FL-Oregon Trail Part 3: 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival

What a trip it had already been when we arrived back in Portland for the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. We returned on Wednesday, the night of the Brewers BBQ hosted on the waterfront--the same venue as the festival. We were given pint glasses & choices of fills from 20+ great beers from Oregon, mostly IPAs & sours. All beers were outstanding.

Oregon Brewers Guild BBQ & Reception

At this time in our trip, we were also joined by more invading Dunedinites, including Matt & Amy Barnett, Michael Norman Bryant, Jimmey Defrank (Lueken's Liquors), Mandy Boldman, Jamie Barnett, & Devon Kreps (Seventh Sun Brewing Co). This made for a great presence of what beer in Dunedin is all about, enjoying good beer together & enjoying the company of others. We followed the Brewer's BBQ with a visit to Cascade Brewing's Barrel House, who also happened to be our first stop in the morning for the Festival Brunch & Parade kick-off. Breakfast was served, as was delicious Cascade Brew. Most of us started with an Oblique Coffee Porter, a great way to start the day.

Cascade Brewing's Olbique Coffee Porter & OBF Handbook

From Cascade's Barrel House, 800 brewers & beer-lovers took to the streets for a parade led by 2 large wooden casks filled by the Cascade, the host brewery. Filled with beer-themed costumes & the Transcendental Brass Band, the parade walked one mile (and across the Morrison Bridge) to the downtown waterfront where the wooden casks were ceremonially cracked open. One was filled with IPA, the other with Gose (a historic salty-sour brew). After the free pours from the casks, the festival was underway & the public started to fill in.

Raising our glass to the safe travels of the cask

Parading in the streets of Portland for the sake of beer

Welcome to the Oregon Brewers Festival

 Once the beer started flowing at the festival, we wandered over to the trailer pouring our IPA Chronicle 6: FL-Oregon Trail, brewed with FL orange blossom honey & sweet orange peel. When we got there, we were floored by the epic line trailing away from the tap. At this point, we realized that Portland was full of beer drinkers who pay attention. Our line was one of the longest throughout the weekend & everyone we spoke to thoroughly enjoyed our brew. Not only were we the only beer from the Southeast, we were the hoppiest beer at the event. Here's some shots from our beer line:

Follow Trace to the FL-Oregon Trail IPA

Master Fred Eckhardt enjoying the FL-Oregon Trail IPA

Rogue's John Maier before filling his mug to the top with FL-Oregon Trail

Sold Out for the day!

Each day of the festival, our beer ran dry. The festival allots a certain amount of kegs per day to ensure that each beer pours at the start of the next day. Our kegs blew early each afternoon, alongside other great beers by 10 Barrel, Cascade, Russian River, Old Market Pub & more. Beyond the main 84 beers (one per brewery) pouring, there was also a Buzz/Sour Tent which rotated through kegs all weekend. We decided the best way to show Dunedin's love for beer & community would be to pour a keg of our collaboration with Seventh Sun Brewing (Dunedin, FL), The Sun & The Sword, a Nelson Sauvin single-hop berlinerweiss. This gave our friend & co-owner of Seventh Sun, Devon, a good reason to fly out & join us for the festivities. She had a blast as well!

Devon (7venthSun) & Mike (DunedinBrewery); [photo by Mandy Boldman]

Overall, our first time pouring beer at the Oregon Brewers Festival was a success. We had a great time, met a massive amount of new friends, & shared some hoppy Florida beer with 80,000 people in the Pacific Northwest. We'd like to thank Chris Crabb, Oregon Brewers Festival, Oregon Brewers Guild, & all of the Oregon breweries (as well as beer lovers!) for an amazingly warm welcome. We hope we brought some flavor from Florida that you enjoyed. Cheers!

OBF is a party! (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

The Transcendental Brass Band

Dunedin Brew Crew (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

Two generations of Dunedin Brewery. (Photo by Mandy Boldman)

The Portland crew, minus a few.

