365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Beer #679 Omission Pale Ale / Widmer Brewing Company, Portland, OR
Previously from this brewery: It's all right there.
There's a tool on the blogger.com website that lets you see what search words people used to find your blog. This week, someone clicked on our website by searching for "German hookers in Munich". I'm guessing that's because of Thomas Hooker Breweryand their German style beers, and I'm also guessing that person was disappointed when they read my beer review and didn't find any prostitutes.
Today's beer is another one that was left in my cooler, a bottle of Omission Pale Ale from Widmer. A clear, pale shade of copper in the glass, this beer gives you a sweet aroma of barley. When you take a sip, there's a mixture of malt, bread, and light citrus, with just a hint of bitterness as well. This is another beer made for those who can't tolerate gluten, but the fact of the matter this is a pretty tasty choice on it's own even for those who (like me) can't get enough gluten. Would I go out of my way to order it? Probably not, as I do prefer beers that are a bit more complex (read: gluten-y), but this is definitely something I'd drink again out of a cooler.
OMIT.
And extra special thanks to a loyal reader for correcting a mistake I made when reviewing the Omission Lager; these beers are not technically gluten free, as it uses barley but there's an enzyme added that removes the gluten from the beer. If you're hyper-sensitive, sorry; you're probably still out of luck.
Thing to Think About Today:
With a pale ale in hand, you get the band Pale Young Gentlemen covering MIA's Paper Planes. The video today is just a link, seeing how the Youtubes don't seem to want to let me embed the video, but this is a fantastic cover. Click here and enjoy a great song.
Beer #670 Omission Lager / Widmer Brewing Company, Portland, Oregon
Previously from this brewery: Just go hereand find out.
Today flat out fucking sucked, and it continues to suck. Pardon my language, of course. I just can't seem to make things work today, and that gets me down.
A beer review just because I'm too stubborn to say fuck it and not write one:
Today's beer is Omission, from Widmer. Why is this beer important? It's one of the few gluten free beers on the market. Very important for those who have gluten intolerance, which thankfully isn't me. I'm just drinking this one because a few got left in our cooler after a recent tailgate. This beer has a clear, bright gold color with a fluffy white head. There are aromas of grain, and flavors of..... not much. Maybe grass and lemon and grain if I think hard enough. More important is what you don't taste, and that's gluten. So, good if you have to drink it due to medical issues, but if gluten is your homeboy, please look elsewhere for your beer fix.
Looks pretty :)
Thing to Think About Today:
Something from the quiet mix as I attempt to get the blood pressure back in line and then wallow a bit. Citizen Cope and Sideways, which sounds better with a band behind him than solo, but I think he fired his band, because every Youtube video is just him solo. Or some random emo kids playing this poorly in their room, but they sort of suck. Sorry. Like I said, I really did a poor job of making things work today.
It's a gorgeous Saturday, and I'm hard at work on a number of different tasks, so I'm jumping in and getting to the good stuff. Today's beer is a bottle of Marionberry Hibiscus Gose from Widmer Brothersin Oregon. This one was shipped to BlogNamedBrew manor as part of beer mail - for those who don't know, there's an underground network of beer geeks who mail each other hard to find beers from their respective corners of the world. I freely admit that when I saw the name, I said aloud to no one, "Why on earth did they name their beer after Marion Barry?" For those who don't get the reference: Marion Barry was the Mayor of Washington, D.C. who was arrested for smoking crack, sent to jail, and then later re-elected as Mayor again! For kids out there who don't believe they can overcome obstacles, I will remind you that this dude was the mayor, smoked crack and got arrested, went to jail, and then was re-elected. Fascinating. Let that sink in for a few minutes before you continue reading.
As you may have guessed, this beer has nothing to do with politics or crack, but rather marionberry, a blackberry commonly grown in Oregon. Glad we got that straight, and now back to your regularly scheduled beer review. When you pour this beer, you get a fruit punch color, with just the thinnest white line of head on the edge of the beer. There's a fruity, floral aroma with just a hint of spice. The taste starts out dry, but you eventually get a tart sweetness from the berries. There's a saltiness to this beer that helps cut some of the sweetness and make it incredibly enjoyable. Very interesting and unusual beer, and well worth a try if you can find yourself a bottle. Just stay away from the crack. Crack kills.... or gets you re-elected.
