McMenamins Highlights Barrel-aged Beer Program

It will almost certainly come as a surprise to many beer fans that McMenamin's has a barrel-aged beer program. I had no idea until a couple of weeks ago, when I attended Inside the Barrel down at the Crystal Brewery (inside the Crystal Ballroom). More on what they're up to shortly. First, some brief history.

The early days..Mike and Brian with Hillsdale brewer, Ron Wolf

One of the generally unappreciated aspects of the McMenamin's story is that Mike and Brian have generally gone about their business quietly. They and their organization have made many positive contributions to the community. Yet they have never been particularly active in honking their own horn about any of it.

For instance, on the day they were scheduled to receive the keys to the Kennedy School in 1995, Brian saw a huge crowd and TV cameras as he approached the school. For a moment, he considered turning around and driving home. He obviously didn't and, anyway, the Kennedy School turned out to be one of their great success stories.

Looking at those successes, it seems to me the primary story revolves around their knack for acquiring and restoring unique (and often decrepit) historic properties. Beer's role has always been somewhat secondary...to attract fans. Mike and Brian liked good beer and they figured a lot of other people did, too. Time has proven them exactly right.

When I bumped into Brian prior to Inside the Barrel, he told me he sees beer in more of a leading role today. Frankly, I don't think he fully agrees with my view of where beer has fit in the McMenamin's scheme, but never mind. Inside the Barrel suggests they recognize the need to push what they're doing more fully with social media and other PR tools.

The truth is, the barrel program isn't all that new. It was launched in 2005, when Mike McMenamin asked brewers to create a bourbon barrel-aged beer for a special event they were holding at Edgefield. They've been gradually moving barrel aging forward in the years since.

These guys are well-positioned to age beer in barrels. Why? Because way back in 1998, they started a highly successful distilling program at Edgefield. They launched a second distilling facility at Cornelius Pass in 2012. This means their brewers have easy access to barrels. Many breweries don't have that luxury.

"The distilling program presented us with a unique opportunity to begin barrel-aging," said Graham Brogan, head brewer. "The ease of access to freshly dumped barrels (sometimes filled with beer the same day they are released by the distillery) combined with the creative freedom here to make barrel-aging a no brainer."

The beers they showcased at Inside the Barrel were produced at a number of McMenamin's breweries. A few examples: Whiskey Widow (Bourbon barrel-aged porter) from Concordia Brewery; Venomator Imperial IPA (Hogshead Whisky barrel-aged) from the Crystal Brewery; Night Court Barleywine (Rum barrel-aged) from the Edgefield Brewery. And others.

In fact, Inside the Barrel was a sort of pre-launch party for a hoard of events that will feature barrel-aged beer in coming weeks. There's a list of dates, beers and locations here. By the way, these beers will only be available at certain McMenamin's locations. This is standard operating procedure for these guys. They have never really distributed beyond their own walls.

As for the future of the barrel-aged beer program at McMenamins, it will likely continue to flourish. There's something about barrel-aged beer that attracts the interest of brewers and the pallets of beer consumers. Indeed, the savvy pallets of Portland beer fans are driving increased demand for premium, complex, barrel-aged beers. It's all good.

"Almost all of our breweries would like to be involved in barrel-aging," Brogan said. "The problem is, most don't have the necessary space. We are currently looking into acquiring smaller barrels so our smaller breweries can play around with barrel-aging."

Larrance, OBF Donate $10,000 to Lone Fir Restoration Project

History is bunk, some people say. And maybe they're right. But not everyone agrees with that notion. There are people out there who think remembering and recognizing the past is important to the present...and future. Art Larrance is one of those folks.

The signature

Last night at the Oregon Zoo, Art donated $10,000 to the Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery. More on Lone Fir in a second. The purpose of the donation is to support restoration of the tomb of George Frederick Bottler, one of the Oregon's founding frontier brewers. Bottler's tomb, one of the first structures at Lone Fir, is currently crumbling and in desperate need of repair.

"I hope my donation will promote interest among brewers and others for the Lone Fir project," Larrance said. "We all want to be remembered when we're gone and I think it's important that we pay tribute to people like Bottler who came before us. Preserving and respecting our brewing heritage is important."

I probably don't need to remind people who follow this blog who Art Larrance is. But I will. He is one of the founders of the craft beer movement in Portland,  having co-founded Portland Brewing with high school buddies Fred Bowman and Jim Goodwin. Later, he moved on to found Cascade Brewing, which operates today as the Raccoon Lodge and Cascade Barrel House. Of course, Art is also head of the Oregon Brewers Festival, an event that has probably meant more to Portland and Oregon beer culture than any other.

