Pechluck Laskey

Portland Fruit Beer Festival Beer Preview

June 5, 2014 by Pechluck 2 Comments

This is it! It is the countdown to the Portland Fruit Beer Festival– which kicks off this Saturday, June 6 11am-9pm until the end of Sunday, June 7 11am-6pm. Tickets are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday or Sunday (the admission includes one 16oz glass you keep and 12 drink tickets). This is an all ages festival.

As I’ve summarized before in my June roundup of Portland events, this unique beer festival features almost 50 fruit beers and ciders, with many beers/ciders have been brewed specifically for the Fruit Beer Festival so this may be your only chance to try them.

Well, technically it starts with a special VIP session they are holding on Friday evening, which for $30 (only $10 more than the regular admission on Sat/Sun) from 4-9pm and limited to 300 VIP guests you get access to the fruit beers without everyone else (or less of them, a lot less of them in the way!), and there will also be a few special tappings (4 of the 26 beers are tapped especially for Friday).

The fruits featured are a wide range of fruits: you can see the list here at New School which has descriptions with the beer. There is also another special list of 25 Rare Rotating Tap list of one-off or vintage kegs of just 5 gallons each, and some are listed with the tentative times they will be tapped so you can make your drinking plans now.

Because you do that right? You look over the list of beers for a festival and start noting which ones you want to try, which ones you really really want to try, and then when you attend the festival get in line for the beers in that order to make sure it doesn’t run out and you aren’t disappointed?

And maybe if you have fellow drinking partners, you plan out a drinking strategy so no one is getting 2 of the same beer and you can each wait in different lines and come back and share tastes for most efficient tastings? Right?

I nearly fell out of my chair when I was reading my email and saw I was invited to a media preview of some of the beers that will be tapping at the Portland Fruit Beer Festival by Ezra/Samurai Artist (Ezra Johnson-Greenough), the king of the Portland Fruit Beer Festival. Well, I don’t know if king is the official title, but he does organize the whole thing. He seems to be doing double duty by modeling a PDX Beer Week T shirt also here.
Samurai Artist aka Ezra Johnson-Greenough kicking off the event and already wearing a PDX Beer Week shirt at the Portland Fruit Beer Fest Media Preview with sneak peeks of 10 of the beers

I do drink a lot of beer (well of everything- I like to say I don’t discriminate/yearn to be learn and enjoy all deliciousness). Ok, mom, don’t worry, I take that back. I don’t drink a lot, but I have tried a large variety, maybe once twice a week, and maybe Bailey’s Taproom/Upper Lip is like my Cheers. But I don’t blog much about it, as there are much better beer writers out there, including official media source The Beer Here at the Oregonian and already mentioned The New School (which are my main sources for beer news) and then for more personal stories of beer rather then just event announcement I often read Beer Musings from Portland by Kris (who also sometimes writes for Oregon Beer Growler).

I was shocked that I would try to fit into such beer expert company.

Thankfully, I was able to pull in another contributor to this blogpost… a beer know it all who also works at Deschutes and Bailey’s/UL Ryan Spencer, who also sometimes contributes to Serious Eats and apparently Cicerone. So official beer expert. Thanks so much Ryan for helping me out with this, especially as I already had tickets to see a show that night and had to leave a little early.

As part of the media event, Ezra and some brewers let us taste 10 of the beers that would be at the Portland Fruit Beer Festival. It felt to me like a secret meeting as we stood around in the back of Burnside Brewing drinking out of plastic cups as the beers were poured from growlers. Each brewer talked a little about the beer and maybe the inspiration for it while inevitably shuffling their feet or other nervous tics which made for terrible pics so I eventually gave up. But I got a few pics of the first few brewers, heh! There was no place to set the cup down (except for the floor) in this secret beer meeting so I don’t have any pics of the beer, except in the brewer’s hand.
Bryan Keilty from Lompoc Brewing explains Lompoc Brewing's Pear'n Kramer sourced their pears for this brew from the backyard of someone's mom! Burnside Brewing Nero's Fiddle uses a proprietary blend of apples, one of them being a Roman Beauty that inspired the name Nero, at the Portland Fruit Beer Fest Media Preview with sneak peeks of 10 of the beers

Some Tasting Notes

So here are our notes of the Portland Fruit Beer Festival Beer Preview tasters we tried, ranking in order of fruit beer love.

Citrus Royale from The Commons Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: American Sour ABV: 5.8% ABV IBU: 11
A sour spelt based beer with Navel Orange, Murcott Mandarin, Meyer Lemon peel and orange and lime juice. One of the most exciting beers at the preview and one to look out for is The Common’s Citrus Royale. This beer is a variant of The Common’s Biere Royale released last year, but with a variety of citrus fruits rather than currants. While retaining the same base beer and “house” lacto culture acquired from Nancy’s Yogurt as last year, the sourness and fruit character are restrained in comparison; allowing for the base beer to shine through with pleasant citrus undertones. The citrus character is derived from a blend of naval orange, meyer lemon, mercott mandarin juice added throughout fermentation creating a flavor profile reminiscent of a mimosa.
Mayme B from Alameda Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Belgian Dark Golden 6.6% ABV 45 IBU’s
The Mayme B is a Belgian Dark Golden bier brewed with Mamey fruit (Pouteria sapota). This tropical fruit native to the Caribbean and Central America has a flavor which could be described as a mix of sweet potato and pumpkin topped off with maraschino cherry and almond twist… or at least that’s what the brewer said. I didn’t detect the cherry, but the sweet potato, pumpkin, and hint of almond I was able to detect, and it gave it a bit of “chewiness” that I really liked. Meanwhile the rest of us were just like “what… what is this fruit?” And he’s like “It’s like a football but like a papaya” and probably formed his hands to make a football shape three times. Apparently he discovered this fruit while on his honeymoon in Mexico, but he was able to source the fruit from Florida, but I don’t think he’ll be doing a lot more of these so get it while it lasts! The 100 pounds of mamey was added post boil in the kettle and also post fermentation, along with Belgian Pilsner malt, Special B, and the Belgian yeast (he apparently really like this yeast, as it’s the 3rd beer he’s brewed with it). For a fruit beer, this was completely unexpected and unique which is why I gave it bonus points for originality and creativity as well as the taste.

The size of a Mamey fruit as described by the Alameda brewer at the Portland Fruit Beer Fest Media Preview
Peach Slap, from Deschutes Brewery – Portland, OR
Style: Sour Ale with Peaches ABV: 3.2% IBU: 22
Peach Slap is a crisp light Belgian ale that starts light, gets a little complexity with his love of gin gimlets and so he added a floral quality with the addition of juniper berries and peppercorn. And then, along with peach puree, there’s the surprise heat thanks to peach habanero syrup. The base beer is light but bubbly and sweet like drinking a sparkling berlinerweisse so is super tasty. This is also a top pick for me and is sure to be a crowd pleaser, though some might complain it leans more towards soda than beer (in fact, before the peach habanero the brewer worried it was like liquid fruit roll up but with the syrup at least it was more like soda), but that wouldn’t be me, and then I’ll just drink your glass for you, thanks.

