Local Brew Pub makes top 25 in the world

Draft Magazine's list of the world's 25 best beers of 2008 includes Kiwanda Cream Ale from Pelican Pub and Brewery in Pacific City.

A tasting panel chose three other beers from Oregon. The Abyss from Deschutes Brewery in Bend; Adam from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Southeast Portland and Apricot Ale from Cascade Brewing in Raleigh Hills.

That's a nice cross section of Oregon's 70-odd brewing companies: Deschutes is Oregon's second-largest brewery; its annual production of 5.6 million gallons. Hair of the Dog is one of Oregon's smaller specialty breweries at about 15,500 gallons a year. Cascade Brewing (Raccoon Lodge Brew Pub) and Pelican are brewpubs.

Kiwanda Cream Ale is easily one of the best light-bodied beers in the country and is bright, flavorful, and wonderfully easy to drink.

The Abyss, a Russian imperial stout is rich with roasted malts, chocolate notes and fruity fermentation qualities, all made more complex by its time on wood. Oak kisses the profile for an all-around rich experience. Deschutes celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008 and put out several commemorative brews, including this oak-aged imperial stout.

Adam, an Old ale drinks from first taste to swallow, the flavors magically work in unison, with chocolate and toffee beginning the show before giving way to subtle notes of pepper and citrus. It has an assertive hop bitterness that lasts into the aftertaste, along with toffee notes.

Apricot Ale is a Fruit beer, an intense apricot aroma races out of the glass. The flavor is sweet but not syrupy, with apricot flavors from beginning to end. This is everything a masterfully crafted fruit beer should be.

Not a local brew, but with ties to Pacific City is Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing Company. This Imperial IPA is crafted by Vinnie Cilurzo in Santa Rosa, California. Vinnie is Chenin Carlton's brother. Both kids choose careers in the booze business as Chenin and her husband Sean run Twist Wine Company, a tasting room in Pacific City where they pour their varieties of wine they make in Dundee, Oregon. They also pour this beer and other fine micros they find interesting. Pliny the Elder is a compelling hop story, from the name (a nod to the first-century philosopher who gave hops their Latin name) to the aroma and flavor profile. It begins with a light, bready taste that quickly gives way to citrusy, peppery hops, stiff bitterness, and an aftertaste filled with grapefruit, pineapple, and pepper. Vinnie also had a hand in the making of Isabelle Proximus by Lost Abbey Brewing, a Wood-aged beer, This is a collaborative effort brewed at Lost Abbey with help from Avery’s, Vinnie's Russian River, Allagash’s, and Dogfish Head’s brewers. This beer displays an incredible level of acidity, though it’s still able to exhibit complex flavors that range from lemon juice to leather. It is dry throughout, sour and highly effervescent. We expected nothing less from a collaborative project by five of the most talented brewers in the country.

See the entire Top 25 here.

Here at The Craftsman B&B, we do like beer, we always have Guinness Stout, Red Stripe and other local micro brews available for our guests.  We do specialize in our Eola-Amity Hills and Yamhill-Carlton District AVA wine list.

So what ever you like, wine, beer or both, come to Pacific City and enjoy them.  Remember, we are the only B&B within walking distance to all the restaurants, pubs and dive bars in Pacific City.

Facebook

Are you a member of facebook?  Have you heard about it?  Are your kids are on it but not you?  What am I talking about?

Facebook is a social networking site, it is the most popular, passing MySpace this past year.  It has over 150 million users worldwide.  Your friends became members, so should you.  This is a good way to keep up with your extended family living where ever, your school friends, you neighborhood.  You can post your status any time you think it's interesting, even when it's not.  Your friends can comment on items you post, like pictures, links you like, video, or other pages on facebook.  See if the items you like have fan pages.

The Oregonian wrote a story about it last week.  This can be an addiction, causing you to spend hours looking at what your friends are up to and you posting your status.

Cell phones even have facebook applications, so you can update on the go.  Upload pictures from a trip or a funny sign you saw.

Hey, The Craftsman B&B even has a facebook page!  If you are a member of facebook, you can become a fan and I think you should.  It will let all your friends know you liked your stay at our B&B.  That is what we like, our industry is based on word of mouth referrals.  We don't ask for, or expect tips like other lodging and service based businesses, we just ask you tell a friend about your stay.

So become a fan of us on facebook, we may run fan only specials in the future and you will be kept up to date on what's going on here and in Pacific City.  If you prefer Myspace, see our page here and become a friend.  Either way, you are networking and sharing about your stay in our little beach town on the Oregon Coast.  And as always, I encourage you to upload pictures of me, Oscar Meier, the official meeter and greeter.

Hidden Costs

Most people that travel stay in hotels at some point.  I, of course, like the travelers that stay in B&B's as much as they can.  Small business vs big business?  Many people think about that when booking their lodging.  