The Oregon Brewers Festival always takes place the last full weekend in July. The 26th annual event will take place July 25 through July 28, 2013. For more information, visit www.oregonbrewersfestival.com


Our next Blog post will wrap up the FL-Oregon Trail with a glimpse into our drive home, including visits to Rogue, Sierra Nevada, & Lagunitas. After that, keep an eye out for a short film edited from the footage we captured during the entire trip. Till then!

FL-Oregon Trail Part 2: Brewing Astoria on the Rock

By now you've hopefully read "Part 1: The Road to Portland" & know that we've been on the road to the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Last week, we visited our friends at Fort George Brewery to brew a couple batches of beer with their crew. Here's a glimpse into our visit:

We arrived in Astoria on Sunday, July 22nd just in time to be greeted by our most gracious host, Constance, and the Fort George family. They welcomed us with cans of Vortex IPA & Sunrise OPA, moose sliders & quinoa salad. A feast was had in this beautiful yard:

Constance's Garden of 'eden

Joining us in Astoria was our head brewer, Norman Dixon, & brewer, Rick Crance. The next morning at 8am we arrived at the Fort George Building to brew with Fort George brewers Piper & Jason Palmberg. While the production brewery at Fort George--keeping up demand for their 5 mainstays (1811 Lager, Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, Vortex IPA, & Cavatica Stout)--is a 30bbl brew-house, Piper is the lead brewer of the system in the Fort George Pub, dubbed "Sweet Virginia". Her brewing system is a 9bbl steam-jacketed powerhouse that keeps the Fort George fans satisfied with one-off batches & pub-only beers:

Sweet Virginia in action

During our 3-day visit, we brewed two batches of beer. The first was Fort George Brewery's Nut Red Ale. This session with Piper & Jason helped our brewers familiarize with Sweet Virginia. The following day, we brewed our return collaboration, Astoria on the Rock (see: Vortex on the Bay: Cross-Country Handshake). Astoria on the Rock is a Double IPA recipe brewed at Fort George Brewery with Astoria water & Fort George yeast. The hop varieties showcased are Summit, Centennial, Chinook, & Cascade. It will be released in August at Fort George Brewery & Public House.

Brewing Astoria on the Rock

Piper & Norman checking the kettle during sparge

90% of brewing is cleaning up

Brew day is over, time to reap the rewards

After a good brew day comes disc golf

Coming up next will be a re-cap of our time at the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland.

Helpful Links:

More Info on Fort George Brewery & their Vortex IPA can be found on their website: http://www.fortgeorgebrewery.com

FL-Oregon Trail Part 1: The Road from Florida to Oregon

We're in Astoria, Oregon for a few days to brew our collabeeration with Fort George Brewery, giving us an opportunity to reflect on the first leg of our expedition, the FL-Oregon Trail.

Astoria, OR -- Less than 24 hours after our 16th Anniversary Party, 2 of us hit the road with 18 kegs in our new refrigerated truck. The beer, IPA Chronicle 6: FL-Oregon Trail, is an IPA brewed with orange peel & FL orange blossom honey created specifically for the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival.

With little time to spare, our first 5 days were a high-speed burn to Portland, OR. We drove through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, & finally Oregon. Here are some shots from the road:

Dunedin, Florida: 0.0 miles

Headed NW

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis

Scenic Red Rocks in Utah

Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho

FL-Oregon meets Oregon Trail

Our first pint in Oregon at Prodigal Son Brewing Co.

Full Sail Brewing Co. in Hood River, OR

Delivering beer at Widmer Brothers Brewing for Oregon Brewers Festival

Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) in Portland, OR

Enjoying Emerald City beer in the Emerald City

Meeting up with old friends for beer at The Pike in Seattle

Temperate Rainforest at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington

Pints in Hoaquim, WA at the 8th Avenue Ale House

Learning the ins & outs of Fort George Brewery (Astoria, OR)

Today we are helping the Piper & Jason brew their Nut Red Ale before brewing our Astoria on the Rock, our collaboration with Fort George Brewery. Today at 5pm, Vortex on the Bay (Dunedin Brewery/Fort George Brewery) will be tapped in the Fort George Pub. Here's to beers & brewing across the country!

