Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2012)
community Another Round: More Words of Wisdom About Beer By Scott Laird “I’d take three things to a desert island: my wife, some barley seeds, and lots of hop resins.” -- Fred Scheer - Frankenmuth Brewery How about a Red Ale?--As a beer drinker I often find myself thinking of the change of seasons, not as winter to summer, but as dark beer to lighter beer. Winter is the time to drink the heavy malted beers—the stouts and porters. Summer is the time to drink those light lagers and hoppy IPA’s. But what to do in the spring and fall in between those two seasons? Well I stumbled upon one solution for spring the other day--Red Ales. The beer style known as Red Ale seems to be a sort of a catch all for any beer that falls between an Amber Ale and those darker beers. Red Ales are sort of a Pale Ale with generally more malts and caramel flavoring. They are based on the traditional Irish Red Ale, which some experts really consider just a variation of an English Bitter. There are many varieties of Red Ales now being brewed. Recently I found something new by Pelican Brewing, their Riptide Red Ale, a seasonal brew they call an “Irish style Red Ale.” The Riptide was a nice medium copper color with a thick cream colored head. It gave off a slightly caramel aroma and had a malty and well balanced flavor with an extremely smooth finish. I really enjoyed this 22 oz. bottle while relaxing on a chilled spring evening. Lompoc Brewing has also released a 22 oz. bottle of Proletariat Northwest Red Ale. Much hoppier than the Riptide, Lompac’s Red Ale is also a medium copper color with a less thick head. The Proletariat was full bodied and hoppy, although unlike most of its northwest brethren, this brew is not overly hopped. At 6% ABV this was very drinkable and seems to be that perfect spring crossover to take you from those dark malts to the summer IPA’s. “I like lager beer, but the beer does not like me. april24 2012 11 Fifteen years ago I could drink fifty glasses of beer in one day and never get intoxicated and have no headache the next morning. But it seems the beer is changed. If I drink eight glasses of beer of an evening my head is ready to burst the next day....A friend of mine told me he drank beer freely at a picnic, and he was paralyzed for three days....There is no other drink I like better than lager beer, but the way they make it is a humbug. In former times they had a brewer to make beer, but now they have a chemist.” -- Letter to the Editor, New York Sun, 1882 On The Shelves: “Community Reads” Events Were A Success The Vernonia Library recently hosted two author events through the “Vernonia Community Reads” program. Both events were well attended and well received by the audiences. On April 10, Addie Boswell read from her book The Rain Stomper, with young readers. Ms. Boswell talked about being a writer and led a drawing exercise with a very attentive group. On April 14 Craig Lesley vis- ited Vernonia and discussed his writing career, read a passage from his book The Sky Fisherman, answered questions from the audience, and signed his books. Lesley, a three time winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers As- RE-ELECT sociation Award, grew up in Madras, OR. Two of his novels, The Sky Fish- erman and Storm Riders were nomi- nated for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written four novels and one autobio- graphical account of his relationship with his father. His novels feature Or- egon locales and history prominently in his plot lines and many of the char- acters in his stories are based on peo- ple he has known in Oregon. He says he is currently working on his fifth novel, a mystery that revives his main protagonist from his first two novels, Addie Boswell, author of the children’s book, The Native American rodeo rider, Danny Rain Stomper, took part in the “Everybody Reads” Kachiah. program at the Vernonia Public Library. In late March, as part of the “Community Reads” program, Verno- nia High School students met and dis- cussed the book, The Hunger Games. Many students created art work around the story and discussion, which are cur- rently on display at the Vernonia Library. Above: Author Craig Lesley read from his book, The Sky Fisherman at the Vernonia Library. Left: School students created art inspired by the book The Hunger Games which is on display at the Vernonia Library “Working Together To Get Things Done” still isn’t just a campaign slogan to me Working alongside my fellow county commissioners and the public, my focus continues to be on what we can do as a team to improve the quality of life for residents of our county. Serving as a Columbia County Commissioner during these tough economic times can be challenging, but I can also proudly point to key accomplishments: • Worked with the Port of St. Helens and others, attracting businesses to our county such as ORPET bottle recycling plant project, and PGE as they move to build a new power plant at Port Westward. • Worked with responsible parties, seamlessly transitioning our public health services to a new foundation so residents didn’t have interruption of services. • After three years of deliberations, the Courthouse Museum is again open for the public. • Worked with the state on US-30 Highway safety corridor. • Started education subcommittee getting driver safety programs into our schools. Working together, we can continue to make our future brighter not just for us, but also for future generations. I’m asking for your vote and your support to continue serving as your Columbia County Commissioner. Paid for and authorized by the Committee to Elect Earl Fisher. www.ElectEarlFisher.com Vernonia’s Voice is published twice each month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. Look for our next issue May 8th.