Telling us about his love/inspiration of gin gimlets and the use of peach habanero syrup in the Deschutes Brewery Peach Slap Sour Ale with Peaches
Aren’t You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana? from Laurelwood Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Citrus Wheat Ale ABV: 4.4 IBU:14
Another beer to look out for at the festival will be Laurelwood’s Orange You Glad I Didn’t Say Banana. Drawing inspiration from both Laurelwood’s year round hefeweizen and Brewmasters Vasili Glestsos’s son’s love of knock-knock jokes, this beer is another citrus bomb that emphasizes pithy/rind flavors rather than juice. Laurelwood added 12 gallons of juice and over 6lbs of citrus zest from a myriad of fruits including oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. The fruit flavor is supported by a prominent wheat character derived from the same base beer used to make laurelwood’s hefeweizen, the only difference being the fruit addition and the use of wit yeast versus hefe yeast.
Boysen The Hood from Gigantic Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Golden Tart Boysen Belgian ABV: 6.4 IBU: 19
This year Gigantic Brewing was one of a few breweries smart enough to brew a beer which met the requirements for both Cheers to Belgian Beers and The Fruit Beer Fest. Boysen The Hood is a basic Belgian golden ale brewed with pilsner and wheat malts. However, this beer deviates from the norm in that it was kettle soured for 24 hours and then aged on fresh Oregon boysenberries. The result is an easy drinking light Belgian ale with notes of blackberries and strawberries reminiscent of a Berliner weisse.
Lacerta Frambuesa from Ecliptic Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Belgian Framboise ABV: 6.5 IBU: 20
Lacerta is the lizard constellation, as brewer John Harris has a constellation theme going. He was also quick to note this is not a framboise, it’s a frambuesa. So pay attention and get it right! The base beer is a light ale made in the Aztec style then infused with Cocoa Nibs in the mash and at fermentation 100 pounds of raspberries were added.The Cocoa nibs definitely add an unusual additional flavor. Although this beer will debut at the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, John made enough that we may see it at his brewery sometime after.

Brewer John Harris of Ecliptic explaining this is not a framboise, it is a frambuesa beer, that he brewed
Up From San Antone from Widmer Brothers/5 Stones Artisan Brewery – Portland, OR + Cibolo, Texas
Style: Grapefruit White IPA ABV: 6.6% IBU: 55
The Widmer/5 Stones collaboration beer is the second beer in a series of collaboration beers Widmer plans to release throughout the year. This collaboration is with 5 Stones, a small brewery in Texas that specializes in brewing with fresh produce and non-traditional ingredients. Named after a line in the song “Amarillo by Morning,” the name is a nod to the location of 5 Stones and the usage of Amarillo hops. Up From San Antone is a combination of a classic NW White IPA and Belgian Wit, similar in style to Deschutes Chain breaker White IPA. Widmer juiced and zested over 100 lbs of fresh grapefruit with coriander to impart a strong grapefruit character that comes across more bitter and pithy as opposed to juicy, both emphasizing the bitterness of the fruit and hops.

Widmer Brewers chatting about Up From San Antone, their Grapefruit White IPA at the Portland Fruit Beer Fest Media Preview with sneak peeks of 10 of the beers. Also, of the brewers that actually wore the brewery shirts to as to be easily identified, they have the nicest ones. This kind of insightful coverage clearly differentiates me from other beer blog coverage.
Pi Beer from Fort George Brewery – Astoria, OR
Style: Fruit Wheat Beer ABV: 5% IBU: 3.141592653358979323846264338372950288419716939937510
For Fort George’s PFBF entry this year the brewery took a traditional approach to fruit beers with a low alcohol wheat beer and the addition of strawberries and rhubarb. Named after the beers low IBU value of 3.14, Pi Beer has a big strawberry aroma with a hint of tannic acidity from the rhubarb. The fruit aroma however falls short in the flavor of the beer letting the wheat character shine through. Where Fort George succeeds is in Pi Beer’s drinkability making it a refreshing beer on a hot day.
Nero’s Fiddle from Burnside Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Graff ABV: 7.0%
Burnside Brewing and EZ Orchards Cidre collaborated to blend a whole bunch of apples- including Roman Beauty, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith apples, the Roman Beauty being what inspired the name Nero. The apples were slightly fermented per French Style cider and whirlpooled directly into the kettle.
Pear’n Kramer from Lompoc Brewing – Portland, OR
Style: Golden Ale ABV: 5%
Description: The origin of these pears is a story of friendship- they came from the backyard in Salem, and were hand picked by the brewers and bartenders of Lompoc themselves last summer. In fact, the Kramer name comes from the name of the mother whose backyard they relieved of those 40 pounds of pears. I guess you can say the type of pear used in this beer is “Backyard Pear”. This beer fermented in stainless stell with those pears which were just quartered so skin and all for 5 months before being transferred to another stainless steel tank for conditioning where it was inoculated with a touch of gueuze. There is something a little local farmstead beer about this beer which is charming.

This wasn’t available to taste, but Abe (Abram Goldman-Armstrong) gave us a little drinking break as he talked about Cider Riot and their contribution to the Portland Fruit Beer Fest. It is one of the rare taps to be opened on Saturday afternoon and made especially for the festival. Inspired by Michael Jackson the beer writer who would sometimes use this descriptor, this cider called Hedgerow Fruits uses dessert apples then blended with black currants and black prunes.
Abe (Abram Goldman-Armstrong) describes how Cider Riot's contribution of the Hedgerow Fruits fruit cider (apples AND black currants and prunes) was inspired by beer writer Michael Jackson. At the Portland Fruit Beer Fest Media Preview with sneak peeks of 10 of the beers

The Fruit Beer Festival, as before, will be held Burnside Brewing. Burnside Brewing will be open and you can also get food via Pulehu Pizza with their grilled pizzas, as well as Bunk Sandwiches.

Attending Beer Festival Tips

The earlier you arrive at the festival the better so as to not have as many lines and in case certain beers run out for the day. I almost always arrive at the beginning and so can be gone in a few hours unless I’m waiting for rare beers to rotate in.
Keep in mind you don’t have to pay admission both days- you just need to bring back your glass from the Saturday and buy extra drink tickets as needed.
My recommendation is to scope out what beers you want- particularly for the rare beers, if it says which day it is being tapped you may want to plan for that day. As I noted earlier, rank which ones you really want to try and try to get those first.
Keep in mind to have a little bit of water with you in order to cleanse your palate and not get dehydrated.
If you go with friends who aren’t squeamish about sharing, you can taste even more by each person calling what they are going to go get and you mark it off the list! If there are ones you particularly want you can always get a second one on your own!

WHAT: Portland Fruit Beer Festival

WHEN: Saturday, June 6 11 am-9 pm until the end of Sunday, June 7 11 am-6 pm

WHERE: Burnside Brewing at 701 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214

TICKETS: On sale at $20 general admission. You can also buy admission at the door. The admission includes one 16 oz glass you keep and 12 drink tickets.

Filed Under: Beer Review Tagged With: Alameda Brewing, Boysen the Hood, burnside brewing, Citrus Royale, Commons Brewing, craftbeer, deschutes brewery, drinkportland, Ecliptic Brewing, Fort George Brewery, Fruit Beer Festival, Gigantic Brewing, Lacerta Frambuesa, Laurelwood Brewing, Lompoc Brewing, mamey, Mayme B, Nero's Fiddle, pdxbeer, pdxbeerweek, Peach Slap, Pear'n Kramer, Pi Beer, Portland Fruit Beer Fest 2014, Portland Fruit Beer Festival, Sour Ale with Peaches, Up From San Antone, Widmer Brothers

Portland Center Stage Show: Lizzie Musical

June 3, 2014 by Pechluck 8 Comments

Disclosure: I was invited to see this production as part of a complimentary bloggers event, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

The Portland Center Stage has just opened recently a new show called LIZZIE. It’s been a while since I visited Portland Center Stage- the last time I blogged about it was when I reviewed I Love To Eat and did a backstage at Portland Center Stage at the Armory, though I also saw The People’s Republic of Portland. Then summer happened, and Feast, and the holidays, and somehow I didn’t get back to a show. Thankfully they came back to my attention when I was invited to Blogger Night at Portland Center Stage, which was also the official opening night of LIZZIE! The show is playing May 24 — June 29 so it only has a 4 week run!

