Caldera Brewing Company - Ashland, Oregon

It's been a bit since I've written anything but it would be a tragedy NOT to write about this beautiful beer. My friend Brandi gave me a pint bottle of Caldera Brewing Company's Hopportunity Knocks IPA. They call it their "Caldera Kettle Series - Small Batch Release". It weighs in at 6.8% ABV. The label says it uses "a @#! of Centennial hops" and I believe it. It has a big round mouth feel and it is very perfumey (their word not mine).

This is only the 3rd brew I've requested a recipe for. I don't know what the response will be but it doesn't matter because I will be looking for and drinking this brew again and again and so should you.

A COUPLE HOURS LATER: And now another reason to visit Caldera Brewing in Ashland. I got an almost immediate and nice reply including the recipe from Jim Mills of Caldera. I think I've changed my plans of a Citra IPA as my next brew and I'm going to see what I can do with this new recipe. Thank you Caldera Brewing and Jim Mills.

Cudas Draft

After giving this some careful thought, "4-Hop Draft" while accurate in description, really doesn't reflect what the purpose of this particular beer is. Therefore I am renaming it "Cudas Draft". Partly because my Fantasy Football team the Cudas will be drafting in two weeks but mostly in honor of the original Cudas owner, my good friend, Ron. Here's to you Ron... Prost!

4-Hop Draft

Fantasy Football draft day coming up so what would be better then to have something to share.

Malt is the soul of beer... and yeast gives it life... but the kiss of the hop is the vitality of that life!

When you make home brew you are dealing with a living organism. It is alive - and because it is alive, it feels. Every person's brew has its own distinctive characteristics that carry through each batch. The entire process of beer making depends on one's thoughts and attitude and equally on the lives of millions of tiny organisms called yeasts.

The magic of making home brew can only come from the magic given it: magic as simple as the space you occupy.

Charlie Papazian

Imperial Citra IP

The new brew is the prettiest and clearest brew yet. It's defiantly an IPA, my personal favorite, but very, very smooth. It's getting cold now and I'll carbonate tomorrow. I can hardly wait for it to be totally done.

Baron Marcus Griff Gilchristskitt of Longviewford (my royal name which I’ll use when I introduce myself to the Queen at THE wedding)

Uh Oh

The IPA is gone. I feel a brew coming on.

Saturday Fun

Saturday Good Rat Marie (by marriage) and I took the VW in for it's 20K service and they gave us a loaner diesel Jetta for the day.

I promised GR Darren I would make a Nut Brown for his St. Patrick's party so we picked up the supplies at Bader Brewing in Vancouver.

I'd been to the Widmer Pub/Brewery just a week before for the first time and noticed that they offered free tours and I had called ahead to make reservations for the 12:30 slot. We got there at 11 and had a very nice lunch with an IPA for me... diet coke for Mrs. GR. After lunch we had a little time to kill so we walked around the neighborhood. We both agreed we wouldn't want to be walking there at night time. Then it was upstairs to the Widmer banquet room where we each received a Widmer bottle opener. There was a short video followed by a sampling of 4 or 5 of their brews. We walked across the street with about 18 other people to the brewery. No one was working so according to the tour guide it would be quiet and no one would have a problem hearing her. At the end we each received a Widmer glass. The tour was no more than 45 minutes and it might be something all the GR's would like to see.