Oregon Beer Awards, Version 2018

The 2018 Oregon Beer Awards ceremony took place at Revolution Hall on Wednesday evening. It was a packed house of mostly industry-connected folks. There may have been some independents who attended because they thought it might fun...and they were rewarded.

Organizers have fixed a lot of the issues that made this event less than perfect in the past. Getting into the building was a problem in each of the last two years. I didn't see much of that this year, maybe because I was in the building early. Things seemed to have a better flow.

The two MCs did a good job keeping the awards on schedule. Presenters got onstage and mostly focused on the award they were handing out. There wasn't as much in-between fluff as what I recall from past years. Yet the ceremony still lasted nearly three hours.

This is the third year in which the award winning beers were selected by way of objective judging. I was part of that again. Judging (with the exception of the fresh hop beers) happened in late January at Maletis Distributing headquarters on Swan Island. Very nice facility there.

Judging was done over two days. We tasted a gazillion beers in 24 style categories. The Oregon Beer Awards are establishing themselves as our own version of the Great American Beer Festival, but the number of categories is a far cry from the 90+ judged in Denver. That's good and bad.

I was on the panel that selected winners in Classic UK Styles. That category included English-style IPAs, porters and the gold medal winner, a barleywine (Femur) from Boneyard. Having all these sub-styles in the same category was, like a friend of mine, a little awkward. My understanding from competition director, Ben Edmunds, is they hope to adjust for that next year. That would be good.

This year's actual judging was nicely arranged. The space at Maletis was an improvement on what we had in previous years. Then there were the countless behind-the-scenes people who volunteered their time to pour and schlep samples around. Big thanks to those folks. In contrast, those of us who judge are on easy street. Honest.

No need for me to dwell on the winners. Ezra posted a recap within hours of the event winding up. He's a co-founder of the competition and director of the awards ceremony. Unlike the rest of us schmucks, he surely had the results in hand prior to the time winners were announced on stage. Regardless, you can read his article here.

One of the complaints I've heard several times around town is that the OBA is the Breakside show. That's due to the fact that Breakside has been pretty dominant since judging began in 2016 and that Ben Edmunds, Breakside brewmaster, has somehow fixed the competition.

That's a pretty outrageous suggestion, right? And it's all the more outrageous if you know Ben, who is one of the most honest and genuine people you'll meet in this business. Breakside was tied with 10 Barrel for the most medals this year with five each. Maybe Edmunds was a little off his fixing game this year. Maybe.

Another part of the OBA schtick is an academy that votes on a bunch of things, like Best New Brewery, Best Brewpub Experience, etc. I plead guilty to being part of that academy and I voted for  the winners, for better or worse, in most categories (the results are part of Ezra's piece).

One area where my vote differed from the academy was the Hall of Fame choice. John Harris was inducted and he is certainly deserving of the honor. Harris started his career at McMenamin's and became an icon at Deschutes and Full Sail before launching Ecliptic several years ago. He's a great fit for the Hall of Fame.

My vote went to Art Larrance, one of the founding fathers here with Portland Brewing. Art has been director of the Oregon Brewers Festival since the beginning and, of course, founded Cascade Brewing in 1998. Along with the Widmers, the Ponzis and the McMenamins, Art was instrumental in getting the Brewpub Bill, passed in 1985. These folks should all be in the Hall of Fame ahead of brewers who benefited from their efforts. My opinions on this issue are informed mostly by history. Thus, I hope all of the founding brewers are inducted before they're gone.

As has been the case for the past several years, the Oregon Beer Awards coincided with release of Willamette Week's 2018 Beer Guide. I wrote some snippets and a short article for the Guide again this year. The 2018 focus is a little different, as we switched from covering breweries within 50 miles of Portland to covering the Top 100 Oregon breweries. That actually aligns with the OBA judging. Copies are available around town and there will be an online version soon.

There's no particular need to review the Guide here. It is what it is. One thing I do want to mention is the list of Top 10 beers. That's a highly subjective list, compiled by WW staffers and beer freelancers during a December bottleshare. The top beer listed is Upright's Pathways, a unanimous choice. Coincidentally, Pathways won a gold medal in objective judging. Hmmm.

So that's about it. As in past years, thanks to Willamette Week for sponsoring the competition and to Ben Edmunds for running it. Finally, special thanks to Martin Cizmar, WW arts and culture editor, who drove the editorial portion of the Beer Guide and invited me to participate several years ago. Martin is moving on to new digs at RawStory. Good luck, man.

