All that beer... and so little time.
Yesterday the Oregon Brew Crew held its sixth annual "Fall Classic" homebrew competition at the Main Street Ale House in Gresham, OR. Roughly forty judges, over half trained and certified by the Beer Judge Certification Program, evaluated 214 entries in 24 categories, selecting winners in each category plus Best of Show.
Yours truly submitted entries in four categories and came away with ribbons in two: first place for a sparkling dry apple cider called "Incider Riot," and second for a plum mead (melomel) called "Plumber's Crack." Best of Show winners are:
(Best of Show) Nathan Zorich 17D Golden B-Day Haze
(Best To Brew) Tom Litwin 1A Leander Lager
(3rd Place) Mitch Scheele 4C Black Pieree
(4th Place) Paul Johnson 26C Holiday Mead
A full list of winners will be posted on the Oregon Brew Crew website by Wednesday, according to Chris.
The judging began a little after 9 AM. Organizer Chris Hummert dispatched judges in twos and threes to tables in the Ale House's spacious dining room. Stewards followed quickly with beers and flight sheets. What is always the most difficult and chaotic moment of a home brew competition - figuring out who's there and getting them assigned to categories to judge - actually progressed relatively quickly as many experienced hands pitched in to ease Chris's pain.
Some categories, like one I judged - Light American Lagers - had only one entry, and judges merely had to score it and determine which level of award it deserved. Others, like American Ales, drew too many entries (27) for a single panel to handle. Those were divided into sub-flights for separate panels to evaluate, followed by a taste-off.
The judging process is of course subjective at its root, but through training and the development of the BJCP guidelines it is conducted in as objective a manner as possible. Judges taste small samples of each entry in a given category, evaluating it according to its aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall enjoyment. Points are awarded for each component and totaled to provide an overall score, ranging from 0 to 50 in theory but typically 13 to 45 in practice. 13 is undrinkable swill, infected and not at all to style; 45 is a "world-class example of style." Over the course of my three flights we had one beer rank 18 and another 44, but most ranged from 25-35. This speaks to the overall high quality of entries in this competition. We have some really good brewers out here.
Unlike wine, beer judges have to swallow to properly taste all flavor components. A beer's aftertaste is important and its bitterness can only be fully appreciated if the beer passes over the bitterness taste receptors concentrated in the back of the mouth. (Really. Trust me.)
With all that beer, and starting at 9 AM, you'd think we'd have a bunch of drunks on our hands by 3 o'clock. This is avoided (for the most part) by taking small samples 0 usually 2-3 ounces - of each beer (and we don't always consume even all of that), and keeping tasting flights small - usually about 6-8, but always under a dozen.
With a good turnout of judges from all over the Northwest, and even one from Georgia, we were able to do that and drive home safely. Good work, Chris, and congratulations to all who went home with prizes.
Thanks also to the Ale House for hosting and providing a great lunch to absorb some of that alcohol.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Pubs and Beers in Scotland and Northern England
by Gary Corbin and Laura Guimond
This is another installment in a series about the breweries, pubs and beers that we encountered in our recent trip to Britain and Ireland. In this article we focus on pubs and beers in Scotland and northern England.
Many import and craft beer lovers gain familiarity with British ales such as Bass Ale and Newcastle Nut Brown Ale early in their “good beer” education. Typically, the newcomer to these highly flavored brews immediately notes the dramatic difference between these beers and the domestic lagers (Budweiser, Miller, Coors) or even the continental-style pilseners (Heineken, Beck’s) available on the American market. As a result, at first taste, these British beers can seem pretty similar to one another. Certainly, the beers in Scotland and northern England share similarities with their southern England cousins, and even with the Irish reds we’ve discussed in prior columns. But they also diverge from them in important ways – a distinction that is a pleasure to discover through experience “in country,” as we were fortunate enough to do.
Edinburgh
Fibber McGee’s, a Caledonian tied house, was just up the street from the house we stayed in, in “New Town” just north of the fashionable Princes Street. Fibber’s Dribble – the house ale, equivalent to Caledonian 80/-, was a cask ale with a medium head, deep gold/light copper in color, with a malty/fruity and lightly hoppy aroma. Toward the full-bodied side, it was malty with moderate bitterness and was a bit tart; fruity and hoppy in the middle and finish with a light caramel note. Deuchar’s IPA, also a cask ale, was one of the best we tasted on the trip: floral hoppy aroma, gold color, and clear, it was medium to full-bodied, malty, and sweet, balanced by strong hop bitterness. True to style – but not to the Scottish Ale tradition -- it had strong and complete hop profile (aroma, bitterness, and finish) with a touch of residual sweetness at the end.
Rose Street Brewery is a small, smoky brewpub owned by the giant Scottish and Newcastle brewing chain, also in New Town. The Auld Reekle 90/- Ale, a cask ale, was dark brown with a long-lasting creamy head that accentuated the beer’s esteriness. There were also malty and “cooked corn” aromas. Mild, medium-bodied and sweet, we detected some chocolatey roasted malt flavors. It had low bitterness and a sweet finish.
At The Filling Station, an overly touristy pub on the Royal Mile, we tried Campbell’s Bitter, a keg beer with a moderately thick, long-lasting head, gold/light copper in color, and fruity, hoppy aroma. It was a bit thin-bodied, fruity in flavor and just a tad dry, but well balanced with a hoppy aftertaste. Note: if you ever eat in this place, stay away from the microwaved pasta – believe it or not they served up Portland’s own GardenBurger, which was much better.
Greyfriar’s Bobby’s is one of Edinburgh’s most famous pubs (at least among tourists). It was named for the dog whose master died when he (the dog) was two years old – and the dog spent the next 14 years guarding his master’s grave. It’s a friendly place but attracts a pretty young crowd that goes there for the loud music rather than the fine beer they serve. Bobby’s Best Ale, a 4.4% ABV cask ale, had a medium-to-low head, a reddish/copper color, and was a bit cloudy. It had a very fruity hop aroma and flavor – it dominated the thin-bodied but somewhat sweet beer. Yet it was low in bitterness, an unusual Scottish ale. Still, we preferred it to Calder’s 70/-, a brown keg ale served too cold with a thin but well-lasting head and some hop and fruit aromas. It was thin-bodied with roasted malt, caramel, and fruity hop flavors, together with hop and roasted malt bitterness but low on sweetness and malt flavor, and it had a bitter finish.
The Shore Inn was a great place for dinner, and for a fine pint as well. We had Maclay’s Kane Commemorative Brew, a cask ale with thick long-lasting head, a hoppy aroma and some banana esters. Thin-to-medium bodied, golden to light copper, it was nonetheless balanced between its aggressive hop bitterness and a malty but not sweet flavor with a touch of citrus and a bitter/hoppy finish. Maclay’s 80/-, also a cask ale, had a rich copper-red color, little aroma of any sort, and a thick, long-lasting head. Also thin-to-medium bodied, it's moderately malty and sweet with some caramel and low-to-medium bitterness. By contrast it had a dry, moderately bitter finish.
Glasgow
The Brewery Tap is really two pubs in one. During the day, it’s a quiet neighborhood bar in the University district with plenty of great ales on tap. At night it’s packed with students rocking tattoo-to-tattoo to the latest alternative music. We tried it – and liked it – both times of day. Apparently, so do the rich and famous: Mel Gibson made this pub his favorite haunt while filming Braveheart. He favored the Fraoch Heather Ale, a tasty golden cask ale made with heather flowers in addition to hops. It’s very smooth, medium-bodied, and not very bitter, rather akin to a wheaten ale.
The Harviestown Montrose Ale, brewed in Dollar, Scotland, is cask-conditioned, with a medium-sized very creamy head. The ale is bright red, crystal clear, medium-bodied, very malty, a bit caramelly, and a bit sweet, but balanced by moderately strong bitterness and a medium-hop finish. This is one lovely ale.
The Caledonian Blonde is pale gold, with a heavy, rocky head. It had a strong DMS aroma. Light-bodied, bitter, malty but not sweet, it resembled a golden ale or very mild kolsch. We liked the Blonde well; less so the Mayfest Ale, a deep gold to light copper colored cask ale. It had a wonderful long-lasting creamy head and strong esters of banana and pineapple. Medium-bodied and moderately sweet, it had a high level of bitterness and a bitter finish with some funky “wet socks” off flavors. Finally, the complex Ind Cooper’s Burton Ale, a deep gold colored cask ale, had a thin but long-lasting creamy head. Rather thin-bodied, with medium maltiness and low sweetness, the bitterness starts slowly and finishes strongly, with a rush of hop flavor in the middle. It had a malty and slightly citrusy aroma.
Here’s an important traveling lesson for all Brew Crew members: flaunt your expertise! We bought a ½-pint of ale, intending to surf the various taps on a tasting spree. Once our friendly bartender, Stan, discovered this, he kindly provided several tasting samples gratis, just to hear what we thought of them. Not only that, he gave us a bar towel, pulled a poster off the wall as our second souvenir, and shared his own expertise on pubs to visit in Edinburgh.
The Three Judges, a Maclay’s tied house, is a beer-lover’s pub just outside the University of Glasgow frequented primarily by professionals and real beer lovers. Here, for example, we met a card-carrying member of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). He gave us a tour of their eight-entry cask ale menu, which had sported over a thousand different ales in its time. The Bruce (4.8% ABV) was golden colored, with a quickly dissipating head, but a very hoppy, floral, and citrusy aroma. Full-bodied and strongly bittered, it was also very malty in flavor without being overly sweet, and had a very hoppy finish. Curiously, this was billed as a porter, although I’d call it a great IPA. Almost as good was Judges Grand, their 1000th ale, a cask pale-to-copper ale with a low, rocky long-lasting head, thin-to-medium body, moderate fruity/hoppy aroma, fruity sweet flavor, low bitterness, moderate maltiness, and a hoppy, dry finish.
Oban
The Scots are fond of reminding visitors that, unlike Wales or Ireland, Scotland was never conquered by the English. On the other hand, English troops have been in Scotland frequently enough, enforcing the will of the English crown, to be the source of innumerable traditions and legends. One of our favorites is the story associated with the Tigh-an-Truish, a tiny pub on Seil island off the west coast near Oban. At one time, in an attempt to crush Scottish culture, the English forbade the wearing of kilts on the “main” island. Scots leaving Seil would stop at this pub to change from their kilts (in Gaelic, tigh) into trousers (truish) – and, naturally, have a pint or two. Naturally, this meant that they needed to stop in on the way home as well. (You gotta love a story with a happy ending.)
In addition to a surprisingly good vegetarian dinner (rare in the UK), we sampled two cask ales. Summer Lightning by Hop Back Brewery (England) was gold colored, with a low, rocky but long-lasting head. It had strong, hoppy aroma, with little or no esters. Medium bodied, moderately malty and not too sweet, it is 5% alcohol by volume, very strongly bittered and very hoppy in flavor. It had a strong hop finish and no off-flavors. Its hoppiness, we were to find, is unusual in this region – more similar to American ESB’s in the Pacific Northwest than to its in-country counterparts.
By contrast, Younger’s Tartan Special had a deep copper color, again a low head with excellent retention. Bitter, very low hop aroma, it was hoppy up front and had a dry hoppy finish. It was low-medium bodied, malty and bready in flavor but again low in sweetness with slight caramel notes.
The Lorn Hotel had a smoky bar worth only a quick stop, where we tried Hoskin’s Churchill Bitter. This dark brown cask ale was a bit cloudy, almost opaque. Its low head dropped quickly. It had a fruity, winy aroma and flavor, with low bitterness but some sweetness and roastiness on the tongue. Its moderate hop flavor was more accented on the finish, with some astringency. At The Oban Inn, we tried Gillespie’s Stout, a keg stout with a thick, rocky, brown head. Dark brown/reddish in color, with some esters and malt roastiness in the nose, it was medium-bodied, sweet, low in roast malt flavor, moderately bitter with a sweet finish and a touch of sourness throughout.
Heading south
We drove from Edinburgh through the Borders region, land of William Wallace (Braveheart), ancient manor houses, and zillions of sheep, and into northern England for a tour of Hadrian’s Wall, the Cathedral at Durham, and of course some excellent pubs. The Traveller’s Rest Inn in Witton Gilbert, County Durham served up a hearty ploughman’s lunch and stories of the town back in the days when Laura’s grandmother toddled about. While listening we sipped a Theakston Best Bitter, a cask ale with long-lasting medium head, gold color, hoppy aroma, not very estery or citrusy. It was thin bodied, medium bitterness, low sweetness, low to medium maltiness, low but noticeable hop flavor, and a slightly hoppy finish. Burglar Bill’s, a complimentary taste from the friendly bartender, was a reddish ale with a thick, rocky head, somewhat malty and slightly hoppy aroma. It was medium bodied, malty, moderately sweet, and while only moderately bittered the bitterness lasted to the finish.
Conclusion
The Scots and the northern English love a good pint as well as their London and Dublin cousins, but they’d define the ideal pint a bit differently: sweeter, and with more bitterness, higher alcohol, and more hops throughout the beer’s profile (although still less than the average Portlander might prefer). The beers tend to be darker, a bit roastier, more citrusy, and more likely to be cask-conditioned and less likely to be pumped with nitrogen-CO2-mix gas than in London. The pubs play an equally central role in the daily life of a Scot and northern Englishman as a Dubliner or Londoner and are similar in character, though each has its own unique charm, and with a few horrid exceptions the food tended to be much better in Scottish pubs.