As McMenamin's historian Tim Hills documented Thursday evening, there were two Bottler brothers present in Oregon during the early days. It's tough keeping them straight because they shared the same first name: George. George Michael Bottler founded Portland's second brewery, the City Brewery, in 1857. George Frederick Bottler founded The Dalles Brewery in 1859.

When George F. Bottler passed away in 1865, his bother George M. Bottler was in Germany. Travel time in those days wasn't quite what it is today. So Bottler's friends Edward Schrader, Henry Weinhard and Henry Saxer arranged for him to be buried in Lone Fir. Upon his return, George M. Bottler arranged to have a tomb erected over the site of his brother's grave. It is that tomb that is decaying today...surrounded by a fence it is in such a state of disrepair.

The estimated cost of restoring the Bottler monument is roughly $80,000 and there is a plan in place. It's funds that are needed and that's where the Friends of Lone Fir come in. They are dedicated to preservation, education and restoration of this historic space, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of Oregon's pioneers are buried at Lone Fir.

There's more information on the Lone Fir restoration project here.

Stars Align for Harris, Ecliptic Brewing

When I last visited the site that was to become Ecliptic Brewing, the building was nothing more than a shell. This was in late April. Brewer and proprietor, John Harris, raised some eyebrows, including my own, when he talked of opening in October. Yet here we are. Ecliptic officially opens today.

The brand

Just to review, Harris is one of Oregon's iconic brewers. He started out at McMenamin's Hillsdale Brewpub in 1986. Two years later, he moved to Deschutes in Bend, where he developed beers like Mirror Pond, Black Butte Porter and Obsidian Stout. In 1992, Harris returned to Portland to run Full Sail's brewery on the South Waterfront. He left there last year to start his own gig, Ecliptic.

Members of the so-called beer media toured the Ecliptic facility Sunday afternoon. It is impressive, even if it is a work in progress. Harris put together what he willingly describes as a "Frankenstein" brewery...so named because it is composed of pieces scavenged from all over. It's a 15 bbl system with three fermenters...one 15 bbl and two 30 bbl. Several conditioning tanks complete the line-up.

The brewing floor

Some expected to see Bridgeport's original brew kettle in the middle of the brewery. John acquired the old steam-heated kettle from Dogfish Head in Delaware, but discovered the old vessel needs some fixing. He subsequently acquired a more modern kettle from Japan. No word on what will happen to the old Bridgeport kettle, which has significant historic value in Portland. Perhaps a display of some sort.

A word about the theme here. Ecliptic's is all about astronomy. We're talking stars, not horoscopes, if you're wondering. Harris has combined his two passions here...brewing and astronomy. Ecliptic represents the Earth's yearly journey around the sun. They actually have a sizable light fixture that mimics that path. The movement is reflected in the beer list and menu items, which will rotate with the seasons. No standing still here.

Late afternoon sun hugs the beers

Ecliptic is pouring four beers out of the gate, and none of them will wind up being flagship beers. Harris plans to alter the brewing approach according to his own feel and what the clientele likes. There will soon be more beers available, including a pilsner and a Porter. The current list:

Procyon Pale is adequate, if a little dry. It has great color and clocks in at 5.9% ABV and 60 IBU. It could use a touch of sweetness, in my view, but many will like this beer fine as it is. The IBUs are a little higher than what Harris intended, he said. That will get dialed in as he tinkers with the recipe.

Brews and food with a view

Arcturus IPA is made with a mix of "C" hops (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus). It clocks in at 7.4% ABV and 75 IBU. This is a decent IPA and will surely be better with tweaking. Arcturus is not dry-hopped, which means it lacks the nose most Portlanders expect in an IPA. Still, pretty good.

The other two beers are collaborations, one with Gigantic Brewing and the other with Widmer. The Gigantic beer, TicWitTic, is a Belgian-style Wit that is soured.  The Widmer beer is 1/2 Mile Pale Ale (Widmer and Ecliptic are half a mile apart). I didn't taste either of these beers, so I can't comment. The TicWitTic sounds fairly interesting. Must make a return trip.

