Oklahoma Christmas Beers

Pub Night took a hiatus last week while we visited family in the zymurgically-challenged state of Oklahoma. The title of this post is a joke, by the way. My holiday beer was Shiner Bock -- more specifically, Shiner Bock that had been dumbed-down to 3.2% ABW for supermarket sale in the Sooner State.

Most Americans are privileged to be able to complain about the bizarre contortions of their state's liquor laws. Maybe not you Louisianans -- do you even have liquor laws? But you can't beat Oklahoma, where beer above 3.2% alcohol content by weight can only be sold at liquor stores. Bars with a full liquor license can serve stronger beer, but -- get this -- not brewpubs.

Now, 3.2% isn't the complete disaster it sounds like, because it translates to about 4% by volume, which is the way alcohol content is reported by most people. But it's no wonder that there's not much of a local brewing industry, with an extremely low limit like that. It seems like the Indian tribes could get into the brewpub business and avoid the 3.2 limit -- they've got casinos right in the city limits of Tulsa now -- but maybe it's kind of taboo given the history of alcohol and Native Americans.

Where to Find Ninkasi in Portland

Pub night last night was at the Nine Muses Acoustic Pub, a folk-musicy hangout on Belmont. The attraction? They have six Ninkasi beers on tap!

[Update 2009/04/07: Alas, Nine Muses is no more. The new place, Duke's Landing, does not look very auspicious. Big Bud Light banners fly outside, and today instead of tables out on the patio, there was a very sketchy-looking secondhand sale.]

I haven't been to Ninkasi's headquarters in Eugene, but I well remember my first taste of their beer. My neighbor Lindsey got me to go to the pre-brewfest Brewers' Dinner in 2006, and the knockout beer served that night was a Ninkasi IPA. "Where is this brewery, and what's with the Japanese name?" Turns out the name is ancient Sumerian, and the beers keep knocking me out.

So Dave and I were excited when Corey alerted us to the wealth of Ninkasi waiting for us just a few blocks from home. The Nine Muses is in an old house that used to be the beloved -- if dumpy and stinky -- neighborhood video rental place. They fixed it up pretty nicely, it's a comfortable place. Too smoky for me to be a regular there, but at least it's not the Horsebrass level of smoke. And I can definitely picture myself outside at one of the picnic tables come summer.

We started off with a Tricerahops, the full and flowery IIPA, which is sold in a 10 oz. glass due to its 9.5% strength. Of course we had to have a Believer, the dark and delicious double red ale. And somewhere along the way was a Total Domination, another fine IPA. Oh, that Tricerahops is nice. The other ones they have on tap right now are the Oatis Oatmeal Stout, Schwag Light Lager, and (embarrassment) something I can't remember, Pale Ale maybe?

They had a few other respectable brews on tap, Lompoc Strong Draft (get it? hippie pub? LSD? hahaha), Bridgeport Hop Harvest (good move!), and a couple of Fearless beers.

Other places to get Ninkasi

The Green Dragon, being the guardians of good taste that they are, usually has a Ninkasi on tap, a couple weeks ago it was Believer. Non-smoking!

The Horsebrass usually has one or two on tap, if you're lucky they'll have one on cask. Had a cask Believer there during the summer. News flash: had some cask-conditioned Tricerahops there on 2007/12/20! All the pretty flowers, a little less sweet than the regular.

The Blue Monk had Oatis on tap, 2008/01/18. Non-smoking.

Every few months I torment myself by going to Henry's Tavern at 12th and Burnside. How can they have such a respectable beer list, but no one waiting tables knows a single thing about beer? That includes what quantity of beer you are ordering. "Is that served in a pint glass?" "Oh, yes." And here he or she comes back with a little round glass. The bar staff seems to think anything stronger than a "Hef" has to go in a little glass. Still, they seem to keep one or two Ninkasi beers on tap, if you don't mind a small serving.