LIZZIE Art by Julia McNamara May 24–June 29, 2014 pcs.org/lizzie
LIZZIE Art by Julia McNamara

A Review of the LIZZIE Musical

LIZZIE is described as

“A rock-show retelling of the bloody legend of America’s favorite ax-wielding double-murderess and Victorian hometown girl. Lizzie Borden, who has become fodder for jump rope rhymes and TV movies of the week, was a Massachusetts woman who was acquitted in 1892 of the ax murders of her father and stepmother, and lived the rest of her life as American’s first infamous tabloid star. But did she really do it? And if so, why?”

Mary Kate Morrissey, who will play Lizzie Borden in Portland Center Stage’s production of “LIZZIE” – a rock musical about the legendary ax murderess. Photo credit: Patrick Weishampel

My friend M and I went to the opening night last week and had a lot of fun. It turns out that the play is more like a rock concert / musical telling a story with four women fronting a six-piece rock band. Yeah! It was awesome watching these women taking command of the stage with strong performances and crossing genres with their exquisite voices, varying from operatic drama and sweet love ballads to head banging classic rock and roll tinged even with a little punk through the 28 songs that evening.

The first third of the performance starts out slow and a little discordant as the audience (at least IMHO) is presented with the visuals of these four proper ladies in Victorian mannerisms and long dresses and pinned hair singing the story exposition (as you would expect in a musical). At the start it seems to really pile on the background of the situation and characters and possible motivations all seemingly too quickly.

Perhaps part of it was I had to try to adjust so quickly of them switching from singing of longing and desire for freedom and love, which meets normal musical story expectations, to already hiking up their skirts and pulling out a microphone to belt lyrics ranging of the father’s disappointment of not having a son and being a penny-pinching control freak to struggles of inheritance and implied incest and lesbian love.

Clockwise from top: Kacie Sheik (Alice Russell), Leslie McDonel (Emma Borden), Carrie Cimma (Bridget Sullivan) and Mary Kate Morrissey (Lizzie Borden) in “LIZZIE” at Portland Center Stage. Photo credit: Patrick Weishampel

Thankfully, after that initial 1/3 of the act, the script seems satisfied with having established rational and emotional motives and enough broad brushstrokes of who each of the characters are to begin having fun. Starting at the point where we begin to contemplate the murder alongside with Lizzie with the beautiful song Shattercane and Velvet Grass, LIZZIE begins to hit its stride.

It’s an admirable feat, balancing tragic drama with a few lines here and there of touches of clever dark humor along with quite a bit of over the top visuals, varying from bloody pigeons to a spurting ax and head banging to a song titled “What the F**K Now, Lizzie?!”. Yet, it seems not so jarring now, but in line with the yearning for and expression for freedom that the audience now has bought into and is right with Lizzie Bordon in supporting rebellion and yes, reveling in it. I think everyone walked out at the end with a smile.

LIZZIE l-r: Mary Kate Morrissey (Lizzie Borden) and Kacie Sheik (Alice Russell) in “LIZZIE” at Portland Center Stage. Photo credit: Patrick Weishampel

LIZZIE Show and Ticket Details

The show is playing May 24 — June 29 on the Main Stage of Portland Center Stage. LIZZIE is written by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt and Directed by Rose Riordan.

Note: This production features a live rock band, along with theatrical effects such as strobe lights, fake blood and fog. LIZZIE contains mature content, strong language and sexuality; It is recommended for ages 16+ and children under 6 are not permitted.

Performance times:

Tuesday – Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Thursday matinees at noon

Ticket prices range from $34- $72 depending on the seats and date/time of performance. Sunday and Thursday matinees are the most affordable ($38-52 matinee), followed by Sunday evenings ($44-54) and weekday evenings ($44-66), and Friday and Saturday being prime show nights ($54-72).

I have a special deal to offer in that you can use the promo code PDXBLOGS to get $10 off each ticket to LIZZIE when you purchase online through the PCS ticketing website. Also, if you lucky enough to be in time, they are having a special Beer, Bikes, and Blood promotion on this Friday June 6 as part of Pedalpalooza where you can get bike parking, Deschutes’ Chainbreaker White IPA brew and snacks in a private party at 5:30pm on the PCS mezzanine before the show AND a ticket to see the 7:30 evening LIZZIE all for just $20!

Portland Center Stage Lizzie production, Opening night of #lizzieborden #lizzie #pcs_lizzie @PCS_Armory

You can find Portland Center Stage (PCS) online at Facebook PDXcenterstage, Instagram @portlandcenterstage and Twitter @PCS_Armory. You’ll also find more about LIZZIE and other Portland Center Stage shows on the PCS blog.

Find out more about this musical at www.lizziethemusical.com, where you can even listen to a bit of the music to get an idea of what’s in store for you, and that studio album includes Storm Large as one of the Borden sisters and Carrie Manolakas as Lizzie Borden (you might know Carrie from her YouTube cover of Radiohead’s Creep)! Carrie Cimma who plays the housemaid on that album is the same Carrie who plays the housemaid in the Portland Center Stage production! You can also see a few sneak peak videos of other productions at the Portland Center Stage blog, as well as a preview of what the staging and costumes will be for the performance here in Portland.

Tips and Trivia

As a bonus, a few other tip and tidbits.

1. Show up a bit early for the show to enjoy a cocktail! They have a full bar, and also have a few special cocktails created to reflect these last shows of the season, LIZZIE and THE LAST FIVE YEARS. I ordered the one that was LIZZIE themed, a cocktail dubbed Life Ain’t Pear with house-infused pear brandy, triple sec, lemon, and splash of orange. Yes, there is a pear reference in the performance! Also, the bartendress Jamie who created our drinks was fabulous. You can pre-order your drink for intermission, btw. No need to chug your beverage before entering the theater- just make sure to grab a top for your drink and a straw!
Portland Center Stage Lizzie production, Ooooo the special cocktail for #lizzieborden #pcs_Lizzie Life Ain't Pear with house-infused pear brandy, triple sec, lemon, and splash of orange. #pdxcocktail #pdxdrinks

2. If you are in the neighborhood. I highly recommend Oven and Shaker as one option for a meal after the show so you can chat with your other theater companions about the fun you just had and the story. I’ve blogged about the Oven and Shaker great salad and pizzas and cocktails several times. If you just want a few cocktails after the show, within a 2 block radius besides Oven and Shaker I recommend Teardrop Lounge or Vault Martini for some cocktails. The pics below are from Oven and Shaker (Wild Fennel Sausage – potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella; the Nostrana Salad; and a Pepper Smash cocktail) and example cocktail from Teardrop.

There are many other options in the area, since Portland Center Stage is so well located in the Pearl and easy walking distance to downtown- so make it a great girls’ night or date night or night out with friends!

Wild Fennel Sausage with potato, tomato, chilies, scallions, smoked mozzarella Oven and Shaker, Cathy Whims, Pearl District Oven and Shaker offers as part of their happy hour the iconic Nostrana Radicchio Caeser, a small portion for half price. Clearly the portion is very generous Oven and Shaker Pepper Smash cocktail, Oven & Shaker, Cathy Whims, Wood fired pizza, Portland San Francisco Swell, Appleton Reserve rum, lime, mint, blackberry honey, Angostura bitters, egg white, Chandon brut sparkling, Teardrop Lounge, happy hour, cocktails

3. Some trivia I learned from the back stage tour, guided by Chris, I took that evening as part of the Bloggers Night. If you check the This Week at PCS Blog, they will sometimes list extra information sessions or tours you can join in on- not just for LIZZIE but for any production they have year round.