Sweet & Spicy Drumsticks...yummy

Food isn't going to be an afterthought here. Harris says there's no reason why a brewpub can't be listed among the best restaurants in the city. He may be right. Regardless, he aims to offer a rotating menu of stellar items. Sure, you'll find burgers and standard pub fare. But you'll also find pan-fried black cod, ale-braised lamb shank, grilled flat iron steak and more. Appetizers, too. Don't miss the sweet and spicy drumsticks!

Besides the food and brews, there's other good news here. Located just a block south of Fremont on Mississippi, Ecliptic features nice views of the city through large garage doors. The doors will be shuttered most of the winter, but the views remain. By next summer, Harris will have an outdoor patio to supplement the space. Chain link fences lining the property will be gone by then. Perfect.

Hard to miss signage

Back in the brewery, there's a lot of unused space...by design. Harris expects to expand the brewing system as business grows and will add a barrel program as well. He has plenty of room to do so. He also hopes to release his beer in bottles (or cans) at some unspecified point. There's space to install a bottling (or canning) line if he chooses. Smart move.

Of course, you never know how a new business is going to do until you see it in action. Harris definitely has the knowledge and experience needed to run a prosperous business. This location is nearly ideal in my mind., but consumers will vote with their dollars on that. I suspect Ecliptic has a bright future.

Bridgeport's historic kettle

Rural Oregon: Where the GABF Medals Roam

Everyone in the beer community is talking about the just-completed Great American Beer Festival. Here in Oregon, there are handshakes all around. Our breweries brought home 25 medals, third on the list behind California (52) and Colorado (46).

First, congrats to everyone who won a medal, any kind of medal, whether your brewery resides in Oregon or elsewhere. It's no small task. As Jeff Alworth says in his wrap-up, it's a challenge just getting into the GABF. There are something like 2,500 breweries competing for roughly 600 spots. Ye gods.

Some have suggested that the Brewers Association adopt regional competitions to filter entries for the national event. Don't hold your breath. There's a lot of money being made just the way things work now, and there are logistical challenges involved in putting on regional competitions. Near-term changes are unlikely.

As I looked at the list of Oregon winners, the first thing I noticed is that Portland breweries are not well-represented. Of the 25 Oregon medals, Portland breweries picked up just six of them...roughly 25 percent. I was surprised by that, given we have more than 50 breweries in the city. It turns out I shouldn't have been.

I decided to do an analysis of where Oregon's GABF medal winners have come from over the past five years. Sure, I could have gone back 10 years...or 20. I chose five because I'm most interested in recent history. Be my guest if you want to do a more extensive analysis. The data is out there all the way back to 1983.

Of the 95 GABF medals Oregon has brought home since 2009, 67 (70 percent, if you prefer) were won by breweries outside Portland. In actual fact, Portland breweries have done fairly well the last two years, winning six medals this year and eight in 2012. Before that, the best recent year was 2009...when Portland breweries won nine of Oregon's 22 medals. The bad years were 2011 (2) and 2010 (3).

I wanted to know more. I wondered who the hell is winning all these medals. So I looked through the yearly GABF results and tabulated the number of medals won by the various breweries around the state. I don't want to say I was shocked, but I was surprised.

It turns out five breweries have been fairly dominant over the course of the last five years: Barley Brown's (aka Baker City Brewing), Bend Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Pelican Brewing and Rogue. Together, these five breweries have accounted for 56 (or 59 percent) of the 95 medals GABF medals won by Oregon breweries.

Boiling it down further, the top three accounted for 41 of the 95 medals (43 percent). It may come as a surprise to learn that the top medal winner is Barley Brown's of Baker City, which has won 16 medals. Deschutes is next with 13; Pelican has 12. Rounding out the top five, Bend Brewing has eight medals and Rogue has seven.

It's hardly a surprise to see Deschutes among the top medal winners. It's a huge operation and they've been making good beer for a long time. The big surprises are Barley Brown's, Bend Brewing and Pelican. These operations are small and two of the three are rather remote. When was the last time you visited Baker City? Pacific City? Alrighty then.

In case you're wondering, the top Portland brewery over the last five years, in terms of GABF medals, is Laurelwood with six. Widmer and Breakside both have four. Hopworks and The Commons, which added two this year, both have three.

What do these stats mean? Mostly they mean Oregon's rural brewers have dominated the GABF medal hunt in recent years. Why has this been the case? I have no idea. I was originally thinking about linking Portland's relative lack of success to the fact that style barriers have completely collapsed here. But that seems a bit of a stretch. There has to be more to it.

