A Visit to Sixteen Tons

I had planned on writing a nice little piece today, expanding on Wednesday’s post about the opening of Sixteen Tons, Eugene’s newest bottle shop. That was until I flipped open this morning’s Register Guard and saw that they had beaten me to the punch. So, instead of rehashing the Wx5H, I’ll instead spend some time talking about my visit to the bottle shop.

My wife and I stopped by Sixteen Tons yesterday evening. Like I had mentioned previously, the establishment is located very close to Eugene’s two other bottle shops; less than 2 blocks East of Beer Nuts and 2 blocks South of the Bier Stein. It ‘s also just around the corner from McMenamins High Street Café.

When we arrived, owners Mike Coplin and Jeff Moores were both on-hand. Mike got us started with the Yeti Imperial Stout tasting. They were offering 3 versions of Great Divide’s brew; regular Yeti, Oak Aged Yeti and Oak Aged Espresso Yeti; $1.00 per 3 oz. sample. Now, some people will balk at the idea of paying for a tasting, but Jeff provided an excellent explanation on why they charge a fee. He said that they want to offer tastings of beers they find interesting, not the one currently being pushed by reps. This means that they pay for the bottles they pour, not a cheap prospect considering they offer a different tasting each night they are open (Tues-Sat). Personally, I think the set-up is more than fair. I have never had the inclination to plunk down $25.00 for 3 bottles Yeti, but I happily paid $6.00 for my wife and I to each sample them last night. A large chalk board over the counter lists upcoming tasting. For instance, tonight’s tasting is Sour Power; Lindemans Kreik, New Belgium Transatlantique and Kreik Hanssens Oude Kreik for $5.00.

So, how can you tell a bottle shop is stocked by beer geeks? How about when the top shelf of the Oregon section is dedicated to Upright and Hair of the Dog? Jeff said that while they may stock some beers that you can find at the average supermarket, like Full Sail Amber, they won’t be carrying entire lines just for the sake of completeness. This philosophy is evident in their Widmer selection, cherry-picked down to W’10, Deadlift and Brothers’ Reserve Prickly Pear Braggot.

Sixteen Tons currently stocks around 300 beers, with plans to methodically grow that number. Jeff commented that they would rather have a small selection of great beers than a huge selection, fleshed out with mediocre ones. In addition to the brews, the shop also stocks about 100 wines, many local. Jeff said that the beer to wine ratio is an experiment and will adjust to meet demand. The shop also sells loose-leaf tea, organic chocolate and a few books.

The beer selection is not surprisingly West Coast heavy. Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii and Colorado breweries seem to occupy about two-thirds of the shelf space and most of the floor. The rest is a mix of stand-out continental brews and European imports, with an apparent emphasis on Belgians. Beers are laid out nicely, first by country or state, then by brewery. Each shelf spot has a tag with a full description and each shelving unit is topped with a small picture of a classic movie, used to direct customers (eg. Army of Darkness, second row, third bottle from the left).

The prices at Sixteen Tons are completely reasonable and probably a touch lower than the other shops in town, although it’s hard for me to keep track of prices at the Bier Stein since the to-go price is 15% less than shelf. When we left, we took home a bottle of Upright Four ($8.99), a Midnight Sun T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter bomber ($8.99), and two 12 oz. bottles of Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA ($1.59 each). On Jeff’s recommendation, we also purchased a bomber of Marin Brewing Star Brew ( < $5.00), a wheat wine.

I will definitely be returning to Sixteen Tons in the future. Mike and Jeff are two guys who love beer and want to share that love. My wife and I ended up spending over an hour talking with Jeff last night while Mike logged an equal amount of time with another patron. If you are in the Eugene area, I recommend checking out Sixteen Tons.

Cheers!
Kevin