If you’re planning a trip to Britain, be sure to allocate enough time to spend several nights in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands. The people are warm and friendly, the scenery is majestic, the history is fascinating – and of course, the beer is excellent.
This is another installment in a series about the breweries, pubs and beers that we encountered in our recent trip to Britain and Ireland. In this article we focus on pubs and beers in Scotland and northern England.
Many import and craft beer lovers gain familiarity with British ales such as Bass Ale and Newcastle Nut Brown Ale early in their “good beer” education. Typically, the newcomer to these highly flavored brews immediately notes the dramatic difference between these beers and the domestic lagers (Budweiser, Miller, Coors) or even the continental-style pilseners (Heineken, Beck’s) available on the American market. As a result, at first taste, these British beers can seem pretty similar to one another. Certainly, the beers in Scotland and northern England share similarities with their southern England cousins, and even with the Irish reds we’ve discussed in prior columns. But they also diverge from them in important ways – a distinction that is a pleasure to discover through experience “in country,” as we were fortunate enough to do.
Edinburgh
Fibber McGee’s, a Caledonian tied house, was just up the street from the house we stayed in, in “New Town” just north of the fashionable Princes Street. Fibber’s Dribble – the house ale, equivalent to Caledonian 80/-, was a cask ale with a medium head, deep gold/light copper in color, with a malty/fruity and lightly hoppy aroma. Toward the full-bodied side, it was malty with moderate bitterness and was a bit tart; fruity and hoppy in the middle and finish with a light caramel note. Deuchar’s IPA, also a cask ale, was one of the best we tasted on the trip: floral hoppy aroma, gold color, and clear, it was medium to full-bodied, malty, and sweet, balanced by strong hop bitterness. True to style – but not to the Scottish Ale tradition -- it had strong and complete hop profile (aroma, bitterness, and finish) with a touch of residual sweetness at the end.
Rose Street Brewery is a small, smoky brewpub owned by the giant Scottish and Newcastle brewing chain, also in New Town. The Auld Reekle 90/- Ale, a cask ale, was dark brown with a long-lasting creamy head that accentuated the beer’s esteriness. There were also malty and “cooked corn” aromas. Mild, medium-bodied and sweet, we detected some chocolatey roasted malt flavors. It had low bitterness and a sweet finish.
At The Filling Station, an overly touristy pub on the Royal Mile, we tried Campbell’s Bitter, a keg beer with a moderately thick, long-lasting head, gold/light copper in color, and fruity, hoppy aroma. It was a bit thin-bodied, fruity in flavor and just a tad dry, but well balanced with a hoppy aftertaste. Note: if you ever eat in this place, stay away from the microwaved pasta – believe it or not they served up Portland’s own GardenBurger, which was much better.
Greyfriar’s Bobby’s is one of Edinburgh’s most famous pubs (at least among tourists). It was named for the dog whose master died when he (the dog) was two years old – and the dog spent the next 14 years guarding his master’s grave. It’s a friendly place but attracts a pretty young crowd that goes there for the loud music rather than the fine beer they serve. Bobby’s Best Ale, a 4.4% ABV cask ale, had a medium-to-low head, a reddish/copper color, and was a bit cloudy. It had a very fruity hop aroma and flavor – it dominated the thin-bodied but somewhat sweet beer. Yet it was low in bitterness, an unusual Scottish ale. Still, we preferred it to Calder’s 70/-, a brown keg ale served too cold with a thin but well-lasting head and some hop and fruit aromas. It was thin-bodied with roasted malt, caramel, and fruity hop flavors, together with hop and roasted malt bitterness but low on sweetness and malt flavor, and it had a bitter finish.
The Shore Inn was a great place for dinner, and for a fine pint as well. We had Maclay’s Kane Commemorative Brew, a cask ale with thick long-lasting head, a hoppy aroma and some banana esters. Thin-to-medium bodied, golden to light copper, it was nonetheless balanced between its aggressive hop bitterness and a malty but not sweet flavor with a touch of citrus and a bitter/hoppy finish. Maclay’s 80/-, also a cask ale, had a rich copper-red color, little aroma of any sort, and a thick, long-lasting head. Also thin-to-medium bodied, it's moderately malty and sweet with some caramel and low-to-medium bitterness. By contrast it had a dry, moderately bitter finish.
Glasgow
The Brewery Tap is really two pubs in one. During the day, it’s a quiet neighborhood bar in the University district with plenty of great ales on tap. At night it’s packed with students rocking tattoo-to-tattoo to the latest alternative music. We tried it – and liked it – both times of day. Apparently, so do the rich and famous: Mel Gibson made this pub his favorite haunt while filming Braveheart. He favored the Fraoch Heather Ale, a tasty golden cask ale made with heather flowers in addition to hops. It’s very smooth, medium-bodied, and not very bitter, rather akin to a wheaten ale.
The Harviestown Montrose Ale, brewed in Dollar, Scotland, is cask-conditioned, with a medium-sized very creamy head. The ale is bright red, crystal clear, medium-bodied, very malty, a bit caramelly, and a bit sweet, but balanced by moderately strong bitterness and a medium-hop finish. This is one lovely ale.
The Caledonian Blonde is pale gold, with a heavy, rocky head. It had a strong DMS aroma. Light-bodied, bitter, malty but not sweet, it resembled a golden ale or very mild kolsch. We liked the Blonde well; less so the Mayfest Ale, a deep gold to light copper colored cask ale. It had a wonderful long-lasting creamy head and strong esters of banana and pineapple. Medium-bodied and moderately sweet, it had a high level of bitterness and a bitter finish with some funky “wet socks” off flavors. Finally, the complex Ind Cooper’s Burton Ale, a deep gold colored cask ale, had a thin but long-lasting creamy head. Rather thin-bodied, with medium maltiness and low sweetness, the bitterness starts slowly and finishes strongly, with a rush of hop flavor in the middle. It had a malty and slightly citrusy aroma.
Here’s an important traveling lesson for all Brew Crew members: flaunt your expertise! We bought a ½-pint of ale, intending to surf the various taps on a tasting spree. Once our friendly bartender, Stan, discovered this, he kindly provided several tasting samples gratis, just to hear what we thought of them. Not only that, he gave us a bar towel, pulled a poster off the wall as our second souvenir, and shared his own expertise on pubs to visit in Edinburgh.
The Three Judges, a Maclay’s tied house, is a beer-lover’s pub just outside the University of Glasgow frequented primarily by professionals and real beer lovers. Here, for example, we met a card-carrying member of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). He gave us a tour of their eight-entry cask ale menu, which had sported over a thousand different ales in its time. The Bruce (4.8% ABV) was golden colored, with a quickly dissipating head, but a very hoppy, floral, and citrusy aroma. Full-bodied and strongly bittered, it was also very malty in flavor without being overly sweet, and had a very hoppy finish. Curiously, this was billed as a porter, although I’d call it a great IPA. Almost as good was Judges Grand, their 1000th ale, a cask pale-to-copper ale with a low, rocky long-lasting head, thin-to-medium body, moderate fruity/hoppy aroma, fruity sweet flavor, low bitterness, moderate maltiness, and a hoppy, dry finish.
Oban
The Scots are fond of reminding visitors that, unlike Wales or Ireland, Scotland was never conquered by the English. On the other hand, English troops have been in Scotland frequently enough, enforcing the will of the English crown, to be the source of innumerable traditions and legends. One of our favorites is the story associated with the Tigh-an-Truish, a tiny pub on Seil island off the west coast near Oban. At one time, in an attempt to crush Scottish culture, the English forbade the wearing of kilts on the “main” island. Scots leaving Seil would stop at this pub to change from their kilts (in Gaelic, tigh) into trousers (truish) – and, naturally, have a pint or two. Naturally, this meant that they needed to stop in on the way home as well. (You gotta love a story with a happy ending.)
In addition to a surprisingly good vegetarian dinner (rare in the UK), we sampled two cask ales. Summer Lightning by Hop Back Brewery (England) was gold colored, with a low, rocky but long-lasting head. It had strong, hoppy aroma, with little or no esters. Medium bodied, moderately malty and not too sweet, it is 5% alcohol by volume, very strongly bittered and very hoppy in flavor. It had a strong hop finish and no off-flavors. Its hoppiness, we were to find, is unusual in this region – more similar to American ESB’s in the Pacific Northwest than to its in-country counterparts.
By contrast, Younger’s Tartan Special had a deep copper color, again a low head with excellent retention. Bitter, very low hop aroma, it was hoppy up front and had a dry hoppy finish. It was low-medium bodied, malty and bready in flavor but again low in sweetness with slight caramel notes.
The Lorn Hotel had a smoky bar worth only a quick stop, where we tried Hoskin’s Churchill Bitter. This dark brown cask ale was a bit cloudy, almost opaque. Its low head dropped quickly. It had a fruity, winy aroma and flavor, with low bitterness but some sweetness and roastiness on the tongue. Its moderate hop flavor was more accented on the finish, with some astringency. At The Oban Inn, we tried Gillespie’s Stout, a keg stout with a thick, rocky, brown head. Dark brown/reddish in color, with some esters and malt roastiness in the nose, it was medium-bodied, sweet, low in roast malt flavor, moderately bitter with a sweet finish and a touch of sourness throughout.
Heading south
We drove from Edinburgh through the Borders region, land of William Wallace (Braveheart), ancient manor houses, and zillions of sheep, and into northern England for a tour of Hadrian’s Wall, the Cathedral at Durham, and of course some excellent pubs. The Traveller’s Rest Inn in Witton Gilbert, County Durham served up a hearty ploughman’s lunch and stories of the town back in the days when Laura’s grandmother toddled about. While listening we sipped a Theakston Best Bitter, a cask ale with long-lasting medium head, gold color, hoppy aroma, not very estery or citrusy. It was thin bodied, medium bitterness, low sweetness, low to medium maltiness, low but noticeable hop flavor, and a slightly hoppy finish. Burglar Bill’s, a complimentary taste from the friendly bartender, was a reddish ale with a thick, rocky head, somewhat malty and slightly hoppy aroma. It was medium bodied, malty, moderately sweet, and while only moderately bittered the bitterness lasted to the finish.
Conclusion
The Scots and the northern English love a good pint as well as their London and Dublin cousins, but they’d define the ideal pint a bit differently: sweeter, and with more bitterness, higher alcohol, and more hops throughout the beer’s profile (although still less than the average Portlander might prefer). The beers tend to be darker, a bit roastier, more citrusy, and more likely to be cask-conditioned and less likely to be pumped with nitrogen-CO2-mix gas than in London. The pubs play an equally central role in the daily life of a Scot and northern Englishman as a Dubliner or Londoner and are similar in character, though each has its own unique charm, and with a few horrid exceptions the food tended to be much better in Scottish pubs.
If you’re planning a trip to Britain, be sure to allocate enough time to spend several nights in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands. The people are warm and friendly, the scenery is majestic, the history is fascinating – and of course, the beer is excellent.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Pubs and Beers in Ireland
by Gary Corbin and Laura Guimond
This is another article in a series about the breweries, pubs and beers that we encountered in our May, 1996 trip to Britain and Ireland.
Ireland: It’s not just (Guinness) stout and pale continental lagers anymore. Ireland has red ales (sweet bitters w/roasted malt for color & flavor) and all the British beer you could desire.
More importantly, Ireland’s pubs are magical, the Irish people are the friendliest on earth, and in between pints (that is, mornings, afternoons, and evenings) there is a beautiful, lush, dramatic countryside to be seen. We fell in love with Ireland at first sip.
The Beers
Stout
Guinness Stout – Maybe it’s trite to say it, but it’s true: There is just no comparison to the Guinness served fresh in Dublin’s pubs; the stuff we get here is, by comparison, a stale, bland bucket of gasoline. The Guinness we had in Davy Byrne’s pub (see below) was flavorful all over the mouth, fresh as a spring flower and a joy to behold. It’s dark brown (NOT black), clear, with a thick creamy head that is so long-lasting, it will last your whole beer long, no matter how slowly you drink it. Medium-bodied (surprise!), with a roasty aroma evident over even the worst bar smoke, the flavor is a delicate balance of sweet maltiness and roast bitterness with lots of hop bitterness and a roasty dry finish. Home stout makers take note: there is no hop flavor or finish to speak of in this beer!
Beamish Stout – One of Guinness’s two main competitors, it’s a great stout – and it’s made by some of the friendliest brewers on the Emerald Isle. Beamish’s thick, creamy, long-lasting tan head sits pleasantly atop a dense black/opaque liquid. It is medium-bodied, has little or no hop aroma but has definite roastiness in the nose. The roast bitterness mixes with a noticeable malt sweetness and lots of hop bitterness, with a roast bitter dry finish.