One final point with regard to Barley Brown's/Baker City Brewing. These guys won three golds, two silvers and a bronze this year. They were also named  best Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer. Seeing them win medals in highly competitive categories (like American Style IPA) shouldn't really come as a surprise. Not if you look at their recent history. They're in a groove.

Mill City Brew Werks Stalks Clark County Beer Scene

Until recently, Portland's craft beer explosion left our neighbors across the Columbia River largely out in the cold. I've talked about this before. For much of the last 10 or so years, the trend in brewery growth in Clark County was mostly anemic. Today, the course is shifting.

Terrific, unassuming location

This was bound to happen. There is a gigantic underserved population in what might be referred to as metro Vancouver. The key to tapping that audience has always been the same: You need a product that's good enough to compete with Portland. Your underserved audience generally prefers to stay near home, but it refuses to accept a poor product. That presented an elusive challenge for many years. No more.

Another example of the progress that's being made in Clark County is Mill City Brew Werks in Camas. Located in the charming and historic downtown area (only blocks from the paper mill), Mill City features an extensive line of great beers and a food menu packed with tasty items prepared on site. There is nothing fake or shoddy here. Quality is king.

At the bar

Owner Mark Zech comes from a long line of brewers. He started homebrewing in 1985, but says his ancestry has several centuries of brewing experience. These things are hard to verify. Yet you get the feeling he knows fully what he's doing. Mill City opened over the summer and the place is doing well.

There are reasons for these things. When Mark and his wife were in the early stages of planning the business, they did guerrilla marketing out of their residential garage. They offered food and beer in exchange for honest input on what was good and what wasn't. That input was used to develop the beer and food lists. Smart move.

The boss checks the boil

Mark installed a 10 bbl brewing system in the basement of the pub. He has four good-size fermenters and the same number of brite tanks. All the beer is kegged for serving and makes its way to the pub above via glycol-chilled lines. Next to the brewery is a bakery, where they create desserts and a variety of baked items. Fresh ingredients arrive daily. This place is all about hand-prepared food and beer.

The brewpub approach that kick-started the craft beer revolution in Portland and around the country is on display here. Mark believes good food attracts customers who might not come in strictly for beer. People who do come in for beer will stay longer and drink more beer because they offer food. There's more overhead in food, but it's worth the additional cost, he says. It's a proven concept.

Tasters 

Beers
I tasted virtually everything on their beer list, as well as a couple that are simmering in the basement and not on the beer menu. Aside from a Scottish Ale that is cloudier than it should be (the yeast refuses to drop out of solution, Mark said), it's a stellar list. Even the Scottish Ale is pretty good if you drink it with your eyes closed.

Alpha IPA (7.1% ABV, 88 IBU) is their flagship beer and one of the beers they were serving at last week's Celebration of Beer at Skamania Lodge. For good reason. This is a nicely balanced IPA that's dry-hopped with Simcoe. The hops are immediately evident in the nose and flavor. Alpha IPA compares well with some of the area's best IPAs and will likely be the basis of further expansion...which I'll get to
.

Brewers Panini...recommended

Red Beard IRA (7.4% ABV, 85 IBU) is a quality red similar to Double Mountain's IRA. I'd say the malts obscure the relatively high IBU count, but that's fairly common in reds and ambers.

Zech's Bavarian Hefeweizen (5.5%.ABV, 11 IBU) is a traditional Hefeweizen with strong clove and banana aromas and flavors. This beer competes with Alpha IPA for their top selling brew, Mark said. I get it. This was the first keg to blow at Skamania and I heard several people raving about it.

Log Splitter Imperial IPA (9.5% ABV, 90 IBU) leans on eight types of hops added at different times. The beer is deep copper in color and packs a wallop. They serve Log Splitter in an 8 oz snifter for good reason. It isn't dry-hopped, so it lacks the aroma of the standard IPA..but it's a fairly complex beer.

On-site bakery in motion

Jose Jalapeno Ale (6.7% ABV, 19 IBU) is a mild mannered chili ale. I am not normally a fan of these beers. But this one is very well-executed. They added 25 pounds of roasted jalapeno for several days during secondary fermentation. The result is a beer that has mild jalapeno notes, but lacks the throat burn so common with these beers.

Pst Pale Ale (5.2% ABV, 26 IBU) is a sessionable beer that works well. This one leans on Citra for dry-hopping and the aroma is unmistakable. This is a great choice if you like the smell of Citra and plan to have a few beers.