That's not Kool-Aid
For those who haven't yet found themselves drinking a gose, this style of beer originated in Germany. It belongs to the same family tree as other sour wheat beers such as witbier, gueuze, and Berliner weisse. I like them because of the hint of salt; always a welcome flavor in my world.
Thing to Think About Today: Okay, so my second thought after realizing this beer had nothing to do with Marion Barry was to say out loud, "The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!", a reference to the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory scene with the lickable wallpaper. One of my favorite movies as a kid, partially because my mom worked for Hershey and I desperately wanted it to be an awesome, crazy place like in the movie. I don't think it was, but she seemed to like it there anyway. The incomparable Gene Wilder, the floor is yours....
Last Sunday I happened to find myself driving home listening to XPN, which is a rare occurrence. My XPN listening tends to be a Monday through Friday endeavor. I caught a new-to-me show Sound Bites, which is produced by Chicago Public Radio. They were discussing Johnny Cash's Live from Folsom Prison album, which just so happens to be celebrating its 45th anniversary. It also happens to be one of my favorite Johnny Cash albums--raw, gut-wrenching and beautiful storytelling.
As the Sound Bite hosts waxed nostalgic about the album, they dropped a bit of mind-bending knowledge on me. Shel Silverstein--beloved children's author, most notably of The Giving Tree--wrote A Boy Named Sue for Johnny Cash. What, what!?!
Chew on that while I sip on this...
This is Widmer Brothers Brewing'sW Series Marionberry Hibiscus Gose. It's the first beer from my cross country beer trade that I cracked open. It's an ale brewed with coriander with hibiscus and
marionberry added.
What's the W Series? From the Brewmance website, I learned the following. It is an exciting take on the popular tradition of seasonal beer offerings. Every spring since 2005, Widmer Brothers' brewers have been asked to select one special recipe to be released as part of this series. Anything goes; from traditional beer styles to experimental. The brewmasters' W Series has produced several exceptional beers, including: Drifter Pale Ale, Brrr Seasonal Ale, and Pitch Black IPA, which have each gone on to be a part of the brewery's regular lineup.
The label also states "perfecting the art of tart" which is going to win me over in any battle. Tart beer = happiness for me.
It poured a rosy, sort of fruit punch looking ale with a thin pale pink head. It was bottled on March 18, 2013. It smells of fruit and something organic...something green and fresh. The flavor is slightly
saline, fruity and green. The green, herbally flavor has to be the coriander, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to my grave being the person who can never distinguish coriander in a flavor profile. And if it weren't for spellcheck, I'm also pretty sure I'll always attempt to spell it with a double r. Overall it has a nice subtle berry flavor with a bit of complexity from the mild salinity. There's just a hint of tartness and it is lovely.
I feel the need to check back in exactly one year after writing my closing thoughts on 2011. If you need a refresher, you can find it here. It's salty and sad with just a bit of hopefulness. It is amazing what 365 days can do for the soul. Putting another year behind me doesn't make me feel older--it makes me feel free and happy and powerful. There's a sense of being able to do anything in my soul and it is a good feeling. And that's what I wish for you all. Take the crap, the stress, the whatever and turn it into hope and happiness. It takes a lot of faith and belief in yourself. But I promise you, that little alchemy project is possible.
Widmer Brothers Brewing has their own alchemy project. It started back in 2010 and is a series of vintage dated beers that can be enjoyed immediately or cellared for years. I got my hands on the Barrel Aged Brrrbon '11, which means it was cellaring somewhere for the past year. Yay for me!
It poured a rich oak color (opaque) with a thin tan head. The smell is woody, roasted and full of butterscotch. The flavor is caramel, vanilla, pepper and is also very rich. It finishes with an almost rauchbier-like smoked
character. It definitely has that warming alcohol burn.
The Barrel Aged Brrrbon is aged in bourbon barrels. It doesn't have that "wow this tastes like bourbon" thing going on like other barrel aged beers. Instead it reminds me of the characteristics of bourbon. Does that make sense?
Day #381 Barrel Aged Brrrbon '11 / Widmer Brothers Brewing Company,
Previously from this brewery: Citra Blonde, Brrr Seasonal
After an excellent day yesterday spent visiting family, today we celebrate the holiday by watching movies, drinking beer, and eating Chinese food at home. It's not that I don't love my family or friends - I just need one day over the holiday to spend doing nothing but sitting and relaxing. It's been a good day so far, with more movies on deck for the evening. Whatever your family tradition might be, I do hope the peace and joy of the season found their way to your house - along with a big bag of fun new toys from Santa. Jolly old St. Nick hooked me up with a new book by David Byrne, which I can't wait to read. Score!
