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On Saturday, February 13th, Eugene will join the rest of Oregon for the state’s 2nd annual Zwickelmania. The free event is a state-wide brewery open house, put on by the Oregon Brewers Guild. This year, over 40 breweries are participating, offering tours and tastings (some straight of the zwickel) from 12:00-4:00pm. Additional information can be found HERE on the organization’s website.
All Eugene/Springfield area breweries are participating in this year’s event. Rogue will have the old white school bus fired up, offering shuttle service between the breweries. Here is a copy of their schedule. It is also available as a PDF on the Rogue website.
Besides our 5 local breweries, the bus also stops at the Lane Events Center, where you can park and ride for free. The Lane Events Center is also the location of the KLCC Microbrew Festival; conveniently starting at 5:00pm, just as Zwickelmania comes to a close.
Oakshire posted their Zwickelmania list a couple days ago. Here are the brews they will be offering next Saturday.
Oakshire Amber
Watershed IPA
Overcast Espresso Stout
Two Wheeler IPA
Frog’s Wort Pale Ale
Ill Tempered Gnome
Harvest Ale
Red Nugget
09 Sasquatch – Last Year’s KLCC Collab.
Duck Billed Platypus – This Year’s KLCC Collab, a Belgian Style Cascadian Dark Rye Ale
Matt also mentioned that he has kegs of Cascade Conundrum, Perfect Storm and Bourbon Barrel Aged IPA that he is trying to wrestle away from the sales team for the event.
My game plan is to attend the KLCC Fest Friday night, Zwickel Saturday afternoon then take my wife out to Ambrosia for an early Valentines dinner Saturday evening. Damn, busy weekend. Oh, and speaking of Ambrosia, they will be hosting an Oakshire beer dinner on February 23rd. I’ve e-mailed the restaurant for a menu and will post it when I receive it.
Cheers and happy zwickeling!
Kevin
I’m finally getting around to typing up my notes for some of the beers I’ve reviewed over the last few weeks. First up is 10 Barrel Brewing’s ‘leet speak’ Black Ale, S1nist0r. The brew took bronze at last year’s GABF for Out of Category – Traditionally Brewed Beer. It was also the brewery’s first bottled brew, now joined by their Apocalypse IPA. Unlike all the CDAs/Black IPAs currently running rampant, S1nist0r is modestly-hopped dark ale, closer to New Belgium’s 1554 than Widmer’s W’10.
Beer Stats:
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: 28
Malts: 2-Row, Dark Malt (German dehusked Black Malt), Biscuit
Hops: Perle
Despite having ‘Black Ale’ in the name, S1nist0r poured a dark brown color, with deep red highlights and a quickly fading light brown head. The ale had a strong bready malt smell, with smaller notes of fruity yeast and spicy hops.
The first thing I noticed about S1nist0r’s taste was the yeast; the brew was full of fruity esters. I have seen a few other reviews for S1nist0r, but none of them describe the ale as being fruity. No, I take that back. I just saw Jeff’s post and he did in fact call it fruity. Anyway, I was intrigued by this, so I e-mailed 10 Barrel’s Brewmaster Thom Tash to see if he would disclose what strain is used to ferment S1nist0r. He told me that they use a British Ale Yeast from White Labs.
Ok, back to the review. After leading with its fruity esters, S1nist0r followed with a sweet, bready middle. The finish had hints of chocolate malt and a touch of spice from the Perle hops. The dehusked black malt kept the brew free of astringency. S1nist0r was smooth to drink, but a little thin, at times flirting with watery. Regardless, quite a sessionable brew.
With its ale yeast and non-aggressive hopping, S1nist0r is neither a Schwarzbier, nor a CDA. Since it doesn’t really have a category, I’ll give it a B+ based entirely on my enjoyment of the beer.
10 Barrel’s brew was both refreshing and unique. I’ll be trying their IPA as soon as I can find someone stocking it locally.
Cheers!
Kevin
There has been a lot of talk about nanobreweries lately; more and more seem to be cropping up here in the Northwest. Vertigo has been rocking their single barrel system out in Hillsboro for nearly two years. And while they have yet to open their doors, Mt. Tabor Brewing has received a good deal of press in the last couple months. There is even a festival dedicated to these smallest of microbreweries. Max’s Fanno Creek Brew Pub is holding another Nano Beer festival, February 26-28. This time, the Nano @ Fanno is winter beer themed, featuring several offering from area nanos.
So, what exactly is a nanobrewery?
There is no official definition, but the general consensus is that breweries operating systems no larger than 7 barrels are considered nano. And many are far smaller than that; 1-2 barrel systems, operated on evenings and weekends by people who maintain non-brewing day jobs.
Ok, so we are talking about tiny breweries, what’s the big deal?
The concept of miniscule breweries is nothing new, but is something that has been considered impractical. While a nanobrewery might seem like the first logical step from garage to commercial brewing, it is a rough step to take. At the federal level, the government makes no distinction between nanos and their much larger brethren. If you want to sell beer legally, you have to abide by the same rules and regulations, be it a single bottle or 1,000 barrels.
