Saturday, December 31, 2011

Enjoying The Brrr of 2011

Being 31 is a little different than being 21 -- as most of you probably know -- so rather than getting all spiffed up, dealing with traffic (or cab fare) and huge crowds I’m staying in for New Years Eve 2011. What a better time to wrap up Winter Beer Month -- because I’m sure there are about two of you sitting at home ready to read this tonight.I was first introduced to Widmer Brother’s Brrr while skiing in North Idaho. I grabbed a glass...
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Choose the Chosen this Chanukah: Jewbelation 15

"Winter beer...winter beer..." I mumbled, as I scanned the shelves at the Corvallis Brewing Supply store.  I'd been reading all of the fun posts from my co-writers all month, and was anxious to get my own post on the way.  At the beginning of all of this, Josh Gana, our proverbial Santa, had made up a list that I had checked twice, and I was still searching for a beer to profile that perhaps he'd missed.  Something unique...
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Monday, December 26, 2011

Wind Rose Cellar's 2009 Bravo Rosso

Issaquah. Mukilteo. Nisqually. Pend Oreille. Puyallup. Wenatchee. Yakima. Can you pronounce these words after drinking a bottle of wine with a cracker in your mouth? If so, there’s a good chance you’re a native or long-time Washingtonian like myself. If not, never fear…we’ll do a lesson another day. Even with 25 years of Washington residency under my belt and plenty of practice pronouncing tricky geographical locations, Sequim...
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Friday, December 23, 2011

Snow Day on a snow day

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There is nothing much I like better than a snow day -- depending on the situation -- but this year the situation was perfect.When I was little it was the excitement of waking up early hurriedly looking out the window, seeing the layer of white and then flipping on the television to see if we were lucky enough to be a school that was canceled. Unfortunately, since I grew up in Wisconsin, we didn’t have very many. People in Wisconsin are...
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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Homebrew For The Holidays

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I don’t usually fly home to Wisconsin during the holiday season but this year I had two good reasons for the trip. First, my little sister was graduating from the nursing program at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Second, my mom had her first ever Holiday Ale Homebrew ready to taste.Karen (my mom) was born and raised in Wisconsin but I never remember her enjoying the labels (Miller, Pabst, Blatz) most often associated with her state....
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Monday, December 19, 2011

Maritime Pacific's Jolly Roger Christmas Ale

I was entertaining a guest the other day and after spilling a cosmo all over my living room while chatting about the holidays, he looked at me and said, "Josh, you're a grinch." I stopped drinking and reflected for a moment...a grinch...me? Sure, many of my friends will tell you that the winter holiday season is not a shining star on my horizon, but does that denote grinch status? I don't think so. In fact, I find myself rather festive...
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Friday, December 16, 2011

Alameda Brewing Company's Papa Noel's Olde Ale

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You see that logo right above this line about winter being the most wonderful time to drink beer? There are plenty of things I dislike about winter, but it is still my favorite season of the year solely due to the abundance of amazing beer that it brings forth. Shades of brown and black with all sorts of crazy spices and super high alcohol content flood pubs and stores seemingly overnight. I buy them in hordes to enjoy over the Summer...
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A Winter Sleigh'r Ride

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I walked into Christopher's office. "What are you doing tonight?" I asked him. He rattled off a couple of things and concluded with "not too much, why what's up?" I remained in his doorway. Both he and one of our colleagues, Joanna, patiently awaiting for the reason I had interrupted what I contend to be an somewhat impromptu casual conversation. "I have to drink and review a beer tonight. And it is not a beer have not procured...
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Washington Sparkling in Washington D.C.

The President of the United States could be sipping on Washington Sparkling Wine this week and so could you!Chef Jason L. Larkin, Office of the Chief of Protocol, US State Department (a.k.a. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chef) made an unknown visit to Yakima earlier this year and stopped into Yakima’s Treveri Cellars. Chef Jason took bottles back to Washington, DC for the State Department staff to try. They chose Treveri’s...
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Monday, December 12, 2011

Hales Barrel Aged Wee Heavy

For my contributions to Winter Beer Month at WestToast, I decided to focus on local. Real local. Like, walk down the street local. There's just something that makes me feel good, warm, fuzzy, and a little buzzed from being able to get quality craft beer made at a place I can stumble to (or home from). Brewery: Hales Ale Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, Barrel Aged RateBeer.com Rating: More ratings required. Serving: 22oz Bottle Mike...
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Friday, December 9, 2011

Lagunitas Brewing Company

 I grew up in the town of Petaluma , California. I’ll wait a moment so you can go to Google Maps because it is no surprise if you haven’t heard of it. As a kid all we had to be proud of was once being known as the Egg Basket of the world, and that the all-time classic Howard the Duck was filmed there.....not much to get excited over. That all changed for the Sonoma county town of 50,000 in 1994 when the Lagunitas Brewing Company...
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Winter Beer Fest 2011

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Shortly after hatching the plan for WestToast's Winter Beer Month, a friend sent me an email alluding to the Winter Beer Fest which was set to take place in Seattle this past weekend. Immediately, three thoughts crossed my mind: Winter Beer Fest!  It's Winter Beer Month on the blog (as previously mentioned), what a perfect way to kick off the celebration. How on earth had I missed the promotions for the event, taking place a...
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Friday, December 2, 2011

It's Winter Beer Month!

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Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer... That's right folks, it's December. Time for Christmas, Festivus, Chanukah...and if your family is anything like mine and Clark Griswold's, booze - and lot's of it. Luckily we live in the Pacific Northwest where there is a proliferation of beer, wine, and spirits. This time...
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Little Light Within The Dark

It’s a bright light in a winter of dark beer - It’s Widmer Brother’s Pitch Black IPA.photo courtesy: Craig P. NewcombThe brand I immediately associate with Portland Microbrew is Widmer. It might be because when riding the yellow line up toward North Portland the air is thick with the delicious smell of yeast. It could be because the first time I ran a Portland road race - there were two free cups of Widmer Drifter waiting for me at the...
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Monday, November 28, 2011

Del Rio Vineyards 2009 Syrah

I have a penchant for big reds, and I'l be honest in admitting I have a bias towards Eastern Washington in that regard.  For so long in my head, Oregon was Pinot country and Washington brought the Merlot, Syrah, and Cab to the party.  If there's any attribute that is a hallmark of Pacific Northwest winemakers it's the ability to push my assumptions, and the Rogue Valley in Oregon has done just that.  Griffin Creek was...
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Monday, November 21, 2011

We want you to swoon over Tapeña!

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Hola mi amor!  We here at WestToast are always on the lookout for muy delicioso wines that don’t require selling an organ to afford. Our newest find sweeps us away to the beautiful land of España (Spain for those of you who don’t remember your high school Spanish). Ladies and gentlemen, meet Tapeña Wines. Part of the Ferrer family of wines, Tapeña produces four wines: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Verdejo, and Rose. The wines come...
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Saturday, November 19, 2011

Chocolate Bar in a Bottle: Souther Tier's Choklat Stout

You may have already read Josh's Les Caves De Awesome! article a while back, and learned that we in Corvallis are incredibly lucky to have an amazing restaurant and beer bar that offers a wide variety of quality beverages from around the world.  I hit up Les Caves Bier and Kitchen last night to kick it with a pal and try something unique.  We found a remarkable chocolate stout that I really can't help but recommend - Southern...
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