Did everyone make it down to Double Mountain's 6th Anniversary Party? We went and partied long enough to get in some dancing, some tattooing, and some pizza eating! As predicted I didn't last too long, but I had a great time showing my support for such a fantastic brewery. Kyle (my husband and brewer) stayed most of the day and night celebrating all the hard work he and the other brewers and staff have put into the past year. The highlights for me were seeing him pour Matt Swihart a pint of Swi-Plane, a special tribute beer to Matt with hints of gin added to Vaporizer, and when Kyle got to tap into the last keg Imperial Chaos. Imperial Chaos was the first beer that Kyle developed the recipe for and brewed at Double Mountain, it's been waiting in the wings for about 3 years.

Here are a few photos I snapped during the party!

Hope you all had a great, beer-filled weekend.

Matt and Charlie, congratulations on six years!

Double Mountain has some fantastic events coming up in the next couple weeks! This weekend they are offering a vertical tasting of Fa La La La La. Which is one of the most delicious winter beers around. If you are in town for the weekend you should definitely stop in and take advantage of this great offering!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Hope to run into you at Double Mountain.

This past Saturday, Henni's Kitchen and Bar hosted it's first Family Style Wine Dinner with Rich Cushman from Viento Wines. The atmosphere was cozy and intimate, and the wines flowed freely. The food was delicious! Christiaan served up anti-pasti, mussels, calamari, shrimp, radicchio salad, lobster risotto, braised greens, lamb ossobuco... and that's not all! The wine pairings were great and went so well with the dishes. The food was fantastic and the company was fabulous. I hope they do more of these dinners in the future!

Are you all planning to attend the annual Hops Fest this Saturday in Hood River? This beer festival signals the start of fall to me. I look forward to it every year. I love the bold fresh hop beers! All the information you need about the event is here. It's a really family friendly event which makes it inviting for everyone.

Here's a video I shot for Double Mountain for their Red and Green Fresh Hop Beers.

Music by Matt Coughlin and the Growlers

You can see my post from last years Hops Fest here.
See you Saturday.

pFriem Family Brewers is officially opening tomorrow, Saturday August 4th! The grand opening will go from 2pm-11pm (kiddos are welcome until 8pm). The grand opening celebration will take place in the parking lot to the east of the brewery. There will be live music, food, and with the waterfront park is right across the street which makes stopping by this kid-friendly event a must! The tasting room will be open during the event with a limited menu.

pFriem Family Brewers is producing fantastic Belgian-influenced ales. Kyle and I stopped by last week and ordered a full tasting tray. We tried the Belgian style beers: Wit, Strong Blonde, Belgian IPA, and Strong Dark. As well as the NW Style Beers: IPA and Blonde IPA. They were all fantastic. Kyle loved the Belgian beers and I really loved the IPAs.

Not only is this event a great chance to sample their amazing beers, but it's also a wonderful way to support a new brewery in th Gorge. Hope to see you all at the Grand Opening!

On Saturday Christiaan of Henni's Kitchen and Bar White Salmon hosted a fantastic event to save the White Salmon pool. Just $5 got you a plate of great food prepared by Christaan and his team. The weather was absolutely perfect, and everyone was out enjoying the day, the wine from Viento and Domaine Pouillon, the beer from Everybody's Brewing, the food, the music, and the games. It was a great way to celebrate on Father's Day weekend.

I went over early in the morning just in time to capture the guys getting the pig into the smoker. It was quite a feat. Then, I came back in the late afternoon to enjoy the event and snap photos....

The food was great and it was so wonderful to see so many people having such a fun time. This event really highlighted everything that's so special about a Gorge summer.

*if you see your photo here, or if I took your photo and you'd like a copy of it, please email me at kacie@gorgeinthegorge.com

The Gorge Grown fundraiser, Puerco-Vino-Queso, was held Monday evening at the 10 Speed Coffee Roastery. Everyone was in such good spirits, and the food was fantastic. Anna, the 10 Speed baker, prepared all the food including pork skewers from Mountain Shadow pigs, dolmas made with swiss chard, and freshly baked crackers to pair with the cheeses which were provided by the Cascade Creamery in Trout Lake, Washington. Three local wineries, Memaloose, Analemma, and Viento were all there pouring tastings. To top it all of Matt, Anna's husband and Double Mountain brewer, was playing great music throughout the evening, and Giselle Kennedy debuted a wonderful micro-film about supporting Gorge Grown and local farmers.