Some of the other beers included Hop This Fresh Hop IPA (no green moldy character here), Dragonfly Black Rye IPA (great if you're a fan of rye beer), Genesis Cream Porter (full-bodied), Milk Stout (smooth as silk on nitro) and Nelson Sauvin IPA (made exclusively with New Zealand hops).

Fermenters and brite tanks

You can find Alpha IPA in a few places around Vancouver and apparently as far north as Longview. These guys have only been open for a few months and getting access to tap handles is a work in progress. Alpha IPA has been on at Pizza Schmizza, Brickhouse and Lapellah, to name a few. More coming.

It's interesting. Mill City has no plans to enter the Portland market. Mark says they will focus on Clark County for now. If things go as he expects, long-term plans include a brewpub in downtown Vancouver, a production brewery outside the city and entry into the Seattle market. He intends to begin building the Mill City brand in Seattle in the near future so he'll have a customer base once the production facility comes online.

Mill City is certainly a worthy addition to the local beer scene. The fact that it's located in an underserved area in a charming spot makes it just that much more appealing. Check it out if you have a chance. Mill City is  located at 339 NE Cedar in Camas. They have a Facebook page, but no website.

Historic downtown Camas

Skamania Beer Fest is Hidden Gem

I traveled out to Skamania Lodge for Saturday's Celebration of Beer. My expectations were not high. I figured the views would be terrific and the beers something less than that. What I discovered was a low key festival that qualifies as a hidden gem.

The mugshot

Look, maybe the best part of this event is that a lot of people aren't going to go to the trouble of driving out there. I get it. You really don't want to drive all the way out there, drink a bunch of beer and drive home. Sure rooms are available; but not everyone can afford that kind of excursion.

Because I did have to drive back to Portland after imbibing, I kept my stay to about an hour and a half and limited myself to tastes. By the way, tastes out here aren't what you find in Portland. The tasting line on the glass is a little iffy. A one-ticket taste was six ounces. A two-ticket full mug was 12-14 ounces. Tickets cost $1.

Fire pit and music

The setup is pretty informal. There was a rectangle of tables with the beers, food and, yes, one with wine. In the center there were tables where you could sit or stand. Once you had a beer in your hand, you were free to roam the grounds outside the serving area. Try that in Portland.

Off to one side of  the serving area is a fire pit, part of which served as a sort of music stage. This is a gas fire, not the smokey real thing. Good thinking. A couple of acts rolled through while I was there and the music added to the ambiance without overwhelming it.

One of several grub choices

The list of beers was more impressive than I expected. There were several Washington breweries whose beers aren't well-known in Oregon. Backwoods Brewing (Carson), Mill City Brewing (Camas), Mt. Tabor Brewing (Vancouver) were pouring some nice beers. Usual suspects like Lompoc, Double Mountain, Full Sail, Amnesia, Deschutes and others were pouring mostly seasonals. Good stuff.

Another great aspect of the Celebration of Beer is brewers or brewery-connected folks were pouring beer or hanging out around the taps chatting with patrons. I spent a few minutes talking to several brewers. I'll be making a trip out to Mill City Brewing the check the place out as a result of one conversation. The point is, most of our Portland festivals have gotten so large that these kinds of conversations rarely happen.

The layout

They were lucky with the weather this year. It was perfect. In less than perfect weather years, the festival area is covered by a tent. As it was on Saturday, the sun was out and the views were stellar. If you squinted a bit while looking at the Columbia River, you could spy windsurfers flying back and forth.

When you look at an event like, it's all about perceived value. I always ask myself, "Would I attend again?" Even with the travel involved and the fact that the $25 entry fee (tasting mug and five tokens) is steep, this is still a great little event worth a try for any self-respecting beer fan. I'll look for it next year.

Horse of a Slightly Different Flavor and Character

I sometimes have to thank my neighbor, Mark Hall, an unapologetic hophead who scours area tap lists for the stickiest IPAs he can find. He often discovers beers that my own travels don't reveal. Such as Laurelwood's War Horse, which is on tap at the Horse Brass and likely other spots around town.

The name of the beer is so similar to Laurelwood's flagship beer, Workhorse, that I figured it must somehow be connected to the recent arrangement in which the Craft Brew Alliance is brewing and bottling Workhorse (and Free Range Red) in 12 oz bottles. Indeed.

