For Widmer, the Future is Innovation

Monday evening, I attended an event at Widmer Brothers Brewing Pub, formerly known around these parts as the Gasthaus. A bunch of folks from the Portland beer community, mostly brewers, were invited to stop by, sample the beers and see the place Widmer now calls home. Fun evening.

I'd been there ahead of the event. Several weeks ago, I stopped by on the advice of someone who said the innovation program, lead by Thomas Bleigh, is putting out some nice beers. Sure enough, the beers were pretty good on both occasions.

The innovation and small batch program is almost certainly Widmer's future. Soon enough, the parent CBA will become a fully owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch. That deal, as I've suggested here and elsewhere, will probably happen by summer for contractual reasons. I'll be shocked if it doesn't.

The CBA made its shift in focus official the other day when it announced that John Glick, vice president of its emerging business unit, is quitting to pursue "other business opportunities." The emerging business unit, launched in 2015, was responsible for acquisitions (just one) and forming strategic partnerships. With a buyout imminent, there's nothing for Glick to do. He's gone, golden parachute pending.

At the same time, the company formalized its intent to refocus on innovation. It named Karmen Olson, the former director of emerging partnerships under Glick, as director of innovation. She promises an aggressive approach to innovation across the CBA portfolio. It's open season on that in this wacky beer climate, so she'll have some fun.

The innovation strategy first began to emerge a couple of months ago, when the CBA abruptly shuttered the Gasthaus Pub. That was mostly a cost-cutting move, intended to create a leaner CBA that would be more attractive to AB. But the underside of that move was and is the new Widmer Pub, which opened a few days later and features mostly small batch, specialty beers.

The CBA brass naturally denies that shutting down the emerging business unit and shifting to aggressive innovation signals that a buyout is on the horizon. That's par for the course, though. Buyouts in craft beer are always never going to happen until they're announced. Until then, operatives on both sides stonewall. You know the drill.

As I've detailed and you may know, AB's sole interest in the CBA is Kona, which is growing rapidly and has huge national and international potential. Given its current trajectory, I don't see how AB can afford not to have Kona. Widmer, along with its longtime Northwest stablemate, Redhook, will be altogether dispensable once the buyout happens. 

It's hard to say what will happen to Widmer in the wake of the deal. Whether it continues on as part of Anheuser-Busch's High End portfolio or is spun off as a separate entity, Widmer will have to feature a strong local and regional focus. Its national appeal has declined in recent times, thanks largely to the influx of new local breweries, but Widmer still has potential here. 

The key to getting some traction is going to be innovation. Small and inventive is the current buzz. Some would say Widmer has been innovating for years. If that's the case, those activities have gone largely unnoticed by those who follow local beer trends. Widmer has been widely regarded as a declining quasi-national brand without a future, the dysfunctional older sibling of Kona.

Nonetheless, they're on the right track. Pushing ahead aggressively with the innovation program is good business. The folks involved are doing a nice job and it provides a path forward, regardless of how things turn out. Stay tuned. 

When Brewers Go Right and Wrong on Price

Even though there's a lot of beer talk here, I tend to shy away from writing beer reviews. I'll mention beers I think are worth trying at a festival or brewery or pub. I'll usually list stats. But I seldom ramble on about any particular beer. I don't read such drivel. Why should you?

Value is another issue altogether. If there's something out there that's a great value vs something that isn't worth the cover price, that's information worth passing on. I discovered a couple of examples this past week.

The Good
I haven't generally been thrilled by Fort George Brewing beers. Admittedly, I haven't tried them all. The 1811 lager is the only one that comes instantly to mind as memorable. So I didn't have high hopes for Suicide Squeeze IPA, a current seasonal. I figured it for just another hoppy pale ale.