The evening was such a great showcase of many wonderful things the Gorge has to offer. For those of you that attended, what was your favorite thing about the event?

Don't forget to mark your calendars... the Gorge Grown Farmers' Market opens on May 3rd!

Last night, Kyle and I left the baby with our friends, and headed for a fabulous date in Portland. We were invited by Double Mountain Brewery to attend CHOCHON555. COCHON555 is a food tour created by Brady Lowe. The goal is to raise consumer awareness and education about heritage pigs. COCHON555 is an extraordinary tasting event presented in the form of an Iron Chef-style cooking competition. Five amazing, locally renowned chefs were each asked to prepare a heritage farm pig. Not only does this tour provide local foodies with spectacular dishes, but it also helps promote sustainable farming of heritage brand pigs.

Adam Sappington from The Country Cat.


Vitaly Paley (on the right, with Patrick McKee, left) from Paley's Place.

Rita Jia You from Lucky Strike.

Jason Barwikowski from The Woodsman Tavern.

Naomi Pomeroy from Beast (with me).

Everyone who attends the event is asked to vote for their favorite chef, menu, or dish.

I voted for Naomi and her team from Beast because of this...

Glazed Pork Belly
Angelino Plum and Ginger Confiture
Micro Mustard Greens

The stage set up for awarding the winning team.

And the Golden Pig Statue goes to...


Naomi Pomeroy and her team from Beast.

The winning menu:
Foie Gras Poached Pork Loin, Aged Sauvingnon Blanc Pickled Fennel
Devilied Pork Mousse with Oregon Black Truffle, Toasted Brioche, Celery and Apple Slaw
Mini-Parker House Rolls, 16 Hour Grapewood Smoked Pork Shoulder, Collards and Crispy Fried Shallots
Glazed Pork Belly, Angelino Plum and Ginger Confiture, Micro Mustard Greens
Pig Face, Face Emullsion
Brined Heart and Pork Fat Crepinette, Hazelnut Vinegerette
Pork Belly Consome, Pickled Enoki Mushrooms and Shaved Lardo
Porky Pudding, Cinnoman and Sugar Cracklings, Whipped Vanilla Bean Lardo

Can you believe all of that is served on that one little plate!?

Congratulations to Naomi and her team, and good luck at the Grand Cochon competition!

It was so clear that all of the restaurants, chefs and their teams worked so hard to prepare creative and delicious menus using the amazing heritage pigs from Worden Hill Farm, McKinlay Farm, Mosaic Farms, and Joseph Wells Heritage Farm. It was also really wonderful to see the way that the chefs worked together and helped support one another. You can read more about the mission of COCHON555 here. It was an honor to meet these wonderful chefs and their teams, and it's a great tour to support. To see if COCHON555 is coming to your city, check here.

Thanks Double Mountain, for inviting us to come!

The Hood River Hops Fest is a really fun, outdoor beer festival in early October.  We look forward to this festival every year.  It's a great oppurtunity to see friends, make friends, and get a little tipsy on some of the finest, hoppiest beers around.  There are lots of fun activities for kids, but keep in mind, they don't allow kids into the tasting area.  This year we headed down with Kyle's folks and took shifts hanging out with the babe.  There is lots of great food, music, and vendors. It's usually pretty chilly so bundle up and come celbrate the hop harvest with a bunch of wonderful people.

The guys from Solstice Wood Fire Cafe cooking up there fantastic County Girl Cherry Pizza.

Kyle and his parents ordered pulled pork sandwiches from Apple Valley BBQ.

While I opted for a little salad and a piping hot empenada from Four & Twenty Blackbirds.

A nice big line for Everybody's Brewing.

This was my first year attending Gorge Grown's Feast on the Farm, a summer evening event celebrating, and benefitting local food.  Restaurants donate food, winereis and breweires donate drinks, people donate their time, all to put on this wonderful event.  By buying a ticket to Feast ont he Farm, you get a wonderful meal and you are supporting the food growers of the Gorge.  It's a really great event.  With live music, places to sit, and good friends to share it with, this event is definitely worth attending. 

This year's event was held on the last real day of summer.  It was warm, festive, welcoming, and really fun.  I'm so glad we went!

There's kid friendly food options, face painting, and more.