drink

And another one

Pacific Northwest and Northern California breweries hogged this year’s winter ale roundup, mainly because our region produces enough tasty brews to render other regions obsolete.

Well, almost.

Great Divide Brewing Hibernation Ale – available only at Jim’s Homebrew, 2619 N. Division St. – makes more than a couple of the old Northwest standbys taste weak by comparison.

The chocolate malt is so rich, you’d swear you were drinking chocolate milk if it weren’t for the 8.1% alcohol by volume and the subtle (buzzword alert) hop profile, which gave this brew a spicy kick.

Extreme sports, extreme beer

Deschutes Brewery recently sponsored fellow Bend, Ore., company Rage Films for the production of an extreme sports DVD, “Fresh Flicks.”

The disc will feature mountain biking, kayaking, wakeboarding, rock crawling, skiing and snowboarding video footage.

Free copies will be available for anyone of legal drinking age starting Dec. 9 through www.blackbutteporter.com.

Six in the mix

By now you’ve read this year’s rundown of winter ales. Here’s a mixpack of non-winter ales that feel mighty fine on a cold day.

1. Old Rasputin Russian

Imperial Stout (8.9% ABV,

North Coast Brewing)

2. Gonzo Imperial Porter

(9.5% Flying Dog Brewery)

3. Barney Flats Oatmeal

Stout (5.7% ABV,

Anderson Valley Brewing)

4. Rogue Imperial Stout (11%

ABV, Rogue Brewing)

5. Alaskan Smoked Porter

(6.5% ABV, Alaskan

Brewing)

6. Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial

Stout (9.5% ABV, Great

Divide Brewing)

– Tom Bowers, staff writer