Oregon's First Brewpub Turns 30

Today marks in important milestone in Oregon history. But you aren't likely to see any coverage in the mainstream media. Why? Because it has nothing to do with the Kardashians or Star Wars or Back to the Future or a mass shooting. Nope.

Mike and Brian with Ron Wolf

Thirty years ago today McMenamins brewed the first batch of beer at their Hillsdale pub. Why is that significant? Because it made Hillsdale the first brewpub in modern Oregon history. The Brewpub Bill, passed in June 1985, paved the way for them to establish a brewery in an existing pub.

It may be instructive to recall that Bridgeport and Widmer were both brewing at that point. Bridgeport was actually selling beer by late 1984. The Widmers were right behind them and began selling beer in April 1985. But neither had a pub. Hillsdale was the first.

Those early Hillsdale beers were brewed with malt extract and other suspect ingredients. Not the best approach and, in fact, the beers were not especially good. Don't take my word for it. I didn't get here until 1989. Brian McMenamin provided his thoughts during a 2013 interview.

We weren’t really sure what the Brewpub Bill meant at first. Did it mean cooking beer on a stove in the kitchen? We knew we could use old dairy equipment. So we went down to Tillamook and found some tanks, jerry-rigged some stuff and it worked. We started making beer and it wasn’t good beer. We hired some people to help with it and we eventually had some decent stuff.

One of the people they hired was John Harris, who would become one of Oregon's iconic brewers at Deschutes and Full Sail before launching Ecliptic in 2013. By 1985, Harris had done some homebrewing, but had no pro experience. There were very few pro craft brewers in those days.. Head brewer Ron Wolf hired him, anyway. Harris recalled his experience in 2013.

On my first day at Hillsdale, I was supposed to bring rubber boots…but I forgot to buy them. I had to wear my hiking boots, which didn’t work very well. Fortunately, they didn't fire me. The system was tiny…about seven kegs. We had no temperature control and we used open fermenters. Consistency was a problem. Beers sometimes got a little sour. The whole concept of small breweries was revolutionary. The brewers at Henry Weinhard considered us renegades because our brewery was so primitive. We got some respect and the beer got better after we started mashing. 

The brewpub concept didn't take off instantly. But combining food with beer produced in tiny, on-site breweries eventually became a thing. Bridgeport established a pub and Portland Brewing opened on Northwest Flanders in March 1986. McMenamin's eventually established breweries in a number of their pubs, which became destinations because you could always find good beer there.

In the greater scheme of things, brewpubs were crucial to the development of our beer culture because they exposed people of all ages to craft beer in a friendly environment. If not for brewpubs, craft beer would have been relegated largely to the dark shadows of taverns and bars, and it's visibility would have suffered. We would not be where we are today.

To celebrate 30 years, a commemorative version of Hillsdale Ale will be poured at all McMenamin's locations today. No, this won't be a malt extract beer. They've examined the brewing notes from that original beer and recreated it to the best of their ability in an all-grain format. Pints of Hillsdale Ale will go for $4. Growler fills will be $8.

As most who follow the local beer scene know, the McMenamins pursued a different course than virtually all of the other craft or micro breweries. They never had any desire to distribute their beer beyond their own pubs and assorted properties. Their plan was wildly simplistic.

"Instead of buying it from someone else, we wanted to brew the beer to sell in our pubs," Brian McMenamin recalled. "If you haven't figured it out, we're stubborn Irish people. We like doing things ourselves."

You might say that stubborn, do-it-yourself approach has served and guided the brothers well over the years. And if you did, I'm pretty sure you'd be right.

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

Ecliptic it is for John Harris

John Harris' new brewing endeavor here in Portland will be called Ecliptic Brewing. He announced the name at a media gathering Sunday afternoon, after which the public got the same news. More on why he chose the name shortly.

The sizable cavern

The building that will house Ecliptic Brewing is a former auto body repair shop. No residual solvents or stinky smells, thanks very much. The place is huge...14,175 square feet. When he was looking for a building, John figured he needed 10,000 square feet. Then he got to thinking about the need to expand and do barrel aging. "More space," he said to himself. Then he found this place, a perfect fit.

Harris expects to use about 3,000 square feet for the pub and restaurant part of the operation, which will also have an outdoor patio. The brewery will consume some portion of the remaining space, but he'll have plenty of room for expansion and other activities. Architect Julia Wood is working with John to design a space that integrates sustainable principles and functional efficiency.

The blueprint

The name is a play on John's interest in astronomy. He apparently enjoys gazing at celestial bodies when he isn't occupied with thoughts of beer or drinking beer. You wonder where he finds the time. Ecliptic represents the earth's journey around the sun, which plays into brewing in a variety of ways. Look it up.

