The State of Beer in Eugene – Summer ’10

A couple of weeks ago, the Register Guard ran an article titled “Welcome to Brew-gene,” about the city’s recent craft beer revival and the resulting boom of locally-bottled brews. It’s true that a lot has changed in Eugene since I started drinking craft beer back in 2005. So, in the spirit of Bill’s Portland Beer Price Index, I decided to start a quarterly look at the state of beer in Eugene.

EUGENE BEER BY THE NUMBERS

2 – Number of Production Breweries: Ninkasi, Oakshire

Both of our local production breweries are growing. While Oakshire has installed a grain silo and added warehouse space for barrel-aging, Ninkasi is in full expansion. Since my last visit in March, they have finished pouring the concrete, put up new walls and received their new 60 bbl brewing system. This week another new fermenter was delivered.

Both breweries also have full-fledged tasting rooms. Assuming it isn’t closed due to construction, Ninkasi’s is now open every day, noon-9:00 pm. On tap you will find the brewery’s standard line-up, current seasonal and a special brew or two. Recent treats have included their KLCC brewfest collaboration, Ragin’ Mason (Irish Red), Kraken (Strong Ale), Nuptiale (Cream Ale) and a Malt Liquor. Pints run $4 and 6-sample trays $5.50. The tasting room also doubles as the keg rental/return.

Oakshire’s tasting room is open Saturdays from noon-4:00pm. And while the hours are limited, you can’t beat the price: free. I have been out to the tasting room several times this year and each time something interesting was being poured: Duck Billed Platypus, 2-Wheeler IPA, Vit, Smokin’ Bagpipes, Cerise Noir, Red Nugget, Sasquatch, the list goes on. If you do feel like depositing some of your hard earned cash at the ‘Shire, they also offer pints ($4), bottles (varies) and growler fills ($12) during tasting hours.

This week Oakshire started bottling their amber ale. It joins Watershed and Overcast as the brewery’s third year-round bottled brew.

Brewery	System Size	Production (2009)	Oregon Ranking (2009)	Production (2010 – Qt. 1)
Ninkasi	60 bbl	15,333 bbls	6th	4,544 bbls
Oakshire	15 bbl	1,822 bbls	16th	583

4 – Number of Brew Pubs: Eugene City Brewery, High Street, Hop Valley, Steelhead

Hop Valley is the fastest growing of the local brew pubs, demand for their beer currently outpacing production. Last week a new fermenter was installed, expanding the brewpubs capacity by 50%. Hop Valley also recently started bottling three of their beers: Alphadelic IPA, Natty Imperial Red and Elias Briggs Cream Ale. The brews, already available throughout the Eugene-area, have recently made it to Portland via Market of Choice.

Eugene City Brewery also bottles a trifecta of their Track Town Ales: 200 Meter, Triple Jump and Honey Orange Wheat. Despite the inflated food and drink prices that come with being a Rogue-owned brewpub, I still enjoy ECB; mostly because of the single-batches put out by head-brewer and Cascade Brewers Society president Nate Sampson.

Eugene’s two longest operating brewpubs Steelhead and High Street, are the only two to survive the mid-2000′s closures that saw the demise of Wild Duck, West Bros. (now ECB), Fields and Spencers (now Hop Valley). They are also the city’s two least impressive. High Street pumps out the standard McMenamins brews and an array of seasonals/specialties that fluctuate between mediocre (Irish Red) and awful (CDA).

The Steelhead sports a very generic line-up, the only recent standout being last winter’s Heat Miser. Steelhead is also home to Eugene’s only cask engine, but every time I have tried to get a pour from it, I’ve been told that it just blew.

