Day one of the Oregon Brewers Festival has come and gone.  We didn’t get into Oregon until late on Thursday afternoon so I was unable to attend the Brewers Dinner on Wednesday night or the Widmer Brunch on Thursday morning (that is followed by a ”parade” of beer brewers and lovers that kicks off the festival).  We did make it into the brewfest as the sun was beginning to set and I started in the IPA section.  Ninkasi Brewing Company, Laurelwood Brewing, Terminal Gravity, Amnesia Brewing, and Hazel Dell all had IPAs pouring (listed in the order of my preference from favorite to least favorite).  Surly Brewing Company is presenting Coffee Bender - a coffee flavor American Brown.  It’s very good and appeals to my love of coffee - but it is a very special release and they steep only 20 gallons at a time, so don’t expect to find this on the super market shelves.  

Beerfest: As I’ve mentioned before, Oregon does brewfests right.  There is no cover charge, just purchase a mug and some pogs and you’re good to go.  Mugs are $5 and pogs are $1.  A pog is worth a taste, 4 pogs will fill your mug.  The show special includes 2 mugs, a program, a festival pen (for taking notes) and 37 pogs for $50.  In the early days of the festival, it’s easy to taste and taste again, in the later part of the festival, I anticipate the lines will grow long and brew-festers will choose to fill their mugs to avoid waiting in line more often than necessary.  You might also want to load up on pogs before the festival gets crowded as last year the lines got extremely long for purchasing pogs (in fact, I had a friend who bought $100 worth of pogs and sold them at the back of the line for $150.  

Beer Buzz: Each year at the festival, a “Buzz Beer” is born.  This is the beer that everyone is talking about, and inevitably, runs out before the festival comes to an end.  I wasn’t able to determine just which beer had the buzz this year,  but one prediction pointed to Quilter’s Irish Death by Iron Horse Brewery.

Beer Gear: I wasn’t overly impressed with the brewfest merchandise this year, but you’re bound to find something that fits your style if you look hard enough.  That said, Beer Northwest Magazine has a booth at the festival and is offering a year’s subscription for only $10 (4 issues).  This is a great deal for a good Northwest brew magazine. 

The brewfest runs through the weekend (July 24 through July 27) and the weather is as perfect as Rogue beer is balanced.  If you are in the Portland area or are able to get here; the Oregon Brewfest is the place to be this weekend.  Otherwise, the CrapMonkey video from last year’s festival is located here and I will continue to update my Flickr Brewfest Set through the weekend.

Lots of things going on lately.  I spent the weekend bobbing in the water off Alki getting my PADI scuba open water certification.  In this episode, we talk a bit about the Iron Maiden Concert on June 2nd and listen to a couple of clips from that show - Including some thoughts Bruce Dickinson had regarding Grunge and the media coverage of it.  In this episode we cover some beer news some upcoming events including the next week’s Seattle Podcast Meetup, The Father’s Day Washington Brewers Festival, and the Phinney Neighborhood Association Beer Taste in July.

The song of the day is Movie, by Katie Davis and the website of the day is GuerrillaMail.com.  We close the show on clips from the Iron Maiden concert.

According to Pyramid CEO Scott Barnum, “the combination of these two well established, high profile craft breweries will be very complementary given our respective brand portfolios and the geographies in which we predominantly operate. Additionally, there will be a number of important benefits for Pyramid to be part of a private company versus continuing to operate as a stand alone public entity.”

The CEO of Magic Hat, Martin Kelly stated that “we have a great deal of respect for Pyramid’s brand heritage, award-winning beers and its dedicated employees…”  Martin Kelly should know a little something about Pyramid given that he is an ex-employee.  He joined Pyramid in 1999 as President and Chief Operating Officer, and then became the CEO in December of that year.  In the years that followed, Pyramid expanded its operations significantly, bringing on two new Alehouses (Walnut Creek and Sacramento) and acquiring the Portland Brewing Company.  At the time of acquiring the Portland brewing company in January of 2004, Kelly delivered a message that seems consistent with this current move, “The craft brewing business is very competitive and changes daily. To stay ahead, breweries must keep moving forward. Some breweries have chosen to go the route of aligning themselves with large, multinational, industrial brewers. We believe that approach can stifle creativity and lead to less choice for consumers. Our approach aligns two independent Northwest breweries and retains the creativity and integrity craft brewers are known for.” 

It seems that as CEO of Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewing, Kelly’s style has not changed.  Prior to making this move to grow through the acquisition of Pyramid, Magic Hat was in the midst of an expansion project that will double the capacity of its South Burlington Brewery. 

In my opinion, aggressive growth can be a good thing.  However, it can also be a risk in the beer industry because slight changes in the landscape (ingredient availability, cost of sales, cost of metal for kegs, consumer preferences, etc) can have a severe impact on the bottom line.  Could Pyramid have weathered the current industry climate had it not been so aggressive in the Martin Kelly years?  That’s hard to say.  Even Redhook brewery, (who has strong distribution ties with Anheuser-Busch and were once stock market investor favorites) have had to resort to merging with Widmer in order to stay in the game.