I bought a can of Suicide Squeeze at New Seasons the other day. In a glass, the beer has a vibrant orange hue and is slightly cloudy. The aroma is decent, but the real punch is in the deep citrus flavor...Mosaic and Citra hops. At 4.5% ABV, you can drink a few pints of this light-bodied hop bomb without getting floored. Perfect for warm weather...or right now.

Just as important, Suicide Squeeze is one of those deals where you're getting great value. At $2.49 for a 16 oz can, you can get a couple of these for the price of a 22 oz bottle of many IPAs. I think I'll be adding it to the list of beers to keep in my fridge for summer.

The Not-so Good
A lot of people were excited when Widmer announced that it was collaborating with Boneyard Brewing on one of their 30th anniversary beers. Blacklight IPA, the first of six collaboration beers to be released this year, appeared in early April.

This is a collaboration that makes a lot of sense. Widmer derives some PR benefit by connecting with the darling of Oregon's craft beer scene. Boneyard is so popular they can't keep up with demand for their beer. Hooking up with them is good for Widmer's image...makes them look like cool Slayer kids.

Boneyard benefits by associating itself with one of Oregon's founding breweries...one that also happens to have available tank space and deep brewing knowhow. It also gets packaged beer into retail stores for the first time. That's great exposure as they prepare to expand production and, just maybe, start bottling or canning on their own.

I had Blacklight the other night at Belmont Station. It's all Boneyard in the nose, brilliantly dry-hopped and fragrant....exactly what you would expect. Then the bottom falls out in a finish that's flat as a pancake. Blacklight packs 4.2% ABV. It's dark, but not malty. I loved the aroma and was disappointed after that.

Just to be clear, Blacklight isn't a bad beer. It's a sessionable black ale with a great aroma. Some people like that. The problem is the price. Bombers of this stuff are $8.49 at New Seasons. Seriously? It's a fancy bottle and all, and I realize production and distribution are limited. But this is a ridiculously overpriced beer.

Widmer has some expertise in this area. Their reserve series beers are pricey. Last year, they collaborated with Cigar City Brewing on the barrel-aged Gentlemen's Club series. Those beers were expensive and didn't move all that well. Many retailers who still have bottles have resorted to discounting to get rid of them. Not the best.

There's another one of these collaboration beers coming in May. This time, Widmer is teaming up with Breakside, another of the hottest brands going in these parts. I suspect the beer will be fine. Price is another matter. If it's another light style in the vein of Blacklight, the price ought to be in the $4 to $6 range. Otherwise, it's probably not a very good value.

As a kid, I sometimes bought cheap junk that disintegrated in short order. My dad would say, "You get what you pay for." There's some truth to that adage even with craft beer. Cheaper isn't always or even usually better. But value is value. And paying too much for any beer will get you buyer's remorse.

Widmer's Upheaval IPA Hits Store Shelves Monday

One of the things I learned as a child was to never judge a book by its cover. My dad taught me. The way something looks on the outside has really no connection to what it is on the inside. This rationale applies to a lot things...including beer.

Samples of Widmer's newest IPA, Upheaval, arrived on my doorstep the other day. You did not need to know there was beer in the package to know there was beer in the package. Why? Because the box was full of loose hop cones that gave off a succulent aroma. It's an aroma that reminds me of summer. And great beer. Packaging like that can sway your thinking if you let it. I tried to block it out.

I've never been a fan of beer reviews here. Sure, I'll provide of list of beers I liked from some festival. Strictly my opinion, strictly for use as guidance. I understand beer opinions are all over the place. What I like may fall flat on your pallet. And vice versa. No need to write reviews, then.

Nonetheless, Upheaval is a beer you need to know about...and should try if you like bold, flavorful IPAs. I always ask myself when I drink any beer if I would order it again. In the case of  Upheaval, my answer is a definite yes. The beer hits the mark across a pretty wide band of what I like in an IPA.

They're using a combination of 2-Row Pale, Wheat and Caramel malts. The stats say 40 percent wheat malt. Since the beer is unfiltered, the result is a brilliant copper color that is slightly hazy. ABV is 7%, about the norm for a standard IPA. Highly drinkable.

