There was a lot of talk about beer pairing at the conference – that is, the art/science of attempting to find foods and beer that work better together than alone. The first of these events – a “beer brunch” at the Spirt of 77 was a total hit.

Spirit of 77 Beer Brunch

The first, which happened on Saturday of the conference, was a beer pairing brunch held at the Spirit of 77 (@spiritof77bar) restaurant in Downtown Portland as part of PDX Beer week (which was conveniently concurrent to the conference).

Of a menu that included everything from sweetbreads to bacon to squid, I ordered two pairings:

1. Double Mountain Vaporizer (IPA), paired with battered squid and pickled peppers.

Beer description:
“THE VAPORIZER” is a golden-hued Pale Ale that features a beautifully hoppy aroma and flavor. The malt is 100% Gambrinus Pilsner, our sweet and supple house malt from Gambrinus Malting in British Columbia. The hops are primarily of the Challenger variety, grown on a single farm in the Yakima Valley. We dry-hop “THE VAPORIZER” to pump up the hoppy goodness. It’s an appetizingly dry, clean and pure-tasting take on a hoppy Pale Ale.

Of the beers that we tried (3 from Double Mountain and 3 from Hub Brewing) the Vaporizer was my favorite. It was very clean finishing, but still very hoppy, which I must attribute to the dry hopping, but was impressed with none the less.

The pairing itself? Okay. The squid and the pickled peppers were drizzled with a spicy cream sauce that was very delicious. But the beer wasn’t quite aggressive enough to be on par with the spicy sauce, so I found myself eating the squid and not really paying much attention to the beer. Good, but not great as far as a pairing goes.

2. Hopworks Urban Brewery – Batch 1000, paired with cured Salmon, potato pancake, Creme Fraiche, Roe.

Beer description:
Our 1000th batch of beer! Brewed with 1000 pounds of incredible Organic Pilsner, Caramel and Munich malts. Hopped with locally grown Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Palisade hops. A beautiful balance of hops and malt await in our American Bitter.

The pairing? The pairing was great. For some reason, the dryness of the beer kept up very well with the richness of the salmon and the creme freche. The dish was perfectly balanced, and all the flavors played in my mouth in delicious harmony, which is what a paring is supposed to evoke. Brilliant match.

While I sampled and dabbled at others’ plates, I had to sit back and appreciate that here, in Portland, OR, this type of event is normal, expected, and well executed. I do long for the day when beer pairing is just as accepted universally as wine pairing is, and I can already see that day on the horizon.

Last year, one of the highest rated segments of the Beer Blogger’s Conference was the “Night of Many Bottles” where participants were encouraged to bring local, unusual, or hard-to-find beer to a free-form tasting. With more than 100 participants last year, there were literally hundreds of bottles waiting to be sampled. What I thought was the most interesting bit of that evening was not that there was an infinite selection- but more of what the beer bloggers became as the night progressed. We each became advocates and salesmen of our own favorites. Being the only blogger from Maine in attendance last year, I thought it was my duty to bring attention and respect to east coast beer. Last year I brought Rising Tide’s debut beer, Ishmael, and Maine Beer Company’s Peeper Ale. Both are outside the box beers – an alt and a great, crisp pale ale with lots of hops – that you wouldn’t expect from little old New England.

This year, I received support from many individuals, businesses and beer folks in order to attend this year’s conference. One of the key supporters of my journey was a local brewery, Rising Tide. I think the brewer, Nate Sanborn, has done a terrific job with the three brews he has released so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. So, I decided to bring along my favorite Rising Tide beers to share them with the beer blogging community; Ursa Minor and Daymark, both as a thank-you to the sponsors, but also to continue my tradition of sharing the best of Maine beer with the rest of the beer blogging community.

Ursa Minor is labeled as a “Weizen Stout” and I just can’t get enough of it.

“Dark as squid ink and moody as the sea, Ursa Minor is our take on a winter wheat beer. Starting with a German wheat-beer yeast and a base of malted wheat, we added a blend of dark crystal and roasted malts to create a wheat stout. Redolent of dark fruit, weizen yeast esters, and roasted barley, Ursa Minor is perfect for an icy winter’s eve.” – label text

When shopping for Daymark, I noticed that there were still a few bottles of this winter release around and I snatched them up immediately. A few months on the shelf also mellowed the brew just enough to make it super special. The thickness of the mouthfeel and the nice roastiness is what I love about this beer. At the conference, it was the first bottle I had opened for me, and the one that went the quickest.