LIZZIE behind the scenes tour with guide Chris

They use two different kinds of blood in the LIZZIE production. There’s the usual stage kind with corn syrup which stays, but there is also another kind that has non-bleach detergent in it in order to be easy to clean. During one of the blood splattering scenes the actress playing LIZZIE has that detergent blood getting everywhere- including her eyes – but she has to finish singing through the scene before she gets a chance to run offstage to the eye rinse! That scene is already intense, now that you know that how much more crazy is it!?
The decapitated pigeons are really gross. They are soaked with blood- so either have to wear gloves when you handle them or as you’ll see in the production, you get bloody hands really fast!
There are microphones hidden in the actresses’ hair (and it is all their real hair, no wigs are used), but those hand microphones they use are also real and help them rock out above the sound level of the band. They have to do sound checks on ALL the microphones before every performance- and use thousands of batteries so order them in bulk!
Two of the musicians were in the band Everclear!
Once a performance has an opening night, there is no more changes- it is locked down and so what you will see if you see this show is going to be what I saw! It is also the first time everyone gets paid!

Thank you to Portland Center Stage for inviting me to Bloggers Night. And one last little thing… I loved the centerpieces they had for the cocktail tables of snacks for opening night, aren’t they awesome (and don’t you want to reuse that for your Halloween party?!)
Portland Center Stage Lizzie production, Opening night of #lizzieborden #lizzie #pcs_lizzie @PCS_Armory I loved the centerpieces they had for the cocktail tables of snacks for opening night, aren't they awesome?

Filed Under: Portland Highlights, Sponsored Post, Theater Tagged With: after the show, before the show, Lizzie, Lizzie Bordon musical review, Lizzie Bordon play, Lizzie musical review, Lizzie Review, musical, PCS, portland center stage, Portland Center Stage bloggers night, restaurant recommendation, rock show musical

Ringside Steakhouse 70th Anniversary

June 2, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Disclosure: I attended a media preview event that was complimentary, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

Ringside Steakhouse is celebrating it’s 70th anniversary this month in June! This classic steakhouse has been an institution in Portland, and the Peterson family is now on its third generation of owning this award winning steak restaurant (RingSide has been recognized on America’s Top Ten Steakhouse Hall of Fame list and by DiRōNA for high quality service, and was awarded a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2002).

Ringside Steakhouse Uptown location
To help celebrate, Ringside has a few specials planned for this month.

Trio of Beef

First, Ringside is offering a special menu all month in addition to their regular menu: a 3-Course Menu featuring a Trio of Beef for $70 per person. Part of the proceeds will benefit New Avenues For Youth. New Avenues is a great charity that provides a variety of outcome-based programs and services for homeless and at-risk youths with the goal of helping them to build life-skills, establish a stable living environment, and eventually become a self-sufficient adult.

I was graciously invited by Little Green Pickle and Ringside Steakhouse to a RingSide 70th Anniversary Media Preview. There, they had set up three steak stations in order to offer samplings of the special Trio of Beef.

Course 1: Oregon Bay Shrimp Salad with Butter lettuce, endive, celery leafs, red onions, green goddess dressing

Course 2: Trio of Certified Angus Beef Beef served with Chef’s accompaniments

Rib Eye Cap, char-broiled and sliced and served with jus. In case you are curious, the Rib Eye Cap is the top part of the ribeye which is a winning combination of all the flavor and juicy fat of a ribeye but with the tenderness of a tenderloin. It’s a very small cut, so you don’t usually see this available in a steakhouse and you’d have to ask for it especially cut by a butcher. This is quite a treasure. Yes, yes, a meat treasure that you want to serve simple like this to savor all the meatiness. I tell you, it’s a slight tragedy that I’m married to a vegetarian.
Braised Short Rib with Cabernet demi-glace. This was so melt in your mouth! So, I forgot to take a photo of the short rib at the station, but I was barely able to hold myself back to take the photo before devouring this. It was like meat butter, and a favorite by many of the guests at this event.
Tenderloin of Beef Oscar, a Petit Filet Mignon, Dungeness crab, asparagus and sauce béarnaise. This was the other favorite by many of the guests, as it’s a surf and turf in one! Even before it is topped with the crab, asparagus and sauce, look how beautiful it is.

Course 3: House Made Fromage Blanc Cheesecake with Strawberry balsamic jus

Optional wine pairing of 4 @ 3 oz. Pours – $40 for

Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc
Ken Wright Pinot Noir
Nelms Road Cabernet Sauvignon
Tyrus Evan Syrah

As part of the special media preview event, I had an opportunity to tour the behind the scenes at the Ringside Uptown location. RingSide has an on-site dry-aging room. First steaks arrive fresh with careful temperature and humidity controls the entire way, and then are cut in a special room that they can reduce and maintain to perfect controlled temperature conditions within 10 minutes (I dubbed it the “steak surgery room”).

Then, the cuts go to the aging room (I dub this “most organized and fully stocked meat locker I’ve ever seen, where’s the grill…”) where the steaks are aged for 28 days and hand cut. Since they only have seven decades of experience at being a steakhouse, they manage their inventory expertly to balance having what they need while managing the natural waste that is part of the process of dry aging.
RingsideSteakhouse Uptown, on-site dry-aging room

This part of the little visit was narrated by Ringside Partner Craig Peterson, and Craig humbly said they are still trying to get the flavors perfect in their dry aging process… and that it will probably never be perfect. I have to say I beg to differ here because the steaks I sampled that evening had great depth of flavor. Also, it was all served with forks from the meat stations… no knives, because they weren’t necessary!
Ringside Steakhouse Uptown, on-site dry-aging room, being narrated by Ringside Partner Craig Peterson (3rd generation owner!) RingsideS teakhouse Uptown, on-site dry-aging room, being narrated by Ringside Partner Craig Peterson (3rd generation owner!)

Part of the secret was revealed when we had a chance to peek at the kitchen and I saw the sous vide steaks in process (which was also next to some oysters on ice, and in the back some jumbo shrimp being prepped…). Ringside also knows that guests come to Ringside for special occasions, and they are serious about delivering a memorable experience for you, from food and drinks to impeccable service… and apparently are such the special occasion destination they’ve got to prep dessert dishes for the service (I guess more birthdays than anniversaries that night.)
Ringside Steakhouse - behind the scenes tour, including the sous vide for the steak, oysters on ice and jumbo shrimp being prepped in the back Ringside Steakhouse knows it is a special occasion destination and they are ready for you - apparently more birthdays than anniversaries tonight

Oh, just being served a chocolate truffle in the kitchen by Executive Chef Beau Carr as we followed Craig to check out the onion ring station…
Ringside Steakhouse: Oh, just being served a chocolate truffle in the kitchen by Executive Chef Beau Carr as we followed Craig to check out the onion ring station...

Yes, I got to see the glory of their onion ring station. Yup, a dedicated onion ring station, as you would expect because the onion rings here are among the best in Portland, if not the best.
Ringside Steakhouse onion ring station

Besides being known for its high quality steaks, Ringside is also the home to one of the best and extensive wine lists in town. Jan Peterson took us down via the elevator to the temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar. Wow. It’s is a huge room with two rows of cases of wines 6 shelves high, grouped by region. Yeah, just almost 1000 wines to choose from, that’s all. You see how the shelves on are little rollers? It’s to make it easy to move the wine with less physical exertion, how clever!
RingSide Steakhouse Uptown temperature controlled wine cellar.

Special Dinners and Reception

In addition, Ringside is doing two Chef’s Collabrative Winemakers Dinners. To start off each meal, the Peterson family and Executive Chef Beau Carr will give guests a behind-the-scenes tour of the dry aging meat locker and the climatized cellar that I got a sneak peak of above! You can see it with your own eyes instead of just my pictures!

Then, there are the chef collaboration dinners themselves. One was on June 1 with The Woodsman Tavern and Woodward Canyon Winery and there is another on June 8 with Toro Bravo and Ken Wright Cellars. The dinners are six courses with wine pairings, and tickets are $200 per person, all-inclusive, with a portion of proceeds benefiting New Avenues For Youth.