Hops are crucial in this beer, obviously. Brewers use more than two pounds of hops per barrel of Upheaval...more than any other Widmer beer. They use Alchemy for bittering; Chinook, Simcoe, Brewer's Gold, Willamette and Nelson Sauvin for aroma and flavor. They rate this beer at 85 IBU and it is fairly but not overly bitter. Aroma is not off the hook. Where you really get a blast of late addition hops is in the flavor. It's terrific.

Upheaval hasn't yet hit the market in bottled form...it's been available on draft for a few months. They're saying bottles will hit store shelves on Monday, Feb. 10. I'm looking forward to getting some more of this stuff. Widmer is kicking the year off nicely.

Widmer Rolls into 2013 with Renewed Look, New Beers

The folks down at Widmer Brothers Brewing celebrated the new year with a beer release party the other night. It was fun event, with beers all around, gourmet cheese appetizers and a mildly spicy stew for the main course. Three ice creams and stouts made up the desert mix. Great stuff.

Ice cream and stout...yummy!

Kurt and Rob Widmer, as well as members of their brewing, marketing and other teams were present. Thirsty operatives from virtually every beer-centric media outlet in the area also stopped by. No one in their right mind wants to miss a party like this.

Just to be clear, this was strictly a Widmer affair. There was no mention of the other Craft Brew Alliance brands...Omission, Redhook and Kona. This was all about what Widmer is doing and where they're headed for 2013.

Big Picture
I'll get to the star of the evening momentarily, but first the big picture. Widmer is in the process of revamping its packaging for 2013. You'll notice it right away when you see the seasonals and Rotator IPAs on store shelves. It's a bolder look than before and will eventually be applied more broadly.

They're calling this "revised" as opposed to "rebranded" packaging. There's a big difference. If this were a full rebranding, there would certainly be a new logo...and there isn't. What they've done is brighten up the presentation. The big idea seems to be clearer differentiation between the various brands and that's what you'll likely see as the new packaging rolls out in coming months.

Sixer side view

It seems to me the new packaging is part of a reevaluation of their overall marketing plan that began in 2011. Why did it start then? Because that's when they started to seriously address the dipping performance of Hefeweizen, the main meal ticket for many years. This reality is surely driving many initiatives as Widmer moves to solidify a broader portfolio.

One interesting quirk with the packaging is that the beer specs are on the bottom. Yep. Don't bother looking for info on ABV, IBU or other ingredients on the side panels. Nothing there. You'll have to lift that six-pack above your head to see what's in the beer. I'm not sure how 12-packs and cases will be handled, but I suspect they're be the same.

Stars Out
The star of the show in my mind was the newly released Columbia Common Spring Ale. I was talking about the rise of lower ABV, session beers the other day; lo and behold, I ran into this beer that very evening. What a great find!

Bottoms up details!

Backing up, brewer Ben Dobler told me this beer was in the pipeline when I met with him a couple of months back. He gave me a bunch of details, which I wrote it down in my notes and mostly forgot because, well, because I knew it wasn't going to be released for a few months. Then I forgot about it.

Columbia Common features a nice combination of flavor and drinkability. At 4.7% ABV, it has less kick than Budweiser. Make no mistake, though, this light amber beer has great character. The zesty hop notes are derived form Columbia hops, which were nearly extinct before Widmer brewers rediscovered them. Another part of the equation is the combination of Hefeweizen and lager yeast, which seems to create an almost creamy body.

Fine cheese!

Although it has the makings of a year-round beer, Columbia Common is billed as a Spring Seasonal, with January-April availability. That's seems odd. I'm guessing the timetable is related to the wide distribution of Widmer beers. Some of this beer has to be shipped to distant markets and that takes time. So they've built that into production and marketing.

