An old document on my hard drive from the Oregon Brewers Guild contains a list of all the breweries active in Oregon around the turn of the 21st century. Slightly less than half are still around—but compared to regular US businesses, that’s really good.
Read More
Three Washington-state breweries have sued Oregon over the right to self-distribute to the Beaver State as well as ship beer to Oregon consumers directly. They have a really good case.
Read More
A stroll through a forested gorge festooned with ten waterfalls followed by a cold one poured literally in the middle of the trellised fields from which its hops were harvested? That’s called Saturday here in Oregon.
Read More
On July 1, New Jersey’s alcohol regulatory issued rules limiting what breweries could do in their own taprooms. They were comically draconian, and outraged New Jerseyans have been filling the internet with disgusted memes. Is it really the case that NJ wants these taprooms to fail, and if so, who benefits? I spoke to one man with some answers.
Read More
in my Sightglass posts, I typically write about a subject of mutual interest with Reuben’s. Today I'm pivoting the spotlight on my partner in the series. Reuben's has become a leader in Northwest brewing, and today I take a closer look to see what makes them tick.
Read More
Portland’s local alt-weekly newspaper, Willamette Week, holds an annual “best of Portland” survey. Among the categories is one for podcast. The Beervana Show, with absolutely no help from its hosts (and by that I mean Patrick, whom I blame entirely for this failure), finished second. Second!
Read More
In the lifecycle of any successful brewery, there are phases of growth and cultural currency—but also stumbling and mistakes. Stone’s sale to Sapporo gives us one of the most potent cases in point.
Read More
The rise and fall of most styles are mysteries we must chalk up to “cultural” forces. In one case, however, we might blame Ena Sharples.
Read More
Global breweries can be optimized to make beer of exceptional quality; they almost never make the most interesting beer. For that, we look to small and quirky breweries, the protectors of tradition and the tinkerers and experimenters.
Read More
In the finale of Portland Travel Week, I offer you my annual list of Portland’s best breweries. This should be a handy guide for visitors—and, given how many breweries the city has and how few days in the year, possibly locals as well. See who made the list this year!
Read More