There is some amazing stuff on the menu, such as for the Woodsman/Woodward Dinner this past Sunday just oh a “Chef’s Snack Plate” that includes Whipped Kobe Fat, Dark Rolls, Charcuterie, romage, Foie Gras au Torchon, and Ramaki. Just snacks. One of the mains was a Petit Bone-In Filet Mignon, Dry Aged Pacific Rouge Wagyu Marrow Butter with Oregon White Truffle Potato Puree, Roasted Rapini, Ramps, and House Lardons.

For the upcoming diner with Toro Bravo/Ken Wright, this coming Sunday June 8, the snack includes Wagyu Beef Jerky & Slim Jim, Hush Puppies and Devils on Horseback, while mains include A-5 Wagyu Ribeye for one course and for another a Surf and Turf with Oregon Wagyu Consommé, Dungeness Crab, and Bone Marrow Toast.

Drooool.

Finally, Ringside is wrapping up June with a 70th Anniversary Reception on Sunday, June 29th. After a glass of champagne upon arrival, guests can enjoy libations and passed hors d’oeuvres created by the executive chefs of all three of the RingSide properties (both RingSide Steakhouse Uptown and Eastside, and RingSide Fish House). Ringside will also be featuring featuring 100% Wagyu from Oregon and Japanese A5 Kobe. Musical entertainment will be provided, and 50% of every ticket sold will be donated to New Avenues For Youth.

VIP Anniversary Reception 4:00 – 10:00 PM (so 2 hours of extra reception time!)
Tickets are $200 per person and includes a VIP preview from 4-6pm, featuring private tours of wine cellar and dry-aging room, a signed copy of Gerry Frank’s guide to Portland, celebrity bartenders and servers, passed hors d’oeuvres and carving stations featuring A5 Kobe, 100% Wagyu from Oregon, Ahi poke and Foie Gras. Hosted bar with cocktails, beer and wine will be served with complimentary pours of Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut.

Anniversary Celebration 6:00 – 10:00 PM
$100 per person and includes passed hors d’oeuvres, carving stations and complimentary beer, wine and house cocktails, no hosted bar.

You can buy tickets at the Ringside Anniversary page here if you’d like to attend the Winemaker Dinner or the 70th Anniversary Reception. For reservations to get the June special 3 course menu including Trio of Beef, you can go to either Ringside location:

Ringside Steakhouse Uptown

Address: 2165 W Burnside Portland, OR

Dinner:

Mon. – Wed. 5pm to 11:30pm
Thurs. – Sat. 5pm to 12am
Sundays: 4pm to 11:30pm

Happy Hour:

Mon. – Sat. 9:30 – close
Sundays: 4pm – 5:30pm & 9:30 – close

Reservations online at OpenTable or Phone: (503) 223-1513

Ringside Steakhouse Eastside

Address: 14021 E Glisan Portland, OR
Lunch:

Monday – Friday 11:30 to 2:00 pm

Happy Hour::

Monday – Friday 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm & 8:30pm – close
Saturday 11:30am – 6:00pm & 8:30pm – close
Sundays: 11:30am – close

Dinner:

Monday – Thursday 4:30 pm to 10 pm
Friday – Saturday 4:30 pm to 11 pm
Sunday: 3 pm to 10 pm

Reservations online at OpenTable or Phone: (503) 255-0750

Happy 70th Birthday RingSide! You don’t look a day over aged 28 days…

Check out the fabulous photos by other fellow bloggers, as well as their perspectives on Ringside and the steaks!

Urban Bliss Life: [Food Bliss] RingSide Steakhouse 70th Anniversary
The Good Hearted Woman: RingSide Steakhouse Celebrates 70 Years

Filed Under: Festival Event, Sponsored Post Tagged With: Braised Short Rib with Cabernet demi-glace, dry aging meat locker, dry-aging room, onion rings, Rib Eye Cap, Ringside Steakhouse, Ringside Steakhouse 70th Anniversary, Ringside Steakhouse Uptown, Tenderloin of Beef Oscar, wine cellar

Book Club Review: A History of the World in 6 Glasses

May 31, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

For May the Kitchen Reader book club selected reading is A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. For our casual online club there is a new book selected for every month, each book is related to food, and members write a review on their blog during the last week of that month. If you are interested in joining, check out the website.

This was a pretty quick read for me, part of it is because the tone is very light, which makes sense as the author is an essayist who often writes articles for magazines. As you proceed through it, you get to pick up lots of interesting facts about how the six beverages of the book- beer, then wine, then liquor, then coffee, then tea, and then Coca Cola – was an incarnation of a certain time period of western history. Everything is easy to understand and follow, although at times information is just stated as a story or cause and effect without much more proof to argue that the statement or tale is true. But, there isn’t really anything controversial here. And even if there is sometimes missed opportunities, there are still plenty of fun stories and facts thrown in.

There is one particular quote that I wanted to point out, as I don’t want to give away all the good tidbits of the book, but that I think helps embody why this various liquid drinks are so important in human history:

“Unlike food, beverages can be genuinely shared.When several people drink beer from the same vessel, they are all consuming the same liquid; when cutting up meat, in contrast, some parts are deemed more desirable than others.As a result, sharing a drink with someone is a universal symbol of hospitality and friendship.”

It was true in each of the time periods, with each beverage, even if some were alcoholic, some were not, some were religious or intellectual or even initially for health reasons, several were even used as a form of currency, but all endured because of the role drinks lay in socializing.

Also interesting to me is that some of the social roles still remain today in our current society.

Beer remains seen as a “common man” drink that equalizes everyone. It may have also played a strong part in early human civilization settling down because the beer process makes water safer to drink. Also, people used to drink beers together from the same vessel using straws!
Wine still carries to this day the air of civilized refinement from the Greeks (which probably began with the fact that wine production needs specific climate or trade, while beer is made from the much more common grain). When absorbed by the Romans, wine could emphasize social divisions based on how good your wine was (based on type and how old it was- something that still is intimidating/gives an air of judgement based on what you drink and snobbery today!).
Distilled spirits are often still seen, unlike beer and wine, as a means for getting drunk. The distillation process from alchemical laboratories became dominant during the Age of Exploration, a reflection of how science and travel/navigation were becoming more intertwined – and it certainly helped that distilled alcohol worked well for long cruises in both being efficient as only small rations were needed and mixed with lemon or lime juice helped combat scurvy. The book went a little into how it also was a tool for social control – with a mention of slavery in rum production and only the vaguest hint of the effect to help subjugation with discovered civilizations in the New World. To balance that, although rum encouraged the slave trade, whiskey was a symbol of the pioneer spirit of America.
Coffee continue to be regarded now as the opposite of alcohol and a soberer (even though this isn’t true!) and the drink of those who are smart. Coffeehouses remain a gathering place for learning. This is where I noticed that the book does focus a great deal on Western Civilizations, as there are many different ways people of the worlds “take” their coffee, and I wish we could have explored that a little.
Serving tea at home is still seen as a symbol of being genteel, probably stemming from its Asian ceremonial origins! Too bad though it has lost its ability to just be a whole new afternoon meal because I would like more accessible adorable dainty tea sandwiches and excuses for clotted cream.
Coca Cola came from the trend at the time to market soda water as a health drink because of it’s refreshing bubbles similar to spring water. I totally admit first I laughed, and then I remembered that when I’m not feeling well I still rely on Sprite to help “settle my stomach”. I also admit that when I was in Atlanta I visited the Coca Cola museum and was surprised that it was pretty fun! I have to admit I didn’t get to finish reading the last chapter yet on globalization, but it’s pretty obvious it is true… have you heard the Coca Cola song for the World Cup, or the ad during the superbowl with America the Beautiful in different languages?

Next in June the book club reading is A Moveable Feast (Lonely Planet Travel Literature) published by Lonely Planet. It has a lot of essays in it by different authors and looks very interesting!

