Belmont Station Preps for 20th Birthday Bash

Portland’s original bottleshop and beer bar is hitting the ripe old age of 20. Nearly drinking age. They’re celebrating with a 20/20 theme…20 days of events for 20 years, April 1-20.

The fun gets started on Saturday, April 1, at the Horse Brass, where Belmont Station got its start in 1997. The Brass will have a collection of special beers on tap when it opens at 11 a.m. Some of those beers will have been made with help from Belmont Station staff. Fancy that.

Guests ought to have a decent buzz going by 1 p.m., when they will march up 45th Street to the current location. There will be several bottle releases and more special beers on tap. The parade will include noisemakers, bubbles, signage and typical parade fare, though no floats.

“Twenty years is a nice milestone,” majority owner Lisa Morrison told me. “Besides being a celebration for patrons, we’re honoring the contributions of people who made and continue to make Belmont Station what it is today. People like Joy Campbell, Don Younger and Carl Singmaster, not to mention our awesome staff, past and present.”

Another featured event, mini-Puckerfest, is set for April 7-9. They’ll be pouring at least eight sour beers at all times during the weekend. A number of special beers from well-known breweries will be released, including one from de Garde called, “The Station.”

“As part of mini-Puckerfest, we’ll be doing another Battle of the Blends competition,” Morrison said. “Two teams made up of Belmont staff produced blends with Cascade Brewing. Patrons will vote on their favorite for the insufferable bragging rights.”

The weekend of April 14-16 is mini-Bigger Badder Blacker fest, featuring a Deschutes night with an Abyss variant, Black Butte 25-28 and a vintage bottle sale, plus other offerings through the weekend from Ninkasi, Fort George and more.

Next up is the annual Samuel Smith's Salute on Tuesday, April 18. Tom Bowers of Merchant du Vin will showcase the iconic brewery and its place in modern craft beer culture. There will be bottles pouring at the bar and Tom will lead the annual Samuel Smith salute during the course of the evening.

The party finishes up on April 20, with Lagunitas tapping Waldo Special Ale at 4:19 p.m. (so it can be in your glass at 4:20). Sixpoint will contribute their Puff to the party (including Puff rolling papers) and Laurelwood will have a special 4/20-themed IPA.

Old-timers will recall that Belmont Station was the only place of its kind when it opened next to the Horse Brass. Campbell and Younger launched the small store largely because Horse Brass patrons kept asking to purchase imported beers and other specialty items. They caved.

“We were just slightly more than an afterthought next to the Horse Brass,” says Chris Ormand, who spent a decade at the Station before joining General Distributing last year. “We sold novelties, specialty food and off-beat videos, most of it imported from the UK. And beer.”

They stocked some 400 bottles in those days. It’s hard to fathom given present circumstances, but each bottle was displayed with a price tag. The actual beer was stored in large walk-in coolers. Customers would jot down a list of what they wanted and give it to the clerk, who would round up the beers.

The beer selection has exploded, obviously. Modern Belmont Station carries some 1,500 beers, ciders and meads in bottles and cans, and also features 23 rotating taps pouring some of the best beer in the city. It’s a Cheers bar for many locals (myself included), as well as a destination for tourists.

“There truly was nothing like Belmont Station when Joy and Don launched it 20 years ago,” Morrison says. “It was a big deal when my business partner, Carl Singmaster, joined as co-owner, moved it to the current location and added the beer bar.”

Belmont Station is generally regarded as the best bottleshop and beer bar in Portland. They were again recognized at the Oregon Beer Awards as our Best Beer Bar and Bottleshop. But Morrison takes the high road.

“I guess we are looked at as setting the standard for what a bottle shop and beer bar should be,” she said. “That’s something we strive for. I like to think we’re respected for our knowledgeable service, our friendly and cozy atmosphere and the fact that we've been consistent through the years.”

Keep in mind that many of the events happening during the 20/20 festival are still being finalized. Check the Belmont Station website for updated details as the celebration gets closer.

Morrison Exits Beer O'Clock Radio

After six years on the air and more than 300 shows featuring interviews with some 500 guests (many repeats), Lisa Morrison has left the building. Her run as the host of Beer O'Clock radio came to an end on Feb. 28. More on the future of the show later.

Beer O'Clock, the only weekly beer show on commercial radio in these parts, aired Saturday afternoons on KXL and attracted some 25,000 listeners a week, Morrison told me. That estimate doesn't count listeners on the Radio NW Network, where the show aired on nine more stations, or podcast listeners.

The decision to stop doing the show was not made lightly. Morrison is not the type to quit anything. But her responsibilities have changed since she became majority owner at Belmont Station two years ago. There's less time for the radio show and doing it on the cheap wasn't an option.

