LAGER LOVER

After a long day at work a stop in at Pints Brewing was well in order. The place is dimly lit and made mostly out of brick. The seating arrangements are a little strange, with some high and low spots and a large back area. I’m no stranger to Pints, so I took my usual spot at the bar and ordered the Konvention Kölsch, which I have never tasted before. At first I was a little shocked at the flavor. It’s rich and fruity, even a little tart, with a citrus aroma. It has hints of wheat and even a touch of peach. It has a pleasant golden haze. 

Unfortunately, I had recently visited my local Mexican Taqueria and I was too stuffed full of shrimp burrito to really enjoy this one. Despite the popular theory that you should eat something before you drink beer, I think for me it’s better to have an empty stomach. The lingering taste of the food you have just eaten can influence your ability to truly appreciate your beverage. 

So instead of savoring this one I started thinking about whether or not the brick building could withstand the wind force of hurricane Irma, which, as I write this post, is barreling through the Carribean, just off the coast of Cuba, towards the south-western coast of Florida. The storm has been called the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. Just weeks after the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, where my Uncle was trapped in his house without beer for several days, Irma seems likely to cause even more destruction In Miami, Tampa, Naples and the Florida Keys. Storm surge flooding is predicted to be 9′ above normal dry ground. Potential flooding far inland could make a large part of the west cost of Florida uninhabitable for a weeks or longer. Good to know that unlike Harvey a lot of people have decided to evacuate. Here’s to hoping they stay safe and have plenty of cold beer wherever they end up. 
 

This Helles style lager has a super clear, light body and is relatively smooth. Very close to a pilsner but sweeter and less tart. The smokiness comes from the addition of smoked Rauch malt and a few wood chips wrapped in cheese cloth. It’s not an overwhelming smoked flavor, and it certainly adds complexity, but the fact that we’ve been living under the cloud of two massive forest fires for the last few days makes feel like this beer has been tainted by that oppressive air. The smoked flavor might be more welcome under different circumstance or perhaps in a different beer, like a porter or stout, but this just didn’t work for me. Such is the fate of all who seek beauty and happiness.  Sometimes we only find disappointment. I’ll definitely be back to this spot to try another though. 10 Barrell Brewing tends to satisfy in most days. This just wasn’t one of them.

The Kölsch style falls into an interesting beer category. I tend to consider it somewhere between an ale and a lager. However, since it’s brewed with a top-fermenting rather than bottom-fermenting yeast, it’s technically an ale. But, since it’s then conditioned at lower temperatures, like a lager, it takes on a clear, bright, golden hue and that distinctive lager crispness. So it ends up with a lager appearance and flavor but is matured in the same fashion as an ale. There is complex history between the various strains of yeast and styles of brewing, which is certainly worth knowing more about. Here’s a decent description:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale

I think Occidental Brewing really hit the nail on the head with this one. In fact, this beer brought them early popularity and success in Portland and is my personal lawn-mowing and yard-work favorite. It’s available in convenient four-pint to-go packs, is only around 4.5% alcohol content, and on top of it all, is quite simply delicious.

When drinking at home there is one golden rule to remember, as my Dad once enshrined upon me: “It’s not about how much you can drink, but how much you can do the next day.” This might actually be one of the most important things my Dad ever taught me. He wasn’t the best of fathers.

So, with that in mind, I’ve come up with some ideas regarding how to be a more productive beer drinker at home. Firstly, I think it’s important to have a task list before you start drinking. Just jot a few things down that you’d like to get done. If you get through one or two of them before the end of the day, perfect. You don’t have to complete them all. Here’s a quick sample of one my own lists:

• Mow lawn. 
• Wash floors.
• Feed Rumbull.
• Buy beer. 

In this example, you can see that even if I complete only task three and four, I’m still making real progress on the list. By the end of the session I will have completed 50% of all the tasks that I was hoping to accomplish before the session started. If I get to the other two tasks the next day, then great. My list is done!

