Still cold enough for barley wine

While Portland is known for hosting large beer festivals that bring in hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, plenty of local breweries have also taken to hosting their own smaller, cheaper versions of these festivals. This Friday and Saturday, Lucky Labrador Brewing Company is hosting the Barleywine and Big Beer Tastival at its Northwest Portland location. This means that either we’re still in winter or that those barley wines are just too good to replace with spring seasonals quite yet.

Lucky Lab currently has 28 beers lined up for the tasting and they expect to have about 20 more available at the event. While most of these come from other breweries based in Portland, throughout Oregon and other western states, Lucky Lab will be hosting a few of its own wares.

There will be a chance to taste Lucky Lab’s Old Yeller barley wine from both 2007 and 2009. The 2007 is assumed to be at its peak this year. The more interesting choice though will probably be the Son of Old Yeller, a newly released version of the original barley wine that has been aged in bourbon barrels. This brew should be slightly sweeter and thicker than the original style.

Another bourbon barrel-aged brew will be Bridgeport Brewing Company’s Old Knucklehead barley wine, the kegs of which are likely to dry up pretty fast at the Tastival. With twice the malt and hops of regular ales, along with a 10 percent alcohol by volume, Knucklehead is arguably stronger and heavier than Son of Old Yeller, but perhaps not as flavorful.

Some other local craft breweries taking part in the Tastival will be Hopworks Urban Brewery, New Old Lompoc Brewing and Bridgeport Brewing, supplying us with local favorites. Yet, many of these are familiar brews that we’ve seen before. The Tastival is a good time to taste not only what local breweries have been cooking up, but also what breweries from around Oregon and other states have in stock.

Old Foghorn is a solid, delicious barley wine ale from Anchor Steam Brewing. While based in San Francisco, Calif., Anchor Steam uses an extra dose of Cascade hops for this barley wine, making it a bit more hoppy than most of its kind.

For those who really love hops, though, the Alpha Dog IPA from Laughing Dog Brewing is worth a full glass. With 127 IBU (a measure of how bitter a beer is), it packs a punch and is one of the hoppiest IPAs out there. Portlanders can also take some pride in knowing that this beer also acquires many of its hops from around Mt. Hood.

New Old Lompoc Brewing first released its Old Tavern Rat back in late December, and this is a good chance to try it. A defining winter beer, this barley wine isn’t quite as strong as its counterparts tend to be, but it’s fruity and malty enough to keep you warm.

Oakshire Brewing is back with its Very Ill Tempered Gnome barley wine, which you might have tried at the Holiday Ale Festival last December. The Eugene brew usually doesn’t stick around longer than December, but it will be available at the Tastival for perhaps the last time this year.

The Tastival will mostly host barley wines like these, but a number of strong ales and IPAs will also be on tap. With over 40 beers to choose from, there will be plenty to try. But get there early, as the best beers tend to disappear fast.