The other new seasonal is Chocolate Russian Imperial Stout '13. This is a nice beer. They used the KGB Russian Imperial Stout recipe and added Ecuadorian cocoa nibs. The result is a complex beer that is mildly sweet with hints of cocoa and coffee. Hops are in the background. This thing clocks in at 9.3%, so you have to be careful.

Add-ons
Another of the evening's beers was O'Ryely IPA, one of the Rotator IPAs from last year. Widmer is re-releasing O'Ryely in the revised packaging. They say this is "a big punchy IPA with notable hoppiness and just a touch of caramel malty sweetness." But it's 6.4% and only 50 IBU, so it isn't too punchy.

O'Ryely sixer side panel

It's good to see O'Ryely back out there. The revised packaging will certainly make it easier to spot than the (too busy) old packaging. The beer itself seems to have a bit more zip in hop character than what I remember, but Dobler said the recipe is the same. Perhaps minor ingredient variations are responsible for any change...or maybe I'm just crazy. Sure, that's it.

Of all the recent Rotator IPAs, I like O'Ryely the best. The others (Spiced, Falconers and Shaddock) never came close to my IPA sweet spot. For my money, the best of the Rotator IPAs was the original X-114, which came on the heels of Broken Halo...both retired. Maybe Widmer will bring these beers back as part of the new approach. Hope springs eternal.

All and all, it seems the folks at Widmer are heading into 2013 with a solid game plan that mixes innovation with tradition. I look forward to seeing what else they've got up their sleeves.

Disclosure: Like everyone who attended this event, I was treated to snacks, free beer, dinner and a take home beer of my choice.

Brewing Consistency and Plausible Deniability

One of the great challenges in brewing is batch quality and consistency. I know this from personal homebrewing experience...although I have to admit my most serious issue along these lines is and always has been sanitation. But never mind.

Talk to Kurt and Rob Widmer about consistency. In the days when their brewing operation was tiny, they worked overtime to attain consistency across multiple batches. It wasn't easy. Batches that didn't measure up were tossed...no questions asked. Because they refused to damage their fledgling brand with rotten beer.

One of my labels from back in the infected day

That wasn't quite the case with the ill-fated Cartwright, Portland's first craft brewery back in 1980. Founder Charles Coury came from the wine industry and used those sanitation values. Fermentation often occurred in open containers. Thus, Cartwright's beer was inconsistent and sometimes infected. That didn't go over very well and the brewery closed in 1982. Little did Coury know he was 30 years ahead of his time...sour beers being wildly popular today.

Consistency and quality are less of an issue today. Brewers have figured out how to make consistent, quality beers. Large regional breweries that have plants in several locations around the country manage to produce beers that are essentially the same.

If you ask the Widmer boys about that, they like to bring up the macro brewers. The big boys, they say, have quality control dialed in to the point where different batches of Bud, for example, look and taste the same regardless of where they are brewed. Don't laugh. Differences in very light beers are more easily detected than similar differences in darker, fuller craft beers.

Yeah, that's infected

With consistency issues largely a thing of the past in competent breweries, it makes me especially curious when a well-known, popular beer undergoes a drastic change. I'm not talking about a brand AB InBev has gobbled up and is systematically destroying by cheaping out ingredients and production values in a factory brewery. Nope. I'm talking about an independent craft brand with full control of its quality and consistency.

Look, I realize brewers sometimes get pushed into a corner due to changing market conditions or altered ingredients. Or maybe a brewer decides a beer needs to change...the way Boneyard decided to dial down the ABV in RPM and Hop Venom over the last year. That change was totally above board. Tony Lawrence outlined what he was going to do and did it.

But what are we supposed to make of a situation where a beer with a great reputation suddenly undergoes a fairly dramatic change (according to numerous fans) and the brewer denies using different ingredients or doing anything different in the brewing process?

Listen, I honestly don't think there's a good explanation. Because it doesn't make sense. I'm mostly at a loss. What the hell do you think is going on?