Brewery	System Size	Production (2009)	Oregon Ranking (2009)	Production (2010 – Qt. 1)
Steelhead	10 bbl	1,021 bbls	34th	215 bbls
High St.	?	802 bbls	46th	168
Eugene City Brewery	7 bbl	619 bbls	52nd	126
Hop Valley	15 bbl	Not Available	Not Available	314

2 – Number of Other Lane County Breweries: Brewers Union Local 180, Wakonda

Our two other breweries are located at opposite end of the county; Brewers Union in Oakridge and Wakonda in Florence. Brewers Union is a small cask-ale producing brewpub owned and operated by brewer Ted Sobel. So far, my only chance to speak with Ted and sample his brews came at the KLCC brewfest earlier this year. I would love to see his beer on-tap in Eugene, but according to Ted, until someone gets the proper serving equipment, it’s a no-go.

Wakonda on the other hand, has a couple Eugene accounts. Their beer is also being served at the Three Rivers Casino in Florence, which should prove to be great exposure for the little brewery. So far, I have been most impressed with their Imperial Pilsner and IPA.

Brewery	System Size	Production (2009)	Oregon Ranking (2009)	Production (2010 – Qt. 1)
Brewers Union Local 180	3 bbl	93 bbls	71st	22 bbls
Wakonda	?	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

3 – Number of Bottle Shops: Beer Nuts, Sixteen Tons, The Bier Stein

With 1,000+ beers, The Bier Stein is home to Eugene’s largest selection of bottled brews. It is also the only bottle shop that serves food and allows drinking on-premise. The Bier Stein is the place to go for the most unique tap offerings in Eugene. With only ten taps, they make them count, serving up Imperial Stouts, Barley Wines and barrel-aged brews that you won’t see anywhere else in town. It is also the only place in Eugene I know of (breweries aside) that actively purchases and stores specialty kegs. Tastings happen fairly regularly at The Bier Stein and the shop hosts all of Oakshire’s release parties. Recently the shop held a beer and cheese pairing where Cypress Grove cheeses were paired with local brews including an aged Barley Wine from Ninkasi.

While The Bier Stein has the area’s largest selection, Sixteen Tons has the best tastings. The bottle shop currently hosts a themed tasting each evening; most costing between $1-5. I have been to a few of these tastings since the shop opened last month and each one has been well worth the admission. It is a great way to sample an array of unique brews without spending $10+ per bottle. The last Sixteen Tons tasting I attended included Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial, New Belgium La Folie, He’Brew Rejewvenator, The Bruery Tradewinds and Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad.

All three shops are located within blocks of each other, in Eugene’s downtown area. It will be interesting to see how this close proximity affects pricing and selection over time. Outside of the downtown core, Eugene is completely void of bottle shops. The city does have four Market of Choice stores, each with a large bottle selection. The best selection is found at the chain’s flagship store at 29^th and Willamette.

3 – Number of Brewfests: KLCC, Sasquatch, Fresh Hop Tastival

Eugene’s two major brewfests, KLCC and Sasquatch are both very healthy. And both festivals saw an increase this year in the number of homebrew competition entries: 241 for KLCC and 61 for Sasquatch.

I am curious to see if the Fresh Hop Tastival returns to Eugene this fall; the event is currently absent from the Oregon Brewers Guild website, despite listing for Portland and Hood River Tastivals.

$4.00 – Average Pub Price for a Pint of Craft Beer

With very few exceptions, a pint of craft beer in Eugene will set you back $4. And aside from The Bier Stein, bars and restaurants in Eugene do not individually price their craft taps.

The most consistent place in town for a good, cheap pint is either of the two Cornucopia restaurants. Craft pints at Cornucopia are $3.50 and the tap list usually includes something new. Recently, I have tried Walkabout IPA, Walkabout Wit, Calapooia Pilsner and Silvermoon Brown. In the past, I have seen everything from Upright brews to Mirror Mirror grace the chalkboard; all for $3.50. Frog’s Wort, their house pale ale brewed by Oakshire, is also always available at both locations. And if you can’t find anything interesting on tap, the 17^th and Lincoln location has a couple coolers with 100+ bottles to choose from.

