Friday, October 18, 2013

November is a big month for Deschutes Brewery


From the city to the far flung 'burbs, Deschutes is making sure you didn't miss that they are now fully distributed in their first East Coast state — Pennsylvania. With a partnership that began this past summer with importing distributor, Muller Inc. of Philadelphia, some of the Bend, Oregon brewery's flagship beers can now be found with relative ease around the Philadelphia metropolitan region.

From November 4 through November 9, Deschutes and Muller are undertaking its own massive events calendar with Deschutes Base Camp.

If you're anything like me, this is great news. For years, a Black Butter Porter was always high on the list of must-drinks when visiting the west coast. Of course, coming home with something a bit more high-end, like an Abyss or a Dissident, was always part of the plan as well. Now, the Black Butte is available year-round in Pennsylvania as is the Chainbreaker White IPA and Mirror Pond Pale Ale.

Fun fact: Did you know that the brewery was named after the river of the same name that snakes through Bend?

Fun fact #2: Deschutes' brew pub in Bend took home two silver medals from this year's Great American Beer Festival, held just last weekend in Denver, one for its Gluten-free Beer and one for its Sage Fight Imperial IPA.

I recently took the time to sample all three, compliments of a sampler pack that showed up on my doorstep. I made the most of my recent vacation to take plenty of time to dip into all three of these and develop well-considered notes for your consumption.

Read on after the tasting notes to see what Deschutes and Muller have in store for the Philly region in November. Cheers!

Mirror Pond Pale Ale - 5.0% ABV. 40 IBU. 170 calories. Gold Medal in 2010 Great American Beer Festival competition. Available: Year-round. As nearly perfect a balance in a delightful pale ale as you'll find. Moderate in maltiness and bitterness, yet extreme in enjoyable drinkability. If you want to talk about gateways into ales, this classic pale ale could certainly be one.

Chainbreaker White IPA - 5.6% ABV. 55 IBU. 180 calories. Silver Medal in 2012 Great American Beer Festival competition. Available: Year-round. A new Deschutes beer for me and what a welcome addition. Is it an IPA? Is it a Wheat? Is it a Belgian? Can it be all of the above? Full of interesting flavors, breaking the mold of the traditional IPA with bursts of delicious and refreshing citrus aromas and flavors, but tempered with a contribution of bready yeastiness. Could drink this year-round but will be sure to have a constant stash of this on hand every summer.

Black Butte Porter - 5.2% ABV. 30 IBU. 192 calories. Bronze Medal in 2009 Great American Beer Festival competition. Available: Year-round. Here, another classic. A porter that is full of roasty and chocolatey dark malts and light hop bitter flavor, yet not heavy on the palate. A dark, session beer to drink all night, just to confound those that still believe that dark beers are too heavy.



From the Press Release:

Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Week
November 4 through 9, 2013

Deschutes Brewery Base Camp is a celebration of Mirror Pond's easy-drinking goodness, along with many more of the brewery's passion-heavy, pioneering brews. The Deschutes Brewery team is traveling around to cities all over, providing passionate fans with a seriously fun exploration of beer. Make the trek to Base Camp. It all begins here!

You can chime in and listen to the Base Camp chatter on Twitter using #BeerBaseCamp and by following @DeschutesBeer.


Mon, 11/4, 6:30-9pm, Small Plates, Big Tastes Dinner (Side Bar & Restaurant) - $50; Five delectable small plates of mouthwatering fare paired expertly with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Inversion IPA, Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Jubelale (on Nitro), and the 25th anniversary Black Butte XXV.

Tues, 11/5, 7pm, Landmarks Beer Dinner (Monk's Café) - $65; Each dish will be paired with beers like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Collage, Chasin' Freshies Fresh Hop IPA, and Class of '88 Imperial Smoked Porter. Assistant Brewmaster Ben Kehs will be present to discuss each landmark course.

