By D.J. Paul

As published yesterday here on Brewpublic, today is when Widmer has their first two of four new 1,750-bbl fermentation tanks installed. That is a lot of beer and the largest tanks in the Pacific Northwest.

Having found out over the weekend that the installation would begin around 8:00 a.m. this morning I arrive around 8:30 a.m. to be greeted by a nice Portland mist. I set up shop under a Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer events, beer history

By Jen Sotolongo

Although the modern brewing industry is primarily dominated by males, women were the original brewers. Credit for the creation of beer is often given to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of beer. Inscribed on a tablet dating back to 1800 BC, the “A Hymn to Ninkasi,” a poem that describes the first-known recipe for beer. From Europe to Egypt, women dominated the brewing world. Men were not permitted to brew and women ran the beer halls and taverns.

Considered a food and form of hydration, due to poor water quality, beer was an important source of sustenance for all members of the household and beermaking was among a wife’s household duties. Brewsters, a nearly extinct term for female brewers, experimented with different spices and ingredients and brewed for special occasions and community gatherings. Additionally, brewing was a form of economic empowerment for women, as it allowed them to earn a small income through the sales of surplus beer.

Once beer became a mass-produced commodity during the Industrial Revolution, men took the Read More…

Posted under Oregon beer, beer history

By Jen Sotolongo

The Industrial Revolution led to great advancements in technology, machinery, generated jobs, expanded the transportation network, and created a class of very wealthy individuals. However, working conditions were often dangerous and workers had few rights in terms of hours, pay, and security.

The negative impacts of the Industrial Revolution led to a drinking problem among Americans. Alcohol abuse was blamed for societal ills, paving the road for the inevitable Prohibition. By the time the Volstead Act was signed on January 16, 1920, a number of states had already enacted prohibition laws.

On March 23, 1933, after 13 long years, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law legislation permitting the sale of 3.2% beer, effective April 7 of that year.  Anxious beer drinkers, thirsty for a pint, lined the streets to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition and toast the president at the stroke of 12:01 AM. Unfortunately, an accidental omission of the words “and beer” from the bill legalizing home winemaking meant that home brewing remained illegal, and would remain so for many years. Read More…

Posted under beer history

By Jen Sotolongo

The story of the craft brewing industry in the United States is long and heartbreaking tale of how corporate brewing giants turned the brewing industry into a market for a cheap, tasteless drink in order to make big bucks. This ultimately reduced the industry to a paltry 80 breweries, run by 51 companies nationwide by the 1980s. It is a tale of how beer became a commodity rather than a means of social gathering, sustenance, and housewife duty and how the beer drinking community rebelled by defying law to bring back the local brewery.

In this and the following blog installment, I will highlight the unintended consequences of the Industrial Revolution, Prohibition, and tax policies that hindered the craft brewing industry, made clear to me by Chris O’Brien’s magnificent book, Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World. While I’ve read many great accounts of the history of brewing in America, none have touched upon the ramifications to society in the way that O’Brien has.

We can credit our first president for kickstarting the Read More…

Posted under beer history

On April 7, 1933, 13 years of Prohibition officially ended in the United States with the repeal of the 18th Amendment. The 21st Amendment re-legalized alcohol here, and to celebrate on this day, the 79th anniversary of our victory, with a session beer. You see, at the time of repeal, legally allowable beer weighed in at 4%ABV or below. Who doesn’t enjoy multiple quaffs of delicious low alcohol brew? Well respected beer blogger Lew Bryson of Seen Through a Glass has started a grass roots movement to celebrate this day with large glasses of low ABV brew (4.5% and under). Says Bryson: “We thought we could ask for session beers at our favorite bars, and brewpubs, and suchlike, invite people to try them, gin up plenty of social media whoopee, and all dat.”

So to celebrate this great day, here are a few suggestions of truly sessionable craft beers to enjoy. Raise a glass! Cheers to Session Beer Day! Read More…

Posted under beer history, beer me, beer reviews

By Angelo De Ieso II

The Love of Beer – A documentary by Portland, Oregon’s Alison Grayson highlighting the regional accomplishments, struggles, and the presence of women in the craft beer industry.

