Surviving the “Heat Dome”
After a two-day snap of heat in the 90s (thirties to the rest of the world), I thought we’d weathered the storm. Well.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (what?) calls it a “heat dome,” and it suggests the temperature could rise to 110 (43C)—which would shatter our all-time high. To put all this in context, as little as a half-decade ago, Portlanders didn’t even consider June summer. We would routinely have rainy weather in the low sixties. The axiom held that “summer doesn’t start until after the Fourth of July.” Now we are roasting and I don’t even want to think what kind of infernos our forests are about to become.
As a programming note, I am buried this week and blogging will be light. One of my regular activities now is touring breweries for my annual Best Breweries list, which will be out in July. As an abbreviated Beer Sherpa, I’ll leave you with a few beers I’ve enjoyed recently. Unfortunately, I am terrible about remembering names, so bear with me.
Level wild witbier. Recalling the pre-Celis Hoegaarden white beers, Level made a wild witbier just brushed with acidity. It brightened everything up, and gentle spicing gave it a fruit juiciness. Exceptional beer, and it might help you survive the coming heat.
10 Barrel Cerveza Negra. Still not sure if it will count as a “Portland brewery,” but either way this little 4.5% charmer would cool you down on a summer day. Crisp but delicately chocolatey, and smooth smooth smooth.
Ex Novo had two big winners. The first, a Cloudburst-esque hazy pale (Aperture), full of juice but dry and crisp, and Milagro Oscuro, which the brewery called a Mexican dark lager but which, with a caramel-roast palate and 5.8% heft, was closer to something made in Prague.
All right, back to the salt mines for me.