Widmer Moves Forward with Reinvented Approach

I probably sipped my first glass of Widmer Hefeweizen while I was a graduate student in the great tundra of the Palouse, otherwise known as Washington State University. This was in the late Eighties and there were maybe one or two pubs in town where you could find decent beer.

The Widmer story is fairly well known. The brothers, Kurt and Rob, built the business from the ground up, with a sizable assist from their dad, Ray. You see, Ray could fix anything...a nice skill to have when your brewery is made up primarily of scavenged dairy equipment held together by baling twine. Things weren't very sophisticated in those days and the Widmers weren't the only ones who built a brewery from junk.

Kurt and Rob back in the day

But the business was a success and they eventually grew up and out of their original digs on Northwest Lovejoy. Seeking a larger space, they looked at numerous locations before getting hooked on an abandoned building on Russell Street. This was not a good area in those days and nearly everyone advised them against taking up residence there. But the price was right ($1) and they made the leap.

A few million bucks in renovations and improvements later, they went on to even greater success at the Russell St. location. The brewing operation has expanded dramatically into one of the largest regional craft breweries in the country. Today, Widmer is part of the Craft Brew Alliance, which includes the Kona, Redhook and Omission (gluten-free beer) brands.

They've produced many great beers over the years, but it's an accepted fact that Hefeweizen built their brand. The brothers tapped into the broad appeal of Hef when they partnered with Anheuser-Busch in 1997. That deal provided access to the AB distribution network, thus putting Hefeweizen on store shelves throughout most of the country. A major home run.

I had a chance to chat with the brothers the other week as part of a project that's a little bigger than this blog...more on that down the line. I was surprised to find them sharing a very plain office at the street level on Russell. This is a long-term arrangement. I don't know how they manage it, honestly, but working in close proximity has probably benefited the business over the years.

Back to the flagship beer, Hefeweizen. If you follow the beer industry at all, you may know the beer that essentially built the Widmer brand has been dropping market share in recent years. It's the result of more competition in the wheat beer segment (from Blue Moon and others) and a growing flood of craft beer choices, generally.

The lagging performance of Hefeweizen has forced the organization to rethink and alter its approach. You see this represented in the Rotator IPA series, the Series 924 beers and the increasing number of experimental and seasonal beers. An active creativity is driving the business into the future these days.

I was recently invited down to taste some of the new (and old) concoctions. A tasting trip to the Gasthaus is always a worthwhile treat, even more so when you have the benefit of a guide...in this case brewer Ben Dobler. Ben came to Widmer in 1996 after three years at Bridgeport. He is well-immersed in the experimental, pilot brewing program.

Tasting in progress

The current lineup of Widmer beers has some interesting twists. Of course, there's a seasonal aspect to it and you won't find everything on the list in the pub. A few of my highlights below.

X Wheat is unfiltered wheat beer brewed from a recipe used in the early days of Hefeweizen. Tasted next to the current version, X-Wheat is clearly a bolder interpretation of the style. It seems the current Hef has been softened up somewhat over the years to gain (my guess) wider appeal. I really liked the X Wheat.

Series 924 Milk Stout has a rich chocolate flavor and is ultra smooth with a vaguely sweet finish...apparently the result of adding milk sugar. I'm not normally a stout fan, but this is a good one. Milk Stout has limited availability so you'll have to get it soon.

Brrrr Seasonal Ale is Widmer's standard winter beer, available in bottles and on tap. A lot of people get fooled by this beer, thinking it's a dark winter beer. That's not what it is at all. Instead, Brrr is a mildly sweet, mildly hoppy red ale. At 7.2%, it isn't exactly light. But Brrr is balanced and highly drinkable.

Alchemy Project: Barrel Aged Brrrrrbon '12 is essentially Brrr aged in Kentucky Bourbon barrels. This is the third year of this beer. Bourbon aroma and flavor is very upfront and pretty hard to miss in this one. I think it could use some cellaring. This is a big beer (9.2%) and it will surely be better in a year or two than it is now...though it isn't bad now.

