With nearly 50 breweries and seemingly countless pubs within the city limits, seeking out the best of Portland’s craft beer hot spots can be a daunting task. But now, thanks to Pubs of Portland Tours, such an undertaking will be much easier to tackle.

Founded by craft beer experts Marc Martin and Charles Culp, Pubs of Portland Tours will be open for business starting on September 1, 2010. We at Brewpublic can attest to the depth of knowledge that both Martin and Culp bring to their latest endeavor. Martin has a Masters Degree in Education, but more importantly, he is walking beer encyclopedia. Not only will he tackle the intricacies of the brewing process, but he will offer a practical and historical understanding of the brewing environments the tours will cover. Culp is equally as savvy of all things beer and has worked as a professional brewer in his home state of Texas. Both men will undoubtedly do a great job of providing an intimate and fun atmosphere for exploring, learning, and quaff the best that Portland has to offer. Tours are designed for between 2 and 12 guest in most cases, and five hour tours (times and group sizes are flexible) run less than $30.

On a truncated sneak peak of the Pubs of Portland Tours designed for members of the media, we were accompanied by our friend John Foyston of the Oregonian. The tour kicked off at Pioneer Courthouse Square and made its first stop at downtown Portland’s Rock Bottom Brewery where Martin provided an interesting history of the building and the neighborhood. After some delicious seasonal samples that included a wonderful Black Toad IPA and a Cascadian Pilsner, our group hopped on the Max Train where we quickly linked up with the city Street Car and landed at the uber-cool Deschutes Public House & Brewery. At Deschutes, we met with brewer Cam O’Connor and several friendly staff members who provided us with samples of the brewery’s Fresh Squeezed IPA featuring dank Citra hops, the lupulin-loaded Hop Henge Imperial IPA Batch 8, and a new Bourbon-aged Graveyard Stout featuring nine different specialty malts.

Normal tours would have lasted much longer than ours, but we had to depart early. All that is needed to participate in the fun-packed tours will be a Tri-Met public transportation fare and a passion for great beer.

For further information on this affordable, eco-friendly experience by true professionals, check out their website: www.pubsofportlandtours.com or call (512) 917-2464 between 9AM and 6PM Monday through Saturday.

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer history, beer news, places to drink beer

As you may have already heard from reading John Foyston’s The Beer Here column in the Oregonian, BridgePort Brewing Company‘s Brewmaster Karl Ockert has announce that he will be stepping down from his post at the end of the month. While this might be sad new for those who have worked with Ockert since BridgePort’s inception back in 1984, folks should be happy to know that Ockert will continue to be a force in the craft beer community and will still be around Beervana.

Ockert’s decision to leave BridgePort was due to an offer to become the technical director for the Master Brewers Association of the AmericasRay Klimovitz decided to retire after a long tenure in the brewing business dating back to 1970. Klimovitz served in research and development for Stroh’s corporate breweries. Ockert says “(Klimovitz) is a very knowledgeable guy.” At 78 years young, Klimovitz decided to pursue other ventures. Now, Ockert is capitalizing on an opportunity he says he can not pass on. “It isn’t something that comes up everyday,” says Ockert. “I knew that if I passed on this (position with the MBAA) that it would be a decision I would regret for the rest of my life.” (MBAA). Former director

In his new role as technical director with MBAA, Ockert will be putting together classes key in education efforts relating to craft beer at a variety of levels. “We’ll try to reach out to all sectors of the brewing industry” he says. “We try to collaborate under the flag of the more you educate, share, and innovate, the more you learn.”

Beginning in 2011, Ockert plans to help implement a beer certification program designed to educate wholesalers, servers, and others a all levels of the craft beer world. Topical facets of the education will involve proper draft maintenance and the nuances of service and presentation. By providing a more rounded understanding of the complete culture of craft beer, Ockert expects positive results. His background as an educator was not only evident at his post with BridgePort, but also as a classroom teacher at Portland Community College (PCC). At PCC, he taught beer style classes. “The were usually six to seven week courses where I made a lot of friends” he says with a smile. “I was spreading the word of the gospel.” The classes he will be putting together for the MBAA will include beer server certification programs that enable not only the folks in the brewhouse, but those serving the beer to talk intelligently about the beer. “The ultimate goal is to set up a consulting business and to help brewers, smaller brewers, and get back to doing more writing” says Ockert. So what are other requirements of his new position. “Traveling. They want me to learn Spanish because I’ll be in places like South America” he adds. ” I’d love to spend longer periods of time in Europe to learn more of the Belgian, German, and U.K. cultures.” Ockert also notes that his wife is from Northern Ireland. “I like the idea of small upstart breweries like the BrewDogs of the world” he says.