Our next blog entry (FL-Oregon Trail Part 2) will highlight our collaboration brew here at Fort George Brewery. Check back for it in the next few days. Cheers!

To follow us the road & more pictures, Like our Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dunedinbrewery

Make sure to check out Fort George Brewery here:

http://www.fortgeorgrebrewery.com

See you soon!

Dunedin Brewery's 16th Anniversary Party & Pilsner Release

A Day & Night of Celebrating 16 years brewing in Dunedin

Dunedin Brewery's 16th Anniversary Party
 & Pilsner Release

Date: Saturday, July 14th, 2012

No Cover

-----------------------------------

Beer List:

• Gold Ale

• Wheat Ale

• Apricot Peach Ale

• Red Ale

• Pale Ale

• Brown Ale

• Nitro Stout

• 16th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner (official release)
• IPA Chronicle 6: FL-Oregon Trail (official release) *tapped at 5pm
• Hefeweizen (official release)

• Biere de Cafe

• RazzBeery Wheat

• Maibock Lager
• Flashlight Lager

• Three Copper Coins Lager

• The Bard

• The Bard of the Wood *tapped at 2pm

• Local Honey

• The Rock IPA
• The Rock on Oak  *tapped at 2pm

• Vortex on the Bay IPA (Collaboration w/ Fort George Brewery)

• Nelson Sauvin IPA

• Black Cherry IPA

• Black Cherry Double IPA

• The Sun & The Sword - Brewlinerweiss (Collaboration w/ 7venth Sun Brewing)

• Y2k Bug Ale (1999 Vintage) *tapped at 11am

• Barleywine (2009 Vintage)

-----------------------------------

Music:

7:30pm - 9pm:

Fusik

Florida Funk

from Fort Lauterdale

Fusik (few-sick) Is a funky five piece from Ft. Lauderdale Florida. But what’s FUSIK’s sound you say? Throw Jimmi Hendrix, Santana, and James Brown in a blender and that’s what you would get. Ask anyone who has been to their live shows and they will tell you Fusik can keep the party moving with their high energy beats, funky rhythms, and smoking solos.

----

9:15pm - 11:30pm:

Cypress

Funk / Southern / Jam / Rock

from Palm Beach County, FL

Crafting their groove-heavy sonic bouillabaisse from a range of both like and disparate influences, the South Florida-based outfit, Cypress, does what it sets out do, night after night—whet the appetite of its steadily-growing fanbase. With high-quality, “roots-based” songmanship as their vehicle, the collective compose poignant homegrown tunes, steeped in real life experiences, which echo from deep within the soul of this eclectic, uniquely-talented band of singer-songwriters.

----

11:45pm - 1am:

Él GRoUnDsCõRo

Funk / Rock / Soul / Jam / Covers
 from South FL

Jamming out the songs you know...Like you've never heard them before! Members of both FUSIK & Cypress come together to wrap up the party with a set of heady jammed-out covers for you to boogie & enjoy beer.

----

We look forward to having our friends from down south come provide the music for our 16th Anniversary Party and believe that you will enjoy the vibes they bring with them!

Special thanks to AURA Music Events & Brotherly Love Productions, who support all three acts down south, as well as other great talent from Florida & beyond (not to mention big fans of Dunedin Brewery brews). You can check them both out by clicking below:

http://www.auramusicfestival.com

http://www.brotherlyloveproductions.com

-----------------------------------

Everything You Need to Know About IPA Festival 2012

 

We are now less than a week away from our 4th Annual IPA Festival. This blog post serves as a complete guide to everything you need to know about the festival. 

---------------------------

The Basics:

Date: Saturday, June 2nd, 2012
Time: 7pm-11pm

A night of Hoppy Beer, Spicy Food, & Funky Jams.

Cost: $35
Limited number of tickets available.