Part of the deal with the CBA was to see that the contract-brewed version of Workhorse matched what they were producing at Laurelwood's own brewery. That can be a challenge when you're moving to a significantly larger and functionally different brewing system. It took several test batches to dial in the recipe. That's where War Horse comes in.

"War Horse was the first CBA trial of Workhorse," said Vasili Gletsos, Laurelwood brewmaster. "It finished high, a little sweeter then Workhorse, enough so that we didn't want to release it as Workhorse. It's really nice, similar style wise. We called it an Imperial Pale Ale, since without the attenuation, it fits a bit better as a strong pale."

The difference in finishing gravity between Workhorse and Warhorse isn't huge...a degree higher Plato, resulting in about a half a point difference in ABV, according to Gletsos. That small difference would have put them out of spec for the stated alcohol on the label. They wanted and needed to dial in the Workhorse recipe a bit more. But they suspected people would like that first effort, so they released it as War Horse. 

If you are a fan of Workhorse and similar beers, you owe yourself a taste of War Horse. The aroma and flavor are fantastic. The marginally sweeter backbone seems to embrace and bond with the aroma and flavor. It may be an Imperial Pale Ale, but it's a serious hop bomb worthy of any hophead. 

Where can you find War Horse? They aren't pouring it at any of the Laurelwood locations. "We only tap beer produced at our brewery," Gletsos said. "It's possible we will at some future point carry CBA-produced seasonals. But not yet."

War Horse has been on at the Horse Brass for a week or so, I guess, and it was on Thursday evening when I stopped by. The beer was distributed by Laurelwood's distribution partners throughout Oregon and Washington, so it's out there for the finding. The bad news is War Horse is a limited release. They don't plan to brew it again. Get some now!

Skamania Lodge Offers Beers with a View

This weather we're having around Portland isn't the best. We usually have great weather in September and early October. I suppose the recent monsoon-typhoon is payback for our drier than average summer. Like they say, paybacks can be a bitch.

On a clear day...

If you're looking to revisit summer briefly, a trip up the Gorge for Skamania Lodge's 5th Annual Celebration of Beer might be a nice fit. It's happening Saturday, Oct. 5, from noon to 5 p.m. It looks like Saturday weather might just cooperate. There's a Full Sail brewer's dinner Friday night and a Sunday brunch. You'll find more info on the Skamania website here.

The tasting part of the Celebration of Beer sets up shop on the Cascade Lawn, which features spectacular panoramic views of the Gorge. The list of attending breweries includes some common names: Deschutes, Hopworks, Lompoc, Full Sail, Double Mountain and Amnesia. Then there's the list of less known breweries: Walking Man, Backwoods, Big Horse and Arcadian Farms. Hmmmm.

This year's Celebration of Beer is part of the 20th Anniversary Celebration at Skamania Lodge. It's hard to believe Skamania is celebrating 20 years. I remember going out there to play golf many years ago (and losing many golf balls in the woods). I've been out there on other occasions since. I've never been out there for this festival. But that view of the Gorge while drinking a few beers is mighty tempting.

Portland Beer Book Targets Broad Audience

Many who read this blog know my book, Portland Beer: Crafting the Road to Beervana, was published this week. There hasn't been any coverage in the mainstream media to this point, but the book seems to be doing reasonably well out of the gate. It's available online and in local bookstores.

I'm not here to review the book. That's a task for some of my beer writing friends and others in the media. I have no idea what they will say or when they will say it. I also have no intention of trying to sway anyone's opinion in any direction. The book is what it is.

Original cover photo sans book details

The idea for this project first occurred to me 10 or so years ago, when I was considering what had transpired in Portland to that point. Since arriving in 1989, I had observed the evolution of beer here. I thought it was a story worth telling, but had no thought that I would be the one telling it..

The 2007 OPB documentary, Beervana, reinforced my thoughts. Written and produced by Beth Harrington, Beervana provides a short but sweet video snapshot of Portland's beer history. This is "must see" TV and you can view it here if you haven't seen it. Good stuff.

My opportunity to write Portland's beer history presented itself a few years later. I had worked in corporate communications and marketing for many years prior to the crash of 2008. For someone of my experience and age, that work effectively evaporated in the downturn. By 2010-11, I was looking for a way to use my talents outside the corporate setting. That led to freelance writing, this blog and, eventually, the book project.

Portland in the 1890s

My initial stabs at Portland's beer story took the form of successive eBooks. Those books were heavy on contemporary content and contained only minimal history. The eBooks did not do especially well, though they were good exercises. Both are now unpublished, if you're wondering.

