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Pints for Prostates Portland Pale Ale Invitational Celebrates America's Favorite Beer Style

PORTLAND, OREGON – The inaugural Pints for Prostates Portland Pale Ale Invitational will be held on July 25 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Ore. The event celebrates the allure, complexity and flavors of pale ale.

The tasting event features pale ales from a dozen Oregon breweries and a dozen breweries from around the globe. Presented by Beer West magazine in conjunction with the Oregon Brewers Festival, the event benefits the Pints for Prostates campaign.

“We are bringing together a collection of great pale ales in a city where pale ales are truly appreciated, all to raise awareness about an important men’s health issue,” said Rick Lyke, a drinks journalist and prostate cancer survivor. Lyke founded Pints for Prostates in 2008 after successful prostate cancer surgery. “Our goal is to reach men through the universal language of beer with a message about the importance of early detection.”

Tickets for the Portland Pale Ale Invitational are $30 and will be available online starting on March 1 at http://www.pintsforprostates.org . All net proceeds support the mission of the Pints for Prostates campaign.

“We are excited about the brewers that have agreed to take part and the world class pale ales they will be pouring. Beer fans will get the chance to try a wide variety of pale ale styles in a single session,” said Megan Flynn, publisher and editor-in-chief of Beer West magazine. “Pale ales have become America’s favorite type of craft beer. This event salutes the passion brewers and beer drinkers have for pale ale.”

The 24 participating breweries include: BridgePort Brewing, Portland, Ore.; Caldera Brewing, Ashland, Ore.; Cascade Brewing, Portland, Ore.; Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore.; Fire Mountain Brew House,Carlton, Ore.; Firestone Walker Brewing, Paso Robles, Calif.; Full Sail Brewing, Hood River, Ore.; Lompoc Brewing, Portland, Ore.; MacTarnahan's Brewing, Portland, Ore.; Moa Brewing, Marlborough, New Zealand; New Holland Brewing, Holland, Mich.; Ninkasi Brewing, Eugene, Ore.; NoDa Brewing, Charlotte, N.C.; Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, Colo.; Oregon Brew Crew, homebrewers from Portland, Ore.; Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore.; Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, Calif.; Silver City Brewery, Bremerton, Wash.; Snake River Brewery, Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Southern Oregon Brewing, Medford, Ore.; Stone Brewing, Escondido, Calif.; Tree Brewing, Kelowna, British Columbia; 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, Calif.; and Wells & Young’s, Bedford, United Kingdom.

“This year marks the 25th annual Oregon Brewers Festival so we are proud to be able to help support Pints for Prostates by making our venue available for the Portland Pale Ale Invitational on the eve of our silver anniversary,” said Art Larrance, one of the founders of the Oregon Brewers Festival. “The Oregon Brewers Festival is already one of the world’s biggest beer events and the Portland Pale Ale Invitational is another reason for people to visit and enjoy great craft beer.”

Judges at the Great American Beer Festival award medals in seven different pale ale categories. Pale ale categories attract the most entries and are the hottest contested.

“Men are 33 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than women are to have breast cancer, yet few men know about the critical importance of early detection,” Lyke said. “The support of Beer West magazine, the Oregon Brewers Festival and the two dozen great craft brewers donating beer for the event will help us reach an audience that needs to hear our message.”

About Pints for Prostates

Pints for Prostates is a 501(c)3 a campaign that reaches men through the universal language of beer to encourage them to take charge of their health. The group was founded by prostate cancer survivor and beer writer Rick Lyke in 2008. The grassroots effort raises awareness among men about the importance of regular health screenings and PSA testing by making appearances at beer festivals, social networking and pro bono advertising. According to the National Cancer Institute, 240,890 new prostate cancer cases were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2011. More information is available at www.pintsforprostates.org. Pints for Prostates also has a presence on Facebook and Twitter (@pints4prostates).