Murphy’s Stout – “The other” stout, quietly the second largest seller in Ireland, Murphy’s has its loyal advocates, and our Grandma Murphy is no doubt one of them. But (sigh) it’s just not Guinness. (And – the ultimate sin – they didn’t give us a brewery tour, whilst the other two did – although we had to pay for the privilege at Guinness.) Black/opaque with a creamy tan head, Murphy’s has a roasty and slightly malty aroma. It’s the maltiest in flavor of the three, with moderate hop and roast bitterness, medium-bodied, with a roasty/sweet finish; very rounded and balanced, and not particularly dry.
Irish Red
“Red” beers are trendy Irish bitters served on nitrogen to give it the “Guinness” head (and to compete with the “real ales” and micros). Red in color from the addition of a small amount of roasted or black malt in the mash, they tend to be just a bit sweeter, fuller-bodied, and less bitter – but every bit as hoppy – as an English pale ale. CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale) objects to these “nitro” ales since they compete so successfully with cask ales, but they may be fighting the wrong battle. Reds are “crossover” beers – they attract erstwhile Bud and continental lager drinkers into the world of good, full-flavored beers.
Smithwick’s Bitter – made by Guinness and pronounced “smith-ecks” – is an extremely common tap handle to spot (especially in Dublin) and very popular. It’s easy to see why: deep copper to brown, thin creamy long-lasting head, with apparent floral, citrusy hop aroma. Full-bodied, sweet, malty, some caramel character balanced by hop bitterness, strong hop flavor and dry hoppy finish. In the bottle, Smithwick’s is more carbonated, with a thicker head, stronger hop aroma and more esters (citrus, pear/blueberry).
Beamish Red – as we wrote in our July article, Beamish Red is new on the market. We believe we were the first Americans to try it, right there in the Beamish tasting room. It is bright red in color, with an aroma strong in both hops and malty sweetness, with some banana esters. The beer is full-bodied, with a strong maltiness in flavor. Caramel flavors are evident. Bitterness is strong but does dominate the malt, and the beer has a full hop profile. The finish is malty sweet with a strong dose of hops. Ask for this beer – it was our favorite among the Irish Reds.
Kilkenny Irish Red Ale – Reddish/gold in color, medium long-lasting nitro head, with an estery, buttery aroma low in hops. Full-bodied, sweet, with a malty/caramel flavor, moderate bitterness and hop flavor, with both sweetness and hop flavor in the finish. (We liked this one almost as much as the Beamish.)
Caffrey’s Irish Ale – Deep gold, creamy nitro head that takes 1-2 minutes to settle, but not a lot of carbonation in the beer itself. Hoppy nose, lots of banana and citrus esters. Medium- to full-bodied, sweet but more than compensated by hop bitterness and full hop flavor. Full, flowery hop finish and residual sweetness.
The Pubs
We visited many a pub in Ireland – too many to describe in this article. Here are the highlights:
Dublin
Our first Irish pints came in Dublin’s famous Davy Byrne’s, dubbed a “moral pub” by James Joyce. (If you have this year’s Irish Pub calendar, Davy Byrne’s is featured in August.) One of the many hangouts of Dublin’s many literary giants at the turn of the century, the pub is now crowded with Irish yuppies (did I mention that we got there on Friday at 7:00 PM?) just looking for a friendly pint. We enjoyed our first pints of Guinness, Smithwick’s, and Beamish Stout with an American expatriate friend while watching the fellow at the next table perform some incredible card tricks (and win the attention of the young Irish lass sitting with him).
Davy’s had features common to many Irish pubs. Aside from being (by American standards) incredibly smoky, they have a “snug” – a small side room where women were shunted off to drink so as not to be seen among their cigar-smoking, hard-drinking men in the main bar.
Another feature: they know that most of their customers want pints of Guinness; they know that it takes three minutes for a pint of Guinness to settle after being poured; and they know that darn few people really want to wait for their beer. The solution? “Just in time” service -- just keep pouring enough pints that they settle out just in time to be sold and consumed. (Clever bartenders also keep an eye on their clients’ glasses and anticipate the need for the next round. These people really know their beer.)
Johnny Fox’s is “the highest pub in Ireland,” claim the owners. The pub is located on the top of a mountain in the Wicklow range in Glencullen, about 20 minutes south of Dublin by car. The food is good (but limited in selection for vegetarians); we had onion soup and a cheese and salad plate (which in England would have been called a “ploughman’s lunch”). Johnny Fox’s is now the proud owner of an Oregon Brewer’s Festival T-shirt (1995) which should be on display next time a Brew Crew member visits.
We liked this Johnny Fox’s so much, we went twice, the second time to see the two-part show in the large back room: the house band performed Irish folk songs (of course, the crowd helped them out on occasion). The night we saw the show, a U.S. marine celebrated his last night out as a bachelor with his unit – he was due to marry an Irish woman the next day! Naturally, the band played “Wild Rover” as his platoon lifted him on to the table and bade him sing along.
Between sets, a local troupe trained and choreographed by a member of Riverdance performed Irish kaelie dancing, a folk tap-dance featuring a lot of high kicking at high velocity while the upper body remains stiff and straight. We could see that both the music and the dancing were clearly influential in the development of country & western music and square dancing in the U.S.
Duke’s is another of Dublin’s “literary” pubs, and in fact was the first stop on our fun and informative “literary pub crawl.” (What else should we have done on a Sunday night?) This is where we learned that, according to one of Duke’s famous literary patrons of the past, Brendan Behan, “An Irishman would crawl across 20 naked women to get to a Guinness.” (Certainly we learned some other very literary things, but that’s the only one we wrote down.) Other fine pubs on the crawl included Neary’s, a huge and highly decorated pub in which the tables completely encircle a 20-foot-square bar staffed by at least six people, and The Old Stand, this one consisting of several rooms richly decorated with mementos of Ireland’s past.
The Guinness Brewery Hop Store is a wax museum, and while it’s well done, you don’t get to see anything close to a “real” brewery, and it probably can be skipped – if you could live with yourself later for doing that on purpose. On the other hand, for the £3 entry fee, you did get two half-pints of stout at the end of the tour … you and 3,000 of your closest tourist friends. Then you exit through the souvenir shop – how convenient!
Southern and Western Ireland
The Spaniard, in the beautiful south coast town of Kinsale, County Cork, lies outside of downtown but is worth the trip if you have a car. (If you don’t have a car in Ireland, go get one, or learn how to hitchhike – yes, it’s still safe there.) This is where the locals go to escape the tourists. An Irish friend living in Portland had recommended the place, and as a result, they now sport a Festival shirt on their wall. The bartender, John, was a very friendly sort who filled us in on Irish pop music, but his accent was so thick we could hardly understand him (and vice versa). Though the pub is tiny, they manage to squeeze in a dartboard and some side tables that allow privacy.
Dick Mack’s, in the touristy western coastal town of Dingle, is famous for having impromptu music jams by artists scheduled to perform elsewhere in town later in the evening. Its several small rooms are chock full of memorabilia and posters chronicling the development of this burg. Like many Irish pubs, it furthers the curious tradition of displaying collected insignia badges donated by visiting policemen; in this pub, I was pleased and surprised to find one from Springfield, MA, where I grew up.
No one was playing music there that night, but they were able to direct us to The Small Bridge, where John Brown and Eion Duignan sang Irish ballads and played guitar and Irish bagpipe (elbow-powered, rather than mouth-powered). It was a small but friendly venue, and in spite of the crowding there was none of the pushing and shoving we’re accustomed to in analogous American settings. It was cozy – and friendly – enough that, once the musicians stopped playing, we could easily chat with them and learn more about their music and their unusual instruments.
Durty Nellie’s, the “most famous” pub in Ireland, sits just below the Bunratty Castle (worth a tour) in Bunratty, near Limerick. Although crowded with tourists, it had an authentic, old-Ireland feel to it, and the “tossted cheese” and Guinness were just fine. They, too, now sport an OBFest T-shirt behind the bar, and an OBC member will sport one of theirs, thanks to the friendliness of their young bartender.
Northern Ireland
Gracie Neill’s, in Donaghadee, County Belfast, “the oldest pub in Ireland”, has been in continuous operation since 1611, a decade before the Pilgrims ran out of ale near Plymouth Rock. This pub has two rooms – the old part, about the size of a walk-in closet, and a new, large yuppie bar in back (actually it has its own “upscale” entrance on the other side of the building). The only reason we found to go through the short doorway to the back bar is to use the rest rooms; the locals (even the bartender) insisted that the doorway between them should be filled in with bricks and mortar.
But don’t get the wrong impression – they weren’t at all unfriendly. Quite the opposite! The moment we walked in, a man jumped up, shook our hands, bought us a round of beer, brought us the guest book to sign, and made sure we had seats on the low, crowded bench he was sharing with his family. We thought, “this pub owner sure makes his customers feel welcome.” Weren’t we surprised when he turned out to be just one of the regulars, and chagrined when he left before we could buy his group a round in return! We were able to return the hospitality, however, when the bartender came for a visit to Portland in September. (Perhaps some of you met Michael at the OBC meeting at Steinbart’s that year, or afterwards at Bridgeport.)
The Crown is a lovely pub in downtown Belfast, across from the Europa hotel (“the most bombed hotel in Europe”). It features snugs with swinging doors that you can shut for privacy as you sit at a table for six. The bar is long and narrow, with a huge mirror behind it, reflecting the ornate decorations throughout: painted glass, carvings, and decorative tiles. Next door, Robinson’s is famous for its four separate pubs, only two of which were open when we visited: the main and fairly traditional Irish pub up front, and a replica of New York’s Fibber Magee’s in the rear, which featured live music. Since it was Sunday night, the pub – which had only opened for the day at 5:00 PM – closed at the mandatory 10:00 PM; a short night for tourists on our last night in this wonderful land.
Conclusion
The pubs and beers of Ireland would take a lifetime to visit and chronicle. We’ve only scratched the surface. But if there were a way to do this for a living, we’re ready! As wonderful as the brews and pubs are, however, the Irish people are far more interesting and compelling, and in fact, they make the entire experience worthwhile.
A pint of Guinness takes about three minutes to be ready from the time it’s poured. This would drive most Americans nuts, but it’s no surprise that it’s so immensely popular in Ireland. The Irish are perfectly content to wait until this drink is ready; in fact, they relish those few minutes of conversation and may choose to extend them several minutes longer – after which they still have a perfect stout to drink.
Guinness fits the Irish well – robust, full of character, down to earth, with a good, steady head on a strong body. Moreover, if patience and friendliness could be bottled, the Irish would have the Guinness of virtues. And well-deservedly rich would they be.
This is another article in a series about the breweries, pubs and beers that we encountered in our May, 1996 trip to Britain and Ireland.
Ireland: It’s not just (Guinness) stout and pale continental lagers anymore. Ireland has red ales (sweet bitters w/roasted malt for color & flavor) and all the British beer you could desire.
More importantly, Ireland’s pubs are magical, the Irish people are the friendliest on earth, and in between pints (that is, mornings, afternoons, and evenings) there is a beautiful, lush, dramatic countryside to be seen. We fell in love with Ireland at first sip.
The Beers
Stout
Guinness Stout – Maybe it’s trite to say it, but it’s true: There is just no comparison to the Guinness served fresh in Dublin’s pubs; the stuff we get here is, by comparison, a stale, bland bucket of gasoline. The Guinness we had in Davy Byrne’s pub (see below) was flavorful all over the mouth, fresh as a spring flower and a joy to behold. It’s dark brown (NOT black), clear, with a thick creamy head that is so long-lasting, it will last your whole beer long, no matter how slowly you drink it. Medium-bodied (surprise!), with a roasty aroma evident over even the worst bar smoke, the flavor is a delicate balance of sweet maltiness and roast bitterness with lots of hop bitterness and a roasty dry finish. Home stout makers take note: there is no hop flavor or finish to speak of in this beer!
Beamish Stout – One of Guinness’s two main competitors, it’s a great stout – and it’s made by some of the friendliest brewers on the Emerald Isle. Beamish’s thick, creamy, long-lasting tan head sits pleasantly atop a dense black/opaque liquid. It is medium-bodied, has little or no hop aroma but has definite roastiness in the nose. The roast bitterness mixes with a noticeable malt sweetness and lots of hop bitterness, with a roast bitter dry finish.
Murphy’s Stout – “The other” stout, quietly the second largest seller in Ireland, Murphy’s has its loyal advocates, and our Grandma Murphy is no doubt one of them. But (sigh) it’s just not Guinness. (And – the ultimate sin – they didn’t give us a brewery tour, whilst the other two did – although we had to pay for the privilege at Guinness.) Black/opaque with a creamy tan head, Murphy’s has a roasty and slightly malty aroma. It’s the maltiest in flavor of the three, with moderate hop and roast bitterness, medium-bodied, with a roasty/sweet finish; very rounded and balanced, and not particularly dry.
Irish Red
“Red” beers are trendy Irish bitters served on nitrogen to give it the “Guinness” head (and to compete with the “real ales” and micros). Red in color from the addition of a small amount of roasted or black malt in the mash, they tend to be just a bit sweeter, fuller-bodied, and less bitter – but every bit as hoppy – as an English pale ale. CAMRA (the CAMpaign for Real Ale) objects to these “nitro” ales since they compete so successfully with cask ales, but they may be fighting the wrong battle. Reds are “crossover” beers – they attract erstwhile Bud and continental lager drinkers into the world of good, full-flavored beers.
