Brewpublic has excellent taste. Go figure.

I was in the Run Like Hell 10K on Sunday and took the day off yesterday, so it was a long weekend for your humble author. This was a rainy set of days, perfect for indoor weather, hearty soups, thick bread, and excellent beer.

As noted on Saturday, I headed down to Bailey's for Brewpublic's second birthday party. I drove in and arrived about two hours into the festivities, hoping that enough time had passed to let things thin a bit. With the weather, any outside-options were going to be slim and I had guessed that the demand would be wholly for the Cascade Blueberry concoction. Figured an hour for that to blow, another hour for the top 10-15 percent to bail, should be fine, right?

Ha ha ha ha ha - no. Not even close: it (understandably!) looked like a rock concert. Angelo from Brewpublic was at the front door when I rolled up and I kind of stammered a weak "Happy Birthday" as I gazed upon the sea of humanity. Shoulder-to-shoulder, absolutely no room to move around, body surfing (okay, that last one might be stretching it). I couldn't even see the hint of a line toward the counter and I felt that the enjoyment-to-CAN'TMOVE ratio was not in my favor. Or, anyone else's if I was going to add myself to the crush. I headed back to my vehicle, rolled across the river to watch my wife sing in a concert in NE, and then returned at about 9:30pm to a smaller crowd. Things were still solidly attended, even 5+ hours in, but definitely lighter. I mean, walking up and ordering was actually possible - success!

Two bucks for a five ounce taster, 3 bucks for a 10 ounce glass, or 5 bucks for a pint. With so much to choose from the 20 taps (the Cascade, as expected, was gone-daddy-gone), I kept to glasses and tasters in the hour I was there. None of my selections were misfires and here are my three favorites:

• Kentucky Coffee Girl (Fort George) - I like my coffee stouts to be a little filthy and this had some earthy qualities that I really enjoyed. A little thinner than the crude-oil that one expects from an imperial stout, but it was still creamy and carried some sweetness on the back-end that cut through the coffee.

• Full House Imperial Brown (Pelican) - What can I say? I love their Doryman's Dark Ale, so a doubled-version was only going to pander to my tastes. Malty and chewy, this was masking the 8.3% behind a swirl of flavor that I found to be very well blended. Slight hop on the back end with some nuttiness to the finish - a winner!

• Force of Nature (Lucky Lab) - I'd never been able to sample barrel-aged beer from the Lab before, so this was a must try for me and, wow, I was not sorry at all. It's an imperial pale aged in pinot barrels and the sour/tart qualities from the aging matched up very, very well with the hops. I sent the glass around to several people standing with me at the bar and all of them agreed with my assessment: more please.

Some of the beers at this event are still on-tap at Bailey's as of this posting. You could do worse than having a pint there before things kick.

Beer from Alameda Brewing on the radar this week.

Go Brewpublic, It's Your Birfday!

KillerBeerFest at Bailey's Taproom.

I am heading down there in the next 30 minutes. With that lineup, how could I not?

Barrel-Aged Birthdays are the Way To Go

Yes.

As I noted last week, Bailey's Taproom had a barrel-aged anniversary party on Saturday and, as expected, it did not disappoint. I scheduled a hearty breakfast in the morning - a buffer was surely going to be needed for the rest of my day. The posted list contained some absolute monsters and, even allotting 3 hours, I was prepared to take my time with my selections and not rush from beer to beer. I also wanted to get the 'word of mouth' from the crowd and only went in with my opening pick in mind.

I arrived several hours into the event, paid the $15, got my glass and tokens, and side-stepped my way inside. Only one option had been killed - the Cascade Quadratic Formula. Ended up not feeling too bad about that since it gathered mixed reviews from the people I spoke to. The area was crowded, but not oppressively so. You certainly weren't getting a table or a spot at the bar anytime soon, but there was always a place to stand and there was a roped-off spot just outside the front door where it was comfortable to be outside and drink great beer.

Welcome to Portland. Here is your complimentary glass of liquid gold.

I managed to swing through seven beers on the list before I tapped out. It helped to have had a few of them before (Rogue, Full Sail, Oakshire) and, thus, keep my head focused on new things. Some definitely were better than others. Three of them in particular were more than memorable winners:

1A: Parabola (Firestone Walker) - I have heard some highly positive tales of this beer and, let me assure you, they are all true. Molasses and raisin and bourbon (part of the molasses, yes, but that boozy caramel touch) and smooth, smooth, smooth. It's a liver-kicking 13%, but you'd never guess it was quite that high. This is a beer to be savored and chewed through and spoken of with emphatic nods and gestures. The keg kicked while I was there - evidence that I was not the only one with this opinion.

