Written by Abram on 06 March 2010
Brewers Union's phalanx of hand pumps
Brewsville: Eugene, Oregon 13 February, 2010
Happy Zwickelmania! Don’t know what a zwickel is? Keep reading. First though a visit to the KLCC Microbrew Festival in Eugene.
A benefit for local radio station KLCC 89.7 FM, the KLCC Microbrew Fest combines two of my favorite activities, a beer festival and a record fair. Though admittedly in recent years CDs have been overtaking the vinyl at the event. (Full disclosure my CD player broke last year, and I have record players on all three floors of my house). The selection was pretty picked-over by the time I finished judging the homebrew competition (specialty and experimental category), and made my way through the festival floor. I still managed to score a couple Irish trad. Records. On the beer front I had the opportunity to try a good number of beers not found in Portland on a regular basis, including Wakonda Brewing’s Firthur, a pale ale brewed with fir needles. Named for the town in Ken Kesey’s Oregon Logger Odyssey Wakonda is located in Florence, the coastal town on which Kesey based the mythical Wakonda. Firthur named for Kesey’s famous magic bus matches resinous NW hops with actual Doug fir needles. The beer was a bit yeasty, but the hop and fir flavors melded well.
I also tried a few of the Collaboration beers. Every year Eugene brewers team up and make the same style to serve at the KLCC fest. This year 11 breweries in and around Eugene brewed “Belgian Rye Cascadian Dark Ales.” Sound like a mouthful? It was. The Chouffe yeast played off the hops in an interesting way in most examples and the rye backed up the dark malts of the CDA with a thick mouthfeel. Maui Brewing took part in the Collaboration brew this year. Belgian Rye CDA from Hawaii? Well yes, it is about as bizarre as feathers on a shark, but there is a Eugene connection. Scott “Spank Dog” Freitas formerly of the much-mourned Wild Duck brews at Maui. His take on the style was a little sweeter than most.
Brewers Union Local 180, from Oakridge got the benefit of serving its Collaboration Beer “Because We Can” on hand-pump like all of its house beers. The brewery is tucked away in the town of Oakridge, surrounded by national forest. Brewer Ted Sobel learned his chops in the North of England, and its evident in his beers. His Collaboration brew was a little on the heavy side for a CDA, and reminded me more of a porter. The brewpub in Oakridge offers five house ales on handpump, and guest taps on CO2. Sobel bought the old 3-barrel brew system from Hawks in Roseburg, and worked to make the building feel like an authentic English country pub. “Tannin Bomb” a 6.8% abv Old Ale tasted on the recent visit to the brewery had an aroma of prunes and dark plums, sweet dark toffee, and a raisiny finish with subtle notes of toast and a hint of warming alcohol. A truly English style beer.
Tags: Brewers Union, Cascadian Dark Ale, CDA, Eugene, Fests, Wakonda
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Written by Abram on 25 February 2010
I spent Zwickelmania in Eugene February 13th this year. Statewide the brewery open house weekend, sponsored by the Oregon Brewers Guild drew 10,00o attendees. In Eugene a bit of February sunshine and the KLCC Microbrew Fest the same weekend brought out the crowds.
I was lucky enough to be on a beer junket sponsored by the Eugene, Cascades and Coast tourism board with a crowd of other beer writers and bloggers. The ECC “Adventure Center” a few blocks away from Hop Valley features a selection of local beers and wines.
We started the day at Hop Valley Brewing in Springfield, where brewer Trevor Howard poured us samples of his Natty Red from the zwickel. A zwickel is a small spigot or samplecock on a brewing vessel that allows a brewer to pull a sample of beer (generally to check on its progress). The word, like many brewing terms is borrowed (well probably stolen) from German. The verb zwicken means to nip or to pinch, so Wir zwicken became the motto for the day. The Natty Red from the conditioning vessel was a tasty NW red, with big citrusy hop flavor from Cluster, Simcoe, and Cascades pairing with a sweet toasty chewy malt mouthfeel.
Hop Valley, in the former Spencers Brewpub location just off Beltline, is bedecked in photos of early Lane County hop pickers, and a McKenzie River driftboat hangs from the ceiling. (These flat bottomed boats were designed locally and have become quite popular with fishermen throughout the west.) The enlargements of the photos of local hop pickers tie Hop Valley to the local history, which it is proud to celebrate. Hop Valley is brewing a special beer for Springfield’s 125th anniversary celebration later this year.
In Eugene, Ninkasi Brewing was featuring Oregon Beef burgers, from cows fed on Ninkasi’s spent grain. Owner Jamie Floyd gave us a tour of the rapidly expanding brewery. Last time I was at Ninkasi, in November of 2008, they had just installed their new 30 barrel system, well the brewery is growing so fast they are building an expansion which will include a Krones bottling line, 240-barrel fermentation vessels, and a 60-barrel brewhouse. The brewery has grown from 2 employees (Floyd and business partner Nikos Ridge) to 37 today. All this growth hasn’t distracted Floyd from his calling to be “the village brewer” though. He strives to support the local community, and on Thursdays all employees get chair massages. The growth is gauged to keep up with demand, which keeps growing both locally and in other markets. Ninkasi’s beers are now available in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and in the Bay Area in California. The local Costco in Eugene recently agreed to buy two pallets of Ninkasi beer and said maybe they would buy two more. A few months later they are on their 32nd pallet of Ninkasi beer, and it has become the first beer to outsell Coors Light and Corona at that store. Ever wanted proof that Oregonians like their hops? 60% of Ninkasi’s production is Total Domination IPA, and Tricerahops its Imperial IPA and Believer, a NW Red ale, which, though maltier clocks in at 60 IBUs make up another 25%. Floyd still likes to have fun, and the Ninkasi brews special beers for Burning Man and The Oregon Country Fair, as well as offering limited release beers for the local draught market.
Recently Ninkasi opened a beautiful new tasting room with swanky locally designed metal tables and bar, and offices that have a layout that resembles the bridge of a starship. (Their conference table is something that would do Darth Vader’s sense of style proud). The tasting room is open 11-7 seven days a week.
Across town at Oakshire, food carts were on hand for Zwickelmania, and the atmosphere was quite festive. The production brewery has a small tasting bar, open two days a week, with a few special beers brewed on its half-barrel pilot brewery.
Brewmaster Matt Van Wyck showed off the brewery’s newly acquired 30-barrel and 80-barrel vessels. The brewery got its start in 2006 as Willamette Brewery with a 4 barrel system, but now has a 15 barrel system. The brewery was forced to change its name by winemaking behemoth Willamette Valley Vineyards, and chose Oakshire, which refers to the Willamette Valley’s white oak savannah.
“The oak tree symbolizes independence and strength, what Oregon is all about, and shire is community and bioregion,” says founder Jeff Althouse. “In my opinion we don’t really need much more than we make here in Oregon.”
Last year Oakshire’s Overcast Espresso Stout was its top seller, though only by 10-20 barrels more than its Watershed IPA. The espresso for the Stout comes from Eugene roaster Wandering Goat, and is made in a cold press extraction in 10 gallon batches. In the 80-barrel vessels, 100 pounds of espresso are used.
We badgered Van Wyck into letting us sample Oakshire’s new spring seasonal, a Cascadian Dark Ale, called O’Dark:30, though it had only been in the fermentor two days. It showed excellent potential, and I am excited to try it when it comes out. That’s the beauty of Zwickelmania- a chance to taste beers still in the fermentor. Cheers to Zwickelmania.
Tags: Cascadian Dark Ale, CDA, Eugene, Hop Valley, Ninkasi, Oakshire, zwickel, Zwickelmania
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