Smithwick’s Bitter – made by Guinness and pronounced “smith-ecks” – is an extremely common tap handle to spot (especially in Dublin) and very popular. It’s easy to see why: deep copper to brown, thin creamy long-lasting head, with apparent floral, citrusy hop aroma. Full-bodied, sweet, malty, some caramel character balanced by hop bitterness, strong hop flavor and dry hoppy finish. In the bottle, Smithwick’s is more carbonated, with a thicker head, stronger hop aroma and more esters (citrus, pear/blueberry).
Beamish Red – as we wrote in our July article, Beamish Red is new on the market. We believe we were the first Americans to try it, right there in the Beamish tasting room. It is bright red in color, with an aroma strong in both hops and malty sweetness, with some banana esters. The beer is full-bodied, with a strong maltiness in flavor. Caramel flavors are evident. Bitterness is strong but does dominate the malt, and the beer has a full hop profile. The finish is malty sweet with a strong dose of hops. Ask for this beer – it was our favorite among the Irish Reds.
Kilkenny Irish Red Ale – Reddish/gold in color, medium long-lasting nitro head, with an estery, buttery aroma low in hops. Full-bodied, sweet, with a malty/caramel flavor, moderate bitterness and hop flavor, with both sweetness and hop flavor in the finish. (We liked this one almost as much as the Beamish.)
Caffrey’s Irish Ale – Deep gold, creamy nitro head that takes 1-2 minutes to settle, but not a lot of carbonation in the beer itself. Hoppy nose, lots of banana and citrus esters. Medium- to full-bodied, sweet but more than compensated by hop bitterness and full hop flavor. Full, flowery hop finish and residual sweetness.
The Pubs
We visited many a pub in Ireland – too many to describe in this article. Here are the highlights:
Dublin
Our first Irish pints came in Dublin’s famous Davy Byrne’s, dubbed a “moral pub” by James Joyce. (If you have this year’s Irish Pub calendar, Davy Byrne’s is featured in August.) One of the many hangouts of Dublin’s many literary giants at the turn of the century, the pub is now crowded with Irish yuppies (did I mention that we got there on Friday at 7:00 PM?) just looking for a friendly pint. We enjoyed our first pints of Guinness, Smithwick’s, and Beamish Stout with an American expatriate friend while watching the fellow at the next table perform some incredible card tricks (and win the attention of the young Irish lass sitting with him).
Davy’s had features common to many Irish pubs. Aside from being (by American standards) incredibly smoky, they have a “snug” – a small side room where women were shunted off to drink so as not to be seen among their cigar-smoking, hard-drinking men in the main bar.
Another feature: they know that most of their customers want pints of Guinness; they know that it takes three minutes for a pint of Guinness to settle after being poured; and they know that darn few people really want to wait for their beer. The solution? “Just in time” service -- just keep pouring enough pints that they settle out just in time to be sold and consumed. (Clever bartenders also keep an eye on their clients’ glasses and anticipate the need for the next round. These people really know their beer.)
Johnny Fox’s is “the highest pub in Ireland,” claim the owners. The pub is located on the top of a mountain in the Wicklow range in Glencullen, about 20 minutes south of Dublin by car. The food is good (but limited in selection for vegetarians); we had onion soup and a cheese and salad plate (which in England would have been called a “ploughman’s lunch”). Johnny Fox’s is now the proud owner of an Oregon Brewer’s Festival T-shirt (1995) which should be on display next time a Brew Crew member visits.
We liked this Johnny Fox’s so much, we went twice, the second time to see the two-part show in the large back room: the house band performed Irish folk songs (of course, the crowd helped them out on occasion). The night we saw the show, a U.S. marine celebrated his last night out as a bachelor with his unit – he was due to marry an Irish woman the next day! Naturally, the band played “Wild Rover” as his platoon lifted him on to the table and bade him sing along.
Between sets, a local troupe trained and choreographed by a member of Riverdance performed Irish kaelie dancing, a folk tap-dance featuring a lot of high kicking at high velocity while the upper body remains stiff and straight. We could see that both the music and the dancing were clearly influential in the development of country & western music and square dancing in the U.S.
Duke’s is another of Dublin’s “literary” pubs, and in fact was the first stop on our fun and informative “literary pub crawl.” (What else should we have done on a Sunday night?) This is where we learned that, according to one of Duke’s famous literary patrons of the past, Brendan Behan, “An Irishman would crawl across 20 naked women to get to a Guinness.” (Certainly we learned some other very literary things, but that’s the only one we wrote down.) Other fine pubs on the crawl included Neary’s, a huge and highly decorated pub in which the tables completely encircle a 20-foot-square bar staffed by at least six people, and The Old Stand, this one consisting of several rooms richly decorated with mementos of Ireland’s past.
The Guinness Brewery Hop Store is a wax museum, and while it’s well done, you don’t get to see anything close to a “real” brewery, and it probably can be skipped – if you could live with yourself later for doing that on purpose. On the other hand, for the £3 entry fee, you did get two half-pints of stout at the end of the tour … you and 3,000 of your closest tourist friends. Then you exit through the souvenir shop – how convenient!
Southern and Western Ireland
The Spaniard, in the beautiful south coast town of Kinsale, County Cork, lies outside of downtown but is worth the trip if you have a car. (If you don’t have a car in Ireland, go get one, or learn how to hitchhike – yes, it’s still safe there.) This is where the locals go to escape the tourists. An Irish friend living in Portland had recommended the place, and as a result, they now sport a Festival shirt on their wall. The bartender, John, was a very friendly sort who filled us in on Irish pop music, but his accent was so thick we could hardly understand him (and vice versa). Though the pub is tiny, they manage to squeeze in a dartboard and some side tables that allow privacy.
Dick Mack’s, in the touristy western coastal town of Dingle, is famous for having impromptu music jams by artists scheduled to perform elsewhere in town later in the evening. Its several small rooms are chock full of memorabilia and posters chronicling the development of this burg. Like many Irish pubs, it furthers the curious tradition of displaying collected insignia badges donated by visiting policemen; in this pub, I was pleased and surprised to find one from Springfield, MA, where I grew up.
No one was playing music there that night, but they were able to direct us to The Small Bridge, where John Brown and Eion Duignan sang Irish ballads and played guitar and Irish bagpipe (elbow-powered, rather than mouth-powered). It was a small but friendly venue, and in spite of the crowding there was none of the pushing and shoving we’re accustomed to in analogous American settings. It was cozy – and friendly – enough that, once the musicians stopped playing, we could easily chat with them and learn more about their music and their unusual instruments.
Durty Nellie’s, the “most famous” pub in Ireland, sits just below the Bunratty Castle (worth a tour) in Bunratty, near Limerick. Although crowded with tourists, it had an authentic, old-Ireland feel to it, and the “tossted cheese” and Guinness were just fine. They, too, now sport an OBFest T-shirt behind the bar, and an OBC member will sport one of theirs, thanks to the friendliness of their young bartender.
Northern Ireland
Gracie Neill’s, in Donaghadee, County Belfast, “the oldest pub in Ireland”, has been in continuous operation since 1611, a decade before the Pilgrims ran out of ale near Plymouth Rock. This pub has two rooms – the old part, about the size of a walk-in closet, and a new, large yuppie bar in back (actually it has its own “upscale” entrance on the other side of the building). The only reason we found to go through the short doorway to the back bar is to use the rest rooms; the locals (even the bartender) insisted that the doorway between them should be filled in with bricks and mortar.
But don’t get the wrong impression – they weren’t at all unfriendly. Quite the opposite! The moment we walked in, a man jumped up, shook our hands, bought us a round of beer, brought us the guest book to sign, and made sure we had seats on the low, crowded bench he was sharing with his family. We thought, “this pub owner sure makes his customers feel welcome.” Weren’t we surprised when he turned out to be just one of the regulars, and chagrined when he left before we could buy his group a round in return! We were able to return the hospitality, however, when the bartender came for a visit to Portland in September. (Perhaps some of you met Michael at the OBC meeting at Steinbart’s that year, or afterwards at Bridgeport.)
The Crown is a lovely pub in downtown Belfast, across from the Europa hotel (“the most bombed hotel in Europe”). It features snugs with swinging doors that you can shut for privacy as you sit at a table for six. The bar is long and narrow, with a huge mirror behind it, reflecting the ornate decorations throughout: painted glass, carvings, and decorative tiles. Next door, Robinson’s is famous for its four separate pubs, only two of which were open when we visited: the main and fairly traditional Irish pub up front, and a replica of New York’s Fibber Magee’s in the rear, which featured live music. Since it was Sunday night, the pub – which had only opened for the day at 5:00 PM – closed at the mandatory 10:00 PM; a short night for tourists on our last night in this wonderful land.
Conclusion
The pubs and beers of Ireland would take a lifetime to visit and chronicle. We’ve only scratched the surface. But if there were a way to do this for a living, we’re ready! As wonderful as the brews and pubs are, however, the Irish people are far more interesting and compelling, and in fact, they make the entire experience worthwhile.
A pint of Guinness takes about three minutes to be ready from the time it’s poured. This would drive most Americans nuts, but it’s no surprise that it’s so immensely popular in Ireland. The Irish are perfectly content to wait until this drink is ready; in fact, they relish those few minutes of conversation and may choose to extend them several minutes longer – after which they still have a perfect stout to drink.
Guinness fits the Irish well – robust, full of character, down to earth, with a good, steady head on a strong body. Moreover, if patience and friendliness could be bottled, the Irish would have the Guinness of virtues. And well-deservedly rich would they be.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Pubs and Beers in England and Wales
by Gary Corbin and Laura Guimond
This is the second in a series about the breweries, pubs and beers that we encountered in our recent trip to Britain and Ireland. In this article we focus on pubs and beers in southern England and Wales.
Is the beer better?
The average bitter in the UK comes across as bland to American microbrew aficionados, who expect full-bodied, highly hopped beers in a variety of styles wherever they lift a pint. The typical British pub – particularly in southern England and Wales – serves four to six beers from a single brewer. Each beer would be classified as some sort of “mild” or “bitter” ale. On one end of the continuum would be light-bodied, low-alcohol, medium-bittered ales with little or no hop finish. The other end would sport medium-bodied, somewhat more bittered ales with a light hop aroma or finish and slightly more alcohol.
However, holding Britain's everyday ales up to Portland's standard microbrew is unfair. The average American beer is a flavorless, colorless “premium lager.” The average British beer is one of these perfectly enjoyable, typically cask-conditioned bitters. In America, bitters and stouts are for the elite beer drinker; over there, everybodydrinks them.
Two types of pubs
British pubs are usually of two types: the tied house, which is owned by a brewer and serves primarily or even exclusively that brewer's beer; and the free house, which is independently owned and serves a variety of brewers' beers.
There is also the occasional brew pub, but these are far less common than in Portland. (Not to worry – we found one. See below.) And of course there are bars, typically whiskey bars, which we did not tour.
England
It's only right to start with our first pub –The Sun Inn, an Arkell tied house just outside Swindon, near London. Since it was not yet lunchtime, the pub was reasonably smoke-free – a rare treat in the UK. There was a fully stocked bar, and three bitters (3%, 4%, and 5%) to choose from. We sampled the one the bartender said the locals drink: Arkell's 3B, a thin-bodied, copper-colored cask bitter, 4% alcohol, with a low but persistent head. 3B is a mild ale, not highly bitter nor sweet, with some caramel and a bitter finish.
In Bath, we visited The Huntsman, an Eldrige Pope tied house. In addition to a typical pub dinner of jacket potatoes with beans and a drab lasagna, we sampled the Thomas Hardy Bitter, Thomas Hardy Oak Strong Ale, and Thomas Hardy Gold Label Barleywine. The bitter (4%) was low in aroma, medium bodied, evenly balanced with a noticeable malt flavor. The strong ale (5%) had very low carbonation but was very malty, almost evenly balanced by high hop bitterness, with a sweet finish. The Barleywine came in a bottle, but had very low carbonation, high maltiness and sweetness, substantial hop flavor, and a sweet finish mixed with some bitterness. Thomas Hardy ales are for lovers of alcohol and grain flavors rather than hopheads.
Also in Bath, the Pig & Fiddle is a fun pub and a free house. We had a great chat with the manager, a 20-something chap who knew of Oregon's brewing prowess and happily traded his pub's T-shirt for one of ours. We had Hop and Glory, a bitter from Ashvine Brewing. Medium bodied and gold in color with a delicate floral aroma just detectable above the smoke, it had a malty sweet taste, moderate bitterness, and some hoppiness in the finish.
The Old Station Inn advertised itself as “probably the best pub in Hallatrow” (population ca. 300). At this free house, we got a lot of free advice from the locals on what to see in Wales (everything; as it turns out, they were Welsh) as we tried what they had on tap. The delightful Olde Merryford, from Wickwood Brewing Co., is a 4.8% crystal-clear coppery cask ale with a floral hop aroma (probably Goldings), flavorful and balanced, some caramel, with a bitter (even astringent) aftertaste. The Ringwood Brewery Forty-niner is 4.9% alcohol, with moderate hoppiness, some sweetness in aroma, deep gold in color, lightly carbonated, with a decidedly bitter and alcoholic flavor and a clean aftertaste. Where the Merryford is a slow-sipping beer, the Forty-niner is a get-drunk beer. We preferred the former.
