Burnside Brewing and crosstown rivals Breakside Brewery have been in a squabble of their similar names. According to a trusted undisclosed blogger source, Breakside founder Scott Lawrence hit the owners of Burnside Brewing with a cease and desist for the use of a similiar name. According to Burnside insider Jay “Glazer” Gilbert, “Apparently that guy thinks he’s Art Lawrance (sic), like he has some power over our medal-winning wizardry.”

Breakside Brewmaster Ben Edmunds responded simply with “Pfft!” as he pointed to two GABF medallions hanging around his neck. Then, less than an hour after talking with both parties, we found out from barmaster and libation specialist Tom “Tom Cat” Fischer that the two breweries are now one thanks to a shotgun merger. According to Mr. Fischer, the new brewhouse collective will be dubbed B-Side Brewers Alliance.

With the new merger almost complete, Lawrance has Read More…

Posted under beer awards, beer humor, beer news, Oregon beer

I love naming beers for breweries! The puns and goofball names for craft beer seems endless and is always a kick in the pants. When I heard that Breakside Brewery, one of my favorite Oregon brewhouses was using a name and concept I came up with while BS’ing around with brewmaster Ben Edmunds, I felt extremely honored.

I really enjoy celebrating figures in the craft beer industry. Upright Brewing‘s Blend Love and Blend Edmunds are two of my proudest beer namings. Their nomenclatures pay homage to two of my friends and favorite brewers in Portland, Ben Love and Ben Edmunds respectively. Upright Brewing founder and brewmaster Alex Ganum has taken a shine to my zany naming abilities and has utilized a number of my ideas in his beers. A few others that have paid tribute to some friends/regional brewers include Upright’s Lactovasilios Berliner-style Weiss (named for Laurelwood brewmaster Vasilios Gletsos) and Upright’s Spollen Angel Belgian-style Tripel (named for Amnesia brewer Chris Spollen).

One of the most fun events I helped to put together was Van Night, a tribute to longtime community brewer and friend Van Havig, current co-owner and brewmaster of Gigantic Brewing (along with Ben Love). Several beers possessed Van Havig themes, such as Widmer’s Van Helles Lager (I even have a t-shirt to prove it!), Barley Brown’s Van Havoc (a re-naming of Shawn Kelso’s infamously hopped up Havoc ale), and Ninkasi Brewing’s Havig Your Way.

Even Breakside Ben helped us formulate and brew a beer for 2011′s KillerBeerFest dedicated to the beloved Ganum. A rooibos infused ale aptly named Alexander Legume. Now, our fun-lovin’ buddies at Breakside have made use of another tribute name that is actually a beer developed by the man for which it is named. Breakside Brewery’s Barberhop Quartet is a double IPA named for senior brewer Sam Barber. Making use of four wonderfully aromatic hop varietals, this bombastically bold West Coast release is sure to satiate the most lupulin hungry hopheads around. Here’s more on the new Barberhop Quartet from the Breakside brewmaster: Read More…

Posted under beer news, Beer personalities, beer releases, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, press releases

By Alex Ganum, owner & brewmaster of Upright Brewing

As is usual, I’ve got beer on my mind. Brewing really never gets old, and enjoying beer sure doesn’t either. Here and there I find myself headed to Upright late at night, after 10 p.m. Maybe I need to check on a fermentation, or crop yeast at an especially opportune time, or maybe I just want to start getting setup for the next day. That’s likely an excuse to go in and actually unwind, which to me is turning up the stereo and tasting samples from barrels. We recently started renting a bit of extra space for more barrel aging, so I’m pretty floored about producing several new annual releases. Many of the ones in mind were made in extra small batch form in the past, like the Special Herbs, Five aged in Fantasia casks (we need a name for that one Angelo), Lactovasilios, and single cask Provision. There’s also completely fresh recipes in the works, like a Fantasia-esque brew made with beautiful muscat grapes, a wine barrel-finished whiskey version of the recent Spollen Angel tripel, and a barrel-aged coffee stout fermented with saison yeast. I’d really like to do an annual whiskey barrel aged English-style barleywine too. And we’ve got four casks of 2012 Flora Rustica in motion too, which will further rusticize (Breakside Ben – is that a halfway legitimate term?) one of the brewery’s most historic-tasting beers. Read More…

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

Posted under Beer Blogs, Beer Brewing, beer news, Beer personalities, brewpubs, Oregon beer, places to drink beer, press releases

Breakside Brewery of Portland, OR, not long after announcing their new expansion with a 30-barrel production brewery in nearby Milwaukie, OR, has further declared that they will be partnering with Maletis Beverage mid-next month for distribution.

Breakside Brewery under owner Scott Lawrence and Brewmaster Ben Edmunds have greatly enhanced the craft beer scene in Portland since opening in 2010, winning multiple national awards for their craft beer and received local praise for their food pairings with regional artisan culinary specialists.

This new move also enhances the growing craft beer portfolio of Maletis, which carries other popular and award winning Oregon brewing companies such as Lompoc Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing, Burnside Brewing, Oakshire Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Southern Oregon Brewing, Occidental Brewing, Pelican Brewing, and more.

