Beer Bottle Hidden Picture Puzzle

There were three large bins of broken bottles sitting by the bottle-return station at the 39th and Hawthorne Fred Meyers a few days ago.  I snapped a couple of cellphone pictures on a whim, in case they would come in handy to illustrate some kind of ecological or penny-pinching rant I might go on.

The nearly intact Full Sail bottle pinned down this particular shot, but as I looked at it today I was kind of astounded at the large percentage of these bottles that once held good beer.  Without trying too hard, I can spot 3 different Deschutes labels, 2 Widmers, a Spaten, a Hales, and a New Belgium, in addition to the Full Sail bottle.  It kind of illustrates what a great market Portland is for quality beer, and how we tend to drink pretty locally.

Can you spot any other good stuff in there?  Click the picture to get a bigger version.

Captured by Porches Friday Rye Ale

Hats off to Captured by Porches Brewing Company for entering the retail market with returnable bottles. I picked up a bottle of CBP's Friday Rye Ale at Beermongers a couple days ago; their flagship Invasive Species IPA is also on the shelves. It's a nice bottle, a 750 ml swing-top; the deposit is $1.00 per bottle. According to CBP's blog, making bottles out of recycled glass is only 30% more energy efficient than making them from raw materials. So the effort to reuse bottles is a welcome return to common sense.

That's all well and good, but if the beer isn't any good, then who cares? I'm happy to report that the bottle-conditioned Friday Rye Ale is really well done. It's tangy and hoppy, with a dry bitterness that lingers on the tongue. The bottle I had was super effervescent at first -- it didn't pour with a huge head, but the bottle opened with a loud pop, and the first sips filled my mouth with very fizzy fine bubbles. The night before I had a Wry Pale Ale at Laurelwood -- very tasty, by the way -- and the Friday was at least as good as that, maybe even a little better.

The bottles are priced near the low end of the bomber range -- $3.80 at Beermongers -- but because they are a little bigger than 22-ounce bombers, they have a cheaper SPE of $10.79 compared to $12.44 for a bomber of the same price. I'd be happier if the price was closer to six-pack price, but it's a start.

Now I'm eager to try a bottle of the IPA. In the past I wasn't very impressed with Captured by Porches, but it had been awhile since I had their beer, so this delicious bottle of Friday Rye gives me hope that they're moving onward and upward. [Update 2010/02/12: Well, I did try a returnable bottle of the IPA, and it's as I remember it. Tastes homebrewy; muddled flavors and too sweet. Stick with the Rye.]