Portland International Beer Festival reviewed

Another guest reviewer: Bill C, who lives in Portland (see photo below). This is completely unedited, so I hope it's readable. Todd M (the other guy in the pic) is supposed to send his own review sometime. And I'm happy to say I'll join both of them on vacation soon for some northwest beer imbibing.


The Lagavulin-aged barleywine was what I was most excited to try, but it
was disappointing. The big surprise for me was how good the dark
Norwegian beers were.

The best:

#1 Eel River Triple Exultation (Old Ale)
#2 De Proef La Grande Blanche (Imperial Wit)
#3 Haand Bryggeri Dark Force (Imperial Stout)

Other excellent beers:
Walking Man Mystery #2 -- Good, chocolaty and hoppy
Walking Man Mystery #1 -- IIPA, very good
Ninkasi Double IPA -- Hell yeah
Allagash Curieux -- very very good
Nogne-O Imperial Stout -- very very good

Still really good:
Terminal Gravity Triple -- very nice
Cascade Brewing Temptor -- good stuff
Haand Bryggeri Norwegian Wood -- very good, like a rauchbier
Eisenbahn Lust -- very good
Blaugies Saison d'Epeautre -- really good like Trippel Karmelit
Spezial Rauchbier -- mild and good
Speakeasy Double Daddy -- good stuff
Aecht Schlenkerla Helles -- quite good, smoky
Glazen Toren Jan de Lichte -- not as good as La Grande Blanche
Big Sky Ivan the Terrible -- very good

Still good:
De Proef K-O -- very nice
De La Senne Stouterik -- good, Guinness-like
Harviestouns Old Engine Oil -- not bad
Lindemans Pomme -- good green apple, better than Zoetzuur
De Proef Saison Imperial -- very nice
De Proef Brewer's Reserve -- pretty good
Mahr's Weissbock -- esthery, OK
Allagash Reserve Tripel -- good

Disappointing:
JW Lees Harvest Lagavulin -- sweet, flat
Super Baladin -- better than French beer
Uerige Doppelsticke -- sweet, not long
EKU 28 -- sweet
De Ranke Kriek -- sweet, tart
JW Lees Harvest (draft) -- less good than the aged one
Isle of Skye Wee Beast -- not heavy enough
De Proef Zoetzuur -- too sour, green apple
Flyer Tuck -- eh
Sick Duck -- nah
Alvinne Gaspar -- not very long for so bitter