Tag Archives: Portland

Old Town Brewing Gets Grimm

Our Stories / January 18, 2016 / No Comments.

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Portland residents are the lucky beneficiaries of a limited edition chocolate-chili beer from Old Town Brewing. The brewery is partnering with the Portland based television show, Grimm, for the second year in a row and we couldn’t be happier.

The special beer offering is called Chocolate Chili Chupacabra as a nod to one of the many legends Grimm pulls inspiration from. Available at the brewery and the downtown tap house, the beer is meant to be an homage to Mexican hot chocolate and is infused with cinnamon and chipotle chili. At 6.25% ABV you’re in for a great night if you order a couple of these.

The best part about all of this? Two dollars of every pint sold will be donated to support the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. It’s just another creative and delicious way to put our drinking to work.

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Man Cave: Whiskey After Shave

Man Cave / August 27, 2015 / No Comments.

whiskey-after-shaveWe’re just going to come right out and ask: what if your face smelled like whiskey? Not in an, I-accidentally-slept-at-that-dive-bar-last-night sort of fashion, but more of a fancy yacht owner kind of vibe. Well thanks to Maine’s Portland General Store (PGS), you can splash the scent of your favorite single-malt scotch right on your cheeks with their bestselling whiskey-scented after-shave. Specializing in apothecary and other vegan, all-natural products, PGS offers environmentally friendly, vintage-style grooming accessories for both men and women.

The after-shave splash contains several wholesome elements, so it never leaves your face feeling greasy or dehydrated. While no drying alcohol is used, sea minerals are added to hydrate and nourish your face, making your skin clean and clear after shaving. It also features sea kelp extract, blue-green algae, organic aloe vera juice, tea tree essential oil, and other all-natural ingredients. Best of all, it’s scented with whiskey, so your face will smell like your favorite spirit. If you’re looking to get your hands on a bottle, click here—it’s about time you found a natural alternative to your post-shave routine, anyway.

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Gluten, It’s No Longer The Enemy

Beer / January 19, 2015 / No Comments.

CoorsPeakCopperLager

Gluten intolerance and sensitivity is the mortal enemy of pizza lovers everywhere, not to mention it also inhibits you from, GASP, beer! MillerCoors recently announced that they are coming to the rescue, releasing a gluten free beer for those who suffer from a gluten allergy or who are following a gluten free diet.

Using brown rice, malted brown rice and protein pulled from peas brewers have replaced the barely, and created Coors Peak Copper Lager. The gluten free brew is described as a “light to medium-bodied crisp copper lager” with a “malty, slight caramel profile”. And don’t let the gluten free label fool you, the lager is not for those watching their waist line, containing 170 calories per 12 ounce serving.

MillerCoors is one of the first bigger brands to release a gluten free option, and will be competing in a small pool. However, the lager will only be sold in Seattle and Portland, and unfortunately there are no plans in place to distribute nation wide just yet. We can only hope, for the sake of our friends with a gluten intolerance that the beer will do well out on the West Coast and soon be available nation wide.

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One Time, At Beer Camp…

Beer / July 23, 2014 / No Comments.

Sierra-Nevada-Beer-Camp-Across-America
We’ve never been a big fan of going to camp, but when we heard about Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp Across America, we knew it was something we needed to be a part of. We also learned that it actually has nothing to do with camping, which is so clutch.

Beer Camp Across America is trying to be the largest craft beer celebration in history by hosting a multi-weekend traveling beer festival this summer. They’re celebrating the craft beer community – brewers and fans – and have invited every craft brewery in the country to take part in the festivities (that’s more than 2,700 breweries).

The festival is going to move from west to east, beginning in Chico, CA where Sierra Nevada started in 1980, and ending in Mills River, NC for the grand opening of their new East Coast brewery. Last weekend was the first weekend of the celebration and they spent July 19 in Chico and July 20 in San Diego. The rest of the stops are:

  • Friday, July 25th: Denver, CO – Civic Center Park, 5-10 PM
  • Sunday, July 27th: Chicago, IL – Navy Pier, 12-5 PM
  • Friday, August 1st: Portland, ME – Thompson Point, 5-10 PM
  • Saturday, August 2nd: Philadelphia, PA – Penn Treaty Park, 12-5 PM
  • Sunday, August 3rd: Mills River, NC – Sierra Nevada brewery, 1-6 PM

So, what can you expect with your $65 general admission ticket? Up to two featured beers per brewery, food vendors, live music, a tasting glass, and unlimited tastings (a $30 designated driver ticket is available). Proceeds will go to the state brewers guilds in the festival host states and research to foster the development of new types of hop varieties and barley crops.

In addition to the festivals, Sierra Nevada also put together a really cool 12-pack collaboration. They partnered with a dozen craft breweries to create 12 different beers for one mixed 12-pack (10 bottles, 2 cans). It’s available throughout the U.S. this summer, so you don’t have to worry if you won’t be able to make it to one of the local festivals.

Ready to get your ticket to Beer Camp Across America? Just go to www.sierranevada.com/beercamp

 

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Drink Early, Drink Often: Airport Bars

Our Stories / July 24, 2012 / No Comments.

AirportBarsOne thing we love about airports is how rules of the outside world just don’t apply. Take drinking. A gin and tonic with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich is not worthy of a second glance.

We imagine those who drink at 6AM to be on Singapore time, or to be nursing a paralyzing fear of flying. Usually, that’s not the case. Early airport bar patrons are just taking advantage of the permission they are given.

At Portland International Airport, you can hook yourself up with a cocktail as early as 5AM. We even think San Francisco serves its fliers at 4:30AM, but don’t quote us.

The reality is that alcohol is easy money for an airport. Nothing brings in the cash like a layover and a barstool. And with flight delays, weather cancellations and layovers that can last five or more hours, the airport bar is a cash cow.

That’s the good news for airport management. The bad news is that airport barflies make running a tight ship harder, and slower. Getting a passenger who’s had one too many through TSA and onto their ticketed flight is a time suck for staff and security.

That said, airport bars are better, hipper, tastier than ever. Here’s a list of the world’s top ten. See you there.

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Bone Luge: Bitchin’ or Barbaric?

Our Stories / January 24, 2012 / No Comments.

If you’ve “bone luged,” DIA invites you to write a guest post about this Portland, Oregon-based trend.

 

A bone luge is where you eat the marrow out of an animal bone, thus creating a channel for a bartender to pour the booze of your choosing from one end of the bone into your mouth.

 

We have not done this. It’s fair to say that we will not do this. So if you’re into it, have at it. Tell us how disgusting it really is (details welcome). Tell us how organic (in a Neadrethal kind of way) it is. Tell us if your friends do it. And where you do it.

 

The obvious question is: why? We buy the gothamist’s roll-up, “If there’s one thing we know about Americans, it’s that we love any opportunity for a grotesque display of gluttonous debauchery. And the bone luge has both, giving everyone the chance to act like a cartoon Viking celebrating a savage pillaging.”

 

Your first-person bone luge post awaits. Write us at drinkingamerica@gmail.com.

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