About Beer West Magazine

Founded in 2007, Beer Northwest has grown to become the leading beer culture and lifestyle magazine in the Northwest. In January 2011, the magazine expanded into California and became Beer West. The magazine covers the thriving West Coast beer market and is the only regional publication of its kind. Beer West has more than doubled its circulation and visibility in the past year, with a focused readership of 80,000 beer and food enthusiasts. Beer West is a celebration of the unique Western beer-loving life.

About the Oregon Brewers Festival

The Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation's longest running and best loved craft beer festivals. Situated on the west bank of the Willamette River, with towering Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for anyone who loves craft beer. With a laid back attitude and scores of award-winning beers, the festival reflects the essence of the city of Portland, and is the crowning jewel of Oregon Craft Beer Month. The OBF was at the forefront of exposing craft beers to the public. A total of 84 craft breweries from all parts of the nation will serve more than 30 beer styles to nearly 80,000 beer lovers from around the world. Another 50 specialty beers will be available for tastes in the Buzz Tent.

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Alexander Keith's Virtual Beer Tasting

Alexander Keith’s is set to sell three of their beers in the U.S: Nova Scotia Style Lager, Nova Scotia Style Pale Ale and Nova Scotia Style Brown Ale.

In order to celebrate the launch, the brewery invited several members of the beer community to participate in a virtual tasting. Participants were sent a package that included the three beers mentioned above, a glass, and beer specification sheets.

Virtual Tastings seem to be a new way for brewers to communicate with their customers. Dundee and 21st Amendment are two American craft brewers who have recently held such tastings. I think it is a great marketing idea. Ideally, the brewer gets to explain the beer, what he was looking to brew, and answer any questions. Beer writers, bloggers, and consumers then share their experiences with others and spread the word and hopefully you have more educated beer drinkers and higher sales numbers for the brewery.

On June 7th, I logged onto Facebook (Alexander Keith’s choice for the tasting) to listed to Brewmaster Graham Kendall as he spoke live from the brewery. Kendall explained a little about the brewery and its history before leading the group through a tasting of all three beers.

Editor’s Note: The following are my tasting notes of the three beers.
Lager
5.4% ABV
23 IBUs

The lager poured a clear, golden yellow color with a pen width white head. The aroma is very mild, faint malt with even fainter hops. The body is smooth, with low levels of carbonation and a milt malt flavor. A very faint bitter finish, and overall a little bland.

Pale Ale
5.4% ABV
18 IBUs

The pale ale poured a crystal clear golden yellow color with a pen width white head. The aroma is corn like, a flavor that continues onto the front palate. Again an ever so faint bitter finish, followed by an off-putting taste.

Brown Ale
5.4%
18 IBUs

The brown ale poured a light brown color with reddish hues. The aroma is candy with notes of brown sugar. The body has a light malt base underneath plenty of sugar. There is almost no finish, and overall the beer tastes like liquid candy.



After the tasting there were plenty of interesting questions.

TheFoamingHead: Why choose these three beers for the U.S. launch?

Alexander Keith’s: The brewing teams in Canada (Labatt) and the U.S. (Anheuser-Busch) got together to decide on the styles. They wanted to pick styles that would fit with the Keith's heritage, and that U.S. beer drinkers would like!

Seth Mellin, of the blog From My Mellin, asked why the brewery would have identical ABV’s for three very different styles of beer. Kendall mentioned the large brewing process and cited the need to eliminate any variation between different batches (a process that involves blending), but as far as I could tell he did not speak towards the philosophical ideology of having three identical ABVs.
Kendal was also asked if he was afraid that craft beer drinkers would not even give Keith’s beers a chance die to the brewery’s relationship to big brewers (AB-InBev is an owner). He stated he wanted the beers to be able to speak for themselves.

Kendall had made several references to them being a craft brewer and having craft beer drinkers as the target market which lead me to ask why they consider themselves to be a craft brewer. (Side Note: There are so many ideas of what makes a beer “craft”. The more popular ones revolve around the size of brewery, owner of brewery, and quality of beer.) Kendall said that Alexander Keith’s considers themselves “craft” because of the quality of their product and their passion for brewing.

