It’s great seeing cities teaming up with breweries to promote their city, their economy, and well, their beer. Bend, Oregon knows a great thing when they see it, and they’ve seen it with their local craft beer scene, leading to the creation of The Bend Ale Trail.
A collaboration between Visit Bend, the city’s tourism bureau, and eight of the regions top craft breweries, The Bend Ale Trail is an interactive, multi-faceted tour and celebration of the city’s craft breweries. Continue Reading »
BridgePort Brewing Company Black Strap Stout at the BridgePort Ale House.
Portland has a KILLER scene for craft brews. I had the pleasure of judging a food and beer pairing event for Deschutes last night at the Deschutes Public House and spent the day prior aimlessly wandering from craft brewery to craft brewery. Look for coverage of the Deschutes event in the March issue of Mutineer. Here are a couple shots from Sunday’s adventures: Continue Reading »
It’s no secret that the wines of Willamette Valley’s Eyrie Vineyards are among my very favorite on the planet. The wines, particularly the pinot noirs, are full of character and complexity that rival the great wines of burgundy, yet are uniquely Oregon. It was a sad day when Eyrie founder David “Papa Pinot” Lett passed away on October 9, 2008. David Lett essentially invented the modern wine industry in Oregon through the founding of Eyrie Vineyards, and his epic story is truly incredible. I came across this video of David’s son Jason Lett giving the commencement address at the Linfield College in Willamette Valley and was pretty blown away by it. David was also honored with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree by Linfield College faculty and trustees, and Jason’s address beautifully tells the story of this legendary wine pioneer and the lessons that can be learned from his journey.
Part 1 of Jason Lett’s 2009 Commencement Address
Part 2 of Jason Lett’s 2009 Commencement Address
That’s right people, the big bad beer tax that was proposed in Oregon was shot down like the terrible idea it was. When I caught wind of this, first I was pissed, then I was confused, then I wasn’t confused, then I was pissed again. Basically a group of Oregon politicians led by Democrat, John Krasinski look-alike, Ben Cannon from Oregon’s 46th District looked to shoot the Oregon beer industry in the face with ridiculously high taxes, I guess to try and make up for other budget shortcomings. TERRIBLE IDEA. If an industry is thriving, don’t destroy it with high taxes. I may be biased, but I’m fair, so if you’re unfamiliar with the issue, check out this article interviewing Gary Fish of Deschutes Brewery and a Rep. Cannon staff member that we ran as the Final Word in the April/May issue of Mutineer Magazine and also on the blog while this was still an undecided issue.
The following are two full interviews from our Final Word article in the April/May issue of Mutineer Magazine with Deschutes owner Gary Fish and the other being with Representative Ben Cannon’s office.
Alan Kropf: What do you think about the Oregon beer tax?
Gary Fish: If it was a one hundred percent increase people would think that was ridiculous; this is a two thousand percent increase, it’s hard to even comment on something that is so outrageous. They [legislature] have know idea how the private sector actually operates and they think this won’t hurt when it’s going to hurt a lot. Continue Reading »
Domaine Serene
This April 18th and 19th the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association will host the Dundee Hills Passport Tour, and these wineries, ladies and gentlemen, are the real deal. Continue Reading »
Today is not a good day to be an Oregon brewer, because today Oregon brewers are asking themselves how they are going to remain competitive with their elected officials looking to raise the excise tax on the state’s brewers by nearly 2,000%. Continue Reading »
Oregon brewery Full Sail has released its Brewmaster Reserve Series, Slipknot Imperial IPA, and will be available from January to the middle of March. “As the name implies, every aspect of this American style IPA is amplified – from the up-front hop aroma and bitterness to the big malt body,” said Full Sail’s Brewmaster, John Harris. Continue Reading »
