Corvallis, Oregon is one of America’s quintessential college towns. It’s bounded by the Willamette River to the east and the highest peak in the Coastal Mountain range to the west. The Pacific Coast, the Cascade Mountains and Portland are all within two hours driving distance. It has the kind of natural beauty and geographic diversity... Continue Reading →
Sunday in Athens – A (Chauffeured) Walk on the Wild Side
Ohio is approaching 300 breweries, a dramatic expansion from just five years ago when I started this blog. It’s a luxury of riches that means most of us don’t have to travel very far to find tasty beer. Just about any style you crave—hazy IPAs, high gravity malt bombs, crisp lagers, barrel aged sours—can be... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Lambic Land
It’s a Friday afternoon in early April, two days into my Belgian beer holiday. As I write this I’m sitting in the modern tasting room of Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen, savoring a 2012 vintage bottle of oud geuze and a cheese board. Sunlight streams through the windows, it seems like the first completely sunny day in... Continue Reading →
Wild on the Coast – A visit to de Garde Brewing
Before Thanksgiving I promised a series of posts from my October visit to Oregon, but aside from a post on the Bend Ale Trail I haven’t followed up on that promise. Better late than never here is the second installment in this series, a visit to one of the most unique breweries in the country –... Continue Reading →
Sour Beers Part 1 – The Science and Art of Brewing Sours
Many foods and drinks are acquired tastes. Think back to the first time you tried coffee, gin, rhubarb, bleu cheese, single malt whisky, grapefruit, ... What did you think? Chances are you didn’t like it very much. Maybe you still don’t, but over time many people come to enjoy, even crave, one or more of... Continue Reading →