About the beer, the brewing system here will be a 15 bbl system. In an interesting twist, Harris acquired the original Bridgeport Brewing system from Dogfish Head. No word on when the old system washed up on the east coast, but it will be used in Portland again soon.

Harris talks with Channel 8

You may recall my earlier post, where I talked about John's background at McMenamin's, Deschutes and Full Sail. He intends to make Ecliptic unique. "I definitely plan to do some things differently than everyone else. I can't really talk about the specifics or those things wouldn't be unique anymore," he said. "You'll see soon enough."

When will this place open? That's an interesting question. They are apparently waiting on permits and hope to start construction in 6-8 weeks. Some of the demo may start sooner. Harris hopes to be brewing by mid-summer, which seems fairly optimistic to me, and hopes to open the pub in the fall. Obviously, everything depends on how well things go...there's a lot to be done.

The on-the-floor schematic

Located in what Julia Wood described as "the gateway to Mississippi," Ecliptic has landed on a terrific spot. I suspect its arrival will simply extend the carnival that is Mississippi north of Fremont. It's only a block to the south, so not much further to walk, ride or drive (yes, Santa, there is a parking lot).

For a lot of reasons, this looks like a great venture.

John Harris? Who the Hell is He?

You've probably heard John Harris is getting ready to open a brewery and pub over on Mississippi and Cook. If not, you heard it here first. John's holding a sneak preview of what he's up to on Sunday, April 28, from 2-4 p.m. He'll reveal what he plans to call the place, among other things. But wait. Who the hell is John Harris?

The collaboration with ex-employee Tony Lawrence was a hit

Even if you don't recognize John's photo or know him, you almost certainly know some of his beers if you've been around Oregon beer for any length of time. See, John has been part of the beer scene around these parts for 26 years...and counting. He's what you call an icon, even if you don't know him.

John began his professional brewing career with McMenamin's at the Hillsdale Pub. After the Brewpub Bill passed in 1985, Hillsdale was the first pub to take advantage of the law and start brewing. When they advertised for a brewer, John applied. He had some homebrewing experience, nothing more. As he joked when I spoke to him a while back, "I had no experience, but they hired me anyway." That's kind of the way it was in those days.

He got off to a rough start. "When I was hired, they told me to bring rubber boots my first day. But I forgot to buy them and showed up in hiking boots. That didn't work out too well when it came time to shovel the hops out of the brew kettle. But they didn't fire me, thankfully."

Unknown to many, they were using malt extract to brew at Hillsdale in the early days. They didn't have the ability to mash, so they bought 50-gallon drums of extract and used that. The beers were okay, never great. Other brewers made fun of them. About a year later, they started mashing and the Hillsdale beers eventually got better. Harris was there.

"The cool thing about McMenamin's is you had your own brewery. They gave you a lot of freedom to create stuff. We brewed with fruit, which was not common at the time…rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries. Some recipes worked better than others. There were times when they would say, 'Don’t make that again.'”

After two years (1986-88), Harris took a job at a little place called Deschutes Brewing in Bend. Deschutes was just getting started and he had a major role in developing recipes that were and are infamous in Oregon and beyond.

"I developed the recipes for Mirror Pond, Bachelor Bitter, Black Butte Porter and Obsidian Stout…all the good stuff," he said. "That’s where I made my name." Later in his four-year tenure at Deschutes, John hired Tony Lawrence to clean up the place after brewing day. Lawrence eventually left for Arizona, but subsequently returned and launched...Boneyard Brewing. 

John left Deschutes in 1992 and returned to Portland to work for Full Sail. Full Sail had opened in 1987 in Hood River and was well-known...in large part because they were the first craft brewery to start bottling. But they wanted a pub presence in Portland. The Pilsner Room on the South Waterfront seemed the perfect spot.

"I moved to the Pilsner Room in 1992," Harris recalled. "The place was still run by McCormick and Schmick. Pretty soon we made all Full Sail's draft beer for Portland in that brewery. We made the first IPA here…in 1994. Later, I started the Brewmaster Reserve Program, which was small batches, special beers. The brewery here was good because it gave locals a chance to taste Full Sail's specialty beers without going to Hood River."

Harris left Full Sail after 20 years in 2012. His plan all along was to start his own brewery and pub, but it took longer than he had hoped to find the right location with the right combination of attributes. Now that he has things moving along, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with. Should be good stuff.

If you plan to stop by on the 28th, keep in mind there won't be any beer. Not yet. But there are lots of places in the area to get a beer once you've taken a gander at John's plans.