A Tour of Sodbuster Farms
Last week, I had the opportunity to join some of the Full Sail Brewing team and a bus-load of Portland-based beer writers, pub owners and restaurateurs for a day at Sodbuster Farms, a hop farm about 40 miles south of Portland. The trip was well-timed; Doug Weathers from Sodbuster Farms led us on a tour of the farms at the beginning of what will be about three weeks of harvesting hops around the clock. While we were busy drinking Full Sail beers throughout the tour, I did manage to capture some good shots throughout the day (Jeff and Angelo did the same).
The harvest in action
Photos: Camping & Beer
Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest at Scott Lake, OR
Deschutes Hop in the Dark at Scott Lake
Silver Moon Hop Knob IPA at Natural Bridge, Rogue River
Taster Trays
Tasters at Bend Brewing
They're not for everyone, but when I'm checking out a brewery for the first time, I'll usually inquire about getting a taster tray. I like the fact that a taster tray gives you the opportunity to try a variety of a brewery's beers. It gives you a sense of a brewery's style and consistency across its offerings. Taster trays help guide decisions about subsequent beer orders, and they give you an opportunity to try beers you might not otherwise typically order.
While out of town last week, I had two different experiences that prompted me to think more (or perhaps a little too much) about taster trays. The first was at Bend Brewing. I had never been to the brewery and wasn't familiar with many of the brewery's beers. I inquired about a taster tray, and the bartender asked me if I wanted to try all ten beers. Some quick math (ten beers x 5 oz pours = 50 oz of beer before lunch, by myself) led me to explore other options. Here, it was easy. "Or, tasters are a buck a piece," said the bartender. I wish more places offered the same deal. I ordered a more manageable four 5-ounce pours.
Everyone wants to start a brewery. No one wants to invest in one.
Lisa Morrison leads a conversation with Irene Firmat, Jamie Floyd and Charlie Devereux
While this statement may not be entirely true, the audience responses to the opening questions at last week's Oregon Entrepreneurs Network PubTalk suggested that it may not be far from the truth. The event was a panel discussion featuring Irene Firmat of Full Sail Brewing, Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi, and Charlie Devereux of Double Mountain talking about three points: 1.) What does it take to start a brewery, 2.) Should I invest in a craft beer startup? and 3.) What's the outlook for the industry?
The panel was moderated by Lisa Morrison, who opened the session with a question to the audience: "Who is here because they want to open a brewery?" The question was met with a sea of hands shooting into the air. The follow-up question was met with a much different response:"Who is here because they want to invest in a brewery?" Silence fell on the room as a few brave potential investors raised their hands.
A Migration Towards a Niche Market
McKean Banzer-Lausgerg from Migration Brewing talks about Portland's competitive landscape
In a recent post published at The New School, Ben Edmunds, a columnist for the site, prompted us to think about the point at which Portland would be considered a saturated beer market. Framed in the article as the Portland Beer Apocalypse, Ben offers his take on this very real possibility, saying:
"I fear for the Portland brewpubs. Already forced to compete with a tough restaurant scene, brewpubs are strained by large outlays of cash and credit for brewing systems, as well as the challenge of running both a brewery and restaurant." He goes on to say, "I fear that good beer and the best intentions may simply not be enough to make a brewery succeed. I hope I am wrong, but I’ll be surprised if the city can handle forty-plus breweries and brewpubs sustainably."
A Trip through the Willamette Valley: Jeff Woodard talks about beer, wine and the Carlton Winemakers Studio
We all know that the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best beer, brewers, and breweries in the country. But it’s also known to have some of the country’s best and most well-known wine regions as well. Some of those wineries are just a short trip from Portland. While I’ve known this for quite some time, it wasn’t until last week that my wife, a friend of ours, and I decided to venture out of town, and away from our typical beer hang outs, for a day visiting Willamette Valley wineries and tasting rooms.
I like wine, but as you can tell from reading my blog, I prefer beer. And because I’m not very well versed when it comes to wine tasting, I was really hoping that we wouldn’t find ourselves in an uncomfortable situation among wine snobs or looked down on because of our inexperience. We didn’t happen upon either at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, our first and favorite stop of the day.
We were initially drawn to the Carlton Winemakers Studio because of its focus on sustainability, and because it’s a winemaking facility and tasting room shared by eight local wineries. The place is impressive. At the Studio, we met wine director Jeff Woodard, who, as we learned, is also a homebrewer and fellow beer enthusiast. I appreciate Jeff’s enthusiasm about wine, beer, and food, and wanted to share some of what I learned from him during our visit to Carlton.
The Green Line Project: Goose Island Uses New Beer to Promote Sustainability
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine in Chicago asked me if I’d heard about Goose Island’s new beer: Green Line Pale Ale. I had not yet heard anything about it, but in the following days saw it mentioned on Twitter and in online news stories several times. In reading about the new beer, it became obvious that this was more than your average beer release. The beer is actually part of an entire project called the Green Line Project, with the goal of generating awareness about, and making Goose Island a more environmentally friendly company.
According to information available on the project’s website: www.glproject.com, the Green Line Project was prompted by a study that measured the carbon footprint of a typical keg of Goose Island beer. At its broadest level, the Project centers around the idea that beer distributed in kegs produces less waste than beer packaged in single-serve containers like bottles. At the same time, limiting the distance that a keg travels in order to reach the end consumer can dramatically reduce the negative environmental impact caused by vehicle emissions, energy usage, and refrigeration.
For these reasons, Goose Island launched Green Line Pale Ale as a keg-only beer, and decided that it would only be distributed in the city of Chicago.
More on Spent Grain: Deschutes Brewery’s Focus on Sustainability
Over the last few months, I've learned that most responsible breweries have relationships with local farmers that allow them to upcycle spent grain as cattle feed. In my conversations earlier this year with Stephen Neel from Oregon Natural Meats about his relationship with Ninkasi, Stephen referenced Deschutes Brewery as another Oregon brewery that sends spent grain to local farmers. On a trip to the Portland pub shortly thereafter, I noticed that Deschutes' menu mentions the use of spent grain in the brewery's pizza dough as well. This prompted me to reach out to Deschutes to learn more about the brewery's spent grain program, and more broadly about the brewery's sustainability efforts overall.
After talking with Jason Randles, Marketing Manager at Deschutes, about sustainability, he sent me the following information about the brewery's efforts:
