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.

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.

New Year's Eve

As you know, today is the last day of 2008.  With guests staying with us here at The Craftsman B&B, we won't get to crazy.  We will go over to Twist Wine for their champagne tasting.  In addition to the regular wines they pour visitors, Chenin has selected a few bottles of bubbles for tastings.  She has worked in champagne houses before so she knows a thing or two about the sparkling wine.  

Chenin is also an expert in opening a bottle so the pressure just barely releases, known as a nun's fart.  If you pop the cork, you loose the bubbles, who wants that?

On the total opposite of the "fart," Sean is an expert of sabering a bottle.  He uses a special knife, runs it up to the neck of the bottle and breaks the bottle open.  The cork goes flying with the ring of the bottle attached.  Quite a show.

So come on down to our sleepy beach town of Pacific City and ring in the new year.  You can learn about sparkling wine too.