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, book club

Portland June 2014 Events Roundup

May 30, 2014 by Pechluck 10 Comments

Sometimes I joke that Portland has made me drink more. But it’s not really a joke- the high caliber of local wineries, distilleries and microbreweries here in Portland has really wowed me and made me enjoy beverages more than I ever thought.

Portland also isn’t shy about outright celebrating its liquid bounty. Take June for instance. I decided to do a Portland June 2014 Events Roundup of all the various events in June, and I decided to highlight these (keep in mind there is probably more that I missed).

Tiki Punch Out!

Wednesday May 28 – Tuesday June 3, 2014

Portland Monthly Magazine and Captain Morgan White bring you Tiki Punch-Out!, a classic tiki punch competition! At the free but ticketed event (21+ only) at Punch Bowl on Tuesday June 3 5:30 – 7:30 PM, they will be breaking out the rum, the booze infused watermelons and hollowed-out coconuts! Six of the city’s best bartenders will vie for the title of Tiki Punch-Out Champion and a cash prize of $500!

Participating Establishments:

Kask
Hale Pele
Alibi
Trader Vic’s
Punch Bowl Social
Sand Bar

May 28 to June 2 is Tiki Punch-Out Week so you can stop by any of those above participating bars to get previews of the punches.

Salt & Straw Cocktail Ice Cream Month

June 1 – July 3, 2014

At all of the Salt & Straw locations, you can try for one month only some special ice cream flavors. Welcome to The Summer Cocktail Ice Cream Series, where Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw’s head ice cream maker, collaborated with various top bartenders in Portland to offer five ice cream twists on classic drinks (the ice cream itself has the alcohol burned off so you will get the flavors without the tipsyness).

Chocolate Chip Mint Julep: Hand-selected batch of bourbon from Four Roses Distilling with Oregon grown spearmint and Oregon roasted single-origin chocolate (Brandon Wise, Imperial)
Strawberry & Verbena Pimm’s Cup: Strawberry and lemon verbena ice cream with Aviation gin marmalade (Ross Hunsinger, Aviary), a sweet and bitter, citrusy pop in the mouth
Lemon Amaretto Sour: Amaretto sherbet with punches of lemon egg cream (Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common)
Pineapple Honey Dorléac: based off of Kyle’s own Dorléac recipe, Honey, vodka and Aperol ice cream with a gentle ribbon of pineapple caramel (Kyle Webster, Expatriate)
Rhubarb & Saffron Champagne Cocktail: Subtly yeasty Champagne ice cream with a tart ribbon of saffron and rhubarb jelly reminiscent of that perfect summer-fresh rhubarb spritzer (Evan Zimmerman, the Woodsman Tavern)

Part of the proceeds from the summer cocktail ice cream series will go to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, in support of (RED)’s EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES campaign. No seriously it is all caps and with the parenthesis, I remember buying their tshirts before and the RED is always like that.

Negroni Week

Monday June 2 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Negroni Week is sponsored by imbibe Magazine and Campari internationally. In the 7 days of Negroni Week, participating bars take advantage of the ingredients of a Negroni (Campari, Gin, Vermouth) to raise money for various charity causes. Participants vary from Canada and England and Australia and France to all over the US, including almost 40 participating bars here in Portland Oregon.

Each bar can select the charity of their choice, so for instance by filtering to Portland in the US here at the participating bars list you may decide to have a Negroni at

Bunk Bar or Irving Street Kitchen benefiting Share our Strength. I should mention that Bunk Bar plans to serve a slush-i-fied version of the Negroni…
Clyde Common for the Pixie Project
Multnomah Whiskey Library for United Way
Ned Ludd for Zenger Farms
Ox or Whey Bar for Panda Paws Rescue
St Jack for the Humane Society
Teardrop Lounge for Alzheimers Foundation of America,
etc.

The above are only a small selection I pulled out as examples but illustrate the amazing bars that are participating. So make sure to browse the list and visit a bar or two for a Negroni! I’m actually going to be in San Diego and Chicago for part of Negroni Week, but don’t worry that are participating bars I saw for Negroni week in both those cities as well, so being out of town is no excuse.

To kick off Negroni Week, Imperial will host a Negroni-centric happy hour on Monday, June 2nd from 4-7 PM featuring Negronis made with local Aria gin and Beefeater from guest bartender Douglas Derrick (previously of Nostrana, now managing Raven and Rose, and also featured in that video below! He helped inspire Negroni Week with the Negroni Social he used to hold at Nostrana) and Imperial’s presiding barman and Negroni Week supporter Brandon Wise.

There will also be a special Negroni ice cream from Salt + Straw made with House Spirits’ Aviation American gin.

Scoops are just $3 and Negronis are $5 and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross. I’ll still be in San Diego so am missing that event, but how awesome does that sound?

Imbibe and Campari Present: Negroni Week 2014 from Imbibe on Vimeo.

PDX Beer Week

Thursday June 5 – Sunday June 15, 2014

Apparently it’s not enough that we have July dedicated to Oregon Beer. We need a special week just for Portland beer celebrations. And boy, is there a lot going on for PDX Beer Week! I am not going to cover all the events going on- look on the website yourself for that as there is lots to read and more being added it seems every time I check! But let me highlight in my personal opinion (of course- this is my blog after all) my selected 12 favorites for beer week. Ok, technically, it is a little bit more than a week, it’s 10 days, but no problem with that!

The Official Beer Week Sandwich available at the various Lardo locations and Easy Company will be featuring this official special sandwich as well as the official beer week beer and t-shirt for sale as a special package for the duration of Portland Beer Week. The official beer week sandwich is with Olympic Provisions Kielbasa, smoked Tillamook cheddar, sauerkraut, Worthy/Hopworks Session India Rye Ale mustard on toasted ciabatta.
What? There is also an Official Beer Week Donut??? Yes, Blue Star Donuts is developing a special beer week beer donut that will be featured at their 2 locations and at select beer week events, a Widmer Brothers Hefe citrus cake donut!
pFriem & Irving Street Kitchen Beer Dinner Pairing. Sunday June 8, 2014 5:30-8:00 PM Irving Street Kitchen Executive Chef Sarah Schafer will be hosting pFriem Family Brewers for a four course meal plus passed canapes paired with a lineup of Pfriem beers. I love the farmhouse style beers of pFriem and I think it would go fabulously with the Southern cooking by Chef Sarah. Tickets will will be $85, which includes food, beer, and gratuity. For reservations contact Irving Street Kitchen at 503.343.9440 or jessie@irvingstreetkitchen.com. The photo below is an example of the awesomeness that can come from Chef Sarah when I attended an event where she matched her cooking with Hawks View Wine so I am confident she will be just as kickass doing food pairing with beer. There is another Brewer’s Dinner event taking place at Raven and Rose with Samuel Smith beer that same night, but since that is more of an English, I’m going to vote for this Beer Dinner pairing because it’s local.
Alternately, also on Sunday June 8 6 PM is a Beer Versus Cider & cheese pairing where the same cheese, selected by Cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar, is paired both by a beer from Alex Ganum of Upright Brewing and a cider by Nat West of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider as part of a face-off to see whether the beer or cider paired better with the cheese. You would get 10 different cider and beer pairings for $31 (advanced ticket sales only). Take a look at the cider and beer and cheese that will be at the event here at the ticket site.
New School and Bailey’s Taproom New Breweries Showcase June 9 2 PM – midnight features ten new breweries from across the Oregon state. These are all breweries that are probably new to you: Chetco Brewing, Salem Ale Works, Buoy Beer Company, Sam’s Bond Brewing, Plankton Brewing, Vagabond Brewing, Gratin Station Brew Works, Baerlic Brewing, Thunder Island Brewing, and Stormbreaker Brewing. Don’t worry, they have been conveniently gathered for you to learn about all in 1 place. At Bailey’s Taproom 2 beers from each of these breweries will be on top, and from 4 to 7pm at The Upper Lip you can meet the owners and brewers. No admission fee, just pay for what you drink! See that link to the showcase description at the New School website for more information/hint of what beers everyone is bringing to this party.
Old Salt + Upright Brewing Brewers Dinner. Upright Brewing is teaming up with chef Nathaniel Price of the Grain and Gristle for a special pairing dinner at Old Salt Marketplace’s event room on Monday June 9th 7 PM. This seven course dinner is going to exclusively feature vintage barrel aged beers. and is the first time the brewery has reached into the cellar for every course, including sometimes their final cases of a beer. There are some amazing verticals slated for the seven course dinner, including 2012 & 2013 Blend Love, 2011, 2012, 2013 Fantasia, and 2010, 2011, 2013 Billy the Mountain. Yeah, that’s a lotta beer for some of those courses, but I love tasting verticals to compare and contrast the flavors, and you get to taste them with food pairings too! Email the brewery uprightbrewing@gmail.com to reserve a spot, tickets: $75.