Daymark, my new favorite summer beer from Maine, was up next. This one is a “Rye Pale Ale” and has some great, bright hoppiness to it, and is made with local rye.

“Chart a new course with Daymark as your guide. We start with a classic, clean and crisp American pale ale brewed with spicy Columbus and Centennial hops. Then we accent the grain bill with rye grown on small local family farms right here in Maine and malted to our specifications at Valley Malts, an artisanal malt house. Finally we dry hop the finished beer for a bright floral aroma.” -label text

It has almost a subtle lemon flavor and it just goes absolutely perfectly with any summer meal. In a large bottle, it’s a little unusual to bring this to a picnic, but I am seeing more people ordering this with meals and sharing the bottle like a bottle of wine. At the conference tasting, a lot of bloggers appreciated that there was a major difference between this and some of the sticky super hoppy brews of the Pacific Northwest, but in a good way.

Having beer bloggers (especially those from the Pacific Northwest, California, etc.) sample maine beer made me start to seriously ponder my blogging focus. I love – LOVE – being an amplifier of what’s going on in New England Craft Beer, and I adore thinking about the ways in which craft beer in New England is completely different, but not less worthy than West-Coast brews. The reality is that New England Beer (vs. West Coast Beer) isn’t an apples to apples comparison. The best IPA in New England is not the same, nor comparable to the best IPA in the West because it’s an entirely different culture of craft beer, a different philosophy of brewing. I plan to write more on this topic later, but it was great to have the opportunity to think about it.

And, if the satisfaction of sharing wasn’t enough, I was thrilled to hear comments and see the word spread about the beers that I brought, like this:

For more information:
Rising Tide Brewing Company
website: www.risingtidebeer.com
email: risingtidebrewing@gmail.com
twitter: @risingtidebeer

You can make beer with a few hops, or a lot of them, but it’s hard not to make beers with tons of them if you’re as surrounded by them as you are in the Pacific northwest.

According to the Oregon Hop Commission:
The Oregon Hop Commission consists of 35 hop growing business entities from 24 families. The majority of hop growing entities include third and fourth generation Oregon growers. Oregon produces approximately 17% of the U.S. market share, which is about 5% of the hops grown in the world.

I was surprised that the tons of hops produced in Oregon is only 17% of global market, with most of them being grown in Germany, followed by the state of Washington. Having never seen hop production or farming at all, it was one of the things on the conference schedule that I knew would be a really interesting experience.

We boarded a bus precisely at the peak of rush hour, and prepared for a forty-five minute drive to Goschie Farms in Silverton. It ended up being a two and a half hour drive. This would have been horrible except that, unlike any other commute I’ve ever been on, this one had beer for the journey.

Widmer Brothers, Full Sail and Ninkasi Brewing had hopped on board (hehe, hoppy puns) with great beer. A little odd to be drinking while a passenger, we all got over that and stated discussing the beer. I learned the history of brewing in the northwest from Widmer Bros., and got to taste their historic Altbier. Ninkasi brewer Jamie Floyd shared several brews, including a cream ale named Nuptials that was first brewed as a wedding gift for an employee. All and all, great foresight of the organizers for providing us with “on board” information and a chance to meet some of these big names in the beer industry.

We eventually arrived at the hop farm and I can’t even describe the aroma to you as we stepped off the bus. Fresh hops – literally only harvested minutes ago – filled our nostrils with delight.

The first sight that we were greeted with was an open industrial garage and Tettenanger hop vines swinging from aerial hooks. A gentle shower of leaves and petals floated down as the hops literally swirled around us. I’ll share a few pictures of the scene below – but they probably don’t do justice to the live scene. I was amazed that the voyage that the hops take through processing.

We saw the raw vines come in, swirl gracefully around the bend, and then be thrashed, jostled, and transported all around the small processing facility. Conveyor belts and ladders and grates and moving metal everywhere – a symphony of green and industry. I was impressed by the constant work – people were always doing some part of the long process – and by the smiles on the faces of the workers. I don’t know if that was just for us, but they really seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

The second building housed a heater where the hops were dried – and yet another delicious aroma. The hops were laid out 3 feet thick, just drying and awaiting bailing. It was really a romantic beautiful sight. The green hops just laying there waiting to be made into sweet, delicious beer.

We didn’t get a chance to go though the hop fields, but just seeing how the key to great beer gets harvested was amazing. It was the first day of their harvest – so we were lucky to see it all in action.

The Goshie family was generous enough to open their farm to us to view this marvelous process, as well as provide a beautiful dinner. Their more than 100 year old farm (of over a thousand acres in size!!) was a beautiful sight, especially in the golden twilight hours of the afternoon.

