Mention in the Oregonian

A former, and future, Oakridge resident has written an article for the Portland Oregonian about Oakridge, including a mention of the pub.

New Hours

Winter. The Off Season. The Rainy Season. Whatever you want to call it, it's here. This means that the masses hibernate up through the middle of December when the snows lure them into the mountains. This also means that it doesn't make sense to spend $20 to make $10, and so we have cut back the pub hours. It's not too drastic. On Tuesdays we will now be closed. Just plain closed. Not that the work will stop - there's always something to brew, cook, fix, improve, fulfill or complete. On Wednesday and Thursday we are just cutting back the lunch and afternoon. Hopefully this will help us cut costs and keep us open. Margins are tight up here, and I have a forthcoming post on just that topic to dispel all notions to the contrary. See you at the pub.

Schrodinger's Beer

Cask number 4 is being served. Cask number 5 is settling out on the stillage. Numbers 6, 7 and 8 are in the back cellar. And I still haven't written about Schrodinger's Beer. Many of you may be familiar with the famous thought experiment by physicist Erwin Schrodinger involving the unknown state of a cat in a box subjected to the uncertainty of quantum events. Is the cat dead, alive, or in a putative third state until observed? Same with this beer. It was an experiment. Many of the concoctions coming out of the brewery are.

I've written before about hoppy, high gravity West Coast style IPA's on cask, also referenced from "It's Pub Night", although slightly inaccurately, as I don't question the sanity, per se. I am tempted to use the verb "designed" when talking about how the recipe came about, but that always sounds so much like what the Big Boys do, instead of someone who has never had any formal training in the arts. So, I'll say that I hacked together the recipe, based on my first attempt at a biggie cask IPA over the summer called "Whatever". This batch was deemed too light on the bittering, as if there was a hole in the flavor profile, so I cleverly decided to double the bittering hops. Otherwise, same grain bill and finishing.

A further word about experimentation: Before the pub opened, during the hop crisis, I had very little choice as to what to purchase in the way of hops. As a very small brewery, the cash flow and uncertainty of a new business, especially in a small town in the woods, makes it unfeasible to contract with hop growers and suppliers. As a result, I ended up with spending $6000 on a few boxes of three strains: E. Kent Goldings, Glacier and Sorachi Ace. Never heard of the last one? I've found few brewers using it - that I know of, that is. It's a strange one, with a unique lemony (for lack of a better word) flavor and aroma. It's also 14% alpha. This hop is the driving force behind Union Dew, an unusual, unique and popular IPA, and which is the one beer that I continue to have to brew on a regular basis. Batch 11 was just casked up two days ago.

How does this relate to Schrodinger's Beer? Well, I wanted to see how it acts as just a bittering hop. 1 Kilo of this up front, along with 2 Kilos of Glacier, makes up the bittering. The finish is 3 Kilos of Cascade spread out over 15 minutes. Dry hop was 40 grams Cascade per firkin. I suffered through two weeks of nervous impatience before tapping the first cask. It has subsequently been pronounced delicious - the first firkin only lasting a day and a half. It's not over the top in any way, coming out at 5.9%.

Many of you American readers might not know what a sparkler is. It is a plastic device with small holes in it that is screwed onto the end of the swans neck of a beer engine. The effect of an ale dispensed in this manner is a creamer, smoother mouthfeel. In the UK it is a subject of much controversy, ofttimes caustic, with those of a generally Southern persuasion describing it as a "nefarious device" or the "work of the devil". I can handle cask ale both ways, but tend to prefer the common Northern inclination for drinking a sparkled ale. I have discovered, however, that this particular ale, and likely the bigger West Coast styles in general, is definitely better sans sparkler. So be it - that is the way it is being served. Come down and try a pint. See you at the pub.

Honest Pint

This revisited. This time, thanks to Jeff Alworth of Beervana, the Blog, we have been certified as serving an honest measure. No, we don't actually serve it, we purvey it. Such a good word. Other purveyors can be viewed at the Honest Pint Project site.

Toonz

We have some good music lined up for October. It is nice to have musicians contacting me and asking for gigs. Pop over to the About page for a listing.

It always amazes me how little interest there can sometimes be on a good night of quality live music. Last Saturday we had the entire Groove Liberation Front playing, and it was probably the slowest Saturday night we have had in months. By 9:00 the pub was empty. I got to enjoy it, though, and it was a nice way to round out a long week at the bar. I suppose everyone else was huddling in their living rooms, staying out of the rain and watching some exciting reruns. Or maybe crooning out a few soulful rounds of karaoke down at the Corner Bar.

Ash

The fire is much worse today. The mountains are obscured and the sun is barely noticeable through the smoke. A gentle ash is falling.

Looking at the bright side, the helicopter crews have discovered us. And they've discovered real ale, much to their delight. We sold 40 servings (pints and halfs) of our own ale, and only 3 of the guest gas taps, last night.

These Long Days

I've got it figured out. Just get up early and all will be well. I also needed to call England to check on my order from acask.com, which so far has taken them two weeks to figure out the shipping. The smoke from the fires south of here had all drifted west and was covering the mountains. The sunset should be interesting again tonight.

I had thought, given the four hours between 8:00 and 12:00, that I could get the beer racked. Also, while waiting for each cask to get washed, I could clean the beer lines. By 11:45 I managed to do same, but only got the wash and rinse on the casks. The pub opened at noon, so I have to wait until 5:00 for my temporary barkeep Jill to take over. I figure between 5:00 and 6:00 I can get the bitter into the casks and not have to be up until the wee hours hammering in those shives. 8:00 to 6:00 then, with coming back after play practice to do the closing at 10:00 PM - a not so unreasonably long day.

For you DIY homebrewers and aspiring small brewpub owners, you can make a smashing good cask wash system out of a sink, a cheepo sump pump, some copper fittings, and a spinning wash head from The Compleat Winemaker