The brewer’s answer to my last question was a great answer and had me getting excited to drink his beer. Unfortunately I think Alexander Keith’s has missed the boat a little bit. The beer seemed to scream either macro, or gateway micro. Their self-image and marketing campaign seem to be built on the craft beer world. In my opinion, something has to give. Either they need to change their campaign or they need to start brewing some more interesting beers.

21st Amendment Fireside Chat

I am a sucker for craft beer in a can. I am an even bigger sucker for very good craft beer in a can, which is why any new offering from 21st Amendment is a must buy. The San Francisco based brewpub has quickly gained notoriety for their brews. I have been able to chase down and review their India Pale Ale, Watermelon Wheat, and Back In Black. When their new release, a spiced winter ale called Fireside Chat showed up on the shelf of my local craft beer store, there was no doubt as to what I was buying.

Fireside Chat poured a brownish color with ruby hues and a finger width, tan head. The nose is malty, with spices, and a little dark fruit that might be heading towards the sour side. The body is smooth, with some spices, yet light for a winter ale. There is a slight offness/sour notes that dont seem to beling in a spiced winter ale. The finish offers a little dry bitterness.

Overall, this is a below average beer. It is mild for a winter ale, as I was expecting a bigger backbone. The main problem here is the sour like notes that appeared in the nose and stayed throughout the rest of the beer. I can't imagine this is what 21st was aiming for and if it was I am a little confused. It may be a bad batch of beer, which is possible but quite unusual for a canned beer. 21st Amendment has earned my trust so I will give this another shot but the beer that came out of this particular can was not very good at all.

21st Amendment Back In Black

21st Amendment Monk's Blood

21st Amendment Watermelon Wheat

I have been waiting to taste 21st Amendement's Watermelon Wheat for a long time. Fruit beers are not my favorite style but I had heard nothing but raves about this beer and 21st's IPA is a great beer. Watermelon checks in at around 5% ABV and the can says "yeast inside, agitate before opening".

Watermelon Wheat poured a clear, golden yellow color with a frothy white head. The nose had plenty of wheat up front, with some hints of melon on the back end. The body is short, with low carbonation. The beer is yeasty up front with very light watermelon flavoring underneath. The finish had a lingering yeasty dryness and a light watermelony aftertaste.

Overall, this is a very interesting beer. The watermelon flavoring is there, but I might not have been able to identify the flavor if I was blind tasting the beer. The yeast is more prominent than the watermelon which seemed a bit syrupy. I thought this was a decent beer, but not nearly as good as their IPA.

21st Amendment IPA

Another new beer on tap at Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, NY means another new blog post for The Foaming Head. The new beer is 21st Amendment's India Pale Ale. 21st has canned their beers since June of 2008, but the beers have only recently been available in New York.

21st's IPA poured a semi-hazy, golden color with a big frothy white head. The aroma consists mostly of dry, floral hops. The cascade is most apparent. The body has a creamy mouthfeel with some light, pale malt up front. The hops start to make their presence felt in the middle of the palate and lead to a very dry finish. The beer leaves lots of beautiful circular lacing.

Overall, this is a really nice IPA. The hops are not overwhelming so the hop heads that love American IPA's may not be impressed but I think this is a nice beer. There is plenty of flavor and the hops balance well with the pale malt. This is a real nice IPA for the Summer and I am sure I will be stopping in for a few more.

21st Amendment Brewery

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The 21st Amendment Brewery has decided to package their two beers in cans. Hell or High Watermelon Wheat and Brew Free! or Die IPA will now be available to Bay Area craft beer fans in cans. Brewery founders Nico Freccia and Shaun O'Sullivan decided on cans for three main reasons. The first reason is that canned ceer is better for the environment as less energy is used to produce the cans. The second reason was that cans can go many places that bottles cannot, and the third reason was to protect the beer. As opposed to bottles, cans do not allow light in which helps keep the beer fresh.