Tues, 11/5, 8-10pm, Beer Geek Bonanza (Hulmeville Inn) - $PAYG; Deschutes Brewery brewer Ryan Wibby will be in the house to share the intricacies of all the beers, like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout, Armory XPA, and the limited collaboration beer Class of '88 Imperial Smoked Porter.

Wed, 11/6, 5-7pm, Beer & Cheese (The Foodery - Wash Square West) - $PAYG; Local cheese from Di Bruno Brothers and the gang from Deschutes Brewery will answer questions and chat about Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout, the Oregon breweryís winter seasonal Jubelale and Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale.

Wed, 11/6, 5-7pm, Tutored Beer & Cheese (Di Bruno Brothers) - $20; Class attendees will learn the art of cheese pairing from Di Bruno Brothers expert cheesemongers and Deschutes Breweryís beer aficionados.

Wed, 11/6, 6-8pm, Growlers in the Garden (Pinocchio's Beer Garden to Go) - $PAYG; Join brewer Ryan Wibby in the garden to chat and sample favorites like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout (nitro), winter seasonal Jubelale, Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale, and a few more rare, hard-to-find brews. The first ten visitors who grab a growler fill of Deschutes Brewery beer will get a free growler.

Wed, 11/6, 7-10pm, Hats Off To Homebrewers (Barren Hill Tavern & Brewery) - $35; Chat with brewers from all three breweries. Sip on an exclusive brew made just for the event, out of your commemorative snifter. Gather complimentary brewing supplies, including clone recipe booklets and bags of whole flower hops, to use in your next homebrew (supplies are limited). Enjoy three beer samples from each brewery, expertly paired with three gourmet tapas-style items from Chef Paul Trowbridge.

Wed, 11/6, 10pm-close, Pin-Ups and Pints (Varga Bar) - $PAYG; A "pin-up-themed" evening with Deschutes Brewery. Play some games, win a challenge and have a tasty pint of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Chainbreaker White IPA or Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale, all for chances to win tickets to the brewery's marquis event "Beer-lesque: Tastings and Tassels" Friday night at Urban Saloon.

Thurs, 11/7, 2-4pm, Beer & Cheese (The Foodery - Northern Liberties) - $PAYG; The gang from Deschutes Brewery will answer questions and chat about Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout, the Oregon breweryís winter seasonal Jubelale and Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale.

Thurs, 11/7, 4-6pm, Keg Kicker Happy Hour (TJs Restaurant & Drinkery) - $PAYG; Cracking open kegs of beer like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA, Jubelale, Obsidian Stout (Nitro), and Black Butte XXV is guaranteed to quench everyoneís thirst. To top it all off, an appetizer item will be paired with each beer and samples of the Class of í88 Imperial Smoked Porter will be floating around.

Thurs, 11/7, 5-9pm, Phila-Gonia: East Meets West (London Grill) - $15-$65; The Deschutes Brewery crew will be in the house once again sharing pints of beers like Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Jubelale, Chasin' Freshies Fresh Hop IPA. Rare beers like Collage and Black Butte XXIV (the ONLY keg in all of PA) are part of The Stoic multi-course dinner only. Live blues music by the Carol Moog Band.

Thurs, 11/7, 8-11pm, Outta Line with Deschutes Brewery (Blue Dog Family Tavern- Chalfont) - $PAYG; Live music with local favorites Outta Line will be matched up with some great beer. Beers include Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Jubelale and Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale. We'll have rare bottles of The Abyss 2012 on hand, as well, winner of the European Beer Star Gold Medal for Imperial Stout.

Fri, 11/8, noon-3pm, Brewer's Luncheon (Jose Pistola's) - $PAYG; Chat with Deschutes Brewery Assistant Brewmaster Ben Kehs and brewer Ryan Wibby about the fantastic beers sampled with a paired luncheon menu. Beers could include Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, and more. Bottles of the brewery's Black Butte XXV will be available too.

