Next time you visit Portland, you need to go to Belmont Station or Johns Market to try to find great beers like the ones pictured above. Okay, here’s what you can count on when tasting some of Oregon’s best:

Laurelwood Brewery (Portland Oregon) – Vinter Varmer Seasonal Ale
I’m not sure if you can find this beer at this time of the year. I had this one in January, sorry for the delay. I’m very glad that Laurelwood decided to bottle this one as it really shows how dynamic they can be. This has a lovely malt aroma that really gives you a hint at the taste. The taste is sweet at first but nicely balanced with hops. It’s not heavy, but it’s not thin either and has some nuttier caramels and coffee tastes. I’ve had this beer a number of times and look forward to it next year. And I love the squirrel image on the bottle. I’m kind of into squirrels.

Deschutes Brewery (Bend Oregon) – Hop Henge Experimental IPA
Okay, first off I have to say that this is probably the best label art that I’ve ever seen on a beer. We have an image of Stonehenge, but the stones are actually bags full of hops. This brew is part of the Bond Street beer series that brought us amazing beers like The Abyss. The Experimental Hop Henge has a strong and fresh hop smell. The taste is a piney hop taste that is just plain refreshing but it doesn’t hit you immediately, it comes up slowly from behind some slight floral and citrus tastes. This was really tasty and I’ll probably end up picking it up again.

Lompoc (Portland Oregon) – Lompoc Special Draft (LSD)
This was surprising because I was expecting the Lompoc Strong Draft but I think this had some crazier characteristics than the above mentioned beer that you get on tap. It’s darker than I thought it would be, and has some nice earthiness to it. Some coffee. There’s a little sweetness to it as well, and it leaves you a little dry and contemplative. It reminds me of some of the Oregon hoppy winter beers. I’m glad to see Lompoc bottling the beers, I don’t know if they’ve been doing this for a while but I just found it at Belmont Station.