Drank: Wild Oregon Logger (Falling Sky Brewing)

By Martin Cizmar

The old joke goes that Budweiser is more of a sake than a beer. Like a lot of mass-market lagers, Bud is made with a heavy dose of rice, a cheap source of sugar that lowers production costs while keeping the brew clean and crisp. Rice and other adjuncts have long been shunned by craft brewers, but lately I've seen a few interesting experiments with rice and corn, none better than the Wild Oregon Logger I sampled at last weekend's Oregon Garden Brewfest in Silverton and which will be on tap at Bailey's Upper Lip on Saturday. Made by Eugene's Falling Sky, the beer is a pre-Prohibition lager with wild rice grown in Eastern Oregon. The hardy wild rice has some nuttiness, plus lots of ripe and fruity flavors. It's still a smooth straw-yellow beer, but with layers of nuance you'd never expect from any riced-up lager. Recommended. 

WWeek 2015

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