Bad. Very, very bad.

Bad. Very, very bad., originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Horrible Cream Ale (is there good cream ale?) from the folks at Alameda.

Dark Rain

Dark Rain, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A hoppy, dark ale. Perfect for a rainy day (or week...).

Widmer Brothers Deadlift IPA

Widmer Brothers Deadlift IPA, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A hoplicious way to close out the year.

BridgePort Ebenezer Ale

Ebenezer Ale, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A cheerful winter beer!

HUB A-Bomb!

A-Bomb!, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A delightfully citrusy hoppy winter ale.

Alameda Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA

Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A typical(ly good) Northwestern Imperial IPA.

New Old Lompoc Holiday Cheer

New Old Lompoc Holiday Cheer, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A smooth vanilla porter with chocolate notes.

BridgePort Nightcap

BridgePort Nightcap, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A belly-warming, delicious ale made up of 33% ale aged in a bourbon-barrel and 67% yummy ale.

Combined to make a winter treat!

Widmer Brothers Brrr

Widmer Brothers Brrr, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Hoppy Goodness disguised as a winter ale.

Sure, it has it's dark color and malts, but it truly is a hop-lovers winter beer. I love this stuff!

ABV: 7.2%

Cascade's Autumn Gose

Cascade's Autumn Gose, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

You can barely see it because it's barely lit in Apex (but the lights they have are awesome! Hand-sculpted glass lamps that look like hops!), so take my word for it, it was a beautiful brownish amber sour ale that hit the spot.

Lucky Lab Force of Nature

Lucky Lab Force of Nature, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Another delicious offering from Lucky Lab.

New Old Lompoc Monster Mash

Monster Mash, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A great porter - if you like porters...

Philadelphia's Sellwood Golden

Sellwood Golden from Philadelphia's, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

I had no idea Philadelphia's brewed beer. Nor did I know that there was a hop called Sellwood Willamettes.

Cool.

Green Dragon's Hop Diddly

Green Dragon's Hop Diddly, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A super floral, citrusy IPA from Green Dragon. My favorite for the day.

Deschutes Portland Pub's Fresh Hop Mirror Pond

#Beer 2: Deschutes Portland Pub's Fresh Hop Mirror Pond, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Like the "non-fresh hops" variety, only with more flowery nuances from the hop.

Yummy!

Lucky Lab's Mutt

Lucky Lab's Mutt, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A fresh hop ale made from the hops of local, backyard growers in Portland. Every year Lucky Lab hosts a harvest party where everyone brings in their hops and contributes to the brew.

It's a mutt, since no one knows what kind of hops went into it.

While I love the idea, I have to say that I didn't really love the beer. It had a strong bitter start and a watery finish. It was like a hoppy farmhouse ale.

Bridgeport Hop Harvest

Hop Harvest, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

There are many varieties of "fresh hop" beers, so it's hard to lump them all into one category. Hop Harvest, from Bridgeport is one of my favorites, and is more along the lines of an IPA than a pale ale or anything else.

The hops are busting out, and far more complex than one normally gets.

ABV: 6.56%

Cascade Brewing Funk II

Funk II, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Sour beer directly from the wooden barrel. It didn't have as much carbonation as the keg beer, but was yummy, nonetheless!

Cascade Brewing Noyeaux

Noyeaux, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

A yummy sour ale from Portland's newest brewpub, the Cascade Brewing Barrel House.

MacTarnahan's Lipstinger

Lipstinger, originally uploaded by Ben McLeod.

Beer brewed with peppercorns?

Yes. And done well. The peppercorn represents just a tiny little tingle on your tongue, a lip stinger, if you will.

I was surprised at how (to borrow a horrible word from an even more horrible beer) drinkable it was.