Nelson Imperial IPA is one of the year-round Series 924 beers. It packs a pretty serious hop punch (70 IBU) balanced out to some extent by a subtly sweet malt background. I've liked this beer since it was released because it's consistently clean and flavorful. There are other Imperial IPAs I like better, but Nelson is a solid standby.

They were featuring several New Zealand Hop beers...Pacific Gem, Pacifica and Southern Cross. Ben described these as experimental brews made to test the characteristics of the hops. None of these beers was great, though Southern Cross wasn't bad. They're far more important as a symbol of Widmer's commitment to trying new approaches and ingredients.

In the overall scheme of things, I'd say the challenge posed by the threat to Hefeweizen has made Widmer better. They cruised along for many years on the strength of Hef's financials. I don't want to say they weren't creating anything interesting during that time, but they have most definitely turned their game up a notch in the last few years. It's good to see.

Omission Beers Appear to Launch New Category

You may be aware that Widmer recently released two gluten-free beers...a pale ale and a lager. This actually happened locally back in March. Omission is the brand name. They had a release party somewhere. I'm not exactly sure where.

They announced today that they will be rolling the gluten-free beers out nationally in the next month or so. Sometimes it truly does pay to have the Anheuser-Busch distribution network in your back pocket. These are going to be the first nationally distributed gluten-free beers. Hold that thought.

Clearly Widmer?

When I first saw the Omission packaging, I was perplexed. Nothing about it told me this was a Widmer beer. There's a small, screened Widmer logo on the packaging and label. If you compare this to the standard packaging, it's pretty clear they wanted to differentiate the Omission beers.

Clearly Widmer

They haven't commented on the branding issue to my knowledge. I initially thought perhaps they wanted to sequester the Omission beers in case they bombed. Why damage your brand with a product that is, for whatever reason, not well-received? Obviously, they did not bomb.

With revelations of a national release, I now realize protecting their brand wasn't what they were up to. Nope. With national release of the Omission beers, Widmer is essentially creating an entirely new category. Just as Miller did when it launched Miller Lite in the 1970s...to dramatic success.

I'm sure they've done their homework down on Russell Street. There's a growing demand for gluten-free beer on the part of people who are gluten intolerant or have other health issues. And let's not forget the folks who will drink this stuff simply because they feel it is healthier than standard issue beer.

With essentially no competition out there at the national level, Widmer is going after this market. You can bet there will be more beers in this category once the initial two gain acceptance. The most obvious choice is an IPA, which would capitalize on the popularity of the style. Others could follow.

Like I said, they aren't saying much about any kind of master plan. But looking at the declining popularity of Widmer's core Hefeweizen in recent years, it make sense that they would be looking to take advantage of a significant emerging opportunity. This could prove to be an ingenious move.

Experimental IPAs Reinforce Widmer Objectives

If you follow Widmer's Rotator IPA Series, you know they have released four beers during the past 15 or so months: X-114, Falconer, O'Ryely and Spiced. The Rotator Series is not about Widmer trying to find an identity. Far from it. These are short release, experimental beers. They are all about variety.

There will be another Rotator IPA in the near future, Captain Shaddock. An early rendition of Shaddock was poured at the 2010 Oregon Brewers Festival. It's an interesting beer. To create a unique citrus character common to some of the most popular IPAs, Widmer brewers use grapefruit peel. You can be the judge. And soon.

The experimental IPAs lean on the same base as this one

But the good folks at Widmer have a lot more going on than just the Rotator Series. They just announced the launch of four experimental IPAs: X-430, X-431, X-443 and X-467. These beers all use the same base recipe as the original Rotator IPA, X-114; but each new beer showcases the unique qualities of an experimental hop variety.

