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A Sign of Good Taste
Microbreweries offer beer drinkers a quality quaff
Many consider the Northwest interior to
its eastern counterparts in culture and
diversity But while Portland may lack the
si/e and tradition of many hast Coast
cities, it redeems itself with the quality of
beer it produces.
Portland boasts the home of three
respected microbrcwcries. bringing a
diverse selection of beers to the area From
the traditional English-. Scottish- anti Irish
brewed ales and stouts brewed at the Col
umbia River Brewing Co and Portland
Brewing Co to the top fermented.
German-style altbiers made at the Widmir
The Portland Cordage Building houses the Coluinhia Kiur Brewing Co., makers of BridgePori Ale. The building was con
structed in IKK* (top left). The Bridgeport Brew Pub showcases the brewer) and ofTers its product on tap or to go (aboxe). A
pitcher of Widmir Wei/en. a fine <>erman-st>le althier made at the Widinir Brewing Co., awaits a thirsty throat (top right).
Head brew master Karl Widmir stands next to a fermentation tank at his brewery.
Brewing Co., the city revels in the ancient
practice.
The West Coast, with its pure water, its
internationally known Cascade hops and
quality malting barley, provides the raw in
gredients for the newly emerging
sophisticated beer-drinking market and for
for microbreweries, which are defined as
breweries that produce less than 10.(XX)
barrels of beer annually.
The Northwest reflects, in part, a Euro
pean attitude of high reverence toward
quality, says Kurt Widmir. the head
brewmaslcr for the Widmir Brewing Co.
The number of high quality coffee shops,
bakeries, wine shops and restaurants have
increased in the last 10 years Likewise, the
consumption of quality beer also has risen,
he says
“Oregon and the Northwest has been a
very sophisticated market, and sales have
always been very high in draft beer," he
says. Portland’s consumption of draft beer
is among the nation's highest at 20 to 25
percent. 10 times the consumption perccn
tage of “the California bottle babies” who
consume a mere 2 percent ol their beer on
dratt. he says.
The tough drunk driving laws are forcing
people to be more responsible drinkers,
Widmir says “Now if people are going to
have only two or three beers, they are go
ing to be really good beers." he says.
Brewer Karl Ockert of the Columbia
River Brewing Co agrees there has been a
revival in the small, traditional brewing
houses and pubs, noting most towns used to
have their ow n brewery "We are rev iv mg
something that is prevalent all over the
world." he says
Beer is big money in the United States In
ldS5 alone. Americans drank 5.5 billion
gallons ol what Seattle Post Intelligencer
beer columnist Vince Cottonc calls "In
dustrial Brew," mass produced, mass
marketed beer
"We really don't compete with the na
tional advertisers I'm sure we get some
Bud drinkers to the ranks." he says.
Instead, competition comes from the
Guiness and Becks drinkers who enjoy
quality. Ockert says. “The American
market is like Red China to us — it is just
endless."
The three Portland microbreweries com
hmed produce three-quarters of I percent
of the beer produced in Portland.
Ockert and Widmir bring their own style
and beliefs to the profession Both are soft
spoken, articulate and patient; each reflect
the pride of the beer's national origin
Ockert. with a formal degree from the
University of Califoria at Davis in fermen
tation sciences, brings modern techniques
to traditional brewing. In addition, Ockert
toured English breweries to gather
firsthand information about the craft.
With his agricultural boots, jeans and
plaid shirt, Ockert speaks highly of the
brewery. Located in the former Portland
Cordage Building built in 1KX6. the Coluni
bia River Brewery operates independently
of the Ponzi Vineyards and owner Dick
Pon/i. allow ing Ockert the luxury of finan
cial stability.
The brewhouse and adjacent pub. com
plete with exposed pipe, brick and brass
decor and dart board, operate with a staff
of II, an increase from last year’s stall ol
three.
