This year, I loaded up with the carbs for breakfast, so I was able to plow through considerably more beer without feeling ill. Unfortunately, the blueberry pancakes didn’t do anything for my ability to remember what I’d had. Instead, I relied on the miracle of modern smartphone technology to help me catalogue my drunken exploits. (And I only dropped my phone in beer once!)

Special thanks go out to the Taplister guys for the free schwag and friendly conversation. Also, I would like to give props to the amazing place with the crazy nut varieties. I was too drunk to remember the name of your business, but a toast to you anyway.

Of the brews, three really stood out among the rest.

Natian Destination Red
Did you know this Portland brewery existed? Me neither. Still, the combo of the Oregon Honey into the Red Ale really made for a fun combination. Perfect for summer, and was truly the first beer at the fest that I had that was truly “good”. Keep it up Natian…whoever you are.

Moylan Pomegranate Wheat
Fruit beer is a scary concept. It is usually either awesome (Stumptown Tart) or horrible (almost everyone else). Well, whatever the magic sauce is,  Moylan’s found it. The pomegranate isn’t overpowering, the wheat balances it, making it an ideal beer for a warm summer outing. Usually picky SwillJockey drank the equivalent of 5 tokens worth of the stuff, so thats saying something.

Cascade Summer Gose
Hurray for the local boys. Known for their super fruity Krieks, the Cascade Brewing guys at Racoon Lodge created a nice Belgian Sour that was the right balance between fruity, and wheat. This was probably my favorite from the whole fest. There was enough flavor to keep it interesting (unlike many watery offerings from the various tents, but still light and cool enough to be drinkable in the 80 degree sun.

So there you have it. With water in hand, I let my liver recover, and thank skylark, SwillJockey, and the OBF folks for another drunk worthy year. Prost!

Still, if honest and un-politically correct commentary is what you’re after, watch our RSS feed starting at noon. Myself, skylark, and the SwillJockey will do our best to stay sober enough to write something meaningful.

Or we’ll just do what we normally do.

Just because Bridgeport is awesome enough to send me free stuff doesn’t make me a bad person. It’s not like it’s Coors or something. And just because I like so much of the Bridgeport lineup doesn’t make me a shill does it?

In truth, I think this package of goodies was actually the result of me entering into one of the myriad contests the Bridgeport marketing folks do on twitter. If you aren’t following @bridgeportbrew on twitter, you really should. They have been pretty relentless lately giving away free stuff through the ubiquitous social service. I mean where else could you get $100 bucks just for finding a guy with a crown on.

It hasn’t been all fun and games though. That previously mentioned Hop Czar ended up being way too much for my newbie IPA taste buds. Having just entered IPA land, I decided to go all in and try something fancy. Bad choice. I was no more ready for that cheek smash than if I had gone in the ring with Mike Tyson. Live and learn. The flavor isn’t bad, just intense from a hop standpoint (for me anyway). Also, a recent a trip to the Bridgeport Brewery made me sick, the details of which I will spare you. Word of advice: don’t order the catfish po-boy.

But I digress. Now, if you excuse me, I have to finish my Stumptown Tart and find a hanger for this shirt. Whore? Ha! The nerve of that guy….

I have had very little experience with Dick’s, but what I remember was very good. I figured that anything that would take the choice work out of my hands was worthy of the sale price it was being offered for.

And so begins an 8 part series, where I will be taking you on a tour of some of the finest (I hope) beer that a Dick’s Variety Pack has to offer. Join me, will you, and find out what a tasty Dick’s can do for you.

First up: Dick’s Pale Ale.

P.S. Get your mind out of the gutter. (It’s getting crowded in here)

Aluminum is not inert. Glass is. That’s why you see chemistry experiments being done in glass beakers. This would seemingly be a problem for canners. In order to keep beverages from tasting like the containers they come in, can manufacturers are forced to line the insides of cans with epoxy resins. The most famous of these resins is one you may have heard of: BPA (bisphenol-A). In case you haven’t heard, there is a growing concern that BPA has negative health effects. Thats why everywhere you look these days from baby bottles to water bottles, you see “BPA-Free!” labels. People are concerned, and manufacturers have taken note. Well most of them anyway.