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

---------------------------

The Beers:

http://www.dunedinbrewery.com

Fort George Brewery Collaboration - Vortex on the Bay    

8.1%abv 
The first official public tastes of this beer will be at IPA Fest. Fort George Brewery sent brewer Jason Palmberg out to brew their Vortex IPA recipe on our system with our water & yeast. We will return the collaboration during our FL-Oregon Trail trip to the Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland, OR. More info on this can be found in a Blog post here: http://blog.dunedinbrewery.com/2012/05/vortex-on-bay-cross-country-handshake.html

IPA Chronicle 5: American Classic  

7.4%abv  
Brewed with 3 classic American hops: Chinook, Cascade, & Centennial. This is our new Standard IPA. More info on this beer can be found here: http://blog.dunedinbrewery.com/2012/04/ipa-chronicle-5-american-classic.html

The Rock DIPA

8.2%abv
Double IPA, brewed with buckets-full of Centennial hops. This strong golden IPA will assault your palate with bitterness & flavor.

Black Cherry Double IPA 

8.2%abv
The Rock, conditioned on organic black cherry juice. 

The Rock Down Under 

8.2%abv
We love our Nelson Sauvin hops. So we took our hoppiest beer & dry-hopped it with the New Zealand-grown hop that puts a smile on so many of our faces. 

Cask: Nelson Sauvin  IPA 

7.5%abv

One more thing to love about firkins: they can make a beer available faster than the usual process. The cask finishes fermentation with dry-hops in the keg, saving some time. Well, we recently brewed some of our Nelson Sauvin single-hop IPA in time to have a cask ready to pour at the festival.

Cask: Hops in the Vortex (Calypso dry-hop) 

8.1%abv
Our collaboration with Fort George Brewery, conditioned in a cask full of Calypso dry-hops.

http://www.fortgeorgebrewery.com
 

Vortex IPA 

7.8%abv
"With generous additions of Amarillo, Simcoe and Centennial hops throughout the brewing, fermentation and conditioning phases, balanced with heaps of organic pale malt, we designed this to not rip the taste buds off your tongue, but rather vigorously stimulate them and your palate into a lupulin-ecstacy of pleasure. "
More info here: http://www.fortgeorgebrewery.com/beers/regulars/vortex-ipa/

http://www.stonebrew.com

Ruination IPA 

7.7%abv
Stone's ruinating palate-wrecker. If you're not familiar with this beer by now, do yourself a favor & have a pour when the chance arrives. Hop varieties: Columbus & Centennial

Double Dry-Hopped Ruination IPA (Galaxy + Centennial) 

6.9%abv
What happens when you take an already great IPA & dry-hop it again with New Zealand-grown Motueka hops? Something delicious, no doubt.

Double Dry-Hopped Sublimely Self-Righteous (Simcoe) 

8.7%abv
Another amazing offering from the San Diego County brewery. Their stellar Black IPA, conditioned on piney-citrusy Simcoe dry-hops.

http://www.terrapinbeer.com

Hopsecutioner IPA 

7.3%abv
Terrapin's standard IPA, always pleasant. Hop varieties: Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, Amarillo, Cascade (dry hop)

Hopzilla Double IPA 

10.7%abv
The newest offering in Terrapin's Monster Beer Tour. Made with 100% Marris Otter malt & the following hops: Bravo, Chinook, Centennial, Citra (dry hop)

Easy Rider 

4.5%abv
A seasonal session ale for the Summer. Hop Varieties: Galaxy, Bravo, Zythos, Centennial and Amarillo

Side Project 16: Phlux Capacitor 

9.7%abv
One of the few wood-aged beers at this event. Hop Varietes: Columbus, Nugget, Bravo, and Chinook (dry-hop).“This Beer Will Soon Become Your Density”

http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com

Jai Alai

7.5%abv
Cigar City's standard IPA.

Humidor IPA

7.5%abv
Another wood-aged IPA. Cigar City become world-renowned when this beer won a gold medal in the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. Jai Alai aged on cedar.

Peach IPA

7.5%abv
Jai Alai aged on peaches to bring out the peach/fruit notes out in the hops. 

Maiden Voyage IPA

6.0%abv
Nelson Sauvin single-hop IPA. The first beer brewed on CCB's new 30bbl brewhouse.

Oak-Aged Spring Overhead IPA

6.7%abv
Seventh Sun's Spring seasonal IPA aged on French oak.

