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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2009)
vernonia’s voice in other words march 2009 Another Round: More Words of Wisdom About Beer By Scott Laird Some Irish Toasts In honor of St. Patrick’s Day Here are a few toasts... feel free to use them if the need arises! • May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint! • May the face of every good news and the back of every bad news be towards us. • May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, The foresight to know where you are going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far. My Folly is Beer, Too! -- I recently picked up a mixed twelve-pack put together by New Belgium Brew- ing; their “Follow Your Folly, Ours Is Beer” package that includes Fat Tire Amber, Mothership Wit Organic Wheat, and 1554 Black Ale, along with a new creation, Giddy Up Ale with Espresso. Now, I love the 1554 Black Ale, as I’ve noted here before as it’s one of my all-time favorites, but sometimes a little hard to find; and I enjoy Fat Tire on occasion, so I grabbed up the pack to see what this Giddy Up was about. Wow, was I impressed! That is a tasty and flavorful beer, creamy and smooth, with a great toffy and espresso middle and slight hint of lemon at the finish. Beautiful to look at, excellent to drink, even more fun to talk about. New Belgium has done it again! And that Mothership Wit isn’t bad either; in fact, I’ll remember that one when summer rolls around. Beer in Vernonia -- The Buckhorn now has Kona Pipeline Porter on tap. The Pipeline is another Another Round favorite; nice espresso-flavored touch with good balance. Stop by and get George to pour you a Pipeline. The Blue House will be re-opening sometime soon...in Downtown Ver- nonia...probably in mid- to late March. I can’t wait! Can you tell? If you know co-owner Elenora, you know she’s a bit of a perfectionist, so she won’t allow the doors to be opened until she has everything just right. So we can wait a little longer for our own brewpub to open... can’t we? Well, maybe a little longer. A recent tour got me very ex- cited for Brett Costley, our local homebrewer turned pro, to get brewing again. We’re looking forward (with great anticipation) to the grand re- re opening of the Blue House. A Journey to Walking Man Brewery -- I recently had an old high school buddy visiting Portland, and so we took a couple of days to go out to the Columbia Gorge to see some sites. Which made for a perfect opportunity to visit the Walking Man Brewery in Stevenson, Washing- ton. I have been talking for sometime now about making a pilgrimage to Walking Man, home of my All Time Favorite Beer, The Black Cherry Stout. We arrived on Monday, President’s Day, full of anticipation and reverence and... they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays! Disappoint- ed, but not to be denied, we did locate a Walking Stick Stout on tap at the Big River Grill in town, but it just wasn’t quite the same as sitting on hallowed ground and enjoying a pint of sacred brew. 19 Empty Bowls Fights Hunger in Columbia County For the third consecutive year, the Columbia County Commission on Chil- dren and Families is organizing its Empty Bowls fund-raising event to benefit the Columbia Pacific Food Bank, which provides food for low- income people. Fight hunger, promote the arts and get involved in your community. Join members of the CCCCF on Friday, March 13th, from 5-7 PM for a simple meal of soup and bread and keep the handcrafted bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world. The third annual Empty Bowls event will be held at the St. Helens Se- nior Center, 375 S. 15th Street. Tickets are available for $10 at Houlton Bakery, the St. Helens Book Shop and at the office of the Commission on Children and Families in the county courthouse. All proceeds will go to the Columbia Pacific Food Bank and all donations are welcome. This is truly a community effort. Soup and bread are being donated by a number of local restaurants: The Klondike, The Dockside, Mark’s on the Channel, Wild Currant Catering and Houlton Bakery. Coffee will be provided by our local Starbucks and a group of 4H youth will be baking and selling cookies as a community project, providing a sweet finish to the evening and a boost to fundraising. Pottery students at both St. Helens High School and Scappoose High School have contributed bowls for this event, as they have in years past. According to event coordinator, Susan Conn, “The resources of the Food Bank are stretched thin and donations are needed throughout the year. We are grateful for the generosity of the people in this community who sup- port Empty Bowls each year and invite them to again help us raise funds to feed the hungry.” The History of empty bowls is an interesting story. In 1990, a high school art teacher in Michigan helped his students solve a problem. They were searching for a way to raise funds to support a food drive. What evolved was a class project to make ceramic bowls for a fund raising meal. Guests were served a simple meal of soup and bread, and were invited to keep the bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world. Since then, Empty Bowls events have been held throughout the world, and millions of dollars have been raised to combat hunger. Me looking dejected, not having a beer at Walking Man Brewery For tickets or more information about the Empty Bowls Fundraiser, please call the CCCCF office at 503-397-7211.