"I'm really not the type to 'mail it in' so I decided I should end the show rather than drag it out without devoting the time it deserved," Morrison says. "I'm plenty busy at the Station and I'm hoping this change will allow me to strike a better work-life balance. I feel like a load has been lifted from my shoulders."

There were a number of entertaining and memorable moments over the years.

"One of the funniest moments was when Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) was doing a phone interview while parked on the side of the road in Delaware. A cop came up to make sure he was okay. We ran the entire interview, including his interaction with the officer. It was too funny."

Of course, some moments were more serious than funny. Morrison conducted the last interview with the late Don Younger, which ran shortly after he passed away.

"Doing that interview with Don and running it after he died was heartbreaking and poignant. Listening to his comments after the fact made me wonder if he knew his time was short. I miss him every day."

Gauging Beer O'Clock's legacy and impact on the craft beer scene is tough. It's probably best seen as one spoke in a wheel with many. But the show was most definitely a place you could depend on to find out what was going on in and around the industry.

The origins of Beer O'Clock date to early 2009. It evolved from a show called The Libation Station, on which Morrison worked briefly with Bruce Bjorkman,. When KXL decided to drop the show, Younger negotiated a deal whereby Morrison would do a beer show and pay for the air time with advertising dollars. Younger agreed to sell the advertising.

"That was about when the smoking ban kicked in," says Morrison."Don fell into a funk and I found myself creating, hosting and producing a show with nobody to help with sales. I didn't really like being on the radio, but I saw an opportunity to educate a potentially large audience and spark excitement about craft beer. So I dove in. The rest is history!"

Showing off her book in 2011

After announcing she would leave the show, Morrison received a flood of comments and thanks from fans sad to see it ending. A number of people said the show was a good companion while traveling, driving, running, cleaning house, brewing, etc.

"I hope it brought people together and made them smile," Morrison said. "One of my greatest memories is my 70-something neighbor telling me she didn't like beer, but loved my radio show and the stories brewers and others had to tell. I always kept that in mind and made an effort to balance the geeky stuff with down-to-earth information."

Morrison isn't going away. She'll continue on in her role as beer ambassador extraordinaire. When she isn't thinking up ways to improve Belmont Station, she'll continue to write articles for a variety of beer-centric publications and promote good beer in other ways. It's in her DNA.

For my part, I seldom listened to Beer O'Clock. I'm not sure why. I was one of the 500 guests, interviewed when my book came out in September 2013. I knew of Lisa by way of her book, Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest, several years before I got to know her personally. She truly is one of the great people in craft beer. I join many in wishing her well in radio retirement.

As for Beer O'Clock Radio, KXL is currently searching for a new host, according to programming directer, Scott Mahalick. I have no idea what they plan to do in terms of format or name, but they clearly intend to carry on in some fashion. Good news for beer fans.

Don Younger's Lingering Influence on Display

Beer geeks and industry folks gathered at the Horse Brass last night to give another sendoff to legendary publican Don Younger, who passed away a year ago last week. The event was well-attended, as beer people packed the area around the back bar at the HB...and parking was scarce.

Two vices

The main event was the unveiling of a new John Foyston painting of Younger. Prior to the unveiling, Foyston tapped a Firkin of Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA for all to enjoy. Lots of mingling. Good times.

For the unknowing, another Foyston painting of Younger hangs over the mantle at Lompoc's Sidebar on North Williams. Younger was a partner in the Lompoc operation and the Sidebar painting was mounted just months before his death. When Don first saw that painting, he was shocked, but loved it, according to Foyston and Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter.

Foyston lifts a glass moments before the unveiling

The newly unveiled portrait is a painted version of a picture taken by Lisa Morrison, aka the Beer Goddess. It appropriately shows Younger drinking a beer from a glass (he's drinking from a plastic mug in the picture at Lompoc) and smoking a cigarette. His favorite vices. Morrison took the photo at Amnesia Brewing.

While we surely crossed paths many times over the years, I never formally met Don Younger. So my points of reference with him revolve around the legendary stories, which are many. I've always been drawn to the one about how he wound up owning the Horse Brass.

Fred Eckhardt and Rob Widmer enjoyed some chat time

The story is well-known. He evidently bought the place during the course of a day and night of drinking, and wasn't sure what he'd done when he discovered the bill of sale the next morning. He may have been a little groggy at the time.

After he took over, the Horse Brass would eventually become a place where players in the fledgling craft industry met to share ideas over a few beers. Some of those same folks, people like Fred Eckhardt and Rob Widmer, were on hand last night, honoring their departed friend.

This event and the people who attended it are proof of Younger's lingering and extensive influence. Without him, the Portland beer landscape would not be what it is today. Foyston's latest portrait will hang as a testament to that notion.