When Ockert departs from his position as brewmaster, BridgePort will be in good hands. Assistant Brewmaster Jeff Edgerton will take the reigns on an interim basis, and it is looking like he’ll make the transition quite smooth. Edgerton worked in quality assurance for Blitz-Weinhard for many years before adding a dozen more years to his resume at BridgePort. “Jeff knows the plant very well” says Ockert. “He’s very dedicated, and we have a great group of people.”

Despite partaking in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the MBAA, Ockert admits he will miss elements of his job at BridgePort. “I will miss working actually making beer” he admits. “Talking with the people at BridgePort everyday who I’ve come to know quite well, I will certainly miss that.”

Ockert started his illustrious brewing career more than 25 years ago when he was hired by Richard and Nancy Ponzi, two winemakers who saw a need for craft brewing. Today, BridgePort still uses the tagline “Oregon’s Oldest Craft Brewery.” Ockert worked for seven years at the old BridgePort before leaving in 1990 to pursue other interests. In 1995 BridgePort was acquired by The Gambrinus Company, owned by Carlos Alvarez. Ockert says he wanted to get back into production brewing after a six year hiatus, and Alvarez’s vision helped make the move even easier. “He wanted to raise the bar” says Ockert of Alvarez. “I heard some good things about Carlos, and with his success running the Corona Importing Company.” Things changed right off the bat in 1996 as BridgePort  expanding its capacity from a 600 barrel a year facility to, in 2001, that of 100,000 barrels. “We replaced the whole brewhouse” Ockert says. “Mill, handling equipment, natural gas instead of steam boilers, fermenters, piping, everything.” Ockert and the crew were working nonstop seemingly around the clock to get the new brewhouse installed. In fact, he says he was involved with 35 different upgrade projects simultaneously. “We added the bottle shop, cellars; it was a fast and frenzied pace.”

Also in 1996, BridgePort developed a new beer that would forever change the face of brewing. BridgePort IPA. The idea is credited to Phil Sexton, and Australian brewer who had been working on the style for some time. “It was a fun thing working on this new style with Phil” says Ockert. “He pointed out that this is the biggest hop growing section in the world, so we should make a big, big hoppy beer. In 1996, 50 BU was huge. (The IPA) had a lot of flavor in addition to aroma. I remember when (John) Foyston came by and said ‘I can smell that from here.’ There wasn’t anyting on the market like it.”

In 2000, BridgePort won a gold medal and grand champion trophy at the London Brewing International for this innovative IPA. It was for certain that this would replace the BridgePort Ale, a mild brown ale, as the brewhouse’s flagship offering.

Since the heyday of BridgePort’s original IPA, Ockert has recognized the evolution of the American craft beer palate when it comes to hops. According to the brewer, in 2009, a judge at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Colorado wrote on a comment sheet that the beer was “Not appropriate to style. Not hoppy enough.” Ockert says that what was once labeled as an IPA is now often recognized as an American Pale Ale. He feels the palate does evolve and that our taste buds “get up to it.” With larger craft breweries such as Stone, Dogfish Head, and Ninkasi continually pushing the hops envelop, BridgePort has recognized this trend and a few years ago came out with Hop Czar, an Imperial IPA at 8% ABV and a big 85 IBUs. Due to popular demand, the Hop Czar moved from being a seasonal 22-ounce release, to a year-round offering, now available in six packs of 12-ounce bottles.

So where will the future of malt and hops take us? No one is quite certain. BridgePort will continue to produce the now classic styles of beer that people in the  might not perceive as innovative, but the world of craft beer has the first wave of craft brewers such as  Phil Sexton and Karl Ockert to thank that they were just that. Karl, you’ll be missed, but we’ll be seeing you around.

Posted under Beer personalities, Oregon beer, beer history, beer news, brewpubs

12 Imperial IPAs will battle it out for best Imperial IPA in Oregon. The winning brewer will also captain Oregon’s BEER BRAWL III team to compete against Washington and California.

11 am on Wednesday, July 29 – Midnight, Sunday August 2, Concordia Ale House, 3276 N.E. Killingsworth St.; Taster trays $12. 503-287-3929

Posted under beer history, events, places to drink beer

Rogue Ales has broken ground on the Rogue Malt Floor located on the Rogue Micro Barley Farm in Oregon’s Tygh Valley Appellation.