You see, on a recent trip to Hawaii, I noticed that Maui Brewing Company was only selling its beer in cans. Knowing that craft brewers are pretty picky about beer quality, I decided to ask them whether or not their cans had BPA in them. Not knowing the answer, they forwarded the question on their rep at the can company. And this was their response:

“Almost all aluminum and steel beverage and food cans use epoxy-based coatings inside cans as a barrier between the metal and the products in the can. Epoxy-based coatings may contain BPA.”

Know, I don’t know for sure how dangerous BPA is. But I know that anything that has a disclaimer like this: “…regulatory agencies have stated that human exposure to BPA from epoxy can coatings is well below safe exposure limits set by government bodies worldwide” (also from the email) is worthy of avoiding. If you can have a drink container that you don’t need to be concerned about “exposure limits” with, then wouldn’t you want to use it?

Which brings me back to cans. If you are buying a 48 jumbo pack of rice infused water-beer to drink with your buddies on the hood of the pickup, thats one thing. But when you are crafting a beer whose taste is important to its success, and whose audience cares about things like quality, I would hope that you would avoid drinking anything that has chemical toxins in it.

I’d like to take a quick moment here to address the tragedy in Haiti. I consider myself extremely lucky to be living in an area where I can sit back and leisurely drink the beverage of my choice: in this case, beer. For Haiti however, “frosty goodness” is as simple as a clean glass of water. If you’ve been thinking of donating some money to help those struck by the earthquake, now would be a great time.

We at Frosty Goodness have signed up with Mercy Corps to help them fulfill the greatest needs in this terrible situation. If you can, please spare the cost of a pint, and donate today.

http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/frostygoodness

Thank You!

-Frosty

From everyone here at Frosty Goodness, we would like to wish our loyal readers a well sauced Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will return with a new batch of brew’d attitude in 2010. Happy Hoplidays everyone!

Smaller (WAY) smaller, but still fun, the B&Bs (I shortened it cause I’m lazy) was a fun little excursion with the combined brood of Mister Q and our own Frosties.  Despite not getting to drink too much (what do you mean kids don’t like to wait around while daddy gets drunk?), there were a few memorable sips worth noting.

Block 15 – Aboriginale

I’d never heard of these guys, but they made some of the really good beer at the B&Bs. Aboriginale, seemed to be one of the more popular ones (as the pourer made sure to tell me), but in truth was a bit too hoppy for my taste. It actually reminded me of the HUB review a ways back. Despite not getting any more than the obligatory one token sip, Mister Q went back for a full glass, so I’ll give this the “not for me, but what the heck” – 3.

Block 15 – Honey Wit

It’s summer! (I’m ignoring the fact it just rained on us). All you people who like IPA’s are just wrong. A tasty, sweet wheat ale is what summer is all about. For the Missus, this even deserved a mug and a half (Love ya hon!). Bottle worthy.

Cascade Brewing Razzberry Wheat

Everybody knows of that one grandma or mom who has that guest bathroom full of those funny smelling shaped soaps. Have you ever wondered what those taste like? How about what they taste like as a beer? I don’t wonder anymore. Raspberry, with a glycerin chaser.

Full Sail Keelhauler

Winner!! I have been hesitating to buy this at the local beer pusher for fear that “Scottish Ale” meant headbutting you and kicking you while you’re down. But now I just feel ashamed for doubting my kilt wearing brethren. This stuff was great. Light on painful hoppy-ness, balanced and worthy malts, and a pinch of greased Scotsman. If its not Scottish, its crap!

As you know, the original Stumptown Tart is one of my favorite beers. When we heard the run was ending, SJ and I of course headed out and bought as many bottles as we could. As time has passed, we have dwindled down to the final bottle. (No!) But lo and behold, it looks like the Champion Brewers of Bridgeport have decided to bring it back! In name at least. This time around, instead of the beloved marionberries, local cherries will be used instead. Will it continue the trend of awesomeness? Bridgeport’s track record says yes, but we will reserve judgement until we get well drunk on it at the release party. Oh, yeah, the release party. Go, and let the guys know that fruity beer is what Oregon summer is all about.

Stumptown Tart Release Party
June 25th, 2009  5:30 – 8:00pm   (or until you pass out…ie: 5:45)

Bridgeport Brewpub
1313 NW Marshall St.
Portland Oregon

More details at their site.