Club Corner
July 2025 Beer of the Month Club
OREGON BREWERIES Oregon has a long history with beer. Shortly after the first European-Americans started arriving in 1843, breweries were already starting to pop up. Brewing was a staple of the early US expansion into the west, with Hiram Binghan noting in 1829 the cultivation and malting of barley for making beer and men stationed at Fort Vancouver importing beer. Shortly after this, there is evidence of hops being grown in the region around 1849. While early hop farming was a small-scale production at first, with little more than 20 acres grown, it was notable for being the first on the Pacific Coast. This was not specifically used for beer, as hops had a myriad of uses in the frontier, from use in cooking, home decor, and even for medicinal purposes. From this meager yield, Oregon became the largest hop producer in the country from 1905 to 1915 and again from 1922 to 1943, with prohibition giving only a short hit to production. While hop production hummed along smoothly, the brewing industry in the area was significantly changed when, in 1914, 5 years before national prohibition, Oregonians voted to ban alcohol. This battle had predated statehood, with efforts to ban alcohol dating to 1859, and gaining steam with the Local Option Act of 1904, which allowed cities and counties to hold elections to ban the sale of alcohol to residents. Consumption fell and breweries shuttered. It wasn’t until the late 1970s and early 1980s that fortunes reversed. With the rise in craft brewing and Oregon's role as one of the country's biggest hop producers, second only to Washington, Oregon has become home to some of the best breweries in the country in a range of styles, from Belgian-inspired barrel aged beers, unfiltered German-inspired lagers, and, of course, classic west coast IPAs. Cheers! Plumpjack Wine & Spirits Gold Dot Brewing Staggers and Jags Cold IPA McMinnville, OR About the brewery: Gold Dot is an offshoot of the renowned Heater Allen, as a way for co-brewers Lisa Allen and Kevin Davey, both also managing production for Heater Allen, as a way to branch out from the traditional German and Czech styles their parent company is known for. Tasting Notes: Clear gold with fluffy foam and a nose of honeydew melon, bread flour, piney resin, and grapefruit. Dry with a bright hoppy bitterness and flavors of grapefruit, lemon peel, and a sweetly floral note on the finish. Head Brewer: Lisa Allen and Kevin Davey $5.99 per can Crux Fermentation Project Farmhouse Saison Bend, OR About the brewery: Started in 2012 by former Deschutes alum Paul Evers, Dave Wilson, and Larry Sidor, Crux Fermentation Project makes a wide range of beers with an eye towards experimenting with new techniques without compromising on quality. Tasting Notes: A slightly hazy light amber with a nose of sweet spices, toasted sesame seeds, and earthy floral notes. Soft carbonation on the palate with flavors of cinnamon bark, dried citrus, and barley tea with a soft earthy finish. Head Brewer: Ryan Atagi $4.99 per can Wayfinder Kollaps Kölsch-Style Ale Portland, OR About the brewery: Opened in 2016, Wayfinder is a lager-centric brewery combining traditional German techniques with Pacific Northwest hops and west coast brightness of flavor. Tasting Notes: Pale gold with a peppery floral and grainy nose. Dry and very lightly bitter, with cereal grain flavors and an earthy hop note on the finish. Head Brewer: Natalie Baldwin $5.99 per can
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Beer of the Month Club January 2025: Brettanomyces
BRETTANOMYCES To start off the year we will be looking at one of my favorite topics to read about in both wine and beer: yeast! Most wines and beers are fermented with the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as baker’s yeast, used for its reliability in gobbling up simple sugars and turning them into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and a wide array of different compounds that give fermented food and drink the flavors we love. A lot of these other strains were (and still are) considered spoilage organisms, though some brewers and winemakers are starting to see the benefits of letting these various yeast coexist as they can add an added layer of complexity to the finished drink when managed properly. Brettanomyces bruxellensis, commonly referred to as Brett, is one of these “wild” yeasts that are often found on the skins of fruit, and have a complicated history with the makers of fermented products. While generally lumped into the spoilage organism category in wine, cider, and dairy due to its tendency to create off-flavors in large quantities, in very small quantities they impart notes of spice and leather and a pleasant earthiness. Brett has had far more success in beer and cider. It was first isolated and identified at the turn of the last century by Danish scientist Niels Hjelte Claussen at what was then Carlsberg Laboratory. Along with a few other breweries around Europe, including Guinness in Ireland and Kalinkin in Russia, he began working on replicating the complexity of aged English porters and noticed the slow growing yeast found in these beers. The use of the yeast exploded and multiple strains have since been cultivated for use in brewing beer across the world. It’s distinctive earthiness and ability to consume certain sugars that Saccharomyces cannot has helped to create a range of complex, ageable ales in a range of styles from sour and fruity lambics and Flanders ales, rich mouth-coating barleywines, and light, dry pale ales. Von Ebert Brewing was founded by father and son Tom M. Cook and Tom S. Cook. It was originally the Portland outpost of Ohio-based Fat Head’s Brewery before being renamed in 2018 in honor of the German-born matriarch of the family. They launched to acclaim with Head Brewer Sean Burke who had previously helped launch The Commons Brewery in the Portland area. After Burke moved on to start his own project, they promoted the former Head Brewer of their original Pearl St. location, Sam Pecoraro, to Head Brewer of the whole operation. Von Ebert has racked up a slew of awards across the country, most recently receiving gold in multiple categories in the 2024 