Ninkasi's MySpace blog now has a list of Portland Ninkasi taps.

Holiday Ale Festival 2007

Only about two weeks late, I wanted to capture my thoughts on this year's Holiday Ale Festival in Portland. That's my neighbor, Jill, enjoying the festivities with Santa Claus.

Carla and I got there pretty close to opening time on Thursday, before everyone got all cheek-by-jowl and belly-to-belly, and we had a great time. I went back Friday afternoon to fill in a few gaps and hang out with the neighbors, but the crowd was so dense at that point that it was a little less enjoyable. Still a good vibe, just too much of it.

The notes I take at these festivals are telegraphic, to say the least, usually three words or less for each beer. Not Pulitzer Prize-winning words, either; sometimes just a "Nah", or an "Awesome" -- which is all I could think of to say about my favorite from Thursday, a blend of Hair of the Dog beers called Jim II. On Thursday I had the presence of mind to keep a ranking of my favorites, which were:

• Hair of the Dog: Jim II (Specialty Blend): "Awesome".
• Double Mountain: Fa La La La La (Winter Ale): "Most excellent, hoppy & big".
• Caldera: Cauldron Brew '07 (Dry-Hopped Strong Ale): "Carla says almost perfect. Flat carbonation, tasty".
• New Old Lompoc: Brewdolph (Belgian Specialty): "Really good, candy".
• Ninkasi: Otis (Oatmeal Stout): "Delicious".
• Deschutes: 2007 Oak-Aged Jubel (Winter Warmer): "Not disappointing".

Hmmm... Where would that Jubel fit in the ratings of the 5-year vertical described in an earlier entry? It might have been slightly better than the regular 2007 -- which I like a lot -- then again, how much greatness can you get from aging in oak for only 2 months?

I skipped Roots' Festivus and Full Sail's Wreck the Halls at the festival, since I've already "sampled" them this year. They probably would have landed somewhere around New Old Lompoc in the rankings above. They're awesome beers.

Hey, is Ninkasi trying to make fun of Hair of the Dog, giving their beer a man's name with only four letters in it? Speaking of which, what's with HotD's "Jim"? I'm surprised they didn't keep up the four-letter pattern by calling it Jimi.

Now for some notes from Friday. These aren't as -- ahem -- scientific as the ones above, but there are some beers worth mentioning, though they're not listed in order of preference like the ones above. For the simple reason that I can't remember that order.

• Lagunitas: Oaked Brown Shugga (Strong Ale): "Awesome". My poetry shines through again.
• Hopworks: Organic Kentucky Christmas (Winter Ale): "Quite good".
• Rogue: Santa's Private Reserve (Double-hopped Red Ale): "Quite good". The language skills are really breaking down at this point.
• Pyramid: Dry-hopped Snow Cap (Winter Ale): "Very good, flavorful". It's easy for us snobs to dismiss Pyramid beers, but I like Snow Cap pretty well.
• Pelican: Bad Santa (Black IPA): "Really good, like rauchbier".
• Sierra Nevada: 20th Street Ale (Fresh Hop Ale!): "Better than the Harvest Ale. Malty and full."

I was glad to get that 20th Street, it was a last shot at fresh hops, in a year when I went off the deep end. (Actually, Matias gave me some bottles of his homegrown, homebrew fresh hop, so it hasn't ended yet!) I didn't care for Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale this year, but the 20th Street was a special batch, with hops from their own garden. It just seemed fuller and better, with more of the fresh hop aroma.

There were some other pretty good beers, and there were five of them that I had to put in the dungeon. Since the internet is forever, I don't want to name names, but I can at least share the comments for the bad ones:

• "Nah". But I already told you that one.
• "A little disappointing". This is a winter beer I usually like.
• "No way, tainted".
• "Not too long. A little bland, but bitter". Ouch. Bitter usually means good for me.
• "Not so good".

Man, all this writing makes me thirsty.