I'm celebrating the evening with a bottle of Barrel Aged Brrrbon '11 from Widmer Brothers. A close friend had tried this one and liked it, so it sounded like something I should buy as well. In the glass, this beer has a bright amber color and no head. Your nose finds the aroma of sweet malt and stone fruit, and when you take a sip you get a great mix of candi sugar, malt, dark fruit, leather, and some spice, with a good alcohol warmth. Not quite as complex as a barley wine, yet all of the bourbon barrel aged deliciousness. A very well done beer which goes great on a cold winter day better spent snuggling than working. With a potent 9.5% ABV, drinking this may lead you to want a nap. If so, then go for it - you've earned it.
Bourbon = delicious
As always, if the word "bourbon" is involved, I'm quite sure I'm going to like whatever is happening. I look forward to future deliveries from Widmer's Alchemy Project, particularly if they involve barrel aging.
Thing to Think About Today:
To celebrate the season, let's all stop and think about the best Christmas movie ever made, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This clip really needs no introduction, so.... Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Raise your hand if you're knocking on the door of being 90% done with your 365 craft beers from 365 craft breweries in 365 days adventure?
<looks around.... doesn't see anyone else with their hand raised>
Feeling good about the progress so far, but there are 37 more beers to go. A lifetime in beer blogging years, really. Speaking of lifetimes, it feels like this week took a lifetime to complete. Surprising, considering that I only worked three and a half days this week. I know you're in the same boat, I know you're tired, I know you're cranky, I know you're ready for the weekend.
Therefore, enough with the fluff - it's business time. Tonight's beer is the Citra Blonde Summer Brew from Widmer Brothers, located in Portland. Speaking of Portland, currently two friends of ours are wrapping up an extended vacation in Portland, and their pictures, tweets, and texts make me wish I was getting on a plane to head back to one of the greatest beer cities in the world tomorrow. Anyway, this was a brewery we did not visit in Portland during the beer vacation back in June, mostly due to the fact it's distributed to the East Coast, and therefore wasn't a huge priority. Still... would have been nice to visit them in person.
This beer has a clear, pale gold color with a slight white head. The aroma is of lemon and hops, and when you take a sip, you get plenty of citrus and fruit, with subtle malt notes, and a dry bitter finish. This is a light bodied beer, but still packs a ton of flavor. Great beer, and I'm daydreaming about next summer as I write this one.
Sup, bro?
Widmer started back in 1979, when Kurt and Rob Widmer started home brewing. A brewery followed in 1984, and the rest is history. Yes, tonight's beer is a summer seasonal, but again let me say: good beer knows no season.
Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of the Widmer Brothers, I'm letting the Avett Brothers wrap up with Shame. No shame in tonight's beer, no shame in my game.
Ever so casually at work last week, friends began discussing the phenomenon of Kim Jong-il looking at things. There's a blog dedicated to him looking at things. Seriously. Seriously? And yet I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at this blog. It's oddly fascinating. He looks at leaflets, fabric, sweaters, soft drinks, rice and so much more. Despite the many, many published photo ops, North Korea looks pretty bleak. So much for propaganda.
One highlight is the recently deceased admiring (can you call it admiring when he has the same flat look in all the photos?) a persimmon tree. Song broke out in my head and I invite you to experience it with me. Check it out here.
The juxtaposition of Kim Jong-il and the David Wax Museum is mind blowing. And you're welcome for the peek into the inner workings of my brain. It's an interesting place.
Today is Christmas Eve so what's more appropriate than a seasonal beer from Widmer? The Brrr seasonal is sweet in the nose, but very hoppy in taste - or at least very hoppy for me. It hits you with classic hoppy bitterness right in the back of the tongue. I guess that's satisfying for someone who's into that sort of thing. It's pretty friendly at 7.2% ABV. I got some citrus on further sampling and something spicy...maybe coriander?
I'll be celebrating the remainder of Christmas Eve with family and an Allagash Confluence. All signs point to me loving it...perhaps I'll report back later on how it goes. I guess that all depends on how much of my mother-in-law's boilo I drink!
