Deschutes Barrel Aged Tasting AND Upcoming Events

Oh Deschutes Brewery, how I love thee so. Today I received a Tip List of what's going on with Deschutes Brewery in the next couple of months. I also realized that I never got the photos of the last event that I attended, the Barrel Aged Tasting, posted online. For $40 per person you get to sample (all you can drink - please drink responsibly) a variety of beers that have been soaking in bourbon or wine barrels which give them a high class taste. I mean, they can't use a bourbon barrel twice so why not throw some great beer in there and make it even better? I love beer. I love bourbon. Win, win, win.


They also do a great job of making sure you get something to eat. This last time they had a huge variety of mini burgers with a huge selection of buns and toppings. I wish they would have had some recommended combos like "Turtle burger on rye bun with the raspberry ketchup". I'm kidding...they didn't have rye buns.

I selected the rabbit, gator, and venison burgers. When is the next time I'm going to get to try gator? Why not go for it.


I actually didn't care for the gator at all. But the rest of the grub was great. I liked the potato skins. Who doesn't like tater skins?




I absolutely love going to anything at the mountain room. Barrel Aged Tastings, The Crab Boil, and the Beer Dinners (and I also finished at the final table of one of their poker tournaments) are all great. If you never went to any of these, I highly recommend that you budget for it.


Upcoming Deschutes Brewery Events:

1) Breedlove Festival, sponsored by Deschutes Brewery – July 31-Aug. 1. Musical line-up includes Dire Straits’ David Knopfler, Grammy winner Ed Gerhard, and Country/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Chris Hilman, all of whom play Breedlove guitars, which are manufactured in Bend, Oregon.

2) Farmer’s Feast Beer Dinner @ Deschutes Brewery in Bend – August 28th @ 6PM. This beer dinner pairs the freshest ingredients from Central Oregon farms with Deschutes Brewery’s finest beers. Meet the farmers for a journey from till to table. $55/person includes beer and gratuity. RSVP to Winter at 541-385-8606.

3) Friday Farmer’s Market menu special every Friday @ the Bend Pub. Deschutes Brewery chefs walk to the downtown Farmer’s Market every Wednesday to see what’s fresh, and bring it back to the Pub to create a special dish for lunch and dinner on Friday.

4) Oyster Racing Series, sponsored by Deschutes Brewery. Urban Adventure Race coming to a town near you? August 15th = Denver; Aug. 29th = Seattle; Sept. 19th = Portland; Sept. 26 = San Francisco; Oct. 11 = Austin; Oct. 24 = Nashville.

5) Little Woody Barrel Aged Brew Festival in downtown Bend – September 12, noon to 10PM. This festival will feature hand-crafted, wood-aged beer as well as one specialty brew from all of Central Oregon’s seven breweries. Live music, wood carving exhibition and beer tastings, on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Society on the corner of Wall Street and Idaho. $6/person includes commemorative glass. Tasting package available for $15. Call Cindy Tintle for more information: 541-323-0964.

6) Upcoming Beer Releases: Jubelale (October 1), Hop Trip (October), The Abyss (November)

7) Jubelale release party @ Portland Pub – Oct. 1. Meet the artist who designed the Jubelale label and poster during First Thursday Art Walk at Deschutes Brewery in Portland’s Pearl District.

8) The Abyss 2009 release party in Bend and Portland – November. Exact date and details TBD. Stay tuned!

Deschutes Barrel Tasting 2008

Deschutes Barrel Tasting 2008

I had the opportunity to hit up this years Barrel Tasting at the Deschutes Mountain room. This has been one of those events that I try to make it to year after year. This year the beer was flowing in great quantities, a variety of flavors, and served with some tasty treats.

For $35 a person you get to drink 8 different beers that have been brewed by Deschutes and then aged in a variety of different wine and liquor barrels. You can read all about the beers and opinions on each from my buddy the Brewerman. I agree with him for the most part. When he says that the Anniversary Ale was on the sweeter side, I found it undrinkable. The wife loved it but she also drinks Beringers white zin. The flat Oud Bruin was another one I found to be undrinkable. My favorite quote from the Brewerman is about the Abyss:

"Drink this beer whenever a glass of it is in front of you. If you say, “I don’t like dark beer”, you should get slapped … hard … immediately. Don’t be that guy. Drink it I say, and be set free!"

