David Brockington's Tasting Notebook

1995 Oregon Brewer's Festival

Visit the homepage for the 1996 Oregon Brewers Festival.
As I did last year, this overview of several of the beers I sampled at the 1995 Oregon Brewers Festival will assume a slightly different form from normal reviews. This was my sixth straight year in attendance at the OBF. 1995 was apparently a record year for the OBF, with a reported draw of 85,000 beer drinkers quaffing (usually) samples from some 75 brewers. As the OBF increased its physical size by some 300% in 1994, it was well-suited to handle the crowds, rather unlike 93 or 92. Indeed, according to a couple of newspaper accounts that I have perused, the Oregon Brewers Festival is now the third largest beer festival in the world, behind the GBBF and Oktoberfest in Munich. I don't know how accurate such reports are, or what criteria that they are based on, but it is an interesting note nonetheless.

The following notes vary in quality and thoroughness. As with last year, I only took full comprehensive notes on one beer. This year's singular beer was the Pike Place "Traditional English" Pale Ale. While I never aspire to sampling _all_ the beers at the Oregon Brewers Festival (my palate wouldn't hold out, I am afraid), of the ~30 that I did try, the Pike Place offering was the best of the fest.

One will note that I have taken the liberty of assigning a rating to many of the beers that I jotted down quick notes on. While I did not do this last year, I have decided that six-eight ounces is more than enough to garner an impression of a given beer. My judging technique falls into what is known in the vernacular as a "bottom up" approach, which makes such scoring possible while only taking a smattering of notes. Other judges certainly disagree with this technique. The ratings are based on my five-star system, and are judged against the style that the brewer claims the beer represents. (Fortunately, the OBF has a handy program which includes this information.)

Beer: Abita Turbodog
Style: Dark Ale
Brewer: Abita Brewing Company, Inc.; Abita Springs, Louisiana
Notes: I would classify this beer as a brown porter. Nice malty-crystal aroma, decent alpha acid bite, nice chocolate-malt profile, watery finish. Some sulphur evident.
Rating: ***

Beer: Erich Weiss Bier
Style: "German Weiss"
Brewer: Appelton Brewing Co.; Appelton, Wisconsin
Notes: Not enough ester or phenolic profile to classify as a Bavarian Weiss. Also, what the heck is Cascade doing in this beer???
Rating: **

Beer: August Schell Anniversary Ale
Style: Pale Ale
Brewer: August Schell; New Ulm, Minnesota
Notes: excellent malty note. nice overall profile.
Rating: no rating noted.

Beer: Bandon Scotch Ale
Style: Scotch Ale
Brewer: Bandon Brewing Co.; Bandon, Oregon
Notes: 1071 OG. 1013 FG. bright garnet color, crystal bright. nice aroma, some alcohol evident, excellent malty profile. I tried this beer both Friday and Saturday; Friday the flavor profile was wonderfully malty and deep -- unfortunately the Saturday keg had lost quite a bit of its excellence. Saturday the beer was cloying, underattenuated, with a hint of infection. I could not get enough of this beer Friday; I had to dump it Saturday.
Rating: no rating.

Beer: Breckenridge IPA
Style: IPA
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery; Denver, Colorado
Notes: Deep golden color, excellent head, no nose. OK maltiness, but not nearly enough alpha bitterness to qualify as an IPA.
Rating: **

Beer: Vail Pail Ale
Style: IPA
Brewer: Hubcap Brewery; Vail, Colorado
Notes: Nice aroma, but downhill from there. Amber in color. Not enough alpha.
Rating: **1/2

Beer: Los Gatos Oktoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest Lager
Brewer: Los Gatos Brewing Co.; Los Gatos, California
Notes: good color and clairity. nose a bit too hoppy. flavor muddled, not crisp like a lager ought to be, too much bitterness for style.
Rating: no rating.

Beer: Pacific Beach BrewHouse IPA
Style: IPA
Brewer: Pacific Beach BrewHouse; San Diego, California
Notes: amber color. good hoppy nose, with decent maltiness evident. Body on the thin side. Excellent hop character in this beer all around, with a ton of alpha. Well supported by maltiness. Excellent IPA.
Rating: ****

Beer: Erik's Special Old Bitter
Style: "Special Old Bitter" (what the heck is that? I judged it as an IPA)
Brewer: Phantom Canyon Brewing Co.; Colorado Springs, Colorado
Notes: Super duper hoppy aroma! deep amber in color, nice malt complexity, excellent overall hop profile. Perhaps a bit more alpha for an IPA, but they don't claim it as an IPA, so that's cool.
Rating: ****

Beer: Summit Hefeweizen
Style: Bavarian Wheat
Brewer: Summit Brewing Company; St. Paul, Minnesota
Notes: good phenolic nose -- could use a little ester. good spicy flavor profile, a bit thin in the finish, not chunky enough for a bavarian wheat. Overal, a credible Bavarian Weizen.
Rating: ***

Beer: Rosegarden White
Style: Belgian White Ale
Brewer: Umpqua Brewing Co.; Roseburg, Oregon
Notes: Way too bitter for style, not very good at all, some procedural flaw evident.
Rating: *1/2

Beer: Wild River Hefe-Weizen
Style: "Traditional South-German Hefeweizen"
Brewer: Wild River Brewing; Grants Pass, Oregon
Notes: too bitter, but it has the requisite phenolics and esters to make this beer a credible bavarian wheat. Cut back on the IBU's.
Rating: ***

Well, that's it for this year. See you at the 1996 Oregon Brewers Festival!

Next Up:

Pike Place Traditional English Pale Ale
Saxer Liberator Doppelbock
Oasis Nileator Doppelbock
Star IPA
Wharf Rat Blackfriar Stout

The above list is subject to change. I just returned home from 12-day whilrwind trip to Oregon and California where, in addition to the 95 OBF, I visited 31 brewpubs.

Copyright 1995 by David Brockington, all rights reserved.
Seattle

Comments? Fire off some email:

dbrock@u.washington.edu
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