Herbin' Renewal

Ah, Portland. It was nice to be back. I don't think we had a day over 75 degrees and I spent most of my time in jeans & a hoodie with a pint in my hand. It was good to be home.

We hit up a handful of new places that have opened since we left 2 years ago: Deschutes Brewery's Portland Location, Green Dragon (which offered both Single Wide & Tank 7), and Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). HUB is pretty new to the Portland beer scene and focuses on organic, sustainable brewing practices as well as top-notch beer.

I tried to only drink stuff I'd never had or can't get in KC, so I had my eye out for new and unusual things. When we lived in PDX, we used to go to Concordia Ale House for all the latest stuff. However, when we showed up on Wednesday, half of their 35 or so taps were dedicated to Imperial IPAs from a recent competition. I had one, and it was good, but we all agreed - IIPAs are overdone and getting kind of tired. Where's the new stuff? What's the latest trend? We've done Imperials, we've done barrel-aged... sour beers were on the rise in '08 (and continue to be, thankfully!)... what's the new kid on the block this year?

Cue unhopped beer. This stuff was all over Portland and I was able to try examples from Deschutes, Roots, and Upright. There are two main styles of unhopped beers, both very old and invented before hops were recognized as "the" bittering agent and preservative: Sahti and Gruit. You may have read about Dogfish Head's recent take on Sahti, Sah'tea, or seen Craigmill's heathered Fraoch at the store. I only had Gruit, so I don't have much to say about Sahti other than I wish I'd have bought a bottle of DFH's Sah'tea to check it out.

Gruit beers are typically made with a variety of herbs, roots, twigs, and flowers that have preservative qualities (just like hops!): bog myrtle, yarrow, heather, juniper (berries and twigs), ginger, and a multitude of others. It reminded me of a wit, with the citrus and coriander flavors, but without any hoppiness and more flower. Lots more.

My first experience was with Deschutes' La Fleur which uses myrtle, yarrow, orange blossom, and spices (they don't specify, but I'm sure it had ginger in it). It was actually very good and my favorite of the three I tried. The floral taste wasn't overpowering and it was very light and summery. It was almost like drinking boozy iced jasmine tea. I also tried Upright's Reggae Junkie, which I thought was good but not something I'd want to drink all the time, and Roots' Gruit Kolsch which was way too heavy on the chamomile. They all kind of have the same floral-spice herbal tea flavor, which isn't offensive but appears easy to do poorly.

Overall, I'd say it's worth a shot. I've seen the Craigmill beers around town (Lukas and Gomers, I believe). Give the style a try - if you like wits, pumpkin beers, or other spiced and/or floral beers, you might find that gruit's a style you really like.


Random Stuff:

• Check out Gruitale.com for more information on the history and making of gruit
  
• I really liked HUB. A lot. The beer (all organic, lots of different styles, fresh, and high quality), the food (some different things on the menu and well executed), the atmosphere (open, airy, pinball machines upstairs, bike parts used for light fixtures), the staff (prompt, courteous, knowledgeable)... If you're ever in Portland, they're worth a visit. Note - they're crowded. We got there at 4:30 on a Tuesday and got one of the last spaces in the parking lot.
  
• Boulevard has recently made its entrance into the Portland market with Single Wide and the Smokestack series. I didn't see any of the seasonal Smokestacks available in bottles (Saison-Brett or Two Jokers), but I think they'd do fantastically well there. Portland's a good market for "different" beers, so I'm glad to see them making an entry. Tank 7 appears to be well-received, and I suspect the Saison-Brett, Imperial Stout, and BBQ will receive similar (if not more favorable) fanfare.
  
• I have a lot of confidence in Upright. The brewer did his internship for culinary school at Ommegang and was one of the first brewers at BJ's (a brewery/pizza chain I really wish we had here) to experiment with Belgian styles. I tried a couple of his beers, #4 (a wheat made from a sour mash and with a Belgian yeast) and the Gruit, and liked the #4 a lot. I would love to see his beer bottled & distributed some day. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.
  
• Roots' Gruit Kolsch was pretty bad. I don't usually leave half a beer behind, but no one at our table was willing to finish it. Every time we go to Roots, we seem to have the same conversation: "You know, I really want to like this place but...". I feel the same way about McCoys/Foundry. I want to love them. I really do. I used to think that the Foundry would take off as KC's place to go for new and good beer, but it seems that the Flying Saucer has really come through in this role.
  

Beer in a Box

For years, the wine industry has tried to improve the reputation of wine-in-a-box. Shunned by most wine drinkers as a sub-par packaging method, and supported by decades of the only wines-in-a-box being crummy stuff I wouldn't even use for cooking, wine-in-a-box continues to sit on the bottom shelf longing to be taken home. Some wine companies are changing boxed wine's perception, but it's slow to catch on. Since beer doesn't have nearly the particularity in packaging among its consumers or a history of only the worst beers being packaged in that method, there's a shining opportunity here to introduce Beer in a Box. And MillerCoors is running with it.

It seems like a great idea, right? Fits well in the fridge, and - since the bag is hermetically sealed - protects the contents from oxidation or spoilage. Beer stays carbonated for about 1 month after opening (or being filled from a tap), allowing you to drink the 1.5 gallons of it over a period of weeks (rather than days, as is the case with the current mini-kegs on the market).

I lived in Sacramento & surrounding area for about 5 years in the '90s and remember getting beer-in-a-box at Rubicon Brewing Company instead of a glass growler. It seemed like such a weird (and crass) concept before I got one, but it only took one purchase to convince me it was a great idea. No awkward and heavy growlers to carry (or wash), no worries about recycling, no concerns about taking bottles to the beach (well, lake), and no pressure to try to drink it all in a day or two, before it goes flat or stale.

A few other craft breweries across the country also use this method of packaging instead of glass growlers, and the latest article in the WSJ (referenced above) hints at seeing more of this, as it allows the macro companies to quickly change the packaging for seasonal sports and events (much like we see with 12-pack boxes). I guess we'll see how it goes when the results from the 6 test markets are in. Honestly, for fresh beer from local breweries I'm all for it. I'm not convinced it's great for beers that sit on the shelf or in warehouses for a while. How about it, KC breweries??

Thanks to Blaidd0905 on flickr for the picture