Mussels from Brussels is an event where 4 breweries (Breakside, Lompoc, pFriem, and defending champion Upright) create 4 secret sauces for dipping in one pound of mussels served with fries, and paired with their Belgian-inspired beer. There is a seating for a table of 10 that takes place every 30 minutes between 5:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, June 10, with the awards ceremony at 9 PM. The cost is $25 per person (ticketed) and the event is taking place at Bazi Bierbrasserie. Mmmm beer and mussels and fries is a classic, just classic combination.
More seafood + beer coming your way… this time with the Upper Lip Oyster Social which brings together on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 5 – 8 PM Oyster Social’s Hama Hama oysters, six taps and over 100 bottles to try at The Upper Lip. Sip beer and slurp freshly shucked oysters right on the spot. Eat one or a dozen–the world is your oyster at $2 a pop! Please note that the raw bar is cash only, though you can have a tab for the beer.
The Sour and Wild Beer Seminar on Thursday June 12, 2014 6 – 8 PM is an opportunity to both learn about and taste sour and wild ales from Oregon’s masters of the styles including Cascade Brewing’s Ron Gansberg, Block 15 Brewing’s Nick Arzner, De Garde Brewing’s Trevor Rogers and Breakside Brewery’s Ben Edmunds. It is a seated seminar style event that includes a panel discussion with the brewers while you also get to taste the beers by the brewer panelists. Last I checked, this seems to be still in the finalization stages and I didn’t see tickets on sale yet.
On Friday, June 13th, from 4 PM -2 AM is the Taplister Rye Beer Festival, held at Eastburn. The festival features 22 rye beers, as well as rye cocktails and rye-themed food. Partial proceeds from the sale of beer will be donated to the Dawn to Dusk paddle fund for the Children’s Cancer Association. Entry to the event is free, and you just pay for the price of your beer (5oz samples and pints), cocktails and food as your order.
If like me you love barrel aged beers, perhaps instead of the Rye Beer Festival (or before…) you might attend the Barrel Masters Night on Friday June 13th 6 – 8 PM at Hopworks on SE 28th and Powell. This social mingle event includes Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing, Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing, Widmer Brothers innovation brewer Jack Beiting, Deschutes barrelmaster and Assistant Brewmaster Ryan Schmiege and moderator Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery in a guided discussion with free samples of all the beer included in the ticket pricing. Tickets are $37 from Stranger Tickets., and you can check the list of the beers at the PDX Beer Week event listing
Ok, maybe these are multiple events, but they are all with Firestone Walker. The one I ranked highest is the Luncheon with the Lion at Saraveza and Firestone Walker. I love Firestone Walker, so I was quite torn when I saw that this event on June 15 12 – 3 PM Sunday is taking place the same day as the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival (which I cover below). The event includes David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing Co at Saraveza where he will be speaking specifically about Firestone Walker’s barrel-aging program at 1:30pm. Meanwhile they will have a special ‘Bangers & Mash’ pasty alongside many delicious draft offerings of Firestone Walker beers, including the highly regarded 2010 “Abacus” Barrel-Aged Barleywine, 2013 “Stickee Monkee” Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Quad, ”Parabajava” Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Infused w/Coffee, and more! No admittance fee for this event, you just pay for what you order. Alternately, David Walker/Firestone Walker is doing a Lions Brewers Dinner with Old Salt Marketplace that evening though the menu and beer options are not listed yet as of writing this post. And, earlier the day before, at The Lion’s Scratch event which is free (pay for what you drink), David Walker/Firestone Walker will be at Belmont Station Saturday June 14 4 – 7 PM where they will be offering 2011-2014 Parabola vertical flights. They will also have some special Firestone Walker vintage beers for sale in the bottle shop and if you buy one of these special vintage Firestone Walker beers, you can have David Walker sign it for you! Afterwards, follow The Lion as he walks pied-piper style down the street to The Horse Brass, where he will continue his evening there with 13+ Firestone Walker beer offerings.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival

Friday June 6 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Taking part in PDX Beer Week as well is this festival so good I made it a section of it’s own. Saturday June 7 – Sunday June 8 is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, which features almost 50 fruit beers and ciders. As usual nearly every beer and a few ciders have been brewed specifically for the Fruit Beer Festival and use a wide range of fruits.

Some of the beers on the list vary from 10 Barrel Brewing Cherry Sour Brown, Breakside Passionfruit Sour Ale, Burnside’s Nero Fiddle with a blend of apples, Elysian D’Mango Unchained, Falling Sky Marionberry Smoked Ale, to Oakshire Oude Bes: Strawberry Balsalmic, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Sweet Triple Hot ¡Tepache! Pineapple wine with three different hot peppers to Stone Brewing’s “The Tiger Cub” Saison aged in White Wine Barrels w/Sour Cherries… (you can see the list here at New School which has descriptions with the beer, though that list of 25 does not yet include the two dozen Rare Rotating Tap list of one-off or vintage kegs of just 5 gallons each).

I know right, doesn’t that sound delicious!!?? It is a one of a kind festival, with one of a kind beers exclusive to this festival.

Tickets are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday 11am-9pm or Sunday 11am-6pm. There are also $30 VIP admission on Friday 4-9pm and limited to 300 VIP guests with a few special tappings – that one is almost sold out so if you are interested in that act fast! The Fruit Beer Fest is open to All-Ages.

The festival will be held Burnside Brewing. Burnside Brewing will be open, so you can still get a cheese plate to compliment your beers, or my personal favorite their cohiba cigar as I covered here previously and/or beer cheese curds on their menu! Not only that, but one of my favorite food carts Pulehu Pizza will be there with their grilled pizzas and making a special pizza for the festival, as well as Bunk Sandwiches.

Burnside Brewery & Portland Fruit Beer Festival Documentary from Ron Cummings on Vimeo.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival

Sunday, June 15, 2014 12:00PM-6:00 PM

I guess technically this is also part of PDX Beer Week, but too good to not have it’s own section. I have been attending the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival for several years as it brings together beer AND cheese. You can see my recap of 2012 here and my recap of last year 2013 here, and the photos below are from those previous festivals.

Held this year at Burnside Brewing, this will be the festival’s 3rd year featuring 11 breweries and beers each carefully paired with a select cheese by award winning cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar. Tickets are $35 (on sale now, advanced ticket sales only so there will be no tickets at the door- this helps control the amount of people there and amount of attendees and prepare tastings accordingly. No minors allowed at this event). When you check in you will get a special festival glass and a punchcard for samples of each of the 11 beers and their respective cheese pairing. Maybe 11 beer and cheese pairings doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is. You should skip brunch and go directly to this event.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival, beer and cheese pairing, The Commons Berwery, Steve's Cheese, Pfriem Family Brewers Wit, paired with Fern’s Edge Dairy Mt. Zion, raw goat, Oregon

Also, did I mention Olympic Provisions will be providing complimentary charcuterie at a table for your own savory meat cleanser/complement as needed. I mean, just look at Chop’s amazing meat board from previous years (he is taking this year off to actually enjoy Father’s Day), which they kept filled during the event!

Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2013: charcuterie provided by Chop Butchery Portland Beer & Cheese Fest

It was never so crowded that there were more than a few people in front of me, and most of the time I could just walk up and ask for my taster and sample. The Punchcards helped suggest an order as well as provide information about the beer and cheese that would be in the pairing. It it is one of my favorite beer events all year, and particularly it brings out a generally sophisticated beer drinking crowd that wants to think and savor what they are having rather and how everything tastes than just taste a lot of beer.

Cider Summit

Saturday June 21 – Sunday June 22 2014

Did you know that Portland has a Cider Festival, called the Cider Summit? SBS Imports and the Seattle Beer Collective organize the fest that is presented by World Foods & Bushwhacker Cider, and ironically when I attended the Cider Summit I did so in Seattle because they also do it theirs in the fall. It looks like next year they are even expanding Cider Summit to two new cities, Chicago and Berkeley!

This year the Cider Summit is celebrating its 4th year in Portland by moving from the South Waterfront to the northern Pearl District at Fields Neighborhood Park. It will be held Friday, June 20 from 2 – 8 PM and Saturday, June 21 from 12 – 6 PM. As before, cidery owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions in a souvenir festival glass.

In addition to the range of ciders, the event will feature the DoveLewis / Unleashed by Petco dog lounge, expanded food selections from World Foods & St. Honore Boulangerie (if you visit their Division location they have wonderful cider taps!), special dessert pairings from Smitten Truffles and cider ice cream from Fifty Licks. Transportation wise Brewvana Brewery Tours shuttle will run a continuous loop from SE Portland to the Park because of its location you can easily also ride the Portland Streetcar to the event.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door and are available online via Stranger tickets, Umpqua Bank Pearl District branch, and at many of the area’s leading bottle shops. Admission includes a tasting glass and 8 tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets will be available for sale onsite at $2 per ticket. There is also a special VIP ticket available for $35 that includes 4 additional tasting tickets and early admission on Friday from 2p-3p, only 200 of these tickets are available – exclusively online via the event website. Dogs are allowed at the event, but no minors.

Re-admission will be allowed at any time with event wristband and tasting glass. The Cider Summit event will benefit Northwest Cider Association, Cascade Blues Association, DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, and The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown

Sunday, June 22, 2014 11:30AM-2:00 PM

I hesitated too long when the first Portland Monthly Country Brunch tickets went on sale their first year, but was smarter and snapped them up quickly last year and again this year. The photos below are from when I attended last year and did a blog recap so visit there for more.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Kevin Atchley, Walt Alexander and Brian Snyder of Pine State Biscuits, whose sample was Ayers Creek cornmeal crusted Carolina catfish mini biscuits with vinegar slaw and sweet pickle remoulade

This event is obviously sponsored by Portland Monthly Magazine, which is one of the best organizers of events. They always put together a beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, always think of seating to enjoy the food and drink! This year, six chefs will prepare bites of their favorite brunch fare while Irving Street Kitchen (People’s Choice) and Le Bistro Montage (Judge’s Choice) winners from last year defend their titles of “Best Bloody Mary” in the third-annual Portland Monthly Bloody Mary Smackdown!

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Olympic Provisions provided by Jess Hereth an Olympic Mary with House Mary mix, vodka, and a pickles and of course their excellent salami as part of the garnish

Furthermore, 100% of net proceeds will benefit Zenger Farm‘s new Urban Grange. Urban Grange is an 8,960-square-foot facility that will support the Zenger Farm ongoing efforts to connect Portland communities to fresh-grown food by being a space for Zenger youth field trips, summer camps, healthy eating workshops, and farmer training programs, opportunities for emerging businesses in the commercial kitchen, etc.

Here are the participants for the Brunch and Bloody Mary competition!

Brunch Bonanza by:

Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer
Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow
Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares
Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo
Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula
Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop

Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose:

Irving Street Kitchen (2012 People’s & Judges’ Choice Champion, 2013 People’s Choice Champ)
Le Bistro Montage (2013 Judges’ Choice Champion)
Broder
Radar
Doug Fir
Imperial

In addition to brunch, guests will enjoy bottomless Manmosas (see: beer +orange juice) by Miller Highlife and Crispin Cider. I’m not sure what to think about that yet. Also, New Seasons Market will treat attendees to fresh organic juices and local hot sauce condiments. Sunshine Dairy will be sharing its delicious yogurts and Boyd’s will be keeping everyone caffeinated with their fresh brew.

Just like last year, Whole Foods Market will host a Bloody Mary Accoutrements Station to dress your Bloody to your liking… which was amazing. I think I ate like a half dozen of those giant cocktail shrimp.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Whole Foods, Bloody Mary Smackdown, garnish station

Do you have your tickets? VIP Brunch & Bloodies (must be 21+) includes early admittance at 10:30 AM, brunch items, adult & non-alcoholic beverages and swag are ticketed at $45, or you can just have brunch and no bloody marys for $35 and still get 1 hour early entrance and swag. Or, enter at the regular admission time like I am at 11:30 AM and enjoy Brunch & Bloodies for $30 or Brunch Only for $20. Kids 5 or younger are free. The event is taking place at Castaway Portland. Get your tickets here at Eventbrite.

Sake Fest

Thursday, June 26, 2014 6:30PM-9:00 PM

Saké Fest PDX brings together more than 130 samples of saké, plum wine & beer with food from local restaurants & purveyors at the Sentinal Hotel. I’ve never been, though I have heard good things! The admission fee for the ticket/tasting glass is all inclusive, so all food and all saké sampling stations! Tickets for the event are $50 per person in advance online with limited tickets will be available at the door for $60. Participants must be 21 years or older to attend

A portion of the net proceeds from Saké Fest PDX benefits the Japan-America Society of Oregon (JASO)

North American Organic Brewers Festival

June 26-June 29, 2014

The North American Organic Brewers Festival brings together organic beers and ciders alongside live music, food, sustainability-oriented vendors, non-profits and a children’s area at Overlook Park. I missed it last year, but attended the previous two years. The goal of this festival is to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living and the NAOBF serves up nearly 60 organic beers & ciders from around the nation.

The festival times are 12-9 PM Thursday, Friday & Saturday, and 12 – 5 PM Sunday. Admission into the event is free, but the $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch glass is required for tasting beer. You also need to purchase drinking tokens, each token is $1. However, you can get a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with a validated Tri-Met ticket! ALso, the event is cash only.

WWOOOOOOOO!!!

Isn’t it crazy with all these June events? And to think after that is July, which is Oregon Beer Month and there will be even more events to celebrate! What a summer that is coming!

Are there any events that I mentioned that you are thinking of attending / will I see you?

Filed Under: Cheese, Cocktails, Current Affairs, Festival Event, Food and Drink, Portland Highlights Tagged With: beer and food pairing, Beer Versus Cider & cheese pairing, Beer Week Donut, Beer Week Sandwich, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Imperial Negroni Happy Hour, Lions Brewers Dinner, Luncheon with the Lion, Mussels from Brussels, Negroni Ice Cream, Negroni Week, Old Salt + Upright Brewing Brewers Dinner, PDX Beer Week, pFriem & Irving Street Kitchen Beer Brewers Dinner, Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Salt & Straw cocktail ice cream, Salt and Straw, Sour and Wild Beer Seminar, Tiki Punch Out!