Happy hour in Eugene sees the price for craft pints generally dip into the $3-3.50 range. One of the best happy hour deals in town can be found at The Vintage. From 4-6pm, pints are $2.50 and from 10-midnight, pitchers are $7. While they only have 4 or so craft taps, usually filled exclusively with Ninkasi and Oakshire brews, the price more than makes up for the limited selection. Also, on Thursdays, until they run out, you can get a handmade burger and two pints for $8.

50 – Largest Number of Taps: The Wetlands

It’s odd that the largest number of taps in town can be found at a sports bar in west Eugene, where the Bud Light handle sees the most action. Most of the craft taps are dedicated to the tried and true micro fair; Sierra Nevada Pale, Fat Tire, Mirror Pond, Widmer Hef and the like. But there is usually a gem or two like Hopworks IPA or Lagunitas Brown Shugga’. And the last couple of times I visited, New Belgium 1554 was being served on nitro. Also, expect to find around 4-5 Ninkasi taps and 2-3 Oakshire.

Eugene City Brewery probably has the next largest tap selection in town, but nearly all of them are dedicated to Rogue brews. Nate usually has at least one special brew on tap though; Track Town Brown being the last one I tried. And there is usually a good guest tap or two. ECB was the first place I tried Hair of the Dog Blue Dot. Expect to be told they are out of the first several brews you ask for if you attempt to order off the printed beer menu.

100% – Percentage of Area Establishments Serving Total Domination

Okay, this may be a slight exaggeration, but really, you will be hard-pressed to find a bar, restaurant or market in Eugene that doesn’t serve or sell the IPA. While rapidly expanding their empire, Ninkasi has done a good job of reminding Eugeneians that Total Dom is their beer and it has paid off in spades. Total Domination is the best selling bomber in Oregon and among the top ten nationwide.

0 – Number of Honest Pint Certified Pubs

Eugene is the land of shaker pints; some capable of holding a full 16 oz., some not. Most pubs seems to have a mixture of both, indicating to me that they weren’t intending to buy cheater pints.

The Bier Stein is the only place in Eugene that serves beer in the correct glass for the style. They could probably be certified without a problem. Sam Bonds is the other pub where I feel that I consistently receive an honest pint. All of their beers are served in 16 oz. mason jars, filled to the brim.

Looking past Eugene, Lane County does have one certified purveyor of honest pints; Brewers Union in Oakridge. Ted serves all his brews in 20 oz. glasses with marked fill lines.

2 – Number of Homebrew Stores: Valley Vintner, Home Fermenter Center

Despite a huge homebrew community, including renowned brewer Denny Conn and all-star club Cascade Brewers Society, Eugene gets by with only a pair of homebrew shops. The Home Fermenter Center serves the Whiteaker area while Valley Vintner & Brewer is located downtown, just blocks west of Beer Nuts and Sixteen Tons. Both shops are well-stocked and chances are if one is out of something you are looking for, it can be found at the other.

1 – Number of Beer Blogs: Beer and Coding in Eugene

I figured I would end with some shameless self promotion. Actually, I wish there were some more people out here doing what I do. It can get tiring being the only guy at beer tastings and bottle releases that shows up with a camera and notebook. It always amazes me when I talk with Portland beer bloggers; you guys have your own community within craft beer.

On his food blog AntSaint, Anthony St. Clair occasionally delves into the topics of beer and homebrew, but other than that, I think I am it for Eugene. There has to be someone else around here enamored with craft beer enough to write about it…

If I were to sum up in one word the state of craft beer in Eugene, I would say “growing.” I think calling the city Brew-gene is a little preemptive, but we are getting there. We are nowhere close to Portland where you can hardly throw a rock without hitting a brewpub. Ninkasi has definitely had the largest recent impact, exposing a lot of new people to craft beer and breaking the ice for others to enter the market. It will be interesting to see if the city’s beer culture continues to develop and grow as its breweries continue to expand.

Cheers!
Kevin