I think most of you have stayed in a hotel with a mini-bar.  You know, a fridge where they charge you $5.00 for a bottle of water, $4.00 for a candy bar, you see where I am going with this?  It is nice when you check into your room and see all the wonderful amenities.  Hotels are cutting back their amenities or charging for them at outrageous rates, 300 to 400 percent higher than retail.  How about $20.00 a day for Internet access?  Pay-per-View TV channels?  One mini-bar unit I found on the Internet has an infrared system built in.  You move an item for more than 10 seconds and it automatically adds it onto your room bill.  Some require a room key to open.  Are they trying to collect more from the add-ons than the cost of the room?

Here at The Craftsman B&B, we provide free wi-fi, DVD movies, water, soda and fresh baked cookies every day, and at no extra charge. While big hotels are glad to have you business, they charge you for every item you may want.  We like to provide you with items you want and need during your stay.  Do we have a mini fridge?  Yes we do, it's for our guests to put the items they brought with them to enjoy during their stay here in Pacific City.

Some hotels now offer a breakfast with your room.  Well, they call it a breakfast.  Mike and Laura stayed one place where they had a waffle iron and batter, you made your own waffles!  Some have been coffee and doughnuts.  More of a snack than a breakfast.

We provide a filling breakfast every morning for our guests.  We always start off with muffins, scones or a variety of other baked items.  Then its on to the full breakfast, sweet or savoury.  Most of the time, you won't be looking for a lunch spot during the day.

Ever ask the front desk person for directions, restaurant ideas?  We have heard a lot of stories about that.  People don't live where the hotel is and know nothing about the area.  Ask a clerk where the nearest grocery store is the next time your in a hotel, you will see what I mean.  We know this area, we know all the shop owners and chef's at the restaurants.  We make these relationships for you, our guest, to provide the best service we can.

The lodging industry isn't the only one adding on.  Ever buy a color printer?  It's under $200, they get their money with the ink.  Have a bank account?

Hey, we provide all the amenities for the cost of the room, and less than big hotels?  Our rates include no hidden fees, we even have included the lodging tax.  Book me a room at The Craftsman B&B!

News Cycle

Now that the hype of Obama has calmed down a bit, I have decided to support my President and "WOOF For Change."  I promise to be a good citizen and do what I can for this country.  I may have to make some sacrifices, as long is it doesn't cut into my nap times.  Not that life at The Craftsman B&B is ever that rough.

I walk, don't drive.  That saves the planet by not burning fossil fuels and saves the country my lessening my dependence on foreign oil.

I eat sustainable foods, duck and potato.  All my food is local, I eat in out of my dish twice a day, I don't go anywhere for food.

So if you want to Obama yourself, visit this website.

One of the rarest wild goose populations has a new wintering ground.

Here is an update on a blog I wrote last fall, you can read that here.

Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge has been selected to receive $800,000 from a federal land conservation fund to acquire 80 acres of pasture land that is one of just two wintering sites used by the entire world population of the Semidi Islands Aleutian cackling goose, which numbers only about 140 birds. The parcel is located just north of Pacific City.

The Nature Conservancy's initial purchase of the property, the Martella Farm just a mile North of The Craftsman B&B, was done in a timely manner while the US Fish & Wildlife Service worked to secure funding to purchase it from the Conservancy, without profit, and add it to the refuge.

“Acquiring this land for inclusion in the refuge is essential to the long-term protection of the Semidi birds, as it will permanently protect one of their most important wintering sites,” said Roy Lowe, project leader of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the Nestucca Bay Refuge. “Providing long-term secure wintering habitat for Aleutian cackling geese was one of the main reasons the refuge was established.”

“This property was a top national priority for addition to a refuge because its habitat is so critical for the remaining Aleutian cackling geese,” said Russell Hoeflich, Oregon director for The Nature Conservancy. “We congratulate the Fish and Wildlife Service for this refuge addition and thank them for doing an excellent job of protecting the incredible natural diversity of the Oregon coast for future generations.”

Addition of the parcel to the refuge will also help secure high-value habitat for thousands of other migratory birds that spend time around Nestucca Bay, where as many as 4,000 geese have been observed using pasture land. As refuge land, the newly acquired tract will be grazed to maintain the short grass pasture habitat that is essential for the geese, thus contributing to the local dairy farming economy and at the same time, helping to address depredation by the geese on nearby farm lands, Lowe said. The community of Pacific City is rapidly growing toward the site and a new housing development is being built just above it, increasing the need for protecting this important open space, he added.

I'm not allowed on Refuge land, being a bird dog, but I can tell you where to go to see the birds hanging out in the greatest town on the Oregon coast.  Come visit me this winter while the rare geese are munching in the fields.