A photo of the epic hop brownie by Chris, the awesome beer photographer from Beer Simple (http://beersimple.blogspot.com)

As we ate dinner on the grounds of the hop farm featuring some delicious bratwurst, home-made saurkraut, peach and blueberry cobbler and epic hop brownies, I began to understand the northwest hop obsession. Embracing this ridiculously fresh resource, brewers in the northwest are poised to make something fresh and beautiful.

Thanks are due to the Goschie family and to all of the dedicated hop growers out there that make it possible for us to enjoy such delicious beer. Cheers!

Keynote: Fred Eckhardt & John Foyston

“Fred is [an eighty-two] year old former Marine and Buddhist who teaches swimming classes to children back in his native Portland, Oregon. . . . He wrote a book on how to homebrew lagers in 1969, ten years before homebrewing was relegalized. His 1989 book, The Essentials of Beer Style, has become a kind of Rosetta Stone for homebrewers and those who judge homebrew competitions. “Eckhardt (as mentioned by Ken Wells of The Wall Street Journal) is a soft-spoken, diminutive, roundish man with blue twinkling eyes and a white mustache and goatee. Imagine Shakespeare’s Puck reborn as a beer mensch.”

The first time I ever watched Fred Eckhardt speak, it was in an interview on BrewingTV. Brewing TV + Fred Eckhardt

The keynote was a little bit less of a keynote than it was a “fireside chat” with Fred and John. John acted as pseudo-moderator and probed Fred for his infinite wisdom. There were many notable quotes and comments – and a lot of laughter.

John Foyston and Fred Eckhardt talk craft beer revolutions.

As profound as it was to think about the dark ages of brewing and people like Fred that helped haul the brewing industry up by the bootstraps to its glory today, I was just happy to hear him talk and joke. When he was out of beer, he stopped mid-sentence and told the audience he was out of beer. The Beer Wench promptly refilled his glass, and he then said the best quote (in my opinion) of the evening.

Fred: “People ask me, Fred, what’s your favorite beer? And you know what I say? The beer in my hand.”
Audience member: “What’s your second favorite beer?”
Fred: “I think that’d be the next beer in my glass. Especially if it’s free beer.”

Cheers Fred. It was a privilege to be in his audience, and I want to thank Fred and those like him for paving the way for people like us and for this industry to grow.

Introduction by Julia Herz from the Brewer’s Association

Julia Herz is a craft beer institution – in all the best ways. She’s the Craft Beer Program Director over at the Brewer’s Association (see CraftBeer.com) as well as a blogger and outspoken advocate for many craft beer hot topics, including food pairing, women and beer and the legitimacy of craft beer in the US and the world.

Julia addressed an eager crowd – there was beer at every table as well as pretzel necklaces. (Last conference the opening speaker had to compete for the attention of starving participants scrounging for anything to eat).

Julia Herz (Brewers Association) addresses Beer Blogger Conference attendees.

At the end of the presentation, she challenged the audience with a question, “Where do you want to be?” I thought a while and didn’t actually pipe up, but there were some fabulous goals stated by others.

The few that I remember:
-Elevate Craft Beer to the same level of importance as a Wine List, instead of an afterthought.
-Encourage educated craft beer servers, bartenders and retailers
-Bring local beer into the national spotlight

I thought about this for a while and I tried to picture the best goal I could have as a blogger. I know I can’t cover entire all the beer in the world. And I can’t make everyone happy. But I can be a vocal, active and strong advocate for the beer that I know – the beer in New England. And I want to elevate my level of advocacy and be even more vocal, and it’s time for me to stop being timid. I’m ready.

Where do YOU want the industry to go?
What would you like to see?
And what steps can we all take to make that happen?

The craft beer world is in our hands, and now that we have the power, we need to decide what to do with it.

“Say goodbye know it’s true, I know you’re leaving me, but you know it too…”

2:50 am, Portsmouth, NH: I smile as I tell the bus attendant which airline I am flying, and cling protectively to my boarding documents. There was no sleep to be had in the terminal, so I decided to wait for the relatively increased comfort of the bus to lull me into dreamland. The bus is half full, even at 3am. I wonder where their adventures are taking them.

4:15 am, Boston, MA: I wake up with a start, seemingly only minutes after my head hit the chair and I was out. Now I am awake, and fumbling to get my fingers and body to obey my early-morning commands. I see a faint light on the horizon. Pre-dawn.

“waitin’ on a train…feelin near as faded as my jeans..”

