Columbia Gorge Breweries Form Breweries in the Gorge Alliance & New Brewery Passport Program

Set to debut tomorrow just in time for the Oregon Brewers Guild’s 7th Annual Zwickelmania is the newly formed alliance, Breweries in the Gorge (BIG). This brand new craft beer alliance will consist of breweries that call the scenic Columbia River Gorge home. The best part is that this group straddles both sides of the Columbia to encompass seven breweries from Oregon and three breweries from Washington.

These 10 member breweries of BIG span from Cascade Locks, OR to White Salmon, WA and will debut a map and passport program on Saturday, February 14th coinciding with Zwickelmania in Oregon.

Similar to a few of the other “Ale Trails” here in Oregon, BIG will offer a “Passport” program. Once participants visit and receive stamps from 8 of the 10 BIG member breweries they will receive a free, limited-edition pint glass during the 8th visit. Participants will also be able to enter a raffle for shirts, hats, and other prizes.

To make this new BIG alliance it took a lot of effort during the past year. The 10 breweries met up on a monthly basis to form this new association to pull its resources together to better build a brand for the fine breweries east of Portland. This newly formed association resulted in the election of an executive committee that assisted in the development of the brewery map, passport program, and website.

The breweries that are involved in BIG consist of the following:

• Backwoods Brewing – Carson, WA
• Big Horse Brewery – Hood River, OR
• Double Mountain – Hood River, OR
• Everybody’s Brewing – White Salmon, WA
• Full Sail Brewing – Hood River, OR
• Logsdon Farmhouse Ales – Hood River, OR
• pFriem Family Brewers – Hood River, OR
• Solera Brewery – Parkdale, OR
• Thunder Island Brewing – Cascade Locks, OR
• Walking Man Brewing – Stevenson, WA

Christine Ellenberger of Everybody’s Brewing and the first President of Breweries In The Gorge, is leading the executive committee’s efforts to promote the region’s award winning breweries, host joint beer events, and highlight the Gorge region as a top beer destination. Ellenberger sees Breweries In The Gorge as “an opportunity to collaborate with other breweries, expose beer enthusiasts to our region, and to combine our voices.  The Gorge is a unique beer region that combines the beauty and activities available here with one of the highest concentrations of award winning breweries in the Northwest.”

According to Ken Whiteman, co-owner of pFreim Family Brewing and Marketing Committee Chair of Breweries in the Gorge, “Zwickelmania will be our first opportunity to showcase what we’re doing as Breweries in the Gorge,” Whiteman said. “We are looking forward to expanding our efforts in the coming year by organizing events that highlight the quality, diversity, and excitement of our beer culture and region.”

So on your next trip out to the Gorge make sure to download the new BIG Passport and get started on fulfilling this new beer adventure.