Incoming transmissions. Mega life changes and new beers to talk about. Stay tuned.
Category: Uncategorized
Up a creek somewhere
The last year and a half has been…/interesting, in that way the Chinese proverb warns; It’s been traumatic, and stressful, and confused, with some triumphs and more disappointment than I’d have liked. The end result is another dozen months of lost time making any progress whatsoever towards the kinds of things most people take for…
Loyal Legion
When I first moved to Oregon, I lived in a friend’s basement on the ‘inner’ east side of downtown Portland – but only after a short stint in another basement of a house optimistically labeled as the ‘house of homebrew’ on google maps (it’s still there). I had moved here with ambition, and it was…
A Big Weekend
When you look back in your life, there are ‘big’ moments, and ‘BIG’ moments, those events that you can point at and say with certainty “That’s a day my life changed forever”. For me, it was the day I flew into Portland from Albuquerque and rode the MAX to my friend’s house, single suitcase and…
A sticky subject
I’ve been thinking a lot about some pretty serious things lately, and many of them revolve around beer and the business of it – even though I’m not currently employed in it. It’s strange when you care so much about something that you watch international news and notice headlines that will probably have an impact…
Coastin’
Sinking into a deep leather chair at Nebulous in Beaverton, I contemplate this Fort George Beta variant IPA and munch a WinCo premade hoagie. I have been laagering some thoughts on the Festival of the Dark Arts, and it’s telling that of all the 48-ish taps available to me here, I chose another beer from…
Mission update: Volunteering 2.0
Mission accomplished; many gallons of stout were poured, 3oz at a time, to hundreds of folks braving the drizzle and chill of a not-really-bad February afternoon in Astoria. I lucked into a great pouring station – inside The Ruins, the large, derelict ballroom-style base level of the multi-story apartment building across the street. While technically…
Festival of Dark Arts 2023 – Volunteering 2.0
The Stoutening I have interrupted my usual slow writing process – remember, you’re at the lager of beer blogs – to rush some timely piece into production, just for your eyes, dear reader. Ideally, this would be an expansive, nearly comprehensive piece on exactly how to proceed during the upcoming FODA23 in Astoria. Hosted by…
New System
I am posted at the bar of my favorite bottle shop (again) going deep into the isles to find evidence that ‘Cold IPA’, as a style, is at least as legit as Hazy NE IPAs were at some point in the distant past, before everybody had to have one in their lineup. While I don’t…
Battle Royale
Bottle shop v brewery v brewpub I recently took a trip to flyover country, the American Midwest, home of the Field of Dreams, Iowa. There were several reasons for the trip, but at it’s core, it was meant to be an opportunity to explore Iowa’s craft beer scene, specifically the breweries that have opened over…