International Beer Awards, World Beer Cup, Best of Craft Beer Awards, and the Oregon Beer Awards. Alesong Brewing and Blending was started in 2015 by brothers Brian and Doug Coombs with Head Blender Matt Van Wyk. Brian, a formally trained chemist from the University of Oregon, left his job working as a R&D chemist for the US Army Tank, Automotive, Research, Development, and Engineering Center in Detroit to work with his former mentor Matt, a former high school science teacher who had caught the brewing bug and trained at the Siebel Institute of Technology, at Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, OR. The two worked closely together before Brian began traveling the world to improve his knowledge of barrel-aging and fermentation. On his return Brian convinced Matt and his brother Doug, who had been working in the wine industry in California, to start their own project. In the 9 years they have been operating they have won over 75 awards, most recently receiving Brewery of the Year last year at the Great American Beer Festival. Cheers! Justin Malesheetz Beer Buyer Von Ebert Known Presence Heritage Ale Portland, OR / USA A clear copper in the glass with vigorous carbonation and a mousse-like foam. Tart and earthy on the nose with notes of grilled pineapple, clove, golden raisin, and dried apricot. Dry and sour on the palate with moderate hop bitterness and a positive oxidative note and flavors of dried apple, quince, and potpourri. Head Brewer: Sam Pecoraro $13.99 per can / $151.09 per case Alesong Touch of Brett Dry-Hopped Farmhouse Ale Eugene, OR / USA Light yellow in the glass with fluffy foam and lots of carbonation. Fruity and spicy on the nose with notes of white pepper, clove, lemon salt, grilled pineapple, and navel orange. Bright and tropical on the palate with notes of tangerine, lemon peel, and grapefruit with moderate bitterness. Head Brewer: Matt Van Wyk $21.99 per can / $237.49 per case
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Beer of the Month Club May '24: Garden Path Fermentation
GARDEN PATH FERMENTATION This month we are excited to feature Garden Path from Northwest Washington, which has ties to another of our favorite breweries. Founders Ron Extract and Amber Watts come from Jester King Brewing in Austin, Texas, where Ron was a managing partner for 6 years and Amber had a multi-faceted front of house role. Previously, Amber was a media studies professor and Ron received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and studied brewing at Siebel Institute of Technology. He then spent nearly twenty years in the beer industry as an importer, retailer, distributor, and brewer before moving to Austin. Ron and Amber came to Washington in 2016 and started Garden Path Fermentation, making not only beer but wine, mead, and cider as well. Their production process draws on various old-world brewing and winemaking techniques, reinterpreted and adapted to take advantage of the abundant local resources of the area including locally grown and malted grain, fruit (much of which they tend themselves), honey, and organic hops from nearby farms. Fermentation takes place in oak barrels of varying sizes, including a large, open-top foeder, and each unique batch is a singular expression of time and place. Cheers! Beer Buyer Justin Malesheetz Garden Path Led To Flowered Farmhouse Saison Price: $6.99 per 16oz can/$24.99 per 4-Pack Fermented in an oak foeder with native yeast and can-conditioned. Pours a hazy pale gold with a lingering fluffy foam. Lots of spicy, herbal, and floral hop notes on the nose accompanied by aromas of red apples, apricot, and clove. Rich flavors of fresh pineapple, clementine and mandarin oranges, grapefruit, and a refreshing hop bitterness coat the mouth on the long velvety finish. Food pairings: Citrus salad, escargot, savory souffle Garden Path The Spontaneous Ferment 3 Year Blend 500ml Price: $26.99 per 500ml bottle Blend of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old spontaneously-fermented beers, inoculated with fresh coolship wort. Pours a hazy gold with very little foam. The light nose and dry finish hides a beer bursting at the seams with sour citrus fruit and cherry, unripe pineapple and guava, green apple, thyme, bay leaf, hay, and a light touch of cinnamon the medium-length finish. Food pairings: Strong soft-ripened cheese, trout rillette, spanish chorizo
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Beer of the Month January 2021
Happy New Year! If I told you Belgium only produces 1% of the world’s beer, would you believe me? It’s a mind-boggling fact that took even me by surprise. In fact, there are more breweries in Oregon than there are in all of Belgium. Belgium’s beer is best described as a combination of innovation and tradition. One brewery, established in 1988, best represents that very intersection. Fantome brewery is known for their unique variations of Farmhouse ale/saisons and luckily for us we get to experience them together. The second beer in this month’s selection is from a Canadian brewery founded in 2004. Les Trois Mousquetaires (want to take a guess what that translates to?) produces a range of beer styles from hefeweizen, maibock and doppelbock to gose and porters. Their baltique porter/imperial dark lager is a beer that has won them very impressive accolades, some of which include gold medals from beer competitions in the U.S and Canada. Though we enjoy our domestic beer, it’s nice to see what the rest of the world has to offer. Cheers! BrendonBeer & Spirits Enthusiast Fantome “Printemps” Location: Belgium Beer style: Farmhouse Ale/Saison Hops: N/A Serving Temp: 38-45F Tasting Notes: A pure, classic example of a traditional Saison. Aromas and flavors of wheat, pear, lemon, orange and melon. Les Trois Mousquetaires "Porter Baltique" Location: Canada Beer style: Dark Lager Hops: Nugget & Cascade Serving Temp: 38-45F Tasting Notes: A robust dark lager inspired by Porters produced around the Baltic Sea. This beer is elegant and possesses extremely well integrated malt flavors of coffee, chocolate and vanilla. Hints of smoke are attributed by the cherry-wood smoked malt used during the brewing process.
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