Wales
We visited Laugharne and its famed (very smoky) locals' pub, Brown's Hotel, solely to catch some sights celebrating the town's famous late poet, Dylan Thomas. But, what the heck, while we were there we tried Buckley's Best Bitter (3.8%). No aroma is detectable above that much smoke. This very nice beer was medium-bodied, on the malty side, balanced by higher than average hop bitterness, and had a bitter finish.
We stayed the night in the coastal town of Tenby, and had Worthington's Bitter at the Bay Tree Restaurant. Worthington's is part of the Bass empire, and proof that big doesn't necessarily mean bad. This deep gold ale had a thick, creamy head (probably CO2 or nitro), accentuating its hoppy aroma and esters. It has a malty, sweet flavor but significant bitterness up front, a dry and medium hoppy finish. Later, at the dark, smoky Tenby House, an Ansell tied house, we had the deep gold Ansell's Bitter, a medium-bodied cask ale, medium-bodied and highly bitter, with some hop flavor. Clean, not complex – a session beer.
We went to the town of Solva in the County of Dyfed trying to find Solva Brewing.
Unfortunately, they were closed. However, the Ship Inn, a Whitbread house, was open, and we had a not-too-special CO2-driven Welsh Bitter. Clean, golden-colored, balanced and boring, it could pass for an American lager.
We had better luck in Pisgah, at the Halfway Inn, so called because it's halfway between Aberyswyth and who knows where. Musical accompaniment to a decent dinner (by British standards) included Bread, Fleetwood Mac, Alanis Morrisette, and Roxy Music. This free house had four ciders and a number of ales on draught, including two casks from which customers can draw their own pint. Unfortunately, they'd had a busy holiday weekend, and those casks were dry. We tried the Felinfoel Double Dragon, a “strong” cask bitter with a hoppy aroma and noticeable esters, and a considerable creamy and long-lasting head. Served at about 50F, it was medium-bodied, fruity, somewhat bitter, with low malt character and sweetness and a complex fruity, hoppy, bitter finish. The Flowers Bitterwas red in color, also had an ample and long-lasting but rocky head. The aroma was hoppy and estery but not strong. It had a pleasant bitterness, some dryness verging on astringency, almost balanced by a residual sweetness from malt, and a dry finish.
In Aberyswyth, we had a late pint of Hancock's Bitter (from Bass's local Cardiff brewery) at The White Horse (AKA Rea's Lounge), a free house. Hancock's is deep gold, with a thick, creamy, long-lasting head. Its up-front bitterness gave way to a subtle, evenly balanced ale, thin in body and low in alcohol, a touch dry (even astringent) with a slightly hoppy finish. Laura's exasperated comment was: “More beer that tastes like water and smells like smoke.” We also tried the Carling Black Label, a continental-style lager made in Britain. Carling's is very aromatic, even a bit sulfury. It was bright gold in color, malty, semi-sweet up front, light in body, with a very clean finish. We traded a Brew Festival T-shirt for two brand-new bar towels to Rea's hard-working daughter, whose cheerful friendliness helped us forget how bland the beer was.
Hiatus
On the Stena Explorer ferry to Ireland, we tried a Boddington's Bitter from Strangeways Brewery, Manchester. This was our first smoke-free beer tasting experience in Britain. Unfortunately, this ale was CO2-driven and served very cold. It was gold in color, with a thick, long-lasting head. It has a light hop nose with some banana and citrus esters. Thin-bodied, bitterness predominated the flavor; the finish was dry, slightly hoppy, and a bit astringent.
After 2 ½ weeks in Ireland and Scotland, we returned to England from the north and worked our way back south. The beers in Northern England more closely resemble Scottish ales than those you'd find in the south and therefore will be discussed with the Scottish ones in another article.
Back to England
The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds area of England is famous for its tiny charming towns of golden stone. It also has some attractions for the beer lover. Just around the corner from the B&B we stayed in, we had dinner and coifed a few pints at the Black Bear Inn, a Donnington tied house in Morton-in-Marsh. The Donnington Best Bitter, brewed locally in Stow-on-the-Wold, was cask-conditioned, cloudy (unusual for a British commercial beer), copper in color, with a low, creamy, long-lasting head. Low in alcohol, this ale is medium-bodied, semi-sweet, highly bittered with low/medium hop flavor, with a semi-bitter finish. Much more interesting was the SBA: also cask-conditioned, it was brilliantly clear and deep red in color with a barely detectable hop aroma over heavy bar smoke. Medium-bodied but very malty and medium-to-high in sweetness, low in bitterness, its finish was sweet with low-medium hoppiness. Finally, the XXX, Donnington's stout, is black/opaque but ruby-red around the edges. It has a thick, very creamy and lingering head, with some malty and roasty aromas. Medium-full body, medium-high maltiness and sweetness, low bitterness, its roast/black malt flavor is stronger on the finish. XXX is a “session” stout, low in alcohol and easy to drink.
Driving around the Cotswolds, we stopped for a pre-lunch pint at the Baker's Arms in Broad Campden. In search of calories we tried the Hook Norton Double Stout first. Cask-conditioned, this stout's thick, creamy tan head equaled its nitrogen-driven counterparts. Black-opaque in color and full bodied, its malty and slightly roasty aroma also contained sniffs of banana and citrus esters. Its malty, sweet flavor contained a strong dose of roasted and black malt and was balanced by bitterness from both hops and roasted malt. The roasted, sweet flavor continues to the finish, and is complemented by a sourness common to many Irish stouts.
While enjoying our stout, we chatted a bit with the bar manager and one of its patrons who turned out to be Alexander Pennycook, the brewer at the tiny Stanway Brewery at the nearby Stanway House. Stanway is part of a revival of the old manor house breweries – tiny house breweries for wealthy owners of these grand estates, except now the breweries produce for the commercial market. Alexander quit his job as master brewer at Donnington's to explore the freedom and challenges of brewing in a 17th-century facility not much larger than a home brewery. We tried the Stanney Bitter, an 80-IBU (yes, 80) gold-colored cask ale with a thick, creamy white head and just as much bitterness as you could imagine. It was medium-bodied with some hop aroma, medium maltiness but low in sweetness, and a very bitter finish.
Later that day we visited the brewery (to be described in a later installment) at Alexander's invitation and tried his Lords-a-Leaping Bitter. "Lords" is very similar to Stanney except that the bitterness level was a “mere” 60 IBU, which, Alexander said with a straight face, was made blander for the mainstream market.
London
Getting to a pub in London turned out to be quite an ordeal. It seemed we were always 5 minutes late; they close very early by our standards (11 PM except Sundays at 10 PM). It wasn't until the 28th day of our trip that we set foot in a pub in London and were served a beer. Our strategy for overcoming this long delay was a London pub crawl. Thanks to Martin Wilde, who had supplied us with a 20-pub itinerary, we were able to sample some of London's best in a short time.
We started with the best -- the White Horse on Parsons Green. (There are a lot of pubs called “The White Horse” in England, but this is the one to look for.) We met the manager, Mark Dorber, a fan of the OBC (even before I got there; or should I say, even after?). Mark was a gracious and generous host, who joined us for several beers and supplied some wonderful Belgian ales from his private stash in the basement. Before he got to us, though, we sampled some British beers. Highgate Dark Mild is a low-alcohol, dark brown ale with a rocky head, very slight aroma, low bitterness, medium body and maltiness, low sweetness, and a clean finish. Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter is light-copper in color with a low head and hoppy, floral aroma. High in bitterness, it is also very malty, full-bodied, and low in sweetness with a medium-bitter finish. Hopback Wheat is pale straw colored with a low head and a strong clove/banana aroma. Medium-bodied, its malty-grainy moderately sweet flavor is almost balanced by low-medium bitterness, and it has a moderately bitter finish.
We stayed so long at the White Horse that we almost didn't make it in time to the second stop on our pub crawl (never mind stops three and four). The Orange Brewery, a very fun brew pub near Victoria Station, now has an employee who sports an Oregon Brew Festival T-shirt. The first beer we tried was Pimlico Porter, a beer Terry Foster describes in his Porter style book as “the only remaining example of a London-brewed porter.” Deep brown (ruby at the edges of the glass), opaque, with a low head, the aroma was not detectable above the pub's smokiness. Malty, sweet, and chocolatey in flavor, with medium bitterness, it is full-bodied with moderate hop flavor and a sweet finish. Orange SW1, a cask-conditioned bitter, is deep gold to copper in color, has a floral hoppy aroma with fruity esters, and medium/low head. Medium to full in body, its flavor is malty and sweet, balanced by equally high hop bitterness, and has a hoppy and bitter finish. Orange SW2 is
similar but has more of everything: deeper color, fuller body, very fruity/citrusy aroma, sweeter and more bitter, and a stronger hop finish – one of the most flavorful beers we had on the whole trip. Victoria Lager, like all of Orange's beers, had a low head, but unlike the others this one fell away quickly. Deep gold in color, medium noble hop aroma, no off aromas, very malty, sweet, with medium bitterness and a sweet finish. Not very clean, but very tasty.
The next night, after a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company, we naturally picked The Shakespeare, a touristy bar near Victoria Station. Theakston's XB, a cask-conditioned bitter, had a medium-thick head atop the clear, deep gold liquid. Theakston's is slightly citrusy, with low-medium hop aroma and some pear esters. Medium-bodied, with medium sweetness and maltiness, somewhat more bitterness, it had a bitter finish with some residual sweetness. Old Peculier, also cask-conditioned, is dark brown/opaque, ruby at the edges, with a thick tan creamy head and almost no aroma. Full-bodied, high in sweetness, medium maltiness, with some chocolatey flavors, it is medium-bittered, slightly sour, with a roasty bitter and sweet finish.
Our final pub stop was the Clarence Pub near Whitehall, where we tried Brackspear Bitter, from Tenly-on-Thames. This cask ale is deep gold to copper in color with a very low head, moderately hoppy nose and slightly fruity/estery and malty hints in the aroma. It is low-medium in body with high bitterness, medium-high maltiness and sweetness, and very low carbonation with a bitter, dry finish.
Conclusion
Despite – or because of – CAMRA's warnings about the impending disappearance of real ale, you can pretty much find it in any good British pub. Better yet, get CAMRA's “Good Beer Guide” and be sure of it.
We had a great time in England and Wales. While we loved the pubs and beers, it also made us appreciate Portland even more. This trip was evidence that Portland holds its own as a world-class brewing city. While our Brew Crew-induced expectations were not (and probably could not have been) met, we still must concur with most of the world's opinion that the beer and pubs in England and Wales are among the world's finest. You won't find ales like Deschutes' Mirror Pond in every English pub, but you'll find gems like Orange SW2, Donnington SBA, and Stanney Bitter that you can't find anywhere else. And you'll enjoy them in the old-world comforts of pubs with character, charm, and grace, as well as good beer.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Touring the Beamish & Crawford Brewery, Cork, Ireland
The Trubadours
or, Your Oregon Brew Crew Card – Don’t Leave Home Without It
by Gary Corbin and Laura Guimond
This is the first in a series about the pubs, beers, and breweries that we encountered in May 1996 trip to Britain and Ireland. Future articles will feature the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh and John Smith’s Brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, and our various pub crawls and beer tastings.
After three days in Dublin, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s another city in the world with people as friendly, pubs as lively, and beer as good. If you should happen to find yourself in this situation, we encourage you to visit the fine Irish city of Cork, and embark upon a tour of the Beamish & Crawford Brewery.
We arrived at Beamish about 3:00 on a Monday afternoon, wondering, “Do you think we should have called ahead?” We approached the guard at the front gate, who was pleasant enough but wouldn’t let us in (“so sorry, we only give tours by appointment”) until we flashed our Oregon Brew Crew business card. The receptionist inside was also impressed, and tracked down master brewer Ed Hinchey to meet with us. Ed was disappointed that he couldn’t take us on a tour right away, but he very much hoped we could come back the next morning so he could show us around. It meant a change in our itinerary, but it was well worth it.
Beamish is best known for its stout, and rightly so – it’s a dark, full-bodied stout with a healthy roasted aroma and a worthy alternative to “that other stout.” As is so common these days, this mid-sized brewery (11 million gallons per year) has been sold to large brewing chains – first to Carling O’Keefe (1967-1982), then to Foster’s, then more recently to Scottish and Newcastle. However, Beamish Stout is brewed only in the Cork brewery. Because of their business alliance with S&N, this site also produces Foster’s, Carling, Bass Ale (on contract), and their own new product – Beamish Red.
The Brewery
The Beamish brewery is fairly old, and not terribly modernized. Most of the current equipment, a Steinecker stainless steel system, was installed in the 1960’s. The brewery was mechanized only in 1972, and still has very little computerization. They have 180 employees, downsized (“rationalized”) from 300 two years ago, under S&N’s management.
They brew 24 hours a day, five days a week (six in summer), producing six batches a day, with an 8,000 gallon brew length. Their 30 fermenting tanks have a combined capacity of 576,000 gallons.