If you aren't aware, there's quite a bit of hop research being done at the moment, much of it at Oregon State University. Brewers are looking for hops that provide specific flavors and aromas. Researchers are developing new varieties that meet the bill. There are already some great designer hops out there, with more on the way.

With respect to the experimental IPAs, Widmer sent out a press release outlining the flavors present in each beer. I'm not going to delve into the details because expectations can be a dubious business. If you go down to the Gasthaus, which I intend to do in the next day or so, try ignoring the tasting guides. Taste the beers and come up with your own version of what you taste. Then compare notes with the table tent.

The IPAs will be available at the Gasthaus Pub through the end of the month, depending on demand. You'll be able to get a flight of the four or enjoy them by the pint.

Some perspective
If you want to understand why Widmer has embarked on an aggressive experimental program over the last couple of years, you need some perspective you won't find in the official press release announcing these experimental IPAs. You also won't find that perspective on many blogs. That's because it's all too easy to simply copy a press release and post it. But never mind.

The Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) annual report released this week shows what's driving change. The CBA is represented by the brands Widmer, Kona and Redhook. Overall sales were up from 2010 and net profits nearly doubled from $1.7 million to $3.2 million. There's a somewhat rosier picture in the gross numbers, which include a one-time profit of $6.5 million on the sale of Fulton Street (Goose Island Beer) Brewery.

The problem for the CBA is that Widmer's longtime core beer, Hefeweizen wheat beer, is losing market share. Widmer segment shipments declined by 6,000 barrels in 2011, while Redhook and (especially) Kona numbers increased. The decline of Hefeweizen has to be a concern. It is, in some sense, the beer that made Widmer famous. It's been around a long time with a good following. Until now.

Big growth in 2011

Why is Hefeweizen slumping? I suspect it has a lot to do with changing pallets and the rising popularity of the IPA style, now the most popular craft style in the country. Competition is apparently also a factor, as there are light craft beers, some of them wheat beers, competing in the same space as Hefeweizen. Too many fresh, interesting beers can be a problem.

The solution for Widmer is clear enough. If your core beer is being attacked by the popularity of hoppier beers, go on the offensive and start turning out those kinds of beers yourself. Create buzz with experimental beers and rotating special releases. Lead the way in creative brewing and marketing. This is what they're doing and it is driving a renewed awareness of the Widmer brand. Pretty cool.

Update: As part of pushing its renewed identity, the CBA has changed it's Nasdaq ticker symbol from HOOK to BREW. This completes the rebranding effort that began in January when the company name changed from Craft Brewers Alliance to Craft Brew Alliance. Just more evidence that they are on the move. There's more here.

Widmer Ups the Ante with Series 924 Addition

The folks at Widmer have gotten serious about inventing new and appealing beers. That fact is fully proven by the latest addition to their Series 924, Oatmeal Porter. That beer joins earlier 924 offerings Pitch Black IPA and Nelson Imperial IPA. Setting aside my quarrel with the Pitch Black IPA name, these are all damn good beers.

In case you know nothing about Series 924, it's got nothing to do with that beat up Porsche Rob Widmer has stashed in his garage...whether it exists or not. Nope. 924 is the address of the brewery on Russell Street, the place where Kurt and Rob launched and are continuing to build their brand (along with the Kona and Redhook, at this point).

Tasting underway at Irving Street Kitchen the other night

Series 924 was launched in 2011 with (straight from the press release) "the intention of offering special, but accessible, high-end craft beers." I think they succeed on both counts. As noted, the Oatmeal Porter is the third in the series and will soon join Pitch Black IPA and Nelson Imperial IPA on store shelves (it's already in some stores).

Let's face it. Widmer's access to the Anheuser-Busch distribution network puts them in a great position to expand their brand presence via the Series 924 program. These beers are going to be available in mainstream grocery stores like Fred Meyer, Safeway, etc. Nationwide, they're saying. In four-packs of 12 oz bottles and bombers. That's huge.

