What I Drank This Weekend

Doryman's Dark Ale (Pelican Bay Brewing): This is the brown ale offering from Pelican and one that I enjoy. Picked up a bomber of this on Friday and had it with dinner. Malty deliciousness, gets nuttier as it warms up over an hour.

Velvet Underground (Hopworks): This is a imperial version of their Velvet ESB with dark malt. Runs about 8.3%, thick and tasty - had this on-tap at the HUB brewery location while watching the first half of the US-Ghana match. The dark malt helps to bleed off the boozy taste of the beer and it was a serious mid-day treat.

Four (Upright Brewing): I'm learning to love this brewery. Upright does farmhouse ales but twists them slightly in American fashion. Their primary four beers in rotation are Four, Five, Six, and Seven - named for the amount of alcohol in the brew. Had this on-tap at the Laurelhurst Market - like a farmhouse hefe, lemon and wheat are dominant. Just like the others I've had (Six and Seven), this is great beer and I'm looking forward to having more from these guys.

Kolsch (Double Mountain Brewery): Had this to finish off dinner - on-tap at the Market. This style is great for summer - very light and drinkable. I don't think this is the greatest version I've had, but it was still another solid offering from Double Mountain. I continue to be happy whenever I order their beer.

Allow me to crack one open for you . . .

For the last few months, I've been giving serious thought to having a place to write about beer. Since arriving in Oregon around June of 2007, I've come to the conclusion that:

• Beer is something I enjoy
• I'm unarguably living in one of the world's best spots for the stuff - Portland is basically Mecca for beer.
• I find friends and family polite, but not quite into the whole 'beer scene'
• A place to keep track of my opinions is much more helpful than relying on memory

Thus, the blog. On here, I hope to discuss beer I like/dislike, events in the area that I participate in, trips to various brewpubs, musings on the stuff, and - if I get frisky later in the year - the trials and tribulations of the homebrewer.