Another important lesson from my Dad about drinking at home: “Always drink beer from a glass.” If you buy beer in a bottle then fine, drink it out of the bottle (although my Dad would still not approve). But if you are buying beer in a can you definitely want to pour it our into a cold glass. In a pinch, at least wash off the top of the can before you drink from it- they are sometimes stored for weeks in rat-infested warehouses. Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to pour from can to glass without spilling and with perfect head. The trick is to tilt the glass at the start and then straighten up and elevate the can towards the end:

Nietzsche might argue that some things are neither Good or Evil, but to me this bright, crisp sessionable beer is not one of those things – it’s definitely Good – especially on a hot summer day. Coming from a long tradition of German lagers, the Helles style is thought to have first been brewed in Munich to compete with the Czech Pilsner, which was increasing rapidly in popularity at the time. It is close to a Pils but a bit less hoppy, a little sweeter and brighter. I’ve definitely become a fan over the years and I think this one speaks to my love of light-yet-flavorful easy-drinking brews.

On the Evil side of things, I just learned about a study by Orb Media that found 94% of all tap water in the US is contaminated with microscopic plastic particles:

https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_plastics

Also, every single beer tested in Germany was found to be contaminated with micro-plastics, a fact made more potent knowing that Germany has the most rigorous standards of beer purity. As I sit here drinking this beautiful lager next to the incredibly polluted Portland Harbour Superfund site, consisting of 394 acres of contaminated sediments, I can’t help but ask myself how many micro particles of plastic I’m ingesting per sip, and what the potential health effects of those pollutants might be. So I did some research and found the final human health risk assessment for Portland Harbour released by the state of Oregon:

http://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/TRACKINGASSESSMENT/ENVIRONMENTALHEALTHASSESSMENT/Documents/Portland%20Harbor%20PHA%20_%2009-07-2011%20Final.pdf

Needless to say, this did not really put my mind at ease. The sky above me is a deep shade of grey from all the wildfires burning in Oregon and the air quality is dubbed “unhealthy” by officials. Still, my dog enjoys this place because we can hang out together, think about the state of human-caused planetary degradation, drink beer, and be generally at peace with the world. They also have a shuffleboard table. But there are definitely things I don’t love about this place…

Amendment: David the bartender just brought me a free Hefeweizen that someone forgot to pick up. So I now love this place.

Yes, let’s party! This beer took me by surprise by just how hoppy it is for a Pilsner. It could be because it has such a strong aroma. As I’m sure you know, our sense of taste is largely influenced by our sense of smell. It’s super smooth, with a well balanced flavor profile, and the hops are not overwhelming. The problem is that I’m not altogether sold on the idea of making all the various styles of beer more and more hoppy. Don’t get me wrong. I love hops. I love IPAs, IIPAs and love Imperials, etc. But the pilsner variety is sacred ground to me. Don’t walk over all over this unless you really know where you are going. Level Brewing is somewhere out near the airport and I had not heard of them before trying this beer, but will be looking forward to tracking down more of their offerings. I might even have to make a trip there to see what it looks like. I guess they have a barn, which sounds interesting. Lombard House, where I found this on tap, is a tiny brew shed right across from the ol’ Captured By Porches food carts. There is a dog-friendly patio in the back which can actually function as a kind of surrogate dog park and beer garden since the ground is all covered with wood chips. The AC is not that strong and there are always sports playing on TV, which is not my thing. Brian the bartender and owner is always cool and the patrons are friendly, but the keg could definitely be colder. Overall, glad I stopped in for this on a whim.

Have you ever found a $20 bill on the ground? Have you been told that work is cancelled but you’re still getting paid? That’s the kind of feeling you get from drinking a pint of this delicious pure golden pilsner of choice and distinction. The Cascade hops are grown at Sauvie Island Hops, a family farm, https://sauvieislandhopfarm.wordpress.com, and they give a light but noticeable citrus/fruity richness to this incredibly refreshing beer. The Garrison Tap Room on Lombard in St Johns is where you can find it, but it’s only around for a few weeks in August/Sept, so you have to be timely. The Garrison has a serviceable air conditioning system and they allow dogs in the bar, so on a hot summer day it’s hard to beat. 5% alcohol; perfect for easy drinking. I just learned there are growlers available to go so I’m about to get one before the last keg runs dry.