Oatmeal Porter

The Oatmeal Porter is flat out excellent. It leans heavily on custom-toasted oats made specially for Widmer by Briess Malting of Chilton, Wis. Oats are typically used in stouts to soften harsh tannins, but they work especially well in this flavorful beer. Oatmeal Porter is a well-balanced beer with a velvety smooth mouth feel, nutty flavors and a mild sweetness. Let it warm up a bit and you'll smell the Cascade hops.

The glamour shot...

People may wonder why Widmer landed on a porter as the style for the Series. Why not just add an oatmeal stout to the lineup? A fair question. The answer is that the Oatmeal Porter will differentiate them from what other brewers are doing. There are plenty of oatmeal stouts out there, not so many oatmeal porters and probably none produced like this one. I give them a lot of credit for thinking this through.

My final thought is this: Something has happened at Widmer over the course of the last year. For years, the pace of innovation there was slow. Now they've got the Rotator IPA Series, Series 924 and you can often find unique and rare beers at the Gasthaus. They've also filled out the marketing team with folks who are aggressively pushing things forward.

If you happen to be on the list of beer fans who quit on Widmer in recent years because you saw it as a stale brand, it's time to give them another look. Things are looking up at 924 Russell Street. From my perspective, way up.

Widmer Keeps Things Interesting

The other day I mentioned in the comments of another blog that I did not attend a recent media tasting at Widmer. Not invited. The fact is, this blog hasn't been around that long and I'm not as well connected as I would like to be. I'm working on fixing that, but it takes time.

There was a fair amount of commentary around the blogs about Widmer's new beers...Dark Saison and Spiced IPA. I made a trip down to the Gasthaus last night to check out the new beers. The Dark Saison has been on tap at my athletic club for several weeks so I'd already tasted it. The IPA just became available.

Spiced IPA

As noted, the Dark Saison is on tap at my club. Yep. We drink a bit of beer after racquetball and have been doing so for years. This is at Lloyd Athletic Club next to Lloyd Center. It's a sort of private tavern for some members. And the club has a longstanding connection to Widmer, so I guess we get some beers before they are in common release.

Anyway, Dark Saison is brewed in the classic French farmhouse style, with about 10 percent wheat and some dark malts that provide color, but not much backbone. They use Wyeast Saison yeast. The beer has a citrus character on the pallet, thanks to the Saaz hops. I liked this beer when I first tried it several weeks ago and I had the same reaction last night. Good stuff.

Spiced IPA is the fourth entry in Widmer's Rotator IPA series. Just to jog everyone's memory, the order goes like this: X-114 IPA, Falconer IPA, O'Ryely IPA (made with rye) and now Spiced IPA.The Rotator IPA series is intended to give Widmer brewers a chance to experiment within the style. It's a great idea.

Spiced IPA is made by blending in black tea and unspecified spices after fermentation. It comes across as a bright and marginally spicy beer. The specs say 70 IBUs, but hop aroma, flavor and bitterness seem slightly subdued.

Frankly speaking, I have liked the odd-numbered Rotator releases...X-114 and O'Ryely. I did not like Falconer and I do not particularly care for Spiced IPA. I'll taste it again when it appears on tap at the club and see if my reaction is the same. I suspect a lot of people will like this beer. Give Widmer credit. The approach is definitely inventive and unique. It just isn't my cup of tea. (Insert laugh)

Widmer Impresses
When I was putting together the entry on Widmer Brothers Brewing for my eBook last summer, I concluded they were producing a lot of good beers, but perhaps falling behind some of the smaller breweries in terms of experimentation. That section will now need to be rewritten.

The tap list when I visited the Gasthaus back in July was comprised of eight beers, plus a couple of seasonal selections. Last night's list had 14 beers, including some you won't see around town. The beer list and the newly released beers suggest that Widmer is back in the groove, continuing to produce the great beers they're known for while pursuing experimental projects that will lead to bigger and better things.