April is my birthday month and I am lucky enough to have good friends and family who love me. Sometimes people show their love and/or friendship in different ways. Some give kisses, some hugs, some bring the hard rocking. I am here to say nothing says love like the gift of beer. Frosty delivered a surprise package of three Ninkasi point twos (thanks to Liddell I know what that means). I’ve enjoyed the three distinct brews over the last few days.

In part one I’ll cover my favorite of the three; the Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA. But first, a little background on Ninkasi and my introduction to it.

I first heard of Ninkasi at John Barleycorn’s tavern in Tigard. I sat at the local McMenaman’s with my friend Ken listening to him, a fellow beer connoisseur, rant about how mediocre McMenaman’s beer is. Personally, I’ve never had a problem with a nice Rubinator (Terminator and Ruby) but I have encountered some interesting flavors in the past. In the end, I respect Ken’s opinion and like him, will continue to drink the swill the McMenemin brothers are serving.

As we were talking, Ken motioned to a nearby table interested in the conversation taking place. Evidently, the table guests were made up of some McMeniman’s big-wigs and the brewmaster from Ninkasi. Ken wondered what they could be talking about and pondered who it would be better for, McMenemin’s or Ninkasi. After a few minutes Jamie Floyd, Ninkasi brewmaster and owner, came over and said hi to Ken. Being fellow Eugenians they had met before. I was struck by how Jamie talked about his brews. He described them the way an artist talks about a series of paintings. He described them with beauty and vision. I had to try his beer. Its taken a few months and an especially painful close call at the Ship (in Multnohmah Village) but Frosty delivered Ninkasi to my doorstep.

So how does it taste damn it! Tricerahops Double IPA doesn’t disappoint. The first thing that took me was the complexity of the flavor. Hops for sure, but not just hops. Many brewers think they can create a great IPA  just by doubling or tripling the hops. Lagunitas and Rogue have been able to do it successfully but most fail with thundering cheek-smash.

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA is a work of art.

Old Market Pub, is a family-friendly favorite. They brew their beer on-site and have a good selection from Kölsch to Porters. They have great burgers, pasta, and pizza. Along with pool, big screen tv, and shuffle board, all nestled in Garden Home, they got some great beers.

I’ve tried a few of their varied selection, many of which are not always available, but their Hop On Imperial IPA is delicious. A lot of IPAs try to out-hop the competition at the cost of drinkability. Hop On delivers that satisfying hoppiness but with a long, smooth taste. It had an effervescent finish that tickled the nose and made me want to pick the glass up and take another drink right away.

On the beer menu under Hop-O, it says, “Ted Dignan, regular, wife will not allow him to drink on weekdays.” After two, I can see why. Lots of gravity.

I went to Santa Maria, California for my Mom’s 60th birthday. It was a short trip but a memorable one. I spent an entire week visiting with friends and family and playing a variety games with the general theme of “get the thing closest to the hole.” Golf, horseshoes, and cornhole. My favorite, Cornhole or for the more sensitive, “the bean bag game.” Basically, its horseshoes with bean bags. Whatever, its awesome. Nobody liked my idea to yell, “CORNHOLE” every time someone got a beanbag in the hole.

Anywhoo, the only downside to the trip was that pretty much everyone down there drinks Coors Lite. Another downside is that I had to come home early while the family stayed to enjoy the beauty which is Santa Barbara County. Of course, when we have lemons we make lemonade.

I went up to New Seasons, got myself a New York steak, some Walla Walla sweet onions, red potatoes, baby greens, and a pint of Green Flash Brewing Co., Imperial India Pale Ale. Then I came home and made myself one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I caramelized the onions according to a variation of Frosty’s recipe (olive oil, chipotle pomegranate sauce), grilled the potatoes and the steak to perfection. The result was amazing.

The beer was a perfect compliment. Although super-hoppy, I didn’t get the expected bite. It was surprisingly smooth and packed a punch. The coolest thing was that after the bees chased me inside, I turned on the television to watch Reno 911 (the movie) and found nothing other than the end of RED DAWN. Hell yeah. Watched Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze die and then laughed my ass off with Reno 911.