The Malt Floor will be a Heritage-malting operation in which Rogue Farm barley will be soaked, floor-germinated, hand-raked on the malt floor, roasted in a brick hearth, and bagged in small batches. Rogue Brewmaster John Maier plans on developing 4-6 varieties of floor malt that will be used in the brewing and distilling of Rogue Ales, Porters, Stouts, Lagers, and Whiskies.

Floor malting began in the 19th century but was gradually replaced by automated equipment that helped reduce labor costs. With the establishment of the malt floor, Rogue joins a select handful of floor maltsters in Germany, England, and the Czech Republic that continue to carry on the heritage malting method.

The Malt Floor will be complete and operational in August — in time for the Rogue Farm barley harvest. Complimentary tours of the Malt Floor will be provided and will also include tours of Rogue rock, Rogue-henge, Rogue creek, and the Rogue fishing pond.

The Rogue Nation Department of Agriculture remains committed to saving the terroir of Oregon hops and barley, one acre at a time, by growing its own.

For more information on the Rogue Malt Floor, Farm tours, or Rogue’s Grow Your Own revolution, contact the Rogue Department of Agriculture at 503.241.3800.

Posted under Oregon beer, beer history, beer news, press releases

Portland, Oregon–The Horse Brass Pub, a truly iconic venue for enjoying craft beer for more than three decades, on Tuesday, was host to a special event for of one of America’s finest craft breweries. 2010 marks Chico, California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company‘s 30th year. And to celebrate this great accomplishment, brewery founder Ken Grossman paid a visit to the Horse Brass for the release of a special beer brewed in conjunction with Charlie Papazian local beer guru Fred Eckhardt. This beer, an Imperial Helles Bock, was aptly named Fred, Charlie & Ken’s Ale.

During this special night at the Horse Brass, special Sierra Nevada brews including an Fritz & Ken’s Ale (brewed to honor Anchor Brewing’s Fritz Maytag), the flagship Pale Ale, Summerfest Pilsner, Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, the afformentioned Bock, and two popular casks of Porter and Chico IPA all poured to the contentment of a packed room of beer lovers. Among the crowd of those thirsty for great beer was the likes of Full Sail brewmasters John Harris and Phil Roche, Lisa “The Beer Goddess” Morrison, Horse Brass founder Don Younger, and the golden boy himself, Fred Eckhardt. Grossman and Eckhardt  autographed posters, bottles, and even a baseball.

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Posted under Oregon beer, beer history, beer releases, places to drink beer

On a recent adventure to New England, we spent a good chunk of time in the great state of Rhode Island. The smallest state in the United States as far as total land area (1045 square miles, about seven times the size of Portland, Oregon and in land area 1/94 the size of Oregon) is concerned, Rhode Island aka “The Ocean State” has an interesting history. It was the first of the thirteen original colonies to declare independence from British rule and the last to ratify the United States Constitution. In 1639, one of the first American brewhouses was established in Providence and overseen by Sargeant Bauleton. In Newport, the White Horse Tavern claims to be one of the oldest remaining Taverns in the United States, dating back to 1673.  Still, Rhode Island’s craft brewing culture remains almost as small as the state itself. However, unlike states such as Alabama and Mississippi who still adhere to pre-Prohibition philosophies surrounding craft brew, Rhode Island is beginning to pick up some traction and progress into the 21st Century where good beer is not only tolerated, it is expected.

Perusing the pages of a copy of Yankee Brew News, a Northeastern rendition of Northwest Brewing News, a vast assortment of craft beer destinations were listed throughout New England, and especially in Massachusetts and Maine. However, Rhode Island was surely lacking. While the Brew News mags are certainly not the end all be all of pointing folks toward delicious beer, they surely are a welcomed and often accurate road map to some worthy destinations. YBN listed 37 breweries in Massachusetts and 30 in Maine, while Rhode Island could only boast 5. Initially you might equate this to the seemingly minuscule size of the Ocean State, but in reality, Rhode Island possesses a far greater population density that the two, and, population-wise is more than 80% the size of Maine (according to 2000 US Census Bureau).

According to a recent article by the Providence Journal’s food editor Gail Ciampa:

Rhode Island beer distributor McLaughlin & Moran noted the increasing interest in microbrews and, in late 2007, began aggressively promoting the craft beer market, said Chuck Borkoski, vice president and general manager. Until then the company had an exclusive agreement with Anheuser-Busch and their Budweiser portfolio. They gave up that exclusivity to add a new division called Elevated Spirits which is dedicated to craft beers, wines and spirits.

