors off the beer (and your taste buds).  The original calc’s on batch #2 were the same as batch #1, but without the blow-off on the floor we ended up with a massive 117 IBUs in the fermenter, as determined in our lab this time.  We were excited at the possibilities and fastened our seat belts for the ride.  The beer has now been centrifuged and removed from the dry hops (which then took our guys and gals 4 hours to remove from the fermenter!) and we sent it back to the lab for analysis looking to tell you of our herculean feat.  Meanwhile we tasted the two batches side by side today and were impressed by the huge pucker-factor in the new Henge, much greater than batch #1.  So, we sent it off to the lab to await the results.  87 IBUs!  We still did not even hit our promised 95 IBUs. 

Second Batch

Nonetheless, we feel strong enough about this beer to tell you this story and to place a separate designation on the label in the vicinity of the Julian date and the  best by consumer dating window.  It will say Batch #2.  Compare the two side-by-side and see which you prefer, then let us know.  We watch BeerAdvocate.com and Ratebeer.com, or you can reply on this blog with your feeback.  Remember, you are already telling us you are digging batch #1.  Maybe batch #2 will not be as good, or maybe better.  The moral of the story for us is we will not again put 95 IBUs on the label.  The moral of the story for you might be a wink next time someone tells you their beer has 120 IBUs in it (or even 95 for that matter).

Gary and Larry

I can’t tell you how many people have suggested to me lately that beer is “recession proof”, half tongue-in-cheek, but half seriously.  They refer, of course, to the Depression-era analogy of people drowning their sorrows in alcohol as a way to escape the desperate situation they are in.  I try to explain to them that situation does not exist, certainly not with beer.  Even more so with craft beer.  However, the craft beer segment of the industry does seem to be faring better than the rest (albeit not as well as last year, before the now official start of this current travail).  Why is that?

It has also been suggested that, in a recession, the products that do the best are alcohol and cosmetics.  That seems to make more sense to my cynical mind because people always want to feel good about themselves.  People want to look better and continue to use cosmetics as a vehicle to that end.  They like to believe they can still enjoy some of the simple pleasures of a better life, if not a more lucrative one.  The latter describes craft beer.  It is extremely affordable.  It is something beermakers put a great deal of passion, love, knowledge and skill into.  It is also something, with today’s available variety, that can be individualized to each person’s tastes.   That certainly is still experienced in our pubs where people congregate to enjoy each other’s company (and that of those they do not yet know) and indulge in a simple, affordable luxury.  And it tastes good! 

People could easily spend their hard earned dollars on a less expensive, commodity-like beer as a reflection of the economic times, but it seems they are frequently choosing differently.  I would say our humanity is catching up with our economy (maybe the economy can return the favor).  We still believe in living life in full color, in spite of circumstances that (let’s face it) impact all of us and we have little control over.

I am not a big one for New Year’s resolutions, but as we welcome this New Year, I for one resolve to not let the bastards get me down.  This recession may last for a little while, but it will not last forever.  I will be around longer than it will, with my humanity intact, and a wonderful beer in hand.

Cheers to a wonderful and prosperous 2009!

Gary Fish