The film opens with the sun rising over a hopyard before the late summer harvest along with the voices of various women stating their position. The first voice we recognize is Bend Brewing’s Tonya Cornett, a central figure in Grayson’s documentary, and perhaps the best known woman in the Northwest’s vibrant brewing community.

The Love of Beer is loaded with rich imagery depicting multifarious stages of the brewing process from the harvesting and processing of ingredients to bottling and pouring on the hospitality end. Grayson does a nice job in allowing her visual content to speak as prominently as the featured women’s own voices. The film maker does not employ a scripted narrative, rather she projects through illustrations and mindful editing.

Though many females are featured in The Love of Beer, the heart of Grayson’s work focuses on a handful of central personalities. Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer history, beer reviews, beers on film

By Matthew DiTullo

It’s hard to imagine that American beer drinkers have been enjoying artisanal, craft brew for just the last three to four decades. During the second half of the 20th Century, the adventurous palates of homebrewers carved a market for rarer imports.  In 2011 we’re now celebrating 30 years of business for Vanberg & DeWulf, a Cooperstown, NY based importer that was founded at the start of the ongoing beer renaissance.

Over the past three decades Vanberg & DeWulf has been bringing beers across the pond from breweries with centuries of brewing tradition.  Read More…

Posted under beer history, beer reviews

Day two in Denver brought the opening day of the Great American Beer Festival and the first of four sessions occurring throughout the extended weekend. After getting our media credentials and before heading into the fest at 5:00PM, we settled in across from the Colorado Convention Center at Row 14 (on 14th Avenue) where we enjoyed the tapping of a handful of fresh hopped seasonals. Unique fresh hop favorites of the day included Crabtree Chunkin Pumpkin and Breckenridge Palisade Peach Wheat. Other tasty fresh hop brews pouring were from jockeyboxes such as the grubbin’ Steamworks Colorado Proud Pale. Left over from an earlier event were the beers of Bull & Bush like their Hop Carl session IPA and Captain Midnight Black Saison.

As soon as 5:00PM came, we Read More…

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer events, beer history, beer releases, beer reviews, places to drink beer

It is time to celebrate the unity within the craft beer community.  Roscoe’s Collaboration Beer Summit will feature an array of collaboration beers from some great breweries.  Some of the breweries (and beers) featured will include: Deschutes and Boulevard (both versions of Conflux one brewed at Deschutes and one brewed at Boulevard), De Proef and Sly Fox (Brotherly Love), Elysian and New Belgium (Kick Sour Pumpkin Ale), Terrapin and Shmaltz (Reunion Ale 11), Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head (Life and Limb), Allagash and New Belgium (Vrienden), Baird/Ishii/Stone (Japanese Green Tea IPA), Mikkeller, Green Flash and St. Feuillien (Biere De L’Amitie) plus more.   This Summit will take place on both Friday and Saturday evenings (August 26th and 27th) from 4PM until 2:30AM. Roscoe’s Jeremy Lewis says “We will have brewers and representatives from breweries in attendance both nights including Arian Arnsten from Stone Brewing.” Trays of five ounce tasters will be available.  See you there!

Roscoe’s is located at 8105 SE Stark Street in Portland, Oregon. For further details, call (503) 255-0049.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer history, events

It is time to celebrate the unity within the craft beer community.  Roscoe’s Collaboration Beer Summit will feature an array of collaboration beers from some great breweries.  Some of the breweries (and beers) featured will include: Deschutes and Boulevard (both versions of Conflux one brewed at Deschutes and one brewed at Boulevard), De Proef and Sly Fox (Brotherly Love), Elysian and New Belgium (Kick Sour Pumpkin Ale), Terrapin and Shmaltz (Reunion Ale 11), Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head (Life and Limb), Allagash and New Belgium (Vrienden), Baird/Ishii/Stone (Japanese Green Tea IPA), Mikkeller, Green Flash and St. Feuillien (Biere De L’Amitie) plus more.   This Summit will take place on both Friday and Saturday evenings (August 26th and 27th) from 4PM until 2:30AM. Roscoe’s Jeremy Lewis says “We will have brewers and representatives from breweries in attendance both nights including Arian Arnsten from Stone Brewing.” Trays of five ounce tasters will be available.  See you there!

Roscoe’s is located at 8105 SE Stark Street in Portland, Oregon. For further details, call (503) 255-0049.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer history, events