Portland beer lovers welcomed the addition of new beers and new labels from the popular Southern Oregon Brewing Company on March 2 at Belmont Station's Biercafe.
New to the Portland area is Southern Oregon's "Nice Rack" IPA in bottles, previously available only on draught. This IPA has medium malt with great toast aromas from its combination of Rahr 2-row, Crisp Maris Otter, Weyermann Rye, Briess Bonlander Munich, and Carapils malts. The medium-gold color suggests a light flavor, but the full body of the malts comes through.
The hops, lightly citrus with floral overtones from the Nugget, Centennial and Crystal, make this a refreshing summertime IPA. Pair this with lighter but highly seasoned fare; chicken on the grill, swordfish steaks with ginger-lime butter, and other dishes from that end of the spectrum will work very well with this IPA.
The Pin-up Porter brings a new name and new labels to one of Southern Oregon Brewing's more popular offerings. (At present, Southern Oregon plans to change the pin-up on the Pin-up Porter annually.) Fans of Ashland, Oregon's Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant have been enjoying this for the last couple of years, with a special twist.
"At the Black Sheep, they store the porter at room temperature," explained founder and president Tom Hammond, "but they serve it through a refrigeration plate, which means the customer gets it at about 48 degrees Fahrenheit." Since most refrigeration systems keep beer under 40 F (which can suppress the subtlety and delicacy of the flavors and aromas), this special handling at the Black Sheep really lets the Pin-up Porter blossom in the glass.
And it's so worth letting it blossom. This porter drinks like chocolate milk, in the best possible way. Remember when you were a kid and you'd take that first swig of chocolate milk on a hot day, and it was so good--so creamy, so refreshing--that you just couldn't stop? Even when your mom would say, "Drink that slowly, make it last!" it was an act of supreme will-power to keep from downing it in one go.
Well, the Pin-up Porter is like that, but for grown-ups. Tom went on to explain, "It's the Weyermann's Dehusked Carafa II malt that lends those chocolate and coffee undertones to the Pin-up." (That's not from a press release; Tom actually said that, off the cuff, in person. Being an M.D. no doubt helps with the technical side, but it's clear that this man really, really loves what he does.)
Briess Carapils, Rahr 2-row and Caramel malts give the Pin-up body, unlike many porters (and most stouts) which have the deep chocolate color but lack the mid-range power to back it up. Danish lager yeast (fermented at ale temperatures, in the "steam" style) add the final touch of magic. This porter is something special. Be sure to let it come up to temperature for full enjoyment.
The third member of the launch party is Southern Oregon's Gold Digger, a pale, crisp lager that's another good contender for warm-weather favorite. Lightly hopped (only 20 IBUs) and lower in alcohol (4.5% ABV), the Gold Digger is lagered for four months before bottling.
Finally, at least for purposes of the launch, the Extra Special Britt is an interpretation of the British Extra Special Bitter (or ESB) style. With a 5.2% ABV and 32 IBUs, this is a beautiful chestnut color with a traditional English hop profile from Challenger and US Goldings. The name? A portion of the proceeds of this brew go to support the Britt Festival, southern Oregon's famous non-profit music festival dedicated to education and enrichment of music and the arts.
One closing comment: mark your calendars for May 2010, when Southern Oregon plans to release an authentic Czech pilsner using Saaz hops, a wonderfully pungent variety with the aroma of freshly-grated grapefruit zest, on a malt backbone of Bohemian Pilsner.
Look for Southern Oregon's beers at the following locations.
Bottles:
Beermongers
Belmont Station
Birra Deli
Saraveza
John's Market
Bridgetown Beerhouse
Draught:
Green Dragon
Dublin Pub (IPA & Gold Digger)
Hall Street Grill (Woodshed Red)
Living Room Theaters (Porter)
McCormick & Schmick's, Bridgeport Village (Porter)
Comments
So SOB Brewing is going to change their labels quarterly if I am reading this correctly?
The labels are changing quarterly for the Pin-Up Porter only. The other products will change eventually, I'm sure, but the Pin-Up will be rotated every three months. No word yet on whether she'll be seasonally attired... let's hear it for the December outfit, in full-on REI/Columbia/North Face rain gear!
The plan is to change the Pin-Up on the Pin-Up Porter. I will probably only do it on a yearly basis. They may be worth collecting. You decide.
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