If you are thinking of running a brewery from your home, good luck to you sir. The TTB doesn’t look too kindly on people trying to license their residence as a brewery. Some have been able to pull it off in rural areas with detached buildings and favorable zoning, but who knows what other state and local red tape is waiting to block you. Most nanos have found it necessary to rent an industrial space in order to sate the various governing agencies.
The other thorn in the side of nanobrewing is time. Be it one barrel or 10, the time invested in producing a batch of beer is nearly identical. This leads to the prevailing argument against nanobrewing; you can’t produce enough beer on a nano-size system to cover the expenses of operating. Still, some brave souls are making it happen.
This post is the primer for a series of articles I will be writing throughout the year about nanobrewing. I will be talking with several regional nanos and covering topics such as purchasing and upgrading equipment, hidden startup costs, the licensing process and dealing with growth and demand. So far Mt. Tabor, Schooner Exact and Naked City have all agreed to help me by provided information from their experiences.
For anyone not familiar with these breweries, here is some information.
Mt. Tabor Brewing
Mt. Tabor Brewing is owned and operated by Brian Maher and Eric Surface. Located in the Portland neighborhood with which it shares a name, Mt. Tabor just received its final approvals and Eric expects everything to be legal in about two weeks.
Naked City Brewery & Taphouse
Don Webb and Don Averill started Seattle’s Naked City as a Taphouse; adding a 3 barrel brewing system last year. While Mt. Tabor is diving straight into production brewing, Naked City will shows us how a nanobrewery can be grown out of an existing business.
Schooner Exact Brewing
Also from Seattle, Schooner Exact has taken off like a rocket; upgrading to a 10 barrel system last year. While no longer a nanobrewery, they should have some interesting information to share on how they managed their quick growth and expansion needs.
If there is a specific topic you would like to see covered or a question you would me to ask, let me know and I will try to work work it in. Also, if you operate a nanobrewery and would like to participate in future articles, shoot me an e-mail, I would be glad to have you.
Cheers!
Kevin
I got home from the gym last night and found a package sitting on my porch. I assumed it contained the curtains my wife ordered from Overstock, so I was surprised when the label said, “Craft Brewers Alliance.” Inside the box was a press release for Copperhook and a pair of sample bottles.
Sure, I may be getting a little overexcited about a couple bottles of Copperhook, but this is the first freebie I’ve been sent. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a little harder to hang on the wall than a first dollar bill. Anyway, this prompted me to finish typing up a few reviews for beers I’ve tried recently. Since I am already talking about Copperhook, I’ll start with it. Here is the press info and stats.
“Copperhook is a refreshing beer. It’s brewed in a German Altbier style and offers a bit of a spicy citrus flavor with a clean malt profile. The beer pairs well with anything from smoked seafood to your favorite barbecued beef and we’re excited to open up distribution year-round.”
Style: Altbier
ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 25
Malts: Pale, Carapils, Caramel
Hops: Willamette, Saaz
True to its name, Copperhook poured a clean copper color. It had a large soapy white head that completely filled the glass and an aroma that consisted of sweet malts and faint spicy hops.
The beer had a lagerish quality, common with traditionally brewed Alts. It had a caramel sweet body and finished with a lingering spicy bitterness. Generally, I like my Alts a bit heavier, but for correctness of style, I give Copperhook a straight B. It is a very light, refreshing rendition of the style; somewhat like a crisper version of Alaskan Amber.
I also want to mention that Copperhook is a good beer to serve your BMC drinking friends. It is neither aggressively hoppy nor heavy-bodied; the two most common complaints from macro fans. My dad, a strict MGD man, put down his fair share of Copperhook while we watched a couple basketball games last March.
Like I mentioned above, I have several reviews to finish typing up. Over the next couple days, expect to see posts on Full Sail’s Ltd. 01, 10 Barrel’s S1NIST0R, Trader Joe’s ‘09 Vintage Ale and Beer and Coding’s own Belgian IPA.
Cheers!
Kevin
(This review was based on a sample bottle provided by the brewery)
I received the following message earlier today from Hopworks about their Three Days for Haiti event:
Hopworks Urban Brewery is hosting “3 Days for Haiti”. HUB will donate 20% of the total sales for the 3 days starting Monday 1/25 and continuing through Wednesday 1/27.
HUB has chosen 3 NW non-profit groups to support in their recovery efforts in Haiti. Medical Teams International (NW)- www.medicalteams.org, Sun Energy Power International- www.sunepi.org This NW non- profit had people in Haiti working on a solar project at the time of the earthquake. Walt Ratterman the president of SEPI and NW resident is still currently missing in Haiti. His daughter Briana Ratterman is part of the HUB family. Knightsbridge- www.kbi.org This NW group is currently in Haiti assisting in search and recovery efforts.
Think Globally act Locally, Help make the World a better place.
I want to point out that HUB is giving 20% of total sales, not profit, which is a very generous undertaking. I sent an e-mail to Ben a while ago to ask if they are also accepting direct donations on behalf of their organizations. I have not heard back from him yet, but will update this post when I do.
Cheers!
Kevin
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