About the time I published the second of the eBooks, I began talks with The History Press about the possibility of writing a print version of Portland's beer history. They had, in fact, been looking for someone to write that story. I had no idea. I only knew they had an expanding line of books on American beer cities. I submitted a proposal to write the Portland book and we eventually agreed on the details. The project was on.

Oregon's first craft brewery, Cartwright, lived here

Portland Beer is, by design, written for a general audience. The publisher wanted a book that would appeal to a wide range of people interested in Portland and beer. The result is a book of around 160 pages including a color insert. Some might quibble with that. A book written for the beer geek crowd would likely be twice that length. But the prospective geek audience would be much smaller. Thus, the publisher's dictum.

The scope of the project required me to make certain decisions in terms of emphasis. Readers will discover that roughly half the book is devoted to what happened here after 1980. That merely reflects my bias that most readers want to know more about the craft period. Regardless, the earlier period gets its due. There are plenty of interesting story lines.

As I was going about the business of researching and writing the book, I ran into some interesting twists and turns. Some key people were reluctant to talk because they didn't know me. Fortunately, I had friends and acquaintances who vouched for my project and helped connect me with most of the people I wanted interview. I could not have written the book without that assistance.

Cover final

There were also some surprises along the way. This is the first book of its kind on Portland, which means it cannot be considered revisionist history. Yet some of what I report runs counter to prevailing wisdom. Probably the biggest surprise relates to passage of the Brewpub Bill in 1985. For whatever reason, previous versions of how that happened were routinely wrong. I tracked the true story using legislative documents.

For anyone interested, there is a release party for the book this Saturday, Sept. 28, at The Commons Brewery in Southeast Portland. I will be there from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. selling and signing books. This 21-and-over event is open to the public. Please join us if you're so inclined. It should be a good time with plenty of conversation.

West Highland Brewing Takes Gradual, Less Hoppy Road

West Highland Brewing. I first saw the name at the Oregon Brewers Festival in July. I wondered if they had invited a Scottish brewery. I soon realized the place isn't in Scotland at all. Nope. The brewery is located up in the Couv...as in Vancouver. It's another example of the good things happening up there. What's up with the name? I'll get to that in a moment.

Brewers/owners Sam and Don

West Highland is a small 1 bbl brewery operated by Don Stewart and Sam Simms. Like another up-and-coming Vancouver brewery, Heathen, West Highland is located in a residential garage. It's not fancy. The West Highland space is actually quite a bit smaller than the one Heathen calls home. But it gets the job done...for now.

I've been vaguely acquainted with Don Stewart for a number of years. We worked as part of volunteer teams at several Oregon Brewers Festivals dating back to the mid-1990s. Later, we worked for the same Vancouver company for a short time. Don was there only briefly and we mostly lost touch after he left, more than 10 years ago.

Beginnings

When I discovered West Highland and realized Don was involved, I wasn't surprised. I knew he was an avid home-brewer going back many years. He hooked up with the much younger Simms by chance. It turns out Sam was dating Don's daughter and observed Don's home brewing activities. Sam eventually asked if he could join in. That was in 2010. They got their business license and first customer a year later.

I had heard that West Highland beers have drawn mixed reviews. I'm sure that's true and I'm pretty sure I know why: They simply refuse to get caught up in the ongoing hops arms race. None of their beers are particularly beefy in terms of IBUs.

The bittering hops

"Neither of us are fans of super hoppy beers," Stewart said. "Our goal has always been  to produce quality, well-balanced beers for people who, like us, don't care for hoppy beers. That's our niche and we've been fairly successful with it so far."

Of course, that kind of thinking tends to cause consternation with the hophead crowd...and it's a big crowd despite the growing popularity of fruit beers, sour beers, etc. There are still a lot of people out there who want hoppy and nothing else. They probably aren't going to appreciate West Highland beers.

A good example of West Highland's approach is Mango Moon Ale, their entry at the 2013 OBF: It clocked in a 6.6% ABV and 18 IBU. Mango Moon was on my tasting list, but my notes are sketchy. My pigeon shorthand describes it as "mildly tart without much aroma and with minimal mango character." Nonetheless, this beer was named top fruit beer at the festival. So much for my scribbled thoughts..