The brewery is modern in at least two important respects. First, Beamish maintains its own full-time microbiology lab for yeast propagation, quality control, and to test for infection, alcohol, color, pH, bitterness, SO2, and nitrogen content. Every batch of beer is inspected at every stage of the process to ensure quality and absence of infection. Second, at packaging time, the beer is blended in a highly computerized process, taking advantage of the lab’s in-depth analysis of each batch’s strengths and weaknesses to produce a product with a consistent flavor profile.
Ingredients and process
Lager malt, roasted barley, and a small amount of malted wheat are used in the mash to make stout. For the Red, the grist is comprised of lager malt, black malt, and crystal malt. Maize was used in the mash when the brewery made Carlsberg lagers, in the days they were owned by the Carling’s chain. The malt is wet-milled to keep the husks more intact.
Beamish brews concentrated wort; a beer with a 1.057 original gravity in the kettle will go out the door at 1.040. Brewing water is de-aerated for downstream blending. To reduce the load on the lauter tun, corn sugar is added, contributing about 15% of the wort’s original gravity. They use a 50/50 mix of British and European hops; almost always pellets, except that hop oils are used in the production of Foster’s.
Beamish uses a step infusion mash, starting with a 65-67C protein rest. Beta glucanate is added to aid runoff. Calcium chloride and calcium sulfate are added to the brewing water both in the mash and the kettle both to influence flavor and to enhance yeast growth.
After the boil, the wort is whirlpooled, then chilled. Beamish uses several different yeasts, reflecting the variety of the beers it produces, but in each case they pitch 1.2 pounds yeast/barrel. Two batches combine in the closed fermentation tank. The primary fermentation for Beamish lasts about 3 days; for Carling lager, it lasts 4-5 days at 1degree C. Some CO2 pressure applied to the fermenters; CO2 generated by fermentation is collected for reuse.
After fermentation, for all beers except the stout, the beer is chilled to -1 degree C, then run through a yeast filter to collect the yeast for reuse, repropagation, or sale. The beer is then cold-stored in one of 32 10,000 gallon conditioning tanks. Isinglass finings are added for clarification.
Packaging
Beamish stout is available in keg, bottle, or can, but Beamish doesn’t do canning in Ireland. Instead, they ship it in tankers to John Smith’s in England for canning with the nitrogen widget. (More on John Smith’s in a future Traveler’s Trub.)
Two people run the kegging line, a rather old, slow line by industry standards: they fill 320 fifty-liter kegs per hour in 8 mechanized filling stations. At the first stop on the line, the keg is sprayed with detergent, then is filled with steam at its next stop. Finally it is counter-pressure filled, then weighed and inspected. Kegs are automatically rejected if there is any problem (leakage, temperature, weight/volume).
The bottling line is also mechanized but fairly old technology. The beer enters the line at 1C, is pasteurized at 140C for 10 min, then chilled to 30C, bottled, labeled, and boxed. Unfortunately, there were no “factory seconds” for us to take back to Brew Crew members.
“Savoring” the best for last
Beamish holds a blind tasting daily at 12:45 – just before lunch, both to whet their appetites and to preserve their taste buds. They may taste either their own product or a competitor’s. Interestingly, the beer is tasted flat; “the head masks the taste,” Ed explained. The judges evaluate the beer for flavor, color, clarity, and aroma, and try to detect any flaws.
We were a bit late for the official daily tasting, but Ed and his fellow master brewer, Dick Ryan, led us to their reception room for a taste of Beamish Red. Beamish Red is nitrogen-dispensed, like stout, and shares its rich, creamy, long-lasting head. Like stout, the foam takes about 3 minutes to settle on top of the glass (giving rise to the beer’s ad campaign, “Available in about three minutes”). The settled beer is crystal-clear, bright red in color, with an aroma strong in both hops and malty sweetness, with some banana esters. The beer is full-bodied, with a strong maltiness in flavor. Caramel flavors are evident. Bitterness is strong but does dominate the malt, and the beer has a full hop profile. The finish is malty sweet with a strong dose of hops.
Since this product had just been announced the prior week, and was available only in a few pubs in Cork, Ed agreed that we are probably the first Americans to have tried Beamish Red. We hope to see it in Portland pubs, giving truth to the way Beamish describes glasses of its beer: “Born in Cork, raised abroad.”
or, Your Oregon Brew Crew Card – Don’t Leave Home Without It
by Gary Corbin and Laura Guimond
This is the first in a series about the pubs, beers, and breweries that we encountered in May 1996 trip to Britain and Ireland. Future articles will feature the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh and John Smith’s Brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, and our various pub crawls and beer tastings.
After three days in Dublin, it’s fair to wonder whether there’s another city in the world with people as friendly, pubs as lively, and beer as good. If you should happen to find yourself in this situation, we encourage you to visit the fine Irish city of Cork, and embark upon a tour of the Beamish & Crawford Brewery.
We arrived at Beamish about 3:00 on a Monday afternoon, wondering, “Do you think we should have called ahead?” We approached the guard at the front gate, who was pleasant enough but wouldn’t let us in (“so sorry, we only give tours by appointment”) until we flashed our Oregon Brew Crew business card. The receptionist inside was also impressed, and tracked down master brewer Ed Hinchey to meet with us. Ed was disappointed that he couldn’t take us on a tour right away, but he very much hoped we could come back the next morning so he could show us around. It meant a change in our itinerary, but it was well worth it.
Beamish is best known for its stout, and rightly so – it’s a dark, full-bodied stout with a healthy roasted aroma and a worthy alternative to “that other stout.” As is so common these days, this mid-sized brewery (11 million gallons per year) has been sold to large brewing chains – first to Carling O’Keefe (1967-1982), then to Foster’s, then more recently to Scottish and Newcastle. However, Beamish Stout is brewed only in the Cork brewery. Because of their business alliance with S&N, this site also produces Foster’s, Carling, Bass Ale (on contract), and their own new product – Beamish Red.
The Brewery
The Beamish brewery is fairly old, and not terribly modernized. Most of the current equipment, a Steinecker stainless steel system, was installed in the 1960’s. The brewery was mechanized only in 1972, and still has very little computerization. They have 180 employees, downsized (“rationalized”) from 300 two years ago, under S&N’s management.
They brew 24 hours a day, five days a week (six in summer), producing six batches a day, with an 8,000 gallon brew length. Their 30 fermenting tanks have a combined capacity of 576,000 gallons.
The brewery is modern in at least two important respects. First, Beamish maintains its own full-time microbiology lab for yeast propagation, quality control, and to test for infection, alcohol, color, pH, bitterness, SO2, and nitrogen content. Every batch of beer is inspected at every stage of the process to ensure quality and absence of infection. Second, at packaging time, the beer is blended in a highly computerized process, taking advantage of the lab’s in-depth analysis of each batch’s strengths and weaknesses to produce a product with a consistent flavor profile.
Ingredients and process
Lager malt, roasted barley, and a small amount of malted wheat are used in the mash to make stout. For the Red, the grist is comprised of lager malt, black malt, and crystal malt. Maize was used in the mash when the brewery made Carlsberg lagers, in the days they were owned by the Carling’s chain. The malt is wet-milled to keep the husks more intact.
Beamish brews concentrated wort; a beer with a 1.057 original gravity in the kettle will go out the door at 1.040. Brewing water is de-aerated for downstream blending. To reduce the load on the lauter tun, corn sugar is added, contributing about 15% of the wort’s original gravity. They use a 50/50 mix of British and European hops; almost always pellets, except that hop oils are used in the production of Foster’s.
Beamish uses a step infusion mash, starting with a 65-67C protein rest. Beta glucanate is added to aid runoff. Calcium chloride and calcium sulfate are added to the brewing water both in the mash and the kettle both to influence flavor and to enhance yeast growth.
After the boil, the wort is whirlpooled, then chilled. Beamish uses several different yeasts, reflecting the variety of the beers it produces, but in each case they pitch 1.2 pounds yeast/barrel. Two batches combine in the closed fermentation tank. The primary fermentation for Beamish lasts about 3 days; for Carling lager, it lasts 4-5 days at 1degree C. Some CO2 pressure applied to the fermenters; CO2 generated by fermentation is collected for reuse.
After fermentation, for all beers except the stout, the beer is chilled to -1 degree C, then run through a yeast filter to collect the yeast for reuse, repropagation, or sale. The beer is then cold-stored in one of 32 10,000 gallon conditioning tanks. Isinglass finings are added for clarification.
Packaging
Beamish stout is available in keg, bottle, or can, but Beamish doesn’t do canning in Ireland. Instead, they ship it in tankers to John Smith’s in England for canning with the nitrogen widget. (More on John Smith’s in a future Traveler’s Trub.)
Two people run the kegging line, a rather old, slow line by industry standards: they fill 320 fifty-liter kegs per hour in 8 mechanized filling stations. At the first stop on the line, the keg is sprayed with detergent, then is filled with steam at its next stop. Finally it is counter-pressure filled, then weighed and inspected. Kegs are automatically rejected if there is any problem (leakage, temperature, weight/volume).
The bottling line is also mechanized but fairly old technology. The beer enters the line at 1C, is pasteurized at 140C for 10 min, then chilled to 30C, bottled, labeled, and boxed. Unfortunately, there were no “factory seconds” for us to take back to Brew Crew members.
“Savoring” the best for last
Beamish holds a blind tasting daily at 12:45 – just before lunch, both to whet their appetites and to preserve their taste buds. They may taste either their own product or a competitor’s. Interestingly, the beer is tasted flat; “the head masks the taste,” Ed explained. The judges evaluate the beer for flavor, color, clarity, and aroma, and try to detect any flaws.
We were a bit late for the official daily tasting, but Ed and his fellow master brewer, Dick Ryan, led us to their reception room for a taste of Beamish Red. Beamish Red is nitrogen-dispensed, like stout, and shares its rich, creamy, long-lasting head. Like stout, the foam takes about 3 minutes to settle on top of the glass (giving rise to the beer’s ad campaign, “Available in about three minutes”). The settled beer is crystal-clear, bright red in color, with an aroma strong in both hops and malty sweetness, with some banana esters. The beer is full-bodied, with a strong maltiness in flavor. Caramel flavors are evident. Bitterness is strong but does dominate the malt, and the beer has a full hop profile. The finish is malty sweet with a strong dose of hops.
Since this product had just been announced the prior week, and was available only in a few pubs in Cork, Ed agreed that we are probably the first Americans to have tried Beamish Red. We hope to see it in Portland pubs, giving truth to the way Beamish describes glasses of its beer: “Born in Cork, raised abroad.”
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Brews and Browse
Note: A shorter version of this article appeared in the Portland Tribune in December, 2005.
Portland is at the forefront of both craft brewing and the use of “Wi-Fi” (or “wireless fidelity”), a.k.a. wireless Internet connectivity. It makes sense, then, that Portland should marry the two and take the lead in yet another cool way: Wi-fi access in Portland pubs.
Wi-fi has already caught on big time in Portland. One website lists 72 different local “hotspots” (not including the plethora of Starbucks that offer wi-fi – for a fee). But the list focuses mostly on coffee houses and the like. What about those of us who like to sip a different brew while we browse? That is, what about wi-fi in pubs?
I recently surveyed Portland-area pubs and found twenty-two that currently offer some form of wi-fi access. (See sidebar.) Many pubs advertise it like Main Street Ale House in Gresham, Walking Man in Stevenson, WA and the ever-expanding McMenamin’s chain, which sports wi-fi in eleven of its Portland area pubs – and “more to come,” boasts the groovy brothers’ website.
The list of wi-fi friendly places to imbibe continues to grow as more pubs jump on the bandwidth wagon. The Lucky Lab promises wi-fi “within a few weeks,” according to owner Gary Geist. Ken Johnson of Fearless Brewing says he’ll do it once he “finds a secure way to do it.” (Did someone say fearless?) Bridgeport will have it in their Northwest pub when it re-opens (but not in the Hawthorne Ale House, sorry.)
Not everyone has caught the wave, and some just may not. “Computers kill, man,” joked one publican, who indicated no plans to implement the technology. “You never know,” said another. “It’s becoming pretty popular.” (Yeah, these computers. Let’s make sure it’s not just a fad.)
Others are riding the wave for free. You can “hijack” others’ signals at Alameda Brewhouse, the Hedge House, Oak Hills Brewpub, and the Hazel Dell in Vancouver. Amnesia benefits from free wi-fi on the entire Mississippi Street strip. Then there’s that plan of the City’s to implement wi-fi free City-wide; if that goes through, ALL of Portland’s pubs will be wi-fi friendly. Now there’s a vision!
Get out of town
In case you want to get away from it all – but not quite all – you can find Internet access here and there in resort areas. For the most part, coastal pubs haven’t found the need for this competitive edge; only McMenamin’s Lighthouse Tavern in Lincoln City shines the Internet beacon for seaward travelers. For skiers, the going is a little easier. Mt. Hood Brewing in Government Camp takes care of our local lift-riders. For those traveling a bit further for the magical pow, McMenamin’s Old St Francis School in Bend will get you connected.
