THE BIER STIEN, EUGENE, OREGON & LAURELWOOD BREWING CO., PORTLAND, OREGON

http://www.thebierstein.com/

This is me and my uncle Conway at The Bier Stein in Eugene.  What a fabulous place!

 If I were to die tomorrow, I would hope that there’s a Bier Stein in heaven, especially since that’s what it felt like being there. Visiting my uncle last week brought me to this haven; the only vexation is I live in Tarzana, California. If I only lived in Eugene! [Sigh!] I was inspired to order--by Yelp advocacy—their “Beer-Cheese” soup. My soups rich, creamy, fondue texture was amplified when I dipped the sourdough bread into it. God, it was good. I’m going to try and recreate it at home for a fondue party in future. Along with that I had the Gouddhist Panini on a crunchy grilled chiabatta with turkey, smoked gouda, tomato, pesto and garlic aoli. I paired that with Laurelwood Public House (a brewpub in Portland) Workhorse IPA, which was on tap. In the Portland Airport, Laurelwood Brewing Company has a small restaurant/brewery stationed there, on my flight “stop-over” I also tried their Hop Monkey IPA which I preferred to the Workhorse IPA for it’s balanced hops. I wish there was a Laurelwood Brewery near my place; that Hop Monkey is still on my mind. Maybe I can find it at BevMo....hmmmm.

http://www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com/  

The Bier Stein’s mind-bottling (pun intended) selection of over 800 bottled beers was another vexation that I don’t live in Eugene, so many beers in one place. A great variety of German beers (a homage to the name sake) mixed with a healthy number of national micro breweries, many I recognized some new to my knowledge. And there was also a wall filled with a lovely selection of Belgian brews.

I had the opportunity to chat with Eric, one of the employees there that was also a beer enthusiast. I was checking out their refrigerated selection when he approached me for help. I asked about Pliney the Elder, a Russian River Brewing Company double IPA that’s eluded me (a friend recommended it years ago) only to learn they didn’t have it in bottles but were serving it at a tasting Thursday, October 14th. Another vexation! My stay in Eugene would be over then. By the way, if you buy bottled beer there to take home it’s 15% off; the other option is drinking it there without the discount, but still a value.

One of the cool novelties of the Bier Stein are pub glasses (including a ½ yard glass) available for purchase at the front; I wanted to buy a few for my collection. There’s nothing like a frosty glass with the name of favorite brews at home to enjoy your favorite brews in; you feel like you’re in your own private pub!

Oh Beer Gods, please make a Bier Stein within staggering distance of my home!

Craft Beers and Breweries of the Pacific Northwest: A Beer Lover's Guide to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia

KING'S ESTATE WINERY, EUGENE, OREGON

http://www.kingestate.com/

I have to say that if there was an amazing bucolic place to “settle down,” the landscape that is King’s Estate is a little bit of paradise.  My uncle and I were blessed with a sunny Oregon day, which displayed green as far as the eye could see and the facility of the winery looked like a French country castle.   Equally beautiful inside was the tasting room, located just inside the main entrance, in a vaulted ceiling room, covered in wood finished walls.  You couldn’t ask for a better place to taste wine, unless you stepped outside and see the amazing view, wine tasting goes good with that too.  It’s definitely a wonderful location for weddings, corporate parties, or just a day trip to restore your soul from the daily grind (“my case” scenario).   I was able to taste a number of their white wines and six different King’s Estate pinot noirs; all very focused wines in their structure, well executed and worth tasting again and again.  Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to try the heavier reds; perhaps my next visit will yield a more extended tasting.  I did get to experience the free tour of their state of the art wine making facility.  Part of the tour involved walking into the temperate coolness of the barrel room, and when entered, gave off an air of wine infused French oak.  I inhaled deeply, an uncontrollable reflex, I had to have more of that sensual aroma like no other.  Later I had lunch at the restaurant, a nice touch to the property and also, a great way to pair lovely wines with other Oregon offerings from organically grown estate gardens.  I only wish I could have spent the day here, tasting all the wines and having both lunch and dinner.  Next time…   If you’re in the Eugene area, make King’s Estate one of your stops, you’ll be glad you did, and perhaps stop by again.  Check out their amazing website for a virtual tour.      

http://www.kingestate.com/

King Estate. (King Estate Winery in Eugene, Oregon): An article from: Wines & Vines