Beer-cation

Beer-cation, that's right, a vacation trek in search of beer. Sound good? Pacific City is home to the Pelican Pub & Brewery as well as our bed and breakfast, The Craftsman B&B. They are an award winning brewery, we are and award winning B&B.

Darron Welch, the brew master at the Pelican entered 11 beers to the Australian International Beer Awards this year and won 11 medals. That's an awesome accomplishment, a master at his craft. See all the awards their beer has won here.

We have won BedandBreakfast.com's Best of the West and LanierBB.com's Best Historic Renovation.

We think it's time you visited Pacific City, our still tiny beach town and see how one of the nicest places in the North West will inspire you to greatness.

Don't be afraid of staying at a B&B. We are the "no lace, do doilies" B&B. Men love our place and women love it too. TripAdvisor.com rates us # 1 in Pacific City and #3 for the Oregon Coast.

Come to Pacific City for the beer, stay for the friendly people and great hospitality.

How hoppy is your beer?

Beer drinking isn't like is was 30 years ago, partly because beer making has evolved. Smokey and the Bandit was a movie about smuggling Coors Beer. Being a Colorado Native, a lot of people smuggled Coors Beer in the 70's. Due to the company policy that the beer always had to be cold, they limited it's distributorship to the West. Most house guests we had growing up took home Coors Beer. It was rare and different then what they could get at home. It's a light beer, great for a hot Summer day or to chug after a softball game, I don't know why I know this.

Not that this blog is about Coors, but it is about a beer that is limited in distribution and production. If you are a beer drinker with any merit in your exploration of the liquid arts, you know about Pliny the Elder. This double hopped beer from Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, California. This is one of the top beers in the world and I have blogged about it before. It's hoppy, real hoppy. That is not my taste in beer so I am in the minority.

Well, there is a limited time of the year when the Hoppiest beer I have ever tasted is released. Pliny the Younger! 11.0%ABV, 1.098 O.G, GOBS of BUs, that's beer talk. Pliny the Younger was Pliny the Elder's nephew, in the case of this beer, the "Younger" is a triple IPA, hopped three times more than Russian Rivers standard IPA, and is dry hopped four different times.

So where can I get this beer? In Pacific City, at Twist, tonight! Why is tonight in bold? Because people from all over will be there for this nectar and the keg will be empty before the night is out, trust me on that.

The best part about you coming to try this beer is The Craftsman B&B is walking distance to Twist. No drinking and driving in Pacific City, all the pubs and tasting rooms are walking distance. Don't forget to sample the wines from Basket Case, Shy Chenin, Reversal and Stumbling Block.

If your stuck in Portland and want to try some beers, check out Bailey's Taproom. But I got to warn you, beer and wine taste better at the beach.

A Twist in the story

I have blogged in the past about our local (and loco) winemakers, Sean and Chenin. They take care of me when Mike and Laura leave me for a vacation. I'm not taking it personal, but if I had to live with me, I'd need a vacation too. So back to the winemakers. Their tasting room, Twist, is right here in Pacific City! I don't go over there much, because the bamboo floors are a little too slick for my 3 legs that still work. But I drop in to say hi.

Well, they had another drop in, the guys from BREWPUBLIC.com. They wrote a great story about Twist, the wine, the beer, the winemakers and Pacific City, read it here.

Not much else to say it's a great story. OK, I do have something to say. When you come to Pacific City for the beer and wine, I think you should stay with me, at The Craftsman B&B.

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.