6:02 am, Boston, MA: I make my way to the back of the plane that will take me to the other coast. An adorable Korean 6 year old sits next to me, beaming as she figures out how to buckle and unbuckle her seatbelt. “It’s an alligator!” she exclaims while opening and closing the clip. I smile.

9:41 am, Somewhere over the Midwest: I awake from sleep that’s made my neck feel like it has a permanent bend in it, and I open the window halfway and watch the sun start to light up the clouds. I catch my reflection and realize that my hair looks like hell but I laugh. I am getting an opportunity to see old friends and new friends and if they are concerned about my travel-worn appearance, I’d be seriously surprised. This is an adventure after all.

“I’m flying over back roads, country homes and ranches, watching life between the branches below…”

3:10 pm, Portland, OR: Flying over golden hills, the plane gently touches down in Portland, Oregon. Can’t wait for the adventure ahead.

Posts as they happen and as they are remembered… all conference.

Today, the balance of the Rocket Fuel account went to $601.
I am – officially – “fueled” and couldn’t be more grateful for the 19 fuelers who have now made it possible for me to attend the 2011 Beer Blogger’s Conference in Portland, OR.

All of the “fuelers” are below. THANK YOU to everyone who helped, donated, retweeted, +1′d, etc.

Hollie Chadwick (ME)
Larry Clow (NH)
Chad Lothian (ME)
Alex Molnar (FL)
Warren Riess (ME)
Matt Roberge (NH)
Sylvia Scharf (MA)

Seth Mellen of FromMyMellen.com
Ilya Feynberg of KaBoga.com
Jessica & Marlene of MyHoppyPlace.com
Steve of AllGoodBeer.com
Stephen of NewBrewThursday
Michael of BullyStickDirect.com

Rising Tide Brewing Company (Portland, ME)
Yeastern Homebrew Supply (Dover, NH)
Tully’s Beer & Wine (Wells, ME)
Smiley’s (Dover, NH)
The Great Lost Bear (Portland, ME)

Rewards are coming, and now to look for some flights. Thank you so much!!!

I have been seeking and hoping for more “normal” images of women enjoying, brewing, and talking about their love of craft beer for a while now. “I am a craft beer drinker” accomplished that by keeping a pretty even gender ratio within its declaration. But there’s been little in the mainstream media to keep women’s place in craft beer a normal thing to see.

I admit, probably because I’m on the East Coast, I didn’t hear about this movie’s development until just before it is to be released. The Love of Beer is a documentary about women in the beer industry in Portland, OR, and will be released during PDX Beer Week (coincidentally the same weekend as the beer blogger’s conference…). I have not seen the movie, but the trailer gives me great hope.

The Love of Beer from Lingering Illocutions on Vimeo.

I sincerely hope that I can make it to the Beer Bloggers Conference this year (wanna help that happen?) so that I can meet someone of the women responsible for this, as well as re-affirm that we (women) are not alone as craft beer lovers!

As for anyone not in the Portland, OR area – there is information about how you can find this documentary online at their website (http://theloveofbeermovie.com/) and facebook page.

Cheers!

Last year, the first-ever Beer Bloggers Conference was held in Boulder, CO, and was an astounding success. I attended with more than 200 other bloggers and shared tips, tricks, and learned a lot about blogging, beer and collaboration. This year, the US conference is in the city of Portland, OR, on the opposite coast of where I live in Portland, ME. This marks the second year it’s been a very far distance to travel (though the 2012 conference is slated for an east-coast venue).

I found the conference to be an extremely valuable part of my professional development as a writer and blogger, and helped me to form collaborative partnerships with several other bloggers including podcasts, guest posts, and getting a chance to discuss some of the most interesting topics in craft beer! As bloggers in such a niche industry, it is really important to have a chance to discuss aspects topics that are important. As a ‘veteran’ beer blogger (A good majority of beer bloggers have started in the last 1-2 years) I also feel that I can provide valuable mentoring advice to new bloggers to help make their blogs even stronger.

To defer the costs of attending the 2011 conference, I am seeking sponsors to help get me there. While my tax return last year allowed me to attend the conference little outside help, this year is proving to be more difficult to collect the airfare in particular – which is what my goal of $600 is reflecting.

If you’ve ever gotten a laugh out of my site, or found a review valuable or interesting, I hope that you might be willing to chip in just a little towards helping me become a better beer blogger. Each level of donation comes with a reward – so it’s not entirely a selfless act! I hate to sound like public TV and ask my readers for anything other than their great comments, but I am hoping that you can help to get me there.