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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2008)
vernonia’s voice in other words july 2008 23 Another Round: More Words of Wisdom About Beer By Scott Laird “Down the Hatch” - In Honor of the Fourth of July, just a good old English Toast! July is “Oregon Craft Beer Month” - Wow, that is so cool! I recently found a list of all the wacky national holiday months. For instance, did you know that July is “National Baked Bean Month”, “Lasagna Awareness Month”, and “National Pickle Month”? Well now you do- and better yet, now you know that July is “Oregon Craft Beer Month.” Lasagna, Baked Beans, Pickles and Beer-sounds like a summer party I want to be in- vited to! Think Oregon, Drink Oregon! And Since July is “Oregon Craft Beer Month, That Means It’s Time for - the Big Daddy: the Oregon Brew- ers Festival, July 24-27 at Portland’s Tom McCall Water- front Park. If you like your beer festivals large, loud and rowdy, this is one you don’t want to miss. Over 60,000 beer lovers descend on Portland for three days of revelry and fun - tasting beers by seventy-two brewers from eigh- teen states. Live music, food, demos, sodas for kids and designated drivers, and vendors make for a great time for all. Drink Loud, Drink Proud, Drink Oregon! The Search for the Perfect Porter or Stout - My search continued this month with these two finds. Steam Train Porter from Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company, Snoqualmie Falls, Washington, is a balanced, somewhat thin but tasty brew with a smooth finish. Shastafarian Porter by Mt. Shasta Brewing Company, in Weed, California, was smoky with a slightly bitter finish. I liked them both, not perfect, but I would recommend giving them a try. The Search for the Perfect Summer Beer Begins - As you probably know by now, I like dark beers. But it’s nice sometimes in the summer to have something crisp- er and lighter when you’re finished working in the yard, or you’re watching a ball game, or my personal favorite - sitting around drinking beer. So I am starting to look for something for those sunny Oregon summer after- noons (yes there is such a thing, and now that it’s July we should start seeing some of them soon). Couldn’t move away from Porters and Stouts too quickly, so here are some Ambers and Reds. Green Lakes Organic Ale is Deschutes Brewing’s move into the organic market. An Amber that was full bodied, flavorful, but had a bitter finish, like their Mirror Pond Ale. Wasn’t crazy about it. W ‘08 (sounds like a nightmare cam- paign sticker- NOOOO to 4 more years!) Crimson Wheat by Widmer Brothers Brewing was a beautiful Red Beer with a caramel flavor and a very smooth fin- ish. I could drink this one all day! Anderson Valley Brewing Company from Mendocino County, Califor- nia, has a Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema that was (surprise!) creamy and silky and very tasty. I haven’t had a beer from Anderson Valley that I haven’t really liked yet. And so the search has begun! Heaven! I’m in Heaven! - I recently made my first trip to Portland’s Belmont Station (4500 SE Stark) where they sell every kind of beer imaginable. 1,000 beers! Why, oh why did I wait so long? Belmont Station sells imports, cider, mead, sake, wine, beer ware (your guess is as good as any) and specialty glasses, but most of all, craft beers from the best breweries in the US. They also have weekly tastings and specials and a Biercafe with rotating draughts. If I’m ever reported as a miss- ing person, Vernonia Police should start looking here. This Just In! - Expect the Beer Garden seating area at the Blue House Cafe ( 5 miles north or Vernonia) to be open in early July! Join me next time for - Another Round! On The Shelves: What’s Hapening at the Vernonia Library By Nancy Burch The staff and patrons of the Vernonia Library have many things for which to be grateful despite the circumstances of this past winter. Shortly after being informed by Kayla Cota about Vernonia’s flood, Scholastic Books sent several boxes (worth $1,736.00) of new paperback books for children and young adults. The architectural firm of Richard Neal Lishner sent a donation of $450.00 to the Friends of the Library to be used to “help the town recover from the recent flood.” Donations of used books collected by the Northwest Regional ESD have been so prolific that the August 2nd book sale sponsored by The Friends of the Library will be huge. In ad- dition to those that will be sold, the library added many of these donated items to its collection. As an unexpected gift for using the library’s meeting room as a classroom since January, the parents of the Head Start students arranged for the li- brary to receive a wonderful projection screen. The latest donation, in the form of forty-six new hard cover books was made possible by The Libri Foundation. This nationwide nonprofit organi- zation donates new, quality children’s books to small, rural public libraries in the United States through its BOOKS FOR CHILDREN program. The Foundation realizes that children who learn to enjoy reading at an early age continue to read throughout their lives. Since, for many children in rural communities, the local library is their primary source of books, The Libri Foundation helps these libraries obtain books it would not ordinarily be able to afford. Books obtained with this grant of $715.21 include Martine the Beautiful Cockroach, My Penguin Osbert, A Beasty Story, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Racecar Alphabet. Sponsors of this grant include the “Emerald Empire Reading Council” and “Fortnightly Club of Eugene.” Completion of some paperwork regarding the books and how they will be used makes our library eligible to apply for a matching grant in three years. All of these books are displayed prominently and are ready to be checked out. All have nameplates indicating their donor status from The Libri Foun- dation. July events to be held in the library are as follows: Summer Reading—Tuesdays at 10:30 including the following special programs: July 1st –Hart’s Reptile & Bug presentation—7 p.m. July 8th—Steve Taylor the magical ventriloquist—7 p.m. July 22nd –The Bee Movie—7 p.m. Book discussion—July 28—Swimming to Antarctica—5:30 p.m. Friends of the Library Book Sale will be held Saturday, August 2nd from 9-5; the location tentatively is the old City Hall building. A Hot & Hi p Summer at Jazzercise W e’r e ge tting groov y at Jazze rcise this summe r an d passing the SAV ING S on to yo u! Only $ 25 per mo nth* Ve rnon ia Jazz ercise (503)429-01 96 Jazzercise • 375 North Street • Vernonia (*O th er R es trict ions m a y app ly. Offe r expire s 07/31/08)