Fri, 11/8, noon-2pm, Brewer's Luncheon (Iron Abbey) - $PAYG; Chat with Deschutes Brewery Assistant Brewmaster Ben Kehs and brewer Ryan Wibby about the fantastic beers sampled with a paired luncheon menu. Beers could include Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, and more. Bottles of the brewery's Black Butte XXV will be available too.

Fri, 11/8, 5-7pm, Beer & Cheese (The Corner Foodery - Rittenhouse Sq) - $PAYG; The gang from Deschutes Brewery will answer questions and chat about Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout, the Oregon brewery's winter seasonal Jubelale and Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale.

Fri, 11/8, 5-7pm, Beer & Cheese (The Foodery - Roxborough) - $PAYG; The gang from Deschutes Brewery will answer questions and chat about Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Obsidian Stout, the Oregon brewery's winter seasonal Jubelale and Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale.

Fri, 11/8, 8pm, Beer-lesque: Tastings & Tassels (Urban Saloon) - $5 cover plus $PAYG; An evening full of craft beer-coupled with Naughty Pierre, solo star Fannie Spankings, and the lovely ladies from the Peekaboo Revue. The ladies will feature a Deschutes Brewery beer in each of their burlesque and variety stage acts. Beers will include Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Jubelale, and Chasin' Freshies Fresh Hop IPA. A special "guest" beer will also make an appearance for sampling during intermission.

Sat, 11/9, 1-4pm, DB Day: Pints, Pairings & Prizes (Railroad Street Bar and Grill) - $PAYG; It's the much-anticipated annual Beer Meister giveaway, featuring custom artwork by Integrity Tattoo and presented in partnership with Valor Men's Grooming. There will be no less than 10 beers from Deschutes Brewery to sample, paired with Railroad Street Bar & Grill's famous grilled cheese sandwiches and a chat with brewer Ryan Wibby. Free growlers to the first 20 people to fill a growler full of Deschutes Brewery beer and special raffle prizes will be handed out all afternoon.

Sat, 11/9, all day long, Craft Beer Express: From Around the Bend, Oregon (Pub On Passyunk East - POPE) - $PAYG; What better way to celebrate Deschutes Brewery's final day in Philly than with a tap takeover with Assistant Brewmaster Ben Kehs at the Pub On Passyunk East.

Meet, Greet, and Sample Events
Grab a quick getaway and try some tasty beers from Oregon's Deschutes Brewery. Sample brews like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, winter seasonal Jubelale, and more. Join the crew all week at any of the following times and locations:

Mon, 11/4, 4-6pm, Mari's 6 Pac 'n' Mor, 835 Hiesters Ln., Reading
Mon, 11/4, 6-9pm, Union Jack's Pub - Glenside, 2750 Limekiln Pike, Glenside
Tues, 11/5, 4-6pm, The Beer Shoppe, 46 Greenfield Ave., Ardmore
Tues, 11/5, 5-7pm, The Beer Store, 488 2nd Street Pike, Southampton
Thurs, 11/7, 5-7pm, Whole Foods - Glen Mills, 475 Wilmington West Chester Pike, Glen Mills
Thurs, 11/7, 6-8pm, Whole Foods - Plymouth Meeting, 500 W Germantown Pike #1500
Fri, 11/8, 3-6pm, Capone's, 224 W Germantown Pike, Norristown
Sat, 11/9, noon-3pm, Wegmans, Collegeville, 600 Commerce Drive, Collegeville
Sat, 11/9, noon-3pm, Wegmans, Warrington, 1405 Main St., Warrington
Sat, 11/9, 3:30-6:30pm, Wegmans, King of Prussia, One Village Drive, King of Prussia
Sat, 11/9, 3:30-6:30pm, Wegmans, Malvern, 50 Foundry Way, Malvern
Sat, 11/9, 3:30-6:30pm, Wegmans, Downingtown, 1056 East Lancaster Ave., Downingtown

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