1B: '09 Dragon's Milk (New Holland) - Pleasantly thinner than the nose and eye would lead you to believe with a cream feel to it. I caught a distinct, peat-like aspect to it that I really enjoyed. This was great a few years ago and my return sample is just as good as remembered. I liked the smell of this more than the Parabola, but the taste tipped slightly the other direction. Basically a two-way tie.

3: Lambicus Six (Upright) - I just had the Six last weekend and seeing it with a Lambicus strain and then put into Pinot . . . what a combo. I enjoy a decent sour beer and this had a tartness and bite that I loved. Wine notes everywhere, mainly with some dark cherry. If you're not into sours, this would be borderline, but as a switch-up to some of the dark stuff on the menu? It was an excellent selection.

I really only had one that missed quite badly:

1: #181 (Block 15) - I can kind of see the intended plan, but the acidity level was murder. I had difficulty getting past that and into any kind of flavors. White grape maybe, but who can tell?

Others:

For Those About To Bock (Hopworks) - Very odd, grain/damp-wheat nose to it. First time I'd had an aged-bock beer, and it was okay, but nothing really jumped out.

Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale (Moylan's) - There was so much going on in this that it was hard to find any focal points. Tasty, yes, and the Port barreling gave it some unique flavors - but very hard to peg. Points for being different, deductions for confusion.

Cherry Adam (Hair of the Dog) - Picked up on recommendation. Cherry, yes, but almost cloyingly so. Extremely thick, not crazy carbonated, it was borderlining on negative reaction, but warming it up a bit helped out. Thinned up a little, it was more manageable. Still, it was difficult to see where the love was coming from.

This was a great event and I can't recommend it enough. Friendly crowd, short lines, efficient staff, great day. Mortal lock for a return trip next year.

This is a roomful of very happy people.

Bailey's Anniversary

There's a general, post-OBF malaise going on with me right now. I haven't had any huge urges to hit John's Marketplace or get a growler filled in more than a few days and my beer fridge in the garage stands empty.

Ah, but then I caught this: Bailey's Taproom 3rd Anniversary Party is this Saturday. Wall-to-wall barrel-aged brew at one of the better locations for draft beer in town. Check out this lineup:

Block 15 #181 - Two barrel blend of one year old lambic with wild yeast/bacteria from Belgium aged in Oak barrels. 5%

Rogue John John Juniper - Juniper Pale Ale aged in Juniper Gin barrels. 5.2%

Full Sail ’09 Black Gold - Imperial Stout aged a year in Bourbon barrels. 10.5%

Oakshire Very Ill Tempered Gnome - Strong Ale aged in a Pinot barrel for 5 months. 10.5%

Fort George ’09 Illuminator - Doppelbock aged in Heaven Hills Bourbon barrel. 9%

Upright Lambicus Six - Dark Rye with brettanomyces lambicus aged in Pinot barrels. 7%

Deschutes Pinot Twilight - Pale Ale aged in Pinot barrels. 5%

Caldera Mogli - Imperial Porter aged in Bourbon barrels.

Hopworks For Those About to Bock - Bock aged in Buffalo Trace barrels since Jan. 7.1%

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza - Belgian Golden with wild yeast aged in Oak barrel. 8%

Firestone Parabola - Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels. 13%

Moylan's Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale - Kilt Lifter aged in both Apple Brandy and Port barrels.

Hair of the Dog Cherry Adam - Old Ale aged with cherries in Bourbon and Sherry barrels.

New Holland ’09 Dragon's Milk - Strong Ale aged in Oak barrels. 10%

Allagash ’08 Curieux - Allagash Tripel aged in Jim Beam barrels. 11%

Russian River Consecration - Belgian Ale with lots of funk aged in Cab. barrels. 10%

Lompoc ’08 Bourbon LSD - Strong Ale aged in Bourbon barrels 8.5%

Three Skulls Wreckage - Barleywine aged in Bourbon barrels.

Cascade - A special Bailey’s blend.

Ye cats, that is drool-worthy. Fifteen bucks snags you a glass (real! no plastic!) and five tastes. Additional tastes are a buck each. I'm tentatively planning to attend early - hopefully getting there at noon when the doors are opening up.