You know your getting old when...

You know you are getting old when your casual conversations are about your health.  Well I just turned 11 and as I am over 90 pounds, that is like 86 human years.  So here is an update on how I've been doing.

As you may know, I tore a ligament in my knee a few weeks ago.  Well, it hasn't healed, so I'm taking Rimadyl again in hopes it will.  Mike and Laura were on vacation a few days after my accident so there was really nothing I was doing around the house, Sean and Chenin came over to feed me and keep me entertained, but I didn't heal like I should have.  I kept a watchful eye on the street and barked and ran out side every time someone walked by.  That is one of my jobs here at The Craftsman B&B.

Now that Mike is back, he is not letting me do much and makes me lay down all the time.  We haven't been for a walk either.  I am still hobbling around and can't put much weight on my leg.  Jumping up on the couch and bed are a challenge, if I don't get a good start at it.

So I'm going to wait another week to see if I get any better.  If I don't, it looks like I'm going to get surgery to repair the problem.

My mom, Pearl, is also on the same drugs I am.  She, of course is much older than I am and had two litters.  Plus living with my dad, Kobe, he's nuts and way too active with the ball fetching, put's a strain on her joints.

Think of me as an active dog with an injury, not an old man getting older.

Wish me luck in my recovery.  I don't like getting knocked out at the vet.

My 100th Post

Hey all, welcome to my 100th post.  Life here at The Craftsman Bed & Breakfast sure is interesting and filled with all kinds of stories I get to share with you, my readers.  I do love my job as a spoiled innkeepers dog as well as official meeter and greeter.  People in Pacific City holler and wave to me when I venture around town.  I'm famous.  I won't let that get to my head, too much and will continue to tell you about life on the Oregon coast.

Now for an update.  Today, I feel like a new dog.  Yesterday was not so good, I was knocked out or groggy all day.  Now I'm taking some sweet medication called Rimadyl.  It's good for old dogs.  I felt so good that I've been up the stairs a few times.  Sean came over and as usual, I got excited and started dragging my toys out to play with him.  He made me lay down and be still.  Good thing, because after he left, my knee started bothering me again.  I need to cut down on the rough-housing for a while.

So thanks to all that have read all my posts.  I like to hear guests that read a few, just to get to know me a little before their visit.  I will have a lot more information of what to do and see in and around Pacific City, so stay tuned.

I had to go to the vet.

I'm back from the vet and feeling a little groggy. I wasn't able to put any weight on my left hind leg. It turns out I tore a tendon in my knee. This should heal on it's own, but the doctor also found some bone spurs in the joint as well, scaring from previous injuries.

I know, I can be clumsy and have been known to lose my footing and fall down stairs in the past.  The wood floors and wood steps are shiny and a little slick, I don't get good traction.  I don't know how I did it but I really hurt myself.

It's a bummer, but laying low is what I need right now.

I have to take some pills with each meal for a week. After that, one pill a day with my breakfast, for another week.

Like I mentioned, taking it easy, so no rough-housing and if I do take a walk, just around Pacific City so I can pee on my favorite spots. I wouldn't mind a long belly rub and some spooning on the couch too.  Chewing on my toys will be a good pass of time while I recuperate.

Mike is going to block off the stairs while he is out, and I should go down the back stairs unless I think I'm felling good enough for the front.

So just like a professional athlete, I'm on the DL.  With the shorter days and slower season here at The Craftsman B&B, I hope to be back on my feet, meeting and greeting at 100% if a few weeks.

Happy New Year!

Well, I survived the New Years Eve celebrations.  Mike and Laura went to Twist for the champagne tasting and came back here for a quick dinner.  Yeah, my dinner was 2 hours late, I hate when that happens.  But I ate it in a matter of seconds as usual.  Mike and Laura then left again, was I going to spend the holiday alone?  Our guests came back and I was happy to see them, but not the same as my family.

Then I heard the VW pull up in the driveway, Mike was back.  He got my leash and collar, were we going to go for a late night walk?  No, just a quick ride over to the Inkens.  We watch Carson count down to the new year and Sean sabered some more bottles of champagne.  BTW, he is way better at it then the video in yesterdays blog.  No splurg of champagne on the floor, just the "smoke" of the gas pressure in the bottle.  I watched the kids running around, it tired me out so I hopped up on the couch to get out of the way.

I was really worried that there would be a lot of fireworks.  I hate fireworks.  There were a few, but it wasn't that bad, I thank the rain for that.  The kids did have confetti guns, and they made a pop, I was pretty tired by midnight, so I just played along.  I did get a shot in the face by one of those confetti guns, oh well, we were ringing in the New Year.

Wishing you the best in 2009 and hope to see you here in Pacific City at The Craftsman B&B.