For the other 6, I couldn't get enough. I felt like Augustus Gloop
diving into Wonka's chocolate river. I was swimming in a sea of Abyss and couldn't care less. I love beer but I also love food. I'm glad to see that Deschutes is providing better appetizers to snack on in between sloshing down a few beers in comparison to years past.

When we arrived a couple of friends were already out on the balcony so I grabbed a couple beers and we headed out to say high. Lucky enough there was a grill filled with mini lamb chops served with mint infused oil. I ate my weight in these.



Prosciutto Wrapped Fresh Mozzarella Balls with Sweet Wort Drizzle and Smoked Albacore Spread on Sesame Crackers

Fennel Apple Goat Cheese Flatbread
Chocolate Cake Bites with Macadamia Coconut Caramel

Not pictured - Quajillo Braised Pork on House-Made Tortilla Chips

The lamb was my favorite dish. Cooked medium rare unless you asked specifically for a piece to be cooked a little longer, eaten right off the grill in the view of the mountains while sipping on one of the great beers is how I want to spend every Saturday night.

The braised pork on the chips were also very good. One of my friends grabbed a couple of those and drizzled some of the roasted red pepper spread on them from a different table, that made them even better!

The Prosciutto and mozz balls are a staple but I didn't get enough wort drizzle on mine. They were pretty plane, the cheese was very very mild and lacked any flavor. We ate the Prosciutto with the other cheeses instead. The smoked tuna spread started off really good but left a weird after taste. Could have been that they were sitting out a while since the first one I tried didn't seem to have that fishy after taste.

The Fennel, Apple, Goat Cheese flat bread were very good and went quickly. That was one of the stations that was constently being refilled. Very clean and crisp, it was a great mix of flavors that went really good with the Cascade Ale.

The chocolate cake bites were out of this world.

I loved it all, a great evening. My favorite part is that they served the beer in half pints instead of the little shot glasses.

Deschutes Brewery’s 3rd Annual Barrel Tasting

Deschutes Brewery’s Barrel Tasting

Much better food options and quantity of food this year at the 3rd Annual Barrel Tasting in the Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room.

The first taste of food was the Poached Shrimp and Margarita Salsa on a Fried Wonton which was ok. I would have preferred a little more shrimp and a little less mango. The poached shrimp is in the photo below on the bottom right corner:

In the photo above we also have the Veggie Crisp Stack with Goat Cheese Spread which I graciously let the wife enjoy. She should thank me, I'm so generous.

The photos I was able to take of the Grilled Beef Tenderloin on Focaccia Toast Points did not come out at all but the beef was delicious and tender like a tenderloin should be.

The Smoked Chicken Mini Pizzas with Brie, Caramelized Apples and Onions, Scallions was more than a mouthful. The brie and apples complimented the smoked chicken nicely. I enjoyed this mini pizza quite a bit although the presentation was laking...it ate gooood:


Spicy Pork Wraps Action Station with Corn, Cucumbers, Tomato, and Cilantro:

Good stuff. I like wraps like these, crisp lettuce, fresh ingredients, yummy spicy pork, hot sauce. All good things.

I like going to the events held at the Mountain Room, they are always worth the price of admission. For beer, I agree with the brewerman and will say the Bourbon Porters were my favorites especially the Nitro:

"The Nitro Bourbon Porter was too easy to drink. Excellent roasty notes butting up against the sweet bourbon flavor. The velvety mouthfeel from the Nitro presentation made the beer surprisingly refreshing despite the big flavors present in the beer."

I'm not sure how he remembered all that, if it wasn't for the photos, I couldn't even tell you where I was Saturday night. Beer aged in Makers Mark Barrels...you can't expect anyone to remember much the next day can you?

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/Banquets/Upcoming+Events/default.aspx