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    September is a great time in Oregon. The salmon and steelhead are in the rivers, the trout are becoming more active, there is a crispness in the air and the food festivals are as abundant as the bounty.     The favorite fall getaway for wife and I is the Skamania Lodge Celebration of Beer, an intimate festival featuring local brewers and generous pours at the beautiful Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington.    We stay at the lodge so we can enjoy ourselves at the festival and not have to worry about driving the 50 minutes back to Portland.      This is not a huge festival but instead one in which you can actually taste all the standard and seasonal brews offered the festival and then sit and enjoy a gorgeous view while drinking a glass or two of your favorite. You even get to keep the glass.     Afterwards, you can pile on more calories at the lavish dinner buffet, get some relaxing sleep an...

When the rivers are blown out from too much rain and I am feeling in the dumps from a lingering cold, it's time to do something fun. That something was smokin' salmon and brewing beer. The first is something I have done several times with some good success. The second is something I know little about and wanted to learn. Of course, both have wonderful rewards and really take about the same amount of time for success. On the fish side, the salmon and trout I was smoking were caught the previous summer. I also spent the previous 24 hours preparing the fish with a dry mix of organic brown sugar and Kosher salt. The beer, or rather a wort, is prepared in a little less time than it took to smoke the fish. Once the wort is finished, it ferments and ages a month or more before it is ready to drink. My guide for the brewing process was my buddy Kevin who is a great salmon fisherman.  He is also a great brewer and after evaluating a production IPA and a local amber ale, Kevin opened his...