Fermentation time

They do not have a functional tasting room in their garage brewery. The taps they have there mostly  to provide tastes to prospective draft customers. And vagrant beer scribes.That's about it. They had two beers on when I visited: Michel's Brown Porter and Fire Hydrant IPA.

The Porter is named for a friend and Steinbart's employee who helped Don develop the recipe. This beer doesn't have the color of a typical Porter...it's much lighter. They call it a "gateway" dark beer, and I suppose that's a good description. This is their best selling beer, likely because it appeals to a wide range of customer pallets. It tastes pretty good without being overbearing in any direction.

The fashionable logo

Fire Hydrant IPA is not your typical Northwest IPA. It leans on late addition hops and full leaf dry-hopping (Citra on both counts) for aroma and flavor. The beer clocks in at 65 IBU and 6.5-7.0% ABV. The IBU number seems generous. I realize these values can be kind of nebulous, but I didn't detect 65 IBUs. Oh well. It's a nice effort on the whole.

West Highland has some other beers, including a Scottish Ale I was hoping to taste. They make it solely for the Vancouver Pizza Company. It's a bigger beer and takes more time to brew, and they didn't have it to taste. Mango Moon is obviously another standard, and I would have given it another try if they hadn't been out. Sam had a decent cider on tap, but he says that's for in-house consumption only.

Thanks largely to the popular success of Mango Moon at the OBF, West Highland has been invited to the Holiday Ale Festival. Sam and Don were talking about the beer, which will likely be called Holiday Spiced Ale. Supplying kegs to festivals can be a challenge for these guys due to their limited capacity. But they made it work for the OBF and they say they can accommodate the HAF, as well.

Gavin watches for visitors

The overall approach here is confident, but cautious. Don and Sam intend to expand their brewing capacity as demand for their beer grows. They have no thought of borrowing money to finance a larger operation. It's pay as you go. They use plastic fermenters because the cost is a fraction of what stainless steel fermenters cost. You worry about scratches with plastic, so they use a spray system that cleans and sanitizes without rubbing or scrubbing.

West Highland is essentially a step up from homebrewing. They have more capacity than most home brewers and they are developing a list of draft customers. A lot of people started out this way. If things go well, these guys will likely have a 5 bbl system in a year. There's even a chance they may bottle for retail sale in the next year or so.

For now, their beers are Vancouver only and can be found in several places, including Blind Onion Pizza, Cascade Bar and Grill, Jake's Bar & Grill, Kiggins Theater, Pizza Schmizza and Vancouver Pizza. There will surely be additional locations pouring West Highland beer soon. Interest is high.

With respect to the name, it's pretty easy to figure out if you look at their logo or visit the garage brewery. The face on the logo is a West Highland Terrier. There was a pair of Westies hanging out in the garage area while brewing operations were in progress...Gavin and Fiona. The dogs keep a watchful eye out for beer seeking interlopers.

Lucky Lab and DoveLewis Present Dogtoberfest '13

Once upon a time, the Lucky Labrador's Dogtoberfest was a quaint little affair that attracted a few Portlanders who wanted to quaff a pint or two while getting their mutt washed. Somewhere back in time, 1996 is my best guess, we showed up with our grubby Labs. They didn't enjoy getting washed, but we enjoyed the beer and festivities.

Blitz at the beach is usually a mess

Fast forward to this weekend and it's time to drag your dirty mutt down to the Lucky Lab for the latest edition of Dogtoberfest. Things have evolved. The event is now a benefit for the DoveLewis Blood Bank, which gets all the proceeds. Whether you own a mutt or not, it's fairly easy to see this is a worthwhile cause.

Unlike the old days, when things were sort of topsy-turvy, they're organized now. Volunteers will be plenty happy to scrub the grit and grime from your canine compatriot. I'm pretty sure my current Labs, Blitz and Biscuit, would be less than enthusiastic about such treatment. But they would be all for the benefit concept. Suggested donation is $10 per dog. Donate more if you wish.

My old friend Beau often needed a good rinse

As with past Dogtoberfests, there will be live music and the you'll find the usual great beer and food in the pub. I just visited Lab HQ the other night and I have to say Ludwig's Alt is tasting great. Some of the other usual suspects include Super Dog IPA and Konig's Kolsh. If you prefer something darker, and they've got that, too.

Dogtoberfest '13 is happening this Saturday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Lucky Lab Brewpub. The Lab is located at 915 SE Hawthorne. There's more information on the DoveLewis event page here. I'm sure a good time will be had by all...or most.

Woof!