Sidebar: Portland's Wi-Fi Friendly Pubs
Eastside
* Alameda Brewhouse – 4765 NE Fremont
Bar of the Gods – 4801 SE Hawthorne
* Hedge House – 3412 SE Division
Kennedy School – 5736 N.E. 33rd
Laurelwood Public House – 1728 N.E. 40th
Lucky Labrador – 915 SE Hawthorne (“any day now”)
Main Street Ale House – 333 Main St., Gresham
McMenamin’s Edgefield – 2126 SW Halsey, Troutdale
Roots Organic Brewing – 1520 SE 7th Avenue
North Portland/The Couv
* Amnesia Brewing – 832 N. Beech
* Hazel Dell – 8513 NE Hwy 99, Vancouver, WA
McMenamin’s on the Columbia – 1801 SE Columbia River Dr, Vancouver, WA
White Eagle Saloon – 836 N. Russell
West side
Blue Moon Tavern & Grill – 432 NW 21st
BridgePort Brewing Company – 1318 NW Marshall (Feb 06)
Cornelius Pass Roadhouse – 405 NW Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro
Daily Double Café & Pub – 2037 SW Morrison
John Barleycorns – 14610 SW Sequoia Pkwy, Tigard
McMenamin’s Greenway Pub – 12272 SW Scholls Ferry Rd, Tigard
* Oak Hills Brewpub – 14740 N.W. Cornell Rd
Rock Creek Tavern – 10000 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd, Hillsboro
Rogue Ales Distillery and Public House – 1339 NW Flanders
Out of Town
Golden Valley – 980 4th St, McMinnville
McMenamin’s Grand Lodge – 3505 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove
McMenamin’s Lighthouse – 4157 Hwy 101, Lincoln City
Mt Angel – 201 Monroe St, Mt Angel
Mt Hood Brewing Co. – 87304 E. Government Camp Loop, Government Camp
Walking Man – 240 NW First, Stevenson, WA
* = Signal “borrowed” from nearby provider
Portland is at the forefront of both craft brewing and the use of “Wi-Fi” (or “wireless fidelity”), a.k.a. wireless Internet connectivity. It makes sense, then, that Portland should marry the two and take the lead in yet another cool way: Wi-fi access in Portland pubs.
Wi-fi has already caught on big time in Portland. One website lists 72 different local “hotspots” (not including the plethora of Starbucks that offer wi-fi – for a fee). But the list focuses mostly on coffee houses and the like. What about those of us who like to sip a different brew while we browse? That is, what about wi-fi in pubs?
I recently surveyed Portland-area pubs and found twenty-two that currently offer some form of wi-fi access. (See sidebar.) Many pubs advertise it like Main Street Ale House in Gresham, Walking Man in Stevenson, WA and the ever-expanding McMenamin’s chain, which sports wi-fi in eleven of its Portland area pubs – and “more to come,” boasts the groovy brothers’ website.
The list of wi-fi friendly places to imbibe continues to grow as more pubs jump on the bandwidth wagon. The Lucky Lab promises wi-fi “within a few weeks,” according to owner Gary Geist. Ken Johnson of Fearless Brewing says he’ll do it once he “finds a secure way to do it.” (Did someone say fearless?) Bridgeport will have it in their Northwest pub when it re-opens (but not in the Hawthorne Ale House, sorry.)
Not everyone has caught the wave, and some just may not. “Computers kill, man,” joked one publican, who indicated no plans to implement the technology. “You never know,” said another. “It’s becoming pretty popular.” (Yeah, these computers. Let’s make sure it’s not just a fad.)
Others are riding the wave for free. You can “hijack” others’ signals at Alameda Brewhouse, the Hedge House, Oak Hills Brewpub, and the Hazel Dell in Vancouver. Amnesia benefits from free wi-fi on the entire Mississippi Street strip. Then there’s that plan of the City’s to implement wi-fi free City-wide; if that goes through, ALL of Portland’s pubs will be wi-fi friendly. Now there’s a vision!
Get out of town
In case you want to get away from it all – but not quite all – you can find Internet access here and there in resort areas. For the most part, coastal pubs haven’t found the need for this competitive edge; only McMenamin’s Lighthouse Tavern in Lincoln City shines the Internet beacon for seaward travelers. For skiers, the going is a little easier. Mt. Hood Brewing in Government Camp takes care of our local lift-riders. For those traveling a bit further for the magical pow, McMenamin’s Old St Francis School in Bend will get you connected.
Sidebar: Portland's Wi-Fi Friendly Pubs
Eastside
North Portland/The Couv
West side
Out of Town
* = Signal “borrowed” from nearby provider
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Portland’s Small Brewers Add Diversity
Portland is rich with a diversity of beers and brew pubs, perhaps uniquely so on the planet. The Oregon Brewer’s Guild lists 15 brewpubs and 33 breweries within the city limits and several more in the surrounding area.
We can all name the big guys – Widmer Brothers, MacTarnahan’s, McMenamin’s, Bridgeport – but what if you want to explore something different? Maybe a pub with a little more of a neighborhood feel, or a beer style you haven’t tried before? In that case, try the “little guys” – small-batch brews from innovative new brewers, and some of the tiny brew pubs with a simple menu and a neighborhood feel.
The pubs
There are seven brew pubs in Portland with brewing output of under 700 barrels, and they cross all five of Portland’s “quadrants.”
Clinton Street Brewing is the tiniest of the bunch, with a brew system and annual output barely larger than many homebrewers’. Attached to the Clinton Street Theater, this brewery is so small and new that they haven’t repeated a single beer on tap. Every visit, then, will be a unique tasting experience.
The Mash Tun, Portland’s newest, has only been brewing since January. Sporting 12 taps including an array of guest taps, cider, and mead, they serve all-natural Cascade beef burgers and free-range chicken wings. “It’s just a comfortable place to hang out,” says brewer Christian Bravard.
Unique among the little guys is Yamhill Brewing’s Ninth Street Ale house, which allows smoking. Yamhill sports live music in the evenings, with Blues Night on Wednesdays and open mike on Mondays. Pints are only two bucks on Mondays and Tuesdays and parking is plentiful.
Tugboat, downtown’s tiny “drinking-allowed” library, also has live music in the evenings – jazz, in particular. Founded in 1993, it has stayed small by choice, emphasizing its unpretentious environment, a simple, hearty (and mostly vegetarian) menu, and a variety of beers. Usually there are about a half-dozen Tugboat brews and ten guest taps pouring at any given time.
Amnesia on booming N. Mississippi also has live music and a simple menu: burgers, dogs, and Old Country Sausage bratwurst. I can attest to their veggie dogs; they’re quite good. Their outdoor seating is just like the inside – picnic tables – but heated well enough to sit outside even in winter. Bring your laptop – all of Mississippi Avenue has free wireless.
Roots Organic Brewing on SE 7th just off Hawthorne claims to be Oregon’s first organic brewery. The menu sports deli sandwiches and Hot Lips pizza, plus PBJ’s and hot dogs for the kids. For the grown-ups, their aggressively flavored brews include “Woody” IPA (73 IBU’s), their Island Red “Red Stout,” and 8.6% ABV Imperial Stout and a Heather Ale.
Most of these pubs focus on the beer. Philadelphia’s is food-first and family-friendly, specializing in cheesesteaks and similar grub. They’re also open for breakfast. Beer with your bacon? Hey, it’s always noon somewhere.
Just out of town
Karlsson’s Brewing just opened in Sandy, Oregon. This family-owned brewpub features a warm, cozy atmosphere with Brazilian Cherry booths seating 35 for English-style grub such as chicken pot pies, beef pasties and Scotch Eggs.
Fearless Brewing Company in Estacada features a burger-and-fries sort of menu and its signature strong ales such as their strong Scotch Ale and Maibock. Each night they feature a new “buck-fifty special,” worth checking out if you’re in the area. Owner and brewer Ken Johnson describes their half-pound burger as a “heart attack in a basket.”
The Breweries
Perhaps the most famous of Portland’s small breweries is Hair of the Dog, whose first beer, Adam, was cited as one of beer writer Michael Jackson’s favorite beers. Their Fred, a 10% ABV deep golden ale, was created to honor beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt Find their beers in places like Higgins, Rose and Raindrop, and the Horse Brass.
Tuck’s on SW Capitol Highway is known for its creative brews such as its Raspberry Vanilla Imperial Stout and King’s Kolsch. However, brewer Max Tieger is soon (at this writing) to be departing to open his own brewery in Tigard, Max’s Fanno Creek Brewpub. Expect them to open sometime during the 2006-07 ski season.
Click here for a summary table with details on each of the breweries mentioned here.
We can all name the big guys – Widmer Brothers, MacTarnahan’s, McMenamin’s, Bridgeport – but what if you want to explore something different? Maybe a pub with a little more of a neighborhood feel, or a beer style you haven’t tried before? In that case, try the “little guys” – small-batch brews from innovative new brewers, and some of the tiny brew pubs with a simple menu and a neighborhood feel.
The pubs
There are seven brew pubs in Portland with brewing output of under 700 barrels, and they cross all five of Portland’s “quadrants.”
Clinton Street Brewing is the tiniest of the bunch, with a brew system and annual output barely larger than many homebrewers’. Attached to the Clinton Street Theater, this brewery is so small and new that they haven’t repeated a single beer on tap. Every visit, then, will be a unique tasting experience.
The Mash Tun, Portland’s newest, has only been brewing since January. Sporting 12 taps including an array of guest taps, cider, and mead, they serve all-natural Cascade beef burgers and free-range chicken wings. “It’s just a comfortable place to hang out,” says brewer Christian Bravard.
Unique among the little guys is Yamhill Brewing’s Ninth Street Ale house, which allows smoking. Yamhill sports live music in the evenings, with Blues Night on Wednesdays and open mike on Mondays. Pints are only two bucks on Mondays and Tuesdays and parking is plentiful.
Tugboat, downtown’s tiny “drinking-allowed” library, also has live music in the evenings – jazz, in particular. Founded in 1993, it has stayed small by choice, emphasizing its unpretentious environment, a simple, hearty (and mostly vegetarian) menu, and a variety of beers. Usually there are about a half-dozen Tugboat brews and ten guest taps pouring at any given time.
Amnesia on booming N. Mississippi also has live music and a simple menu: burgers, dogs, and Old Country Sausage bratwurst. I can attest to their veggie dogs; they’re quite good. Their outdoor seating is just like the inside – picnic tables – but heated well enough to sit outside even in winter. Bring your laptop – all of Mississippi Avenue has free wireless.
Roots Organic Brewing on SE 7th just off Hawthorne claims to be Oregon’s first organic brewery. The menu sports deli sandwiches and Hot Lips pizza, plus PBJ’s and hot dogs for the kids. For the grown-ups, their aggressively flavored brews include “Woody” IPA (73 IBU’s), their Island Red “Red Stout,” and 8.6% ABV Imperial Stout and a Heather Ale.
Most of these pubs focus on the beer. Philadelphia’s is food-first and family-friendly, specializing in cheesesteaks and similar grub. They’re also open for breakfast. Beer with your bacon? Hey, it’s always noon somewhere.
Just out of town
Karlsson’s Brewing just opened in Sandy, Oregon. This family-owned brewpub features a warm, cozy atmosphere with Brazilian Cherry booths seating 35 for English-style grub such as chicken pot pies, beef pasties and Scotch Eggs.
Fearless Brewing Company in Estacada features a burger-and-fries sort of menu and its signature strong ales such as their strong Scotch Ale and Maibock. Each night they feature a new “buck-fifty special,” worth checking out if you’re in the area. Owner and brewer Ken Johnson describes their half-pound burger as a “heart attack in a basket.”
The Breweries
Perhaps the most famous of Portland’s small breweries is Hair of the Dog, whose first beer, Adam, was cited as one of beer writer Michael Jackson’s favorite beers. Their Fred, a 10% ABV deep golden ale, was created to honor beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt Find their beers in places like Higgins, Rose and Raindrop, and the Horse Brass.
Tuck’s on SW Capitol Highway is known for its creative brews such as its Raspberry Vanilla Imperial Stout and King’s Kolsch. However, brewer Max Tieger is soon (at this writing) to be departing to open his own brewery in Tigard, Max’s Fanno Creek Brewpub. Expect them to open sometime during the 2006-07 ski season.
Click here for a summary table with details on each of the breweries mentioned here.
Friday, November 03, 2006
How Beer Has Changed in Oregon
Oregon, and Portland in particular, enjoys an amazing diversity of tasty, quality brews, from hoppy American Pale Ales to cloudy Witbiers. International beer writer Michael Jackson calls Portland “Munich on the Willamette,” and in fact Portland surpassed Munich in the number of breweries within its city limits several years ago. Wikipedia calls Oregon “the home of the microbrew revolution.” Microbreweries have popped up in every corner of the state, even the tiny town of Enterprise (Terminal Gravity). Preston Weesner of the Oregon Brewer’s Festival said recently, “The bottom line is, we here are the extreme haves in an industry of have-nots.”
But it hasn’t always been like this. Thirty years ago, the only brewery in Portland was Henry’s. As recently as the late 1980’s, Fred Eckhardt was the only beer writer in town, and he praised Henry’s in an Oregonian article for daring to put some flavor into their pale fizzy lager. Drinking local still meant choosing between Henry’s, Olympia, and Rainier, beers we’d consider photochemically identical today. In 1980, there were only 80 breweries operating in the entire US. “And the prediction was that there would only be ten by 1990,” Eckhardt said. “That was their plan.”