So does having a small number of independent craft breweries mean Rhode Island is a place to avoid for beer hunters? Absolutely not. Considering Rhode Island’s proximity to other fine beer destinations, good beer is no longer hard to find, especially in places like Providence, less than an hour’s drive from Boston, where some of the best beer in North American can be sought.

So, forget lumping Rhode Island into the same category as the doldrums of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Alabama. Craft beer lives here and is beginning to thrive. In this series we will point out some Rhode Island spots to check out if you ever pay a visit. And, yes, our scope of what constitutes a valid vacation spot is heavily myopic and centered greatly around the pursuit of worthy beer, but those who have been to Rhode Island know it beholds some of the best parts of America in the ways of natural beauty and historical significance.

To be continued…

Posted under beer history, beer reviews, places to drink beer

State becomes one of the last states to change law legalizing homebrewing

Colby Schwartz

Homebrewers in Oklahoma and across the country raised a toast last week, when Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed into law legislation that makes homebrewing beer legal in the state.

House Bill 2348, sponsored by Representative Colby Schwartz and Senator Mike Schulz, officially legalized the home production of beer for personal use in Oklahoma. Home production of wine and cider for personal use was already legal in Oklahoma.

The passage of HB 2348 leaves Alabama and Mississippi as the only remaining states where the homebrewing hobby is not yet legal. The U.S. government made homebrewing legal on a federal level in 1979.

“I’m excited to see Oklahoma finally bring homebrewing into parity with wine and cider, and it was an honor to author the legislation,” said Representative Schwartz. “The success of this measure would not have been possible without the overwhelming support of the active homebrewing community in Oklahoma.”

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) estimates that there are approximately 750,000 homebrewers in the United States, including 7,000 homebrewers residing in Oklahoma. Oklahoma and Utah are the only states to have legalized homebrewing in the last 10 years.

Gary Shellman, AHA member and editor for Oklahoma City’s homebrew club, the High Plains Draughters, initiated the legalization process and worked tirelessly to ensure the bill’s passage. Shellman spent months lining up a sponsor for a homebrew bill. He kept up with the bill throughout the process, advising the bill’s sponsors and reporting on the bill’s progress to the American Homebrewers Association staff and Oklahoma homebrew club members.

“Our theme from the very beginning was to get support from all sectors of the brewing community to bring parity for homebrewed beer with that already long enjoyed by home wine and cider makers,” said Shellman. “We are proud to say that we finally got the job done, but none of this would have been possible without the diligent efforts of Rep. Colby Schwartz.”

The American Homebrewers Association assisted the legalization effort by providing advice and by mobilizing Oklahoma AHA members and Brewers Association member breweries in support of HB 2348.

“Gary Shellman’s dedication to homebrew legalization and the response of Oklahoma’s homebrewers has been truly inspiring,” said Gary Glass, director of the American Homebrewers Association. “I’m glad that the AHA was there to help with the process, as I believe that legalizing homebrewing for all U.S. citizens is one of the most important issues that the AHA addresses.”

The AHA is currently working with homebrewers in Alabama and Mississippi on efforts to legalize homebrewing in those states.

Posted under beer history, beer news

Brewpublic had the opportunity to tour the amazing understory of Ebenezer’s Pub in Lovell, Maine. Here, publican Chris Lively revealed some of his wowing collection of rare bottles known as his “Z List.”

The video continues here:

Thank you to Chris Lively for the honor of touring Ebenezer’s cellar.

Posted under Beer personalities, beer history, beers on film

PORTLAND, OR – April 1, 2010 – The brewing team at Hopworks Urban Brewery is proud to announce the release of their newest brewery band incarnation, The Growlers. The band’s first album entitled “Bluegrass Hillbrewer Jugband” will be released today, Thursday April 1st, and will be available at better beer bars and bottle shops.

The band is made up of Christian “El Hefe” Ettinger (Vocals/Growler), Matthew “Speck” Speckenbach (Vocals/Growler), Jaime “Ocho” Rodriguez (Vocals/Growler) and Ben “Dr” Love (Vocals/Keg Drum).

Keg Drummer Ben “Dr” Love talked about the bands formation, “After the huge success of last years albums, “Southern Highway – Ramblin’ Band” and “Ocho Rodriguez and the Three Amigos – Banda Banda Banda”, we decided it was time to develop a new sound and really “explore the studio space”. Growler player Matthew “Speck” Speckenbach said of the band’s choice of bluegrass jugband, “While none of us are actually from the backwoods, we’ve all been known to down a number of growlers… then blow into them”.