This move could also give Pyramid a chance to start over.  With the Magic Hat buy out, Pyramid can escape the scrutiny of being a public company and return their focus to the core: brewing great beer.  That said, it will be interesting to see how or if the two breweries merge their cultures and brands.  Magic Hat is known for being fun and somewhat unpredictable.  To the contrary, Pyramid is a well thought out and dependable brand.  Magic Hat’s Website looks like the worst elements of pop culture slammed into into it at full speed, while the Pyramid website feels conservative and stuffy.  Most likely, the two will consolidate some of their business operations and perhaps some of their beer line (aka, some folks will be laid off), but both will continue to maintain their current brands and marketing philosophies.  On the upside, both breweries may also get a foot in the door to distributors on the opposite coast.  As a result, Seattle folks may start to see more Magic Hat beer in the stores and the East Coast might start to see more Pyramid on the store shelves. 

Whatever happens next, I hope it only strengthens Pyramid’s footing in the market and makes it an even more valuable asset to the Pacific Northwest.  Still, I’m always skeptical about out of town ownership and I’m curious to see if Pyramid continues to feel like a resident of the Pacific Northwest given the new arrangement.  At any rate, I guess there’s little more to do now than sit back, drink down a Thunderhead IPA, and watch as the acquisition proceeds.

The song of the day is Souls Come Rising by Lords of the North and the website of the day is TeachStreet.com.  The show closed on What’s Eatin’ You by Airbourne, recorded live (from the crowd) at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard.  Special thanks to the AndyCast Podcast for the intro, go subscribe to Andycast - you’ll laugh till you stop!

Perhaps one day we will achieve our dream, but until then, here are a few of our ideas:

On Monday, we made the trek into Lahaina to check out the beers brewed by the Maui Brewing Company.  Located on the NorthWest side of the island, this award winning brewery is both charming and unique.   Their beers range from blonde to Stout and include everything in between.  In this Piece of Crap we speak with beer-tender, Anton, about topics ranging from the beers themselves to the reasons the brewery chose to package in cans instead of bottles. 

Most of the beers in the Maui Brewing company line were enjoyable, but a couple that stood out were the Big Swell IPA (57 IBU) and the Coconut Porter (and I don’t even like coconut).  Click below to hang with us at the brew pub and, by all means, when in Maui - be sure to check out the Maui Brewing Company.

In this Piece of Crap, we are hanging out at Brouwers and enjoying some fine beers conditioned in bourbon barrels.  We also chat with manager and bartender, Chris Cavanaugh, to find out a little more about the Bigwood Festival, bourbon, and the Brouwers Cafe in general. 

Also, don’t forget, tonight is the last night of the Washington Winter Beer Festival.  Given that it is being held at Hales Brewery, only a stones throw from Brouwers, this could be the night to check them both out.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and many of us will be joining friends and family for festive dining and cheerful imbibing.  Although I suspect that wine is the most traditionally served drink on this festive occasion;  this year I’d like to  encourage you to include Craft Beer in your holiday menu.  While beer may not be a common part of your family tradition, even the Pilgrims were Ale drinkers and it is widely believed that beer had a place on the table at the first Thanksgiving.

The notion would make sense since beers  accentuate the typical Thanksgiving feast even better than most wines. Caramelized and toasted grain flavors in many beers complement the flavors of roast turkey. Furthermore, the carbonation, fruitiness and balanced bitterness of many craft beers allow them to stand up to creamy, butter-rich preparations like mashed potatoes and creamed corn.   According to Brewers Association Spokesperson Julia Herz, “Many styles of beer both complement and contrast the food they are paired with, whereas wine mostly contrasts. The holiday dinner table is a very appropriate place for beer made from America’s small, independent and traditional brewers.”

A lot of terrific seasonal ales hit the shelves this time of year so be sure to spend some time in the Craft Beer isle of your favorite grocer before making your way to meet your host.  If you’re hosting this season, click here to get some ideas on how to pair and serve like a pro.  Still not conviced? Below is a brief interview with Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and Author of the Brewmasters’ Table, that I recorded in 2006 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Seattle.     

Fun times with beer are just around the corner.  This weekend you’ll want to check out the Pyramid Snowed In Party at the Seattle Brewery.  The Presidents are the Friday night headliner and the Dandy Warhols are Saturday’s attraction (besides the SnowCap of course).  Click here for more details.  On November 30th and December 1st, don’t miss the Winter Beer Festival at Hales Brewery.

In this podcast I have a couple of audio clips from the Podcast and New Media Expo.  At the Wizzard Media party, I ran into Omaha Sternberg of MacRadio getting tied up by GrayDancer, producer of the Ropecast (who was there on behalf of TwistedMonk.com).  Photos are on Flickr.

The song of the day is There She Goes by Brother Love and the website of the day is the Association of Downloadable Media.  The show closes on Two Years Down by Stonehoney.