But the wheels of change had already started turning. Homebrewing had been legalized nationally in 1978. Eckhardt and Charlie Papazian had each published books about home brewing, and Michael Jackson’s World Guide to Beer opened people’s eyes to other options. A few entrepreneurs bucked the trend and opened small craft breweries: Fritz Maytag revived Anchor Steam in 1976, and Bert Grant opened Yakima Brewing in Washington in 1982. Charlie Coury was Oregon’s first commercial craft brewer, opening Cartwright’s in 1980. Unfortunately, this pioneering effort didn’t last, as the County shut him down on New Year’s Day, 1983.
Soon the microbrew revolution centered on Oregon. Why Oregon? “I give a lot of credit to The Oregonian,” Eckhardt said. “If they hadn’t published my column and paid attention to good beer, people wouldn’t have had the information and wouldn’t have become curious about it.” It also helps Oregon has abundant, high-quality local resources including top-quality soft Bull Run water and locally grown barley and hops, perfect for big, hoppy beers like IPA’s and pale ales and smooth, balanced porters. Furthermore, Oregon’s mild but wet, grey winter climate was perfect for the revival of the local pub tradition. All it needed was good beer.
In 1983, Oregon legalized brew-on-premises establishments, and soon after, the floodgates opened. In 1984, homebrewers Rob and Kurt Widmer cranked up their first batch of Altbier on 14th and Lovejoy Streets in Portland, and winemakers Nancy and Dick Ponzi ventured some of their spare change to open Bridgeport just around the corner on NW Marshall. In 1985, Mike and Brian McMenamin opened their first brewpub in Hillsdale. Fred Bowman and Art Larrance opened Portland Brewing (now MacTarnahan’s) on NW Flanders St. in 1986. That year, the trend went statewide, as Hood River Brewing opened and McMenamin’s opened new pubs in Lincoln City and Hillsboro.
Today, there are fifty-six breweries in Oregon – forty of them brewpubs, according to the Oregon Brewer’s Guild. While the largest concentration is in the Portland area (33), craft breweries have sprung up in twenty-eight cities large and small, from Ashland to Enterprise. You can find good local beer in nearly ever corner of the state: in the Willamette Valley, on the coast, in the Cascades, and on into eastern and central Oregon.
And the growth spurt is hardly over. New breweries opened in 2005 (Roots, Amnesia, Cascade Lakes, Karlsson’s, and Clinton Street), and in 2006 (the Mash Tun in Portland, Willamette Brewing in Eugene, and soon, Max's Fanno Creek Brew Pub in Tigard and Ninkasi in Eugene). Chains continue to expand; the nationals – BJ’s, Old Chicago, and Rock Bottom – have moved in, and old favorites are forming chains out of former fledgling single entities. Of course, McMenamin’s is the king of Oregon brewpub chains; with over fifty pubs now in operation in the Pacific Northwest (48 in Oregon), they are the third-largest chain in the country, after Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch. But they have company. The Lucky Labrador just opened its third pub; Big Horn, Full Sail, Bridgeport, and Wild River each have two. Steelhead has three, but two are in California. The Laurelwood has two pubs and is soon to open a third, this one to more than double its brewing capacity.
The interesting thing about this expansion is that it’s mostly pub-oriented – and that means, local to your neighborhood. While some brewers have gotten bigger, they’ve also left a lot of room for small operations to fill the niche your neighborhood or small town needs. Elliot Glacier serves perhaps the smallest community – Parkdale, population 266 – but not far behind are Wild River in Cave Junction (1,440) and Bill’s in Cannon Beach (1,650), who like Elliot Glacier are depending on tourists to shore up sales for the local drinkers. Whoever coined the phrase “Think globally, drink locally,” must have been thinking about (and drinking) Oregon.
With the expansion of breweries has come an amazing diversity of styles and creativity. Thirty years ago, pale, fizzy lagers ruled the taps. Widmer’s Alt, McMenamin’s Terminator Stout, Portland’s Pale Ale, Full Sail’s Amber and Bridgeport’s Blue Heron, among others, introduced Oregonians to new tastes and, yes, colors in their beer. Walk into a bar in 1977 and your choices were Lager, Premium Lager, and Lite. Even in the early 80’s, according to Rob Widmer of Widmer Brewing, “there were two kinds of beer: light and dark. Our Alt fell into the dark category. People would just look at it and say no.” Today, pubs with two or three dozen taps, each pouring a different style of beer, are common. The Dublin Pub’s hundred-plus taps used to be a phenomenon. Now that’s not even enough to handle the state’s count of seasonal beers.
Not only that, but the publicans know what they’re serving. Go to your favorite “beer bar” like the Bier Stein in Eugene or Concordia Ale House in NE Portland and ask at random about a beer on tap from Ashland or Estacada, and your wait staff will give you a succinct rundown of the beer’s salient characteristics – color body, alcohol, sweetness, bitterness and hop flavor. If you’d tried that in 1977 you’d have been greeted with a polite invitation to keep your wiseguy questions to yourself.
Of course, with all this growth and change, we’ve lost a few along the way. Many will remember Saxer, producer of some wonderful lagers, including no less than four Bock beers. Star Brewing sold its beer only in 22 oz bottles, some of which were a bit explosive. Wild Duck closed down just a few years ago after several years of producing some award-winning barleywines, stouts and old ales.
Beer can be a tough business, requiring a lot of start-up capital and even more capital later on to expand or even survive. Widmer, MacTarnahan’s, Bridgeport and Full Sail have each gone different ways to find the investment funds they needed to keep going and succeed. Anheuser-Busch invested in Widmer, Maletis bought Bridgeport entirely, Full Sail turned to its employees, and MacTarnahan’s relied on customers and private investors. Each, however, bridged the gap between tiny start-up to successful regional brewer; between them, they now pump out over 683,000 barrels of beer per year between them.) By contrast, at its peak, Henry’s used to produce a little over a million barrels per year.) But even the outside investors left the Oregon element alone. “A-B is smart,” Widmer said. “They keep at arm’s length, but their brewing knowledge and buying power (for ingredients, materials, etc.) are incredible.”
So, the next time you walk into your favorite restaurant, pub, or even theater pub and it takes you several minutes just to choose from their amazing beer selection, remember: it hasn’t always been this way.
Preston’s right. We’re spoiled now. And I don’t know about you, but I like it better this way.
But it hasn’t always been like this. Thirty years ago, the only brewery in Portland was Henry’s. As recently as the late 1980’s, Fred Eckhardt was the only beer writer in town, and he praised Henry’s in an Oregonian article for daring to put some flavor into their pale fizzy lager. Drinking local still meant choosing between Henry’s, Olympia, and Rainier, beers we’d consider photochemically identical today. In 1980, there were only 80 breweries operating in the entire US. “And the prediction was that there would only be ten by 1990,” Eckhardt said. “That was their plan.”
But the wheels of change had already started turning. Homebrewing had been legalized nationally in 1978. Eckhardt and Charlie Papazian had each published books about home brewing, and Michael Jackson’s World Guide to Beer opened people’s eyes to other options. A few entrepreneurs bucked the trend and opened small craft breweries: Fritz Maytag revived Anchor Steam in 1976, and Bert Grant opened Yakima Brewing in Washington in 1982. Charlie Coury was Oregon’s first commercial craft brewer, opening Cartwright’s in 1980. Unfortunately, this pioneering effort didn’t last, as the County shut him down on New Year’s Day, 1983.
Soon the microbrew revolution centered on Oregon. Why Oregon? “I give a lot of credit to The Oregonian,” Eckhardt said. “If they hadn’t published my column and paid attention to good beer, people wouldn’t have had the information and wouldn’t have become curious about it.” It also helps Oregon has abundant, high-quality local resources including top-quality soft Bull Run water and locally grown barley and hops, perfect for big, hoppy beers like IPA’s and pale ales and smooth, balanced porters. Furthermore, Oregon’s mild but wet, grey winter climate was perfect for the revival of the local pub tradition. All it needed was good beer.
In 1983, Oregon legalized brew-on-premises establishments, and soon after, the floodgates opened. In 1984, homebrewers Rob and Kurt Widmer cranked up their first batch of Altbier on 14th and Lovejoy Streets in Portland, and winemakers Nancy and Dick Ponzi ventured some of their spare change to open Bridgeport just around the corner on NW Marshall. In 1985, Mike and Brian McMenamin opened their first brewpub in Hillsdale. Fred Bowman and Art Larrance opened Portland Brewing (now MacTarnahan’s) on NW Flanders St. in 1986. That year, the trend went statewide, as Hood River Brewing opened and McMenamin’s opened new pubs in Lincoln City and Hillsboro.
Today, there are fifty-six breweries in Oregon – forty of them brewpubs, according to the Oregon Brewer’s Guild. While the largest concentration is in the Portland area (33), craft breweries have sprung up in twenty-eight cities large and small, from Ashland to Enterprise. You can find good local beer in nearly ever corner of the state: in the Willamette Valley, on the coast, in the Cascades, and on into eastern and central Oregon.
And the growth spurt is hardly over. New breweries opened in 2005 (Roots, Amnesia, Cascade Lakes, Karlsson’s, and Clinton Street), and in 2006 (the Mash Tun in Portland, Willamette Brewing in Eugene, and soon, Max's Fanno Creek Brew Pub in Tigard and Ninkasi in Eugene). Chains continue to expand; the nationals – BJ’s, Old Chicago, and Rock Bottom – have moved in, and old favorites are forming chains out of former fledgling single entities. Of course, McMenamin’s is the king of Oregon brewpub chains; with over fifty pubs now in operation in the Pacific Northwest (48 in Oregon), they are the third-largest chain in the country, after Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch. But they have company. The Lucky Labrador just opened its third pub; Big Horn, Full Sail, Bridgeport, and Wild River each have two. Steelhead has three, but two are in California. The Laurelwood has two pubs and is soon to open a third, this one to more than double its brewing capacity.
The interesting thing about this expansion is that it’s mostly pub-oriented – and that means, local to your neighborhood. While some brewers have gotten bigger, they’ve also left a lot of room for small operations to fill the niche your neighborhood or small town needs. Elliot Glacier serves perhaps the smallest community – Parkdale, population 266 – but not far behind are Wild River in Cave Junction (1,440) and Bill’s in Cannon Beach (1,650), who like Elliot Glacier are depending on tourists to shore up sales for the local drinkers. Whoever coined the phrase “Think globally, drink locally,” must have been thinking about (and drinking) Oregon.
With the expansion of breweries has come an amazing diversity of styles and creativity. Thirty years ago, pale, fizzy lagers ruled the taps. Widmer’s Alt, McMenamin’s Terminator Stout, Portland’s Pale Ale, Full Sail’s Amber and Bridgeport’s Blue Heron, among others, introduced Oregonians to new tastes and, yes, colors in their beer. Walk into a bar in 1977 and your choices were Lager, Premium Lager, and Lite. Even in the early 80’s, according to Rob Widmer of Widmer Brewing, “there were two kinds of beer: light and dark. Our Alt fell into the dark category. People would just look at it and say no.” Today, pubs with two or three dozen taps, each pouring a different style of beer, are common. The Dublin Pub’s hundred-plus taps used to be a phenomenon. Now that’s not even enough to handle the state’s count of seasonal beers.
Not only that, but the publicans know what they’re serving. Go to your favorite “beer bar” like the Bier Stein in Eugene or Concordia Ale House in NE Portland and ask at random about a beer on tap from Ashland or Estacada, and your wait staff will give you a succinct rundown of the beer’s salient characteristics – color body, alcohol, sweetness, bitterness and hop flavor. If you’d tried that in 1977 you’d have been greeted with a polite invitation to keep your wiseguy questions to yourself.
Of course, with all this growth and change, we’ve lost a few along the way. Many will remember Saxer, producer of some wonderful lagers, including no less than four Bock beers. Star Brewing sold its beer only in 22 oz bottles, some of which were a bit explosive. Wild Duck closed down just a few years ago after several years of producing some award-winning barleywines, stouts and old ales.
Beer can be a tough business, requiring a lot of start-up capital and even more capital later on to expand or even survive. Widmer, MacTarnahan’s, Bridgeport and Full Sail have each gone different ways to find the investment funds they needed to keep going and succeed. Anheuser-Busch invested in Widmer, Maletis bought Bridgeport entirely, Full Sail turned to its employees, and MacTarnahan’s relied on customers and private investors. Each, however, bridged the gap between tiny start-up to successful regional brewer; between them, they now pump out over 683,000 barrels of beer per year between them.) By contrast, at its peak, Henry’s used to produce a little over a million barrels per year.) But even the outside investors left the Oregon element alone. “A-B is smart,” Widmer said. “They keep at arm’s length, but their brewing knowledge and buying power (for ingredients, materials, etc.) are incredible.”
So, the next time you walk into your favorite restaurant, pub, or even theater pub and it takes you several minutes just to choose from their amazing beer selection, remember: it hasn’t always been this way.
Preston’s right. We’re spoiled now. And I don’t know about you, but I like it better this way.
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