Intergalactic Pale Ale IPA

5.5%abv
IPAs are no longer brewed for trips to India. This beer was brewed with Galaxy hops & is ready for intergalactic travel.

http://www.swamphead.com

Big Nose IPA

7.3%abv
Rapidly becoming a standard beer for Florida IPA lovers. Hop Varieties: Centennial, Amarillo and Columbus

Darkwater Floridian Dark Ale

6.4%abv
Best Beer in Florida at the 2011 Best Florida Beer Competition. Swamp Head's Black IPA.

10-10-10 Imperial IPA

10.0%abv
Swamp Head's Limited Release Double IPA. "Fertilizer for the hop lover's soul."

http://www.boulderbeer.com

Mojo IPA

6.8%abv
Mojo is this Colorado-based brewery's standard IPA, brewed with Amarillo & Centennial hops.

Mojo Risin' Double IPA

10.0%abv
Double the Mojo.

Cranberry-Apricot Mojo IPA

6.8%abv
Boulder's Mojo IPA aged on cranberry & apricots. First time this has ever poured in Florida.

http://www.bellsbeer.com

Two-Hearted

7.0%abv
The standard IPA for this Michigan-based brewery.

http://www.greenroombrewing.com

Head High IPA

6.0%abv
The standard IPA from this beach-loving Jacksonville brewery.

---------------------------

The Music:

Music by Ultraviolet Hippopotamus

UV HIPPO

Rock / Jam / Electronica / Prog
from Grand Rapids, MI

From their website: "In an era which seems like everything has been done before, Ultraviolet Hippopotamus has carved themselves a niche sound of it's own with genuinely heartfelt lyrics coupled with compelling composition and explosive instrumentation. The music created by this five piece band from Grand Rapids, MI. is progressively diverse, always switching between genres throughout the course of a show - sometimes even throughout the duration of a song. Their live shows have become an avenue for the band to build upon the core of their songs, exploring new ground, creating tension and taking risks for those moments of pure musical ecstasy, giving fans a unique and original experience within every show. UV Hippo has 3 full length studio albums and numerous live recordings and is widely considered one of the most promising bands on the scene with unparalleled musical talent and vision."

Listen to Ultraviolet Hippopotamus here: http://uvhippo.bandcamp.com/

UV HIPPO will perform 2 sets during the IPA Festival. Enjoy the beer, enjoy the talent.

---------------------------

The Food:

 Throughout the event, we will be offering some light munchies on the house. But there's no need to eat out beforehand, because our kitchen will have the following offerings available for purchase during the event:

Sandwiches

  Spicy Italian Sausage & Pepper Sandwich

Bratwurst or Veggie Dog

Snakebite Shredded Chicken Sandwich


Sides:

Snakebite Baked Beans 

Jalapeno Mac 'n' Cheese

Spicy Collards

Fruit Cole Slaw

 

---------------------------

The Glass:

This is the 5oz tasting glass with which you will be sniffing & tasting hoppiness:

---------------------------

The Raffle:

Dunedin Doggie Rescue will be holding a large beer-themed raffle to benefit their endeavors to place abandoned pups in loving homes. Expect a slew of rare beer bottles, shirts, & other beer memorabilia.


---------------------------

The Homebrewers IPA Throwdown 2:

Coordinated with the IPA Festival is a homebrew competition called the IPA Throwdown, which was organized in conjunction with our homebrewing friends of the Dunedin Brewers Guild.

Hombrewers have registered their best IPAs to be judged in the following categories: American IPA, Double IPA, English IPA, Black IPA, & Experimental IPA

Gold, Silver, & Bronze medals will be awarded in each category. The top 3 beers in each category then go on to the Best of Show round, where Dunedin Brewery's own brewery crew will pick their favorite IPA. This Best of Show-winning brewer will be invited to brew their IPA recipe with our brewers on our system, as an installment of the ongoing IPA Chronicle.

More info here: http://www.dunedinbrewery.com/homebrewers-ipa-throwdown2

We will also have a few homebrewing guilds pouring their hoppy concoctions during the festival.

---------------------------