Here’s the full scoop on the new Breakside-Maletis partnership from the brewhouse: Read More…

Posted under beer news, Oregon beer, press releases

Portland Beer Week presents Fresh Hops Workshop

Special Guests:

Jamie Floyd, Founder/Brewer at Ninkasi Brewing

Gayle Goschie, hop farmer and owner of Goschie Farms

Charlie Devereux, co-owner at Double Mountain Brewing

Jim Solberg, co-owner at Indie Hops

Ben Edmunds, Brewmaster at Breakside Brewery

Tom Bleigh, Brewmaster at Hopworks Urban Brewery

Only 50 tickets for sale at $10.50, beers individually priced. Purchase your ticket now as they will likely sell out in advance. Tickets at: www.pdxbeerweek.com

About Portland Beer Week

Posted under beer events, events

In a region where brewers change teams more than ball players in the free agency era, another big name Portland brewer has announced he will be joining the ranks of a young, popular, and quickly rising brewery. It was recently announced that Jacob Leonard, 33, known best for his work at Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, WA where he was a recipient of the 2007 Glen Hay Falconer Scholarship in conjunction with Siebel Institute of Technology, will soon be a co-brewmaster at Breakside Brewery in Portland. Most recently, Leonard took on a production brewer position at the end of 2010 with Widmer Brothers and Craft Brew Alliance of Portland, OR. Today the word came down from Breakside brewmaster Ben Edmunds that Leonard would be on board with the quickly growing brewery.

“I’m very excited to let you all know that Jacob Leonard will be Read More…

Posted under beer news, Beer personalities, Oregon beer

“This Friday, Breakside will be featured at Wildwood in a six course beer dinner put together by Chef Paul Kasten. Paul and I have been working together for a long time on some of the beers for this event, and it will include the debut of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Old Woody (aka “Old Whiskey Dick”). This is the barrel-aged version of the beer that Paul and I brewed last year to kick off our Restaurant Collaboration series. The dinner also features the debut of our Postmodern Lambic and the tapping of a fresh batch of Old Woody.

“The menu is below and includes six courses, one of which is a pastrami pork belly eclair. Wow. Hopefully, some of you or your readers will be tempted to join us!” -Ben Edmunds, Breakside brewer

Breakside Brewer’s Dinner 6/29 at 6:30pm

Salad Course
strawberries and asparagus
basil, spring onion, champagne vinaigrette, goat cheese, saba
paired with solera-style lambic

pastrami pork belly éclair
spring onion, pickled chile cream cheese icing
paired with newport summer ale

lamb carpaccio
guajillo oil, grilled scallions, crispy chickpeas, cumin yogurt
paired with session english brown brown

crispy chicken confit
wild mushroom and fava bean panzanella
paired with old woody

pan seared ribeye filet
fava purée, grilled porcini, pale ale glace
paired with bourbon barrel-aged old woody

Dessert Course
colston-basset stilton
honey, candied walnuts, brooks cherries
paired with bourbon barrel aged 1st anniversary wheatwine

$65 includes food, beer, and gratuity
Contact Shelly Jones (shelly@wildwoodrestaurant.com // 503.225.0130) for seats.

The link to the Facebook page for the event is here: http://www.facebook.com/messages/1199520077#!/events/396727997040975/

Cheers!

Posted under beer and food, Beer personalities, events, Oregon beer, places to drink beer

To help kick off PDX Beer Week, two leaders of different beverage revolutions have joined forces to provide insight on their dynamic industries, their beverage of choice and the accelerated use of coffee as a beer adjunct.  Award winning brewer, Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery and boutique coffee roaster and owner of Red e Cafes and Roastery, Keith Miller, will lead an informal discussion on these two bustling industries over homemade brunch provided by Saraveza Bottle Shop & Pasty Tavern.  Each ticket includes a buffet brunch, six different coffee inspired beers (menus posted on left), a bottomless cup of Red e coffee & 16oz of your own self-made blend of Red E coffee & Breakside beer to take home and share. $30/seat. Tickets are limited; purchase in advance HERE.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

KEITH MILLER
ROASTER, RED e COFFEE

After working in software for 10 years, Keith and his long time partner, Mindy Farley, decided to take stake in the world of coffee.  Mindy comes from a barista and management background while Keith finds interest in the engineering the “perfect cup.”  The Red e Cafe showcases many of Keith’s coffee contraptions like a metal pour-over or draft tower for his cold press.  A vagabond roaster during the majority of his career, Keith is currently going through the process building Red E’s own roastery.  Keith also has a background in brewing beer.  He had a home brewing operation when he lived in Buffalo, NY.

Red E Cafes & Roastery has two locations specializing in single origin coffees.  Both venues are beautifully unadulterated w/ reclaimed wood accents, rotating art & the highest quality coffee. Recently, Red E was featured in People Magazine, New York Times and coffee blog Sprudge.com. Customers can purchase Red E whole beans at either location.  www.theredecafe.com

BEN EDMUNDS
BREWER, BREAKSIDE BREWING

Ben Edmunds is brewmaster at Breakside Brewery, where he has won medals at both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. He was educated at the Siebel Institute, Doemens Academy (Munich), and Yale. Born and raised in the Midwest, his love of craft beer began on Lake Superior beaches drinking Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss, and to this day, he believes that the best beer experiences come when shared with good people in great places.

Breakside Brewery is the invention of Scott Lawrence and Tony Petraglia. Some mutual friends introduced the two after learning they both had a desire to leave their corporate jobs in order to pursue their dream of opening a brew pub. They jumped in head first and committed their minimal financial resources and made it happen. www.breaksidebrews.com

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

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 beer events, beer history, Oregon beer