The band’s sound is best described as classic bluegrass with some serious blowin’ thrown in, a little hillbilly, all finishing in an endless jam. The bands first single, “64 Ounces To Freedom” hits AM radio stations today followed up by their second single “Drinkin” on Wednesday April 7th. “It’s your typical one-two punch. Knock em’ out”, said A&R man Butch Little. The album also includes a cover of The Folksman song “Never Did No Wanderin’” with an extensive jam at the end. “The song is 48 minutes in length”, says growler player Christian “El Hefe” Ettinger, “It starts with your typical Never Did No Wanderin’, then leads into a growler solo by me, to a growler solo by Speck, followed by a growler solo by Jaime, after that it drops into an extensive keg drum solo by Ben, that’s when the rest of us get a drink (out of our jugs – to drop the register) then there’s a four part vocal harmony followed by some really loud blowin’ and a few more solo’s. It’s epic.” Jaime “Ocho” Rodriguez said of the group, “This goes to eleven!”

Posted under beer history, beer news

Oregon Beer Odyssey (OBO) is an independent company dedicated to promoting appreciation and knowledge of great beer through tastings, classes, and private events. Coming up this Saturday at Bailey’s Taproom, OBO will feature a unique opportunity to experience some flavorsome wild ales with sour, tart, and rather uncommon  Says co-founder Ben Edmunds “I’m pretty amped on both of them–we’ve got some really great beers lined up to introduce folks to. Saturday should be a good chance to geek out on some of the finer points of making and tasting sour beers: where else will you get to compare all the major strains of Brettanomyces side by side?”

Wild and Sour Beers (Saturday, 4/3, 2:30-4 PM at Bailey’s)

Here’s the official class description:

Sour is the new hoppy! Few styles have caught the imagination of brewers like sour ales in the last few years. These are labor-intensive beers that take years to make and test a brewer’s artistic and scientific talents. Taste a wide range of beers made through fermentation beyond the control of traditional brewer’s yeast, including styles like gueuze, gose, Berliner weisse, Flanders red, and oud bruin. Find out why so many brewers find these peculiar ales to be the future of beer innovation.

For folks who want to know exactly what we’re going to taste:

The focus of the class is going to be on discussing the flavor profiles of sour and wild beers, more than their production (though there will inevitably be some of that too). We’ll start with gose and Berliner weisse, talking about different methods for getting a light sourness through wort spoiling and mash acidification. From there, we’ll move onto the profiles you get from different types of Brettanomyces by exploring mixed fermentation beers–lambicus vs. bruxellensis vs. claussenii. And then, Flemish sours and the blending of sour flavors. After that, we’ll do a side by side tasting of four gueuzes and talk about the range of ‘funk’ within that style. We’ll finish with one of Ron’s fruit beers, since the class, after all, is about the sour magic.

We’ll also touch on evaluating sour/wild beers. How do you differentiate between world-class and mediocre beers when they all share such unfamiliar flavors?

It’s good for geeks and novices with a sense of adventure. Tasting all these beers side by side outside of a class would cost $100+, so this is a pretty affordable way to explore the style!

Brewed by Monks (Sunday, 4/4, 4:00-5:30 at The Beer Mongers)

Official Class Description:

Belgian Trappist beers are revered around the world for their complex flavors that defy what we typically expect in beer. Taste all of the classic ‘monk-brewed’ styles of beer, including dubbels, tripels, and quadrupels. Beers used in this class include classic Belgian versions as well as the vanguard American craft brews they monks have inspired. Come drink like a monk!

And in more detail…

In honor of Easter, we’re going to compare and contrast dubbels, tripels, and ‘quadrupels’ (or Belgian strong darks, or “Strong Cascadian dark ales without Cascadian hops”) from the real Trappists, the Belgian abbeys that imitate the originals, and the American craft brewers they’ve inspired. Try brews from at least four of the seven Trappist breweries, as well as six non-Trappist interpretations of these classic styles. We’ll discuss differences between tripels and Belgian strong goldens, go through how to pair abbey ales with food (and do a little practice with chocolate), and decide whether the Trappist breweries deserve the hype they have.

Both classes cost $35/person. Sign up and learn more at www.oregonbeerodyssey.com. You can register at the bar too–just as Sean or Craig (Beer Mongers), or Geoff, Michael, or Scott (Bailey’s).

Posted under beer events, beer history, places to drink beer