I he largest of the three breweries. Col
umbia River produces 5b() kegs a month,
which is about X,5(X) gallons an amount
less than one day 's beer production at a 111a
jor brewery Producing near maximum
output capacity, there is always a tempta
lion to automate and increase output, he
says, but it is the small si/e of the brewery
that gives it a personal touch.
Microbreweries' saving grace is ver
satility, Ockert says. “We only have to sell
lb kegs to make some money. This gives
us variety never seen before in or out of the
US"
The company came out with its first pro
duct, Bridgeport Ale. in November ldX4
Widmir on the other hand took a hobby
of five years and made H into his proles
sion A 1974 University graduate with a
degree in psychology, Widmir traveled to
Dusseldorf. West Germany, to learn about
altbier, the German equivalent to the
British ale.
He returned with the knowledge ol a
skilled German brew master. and more im
portantly, the yeast of /um lurtge
homebrew house to open a family brewery
in April of 1985. He says he has learned
more in six months of operation than a
lifetime of studying and a halt completed
master’s degree in the College of Business
Administration.
Sporting a leather apron, gold rimmed
octagon glasses and gold watch. Widmcr
talks about the operation as a lather talks
about his son or daughter, a glass ot
Weizen w heat beer in hand
"When your entire life savings is in
vested, you don't just get out of bed in the
morning you spring out ol bed." Wid
mir says The typical day requires about 12
hours work. Still Widmcr says he is
satisfied, having reached near maximum
capacity for the brewery.
Kurt and his brother brother Rob. an
Oregon State University alumnus, with the
assistance ot their father Kay. have been
churning out beer daily for better than two
years. Widmir Brewery now has tour full
time employees with part time assistance
from Ray.
The Portland Brewing Co., the most
recently formed Portland microbrewery,
began production m Pebruary ot I98h
Like Columbia River, the brew house is
visible from the pub, which sjmrts live |a//
and blues plus local brewed Portland Ale
and Grant’s Ale
The process of making beer is relatively
simple and requires three ingredients
malted barley , hops and water I he brewer
steeps crushed barley in hot water, produc
ing a liquor base called wort
The wort then is transferred into brew
kettles and boiled, while brewers add hops.
The boiling process sterilizes the wort
before being cooled and screened They
then .util yeast and I ran*, ter the beer
to fermentation tanks before the
beer is capped and placed in storage
tanks
The storage time lor the beers
vary, from as little as si\ days for
some ales to the more traditional 12
to 2b days tor the altbicrs and ales
Because it is not pasteurized, the
beer literally is alive as the yeast re
mains dormant
Temperature also is a large eon
sideration I he light and pale ales
should be served at 45 50 degrees
with the more full bodied ales at
55-60 degrees The German
altbicrs should be served at a
temperature between 4H and 52
degrees
there is no typical consumer lor
microbrewed beer, (Xkcrt vtys,
noting most consumers range from
retired military servicemen who
miss the flavor of good foreign
beers to the upwardly mobile and
(list those looking lor something
new and local
Wtdmir Brewery's biggest
obstacle is public awareness, both
m terms of Widmir as j product and
specialty beers, Rob says The
company distributes about 60 per
cent of its beer and hopes to expand
its Washington. Oregon and Idaho
market into Montana and Colorado
by the end of the year
Story by
Stanley Nelson
Photos by
John Giustina
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l.iU-rature Krvicw
Strega
by Andrew V«ichv»
Allred kmipl. Srv* VocA 1*17
Inirwni t» I. Borrn
Ifetective fiction fans who
missed Andrew Vachss's lirst
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treat in store with the ap
pearance of StrvKii. Vachss is
the most rei cut writer to send
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D.ishiell Hammett and Kay
mond Chandler, and the for
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their latest forms a one name
detective (liurke) with a knac k
for meeting dangerous, exotic
women: .1 mute Mongolian
professional killer named
Max: a criminal entrepreneur
running .1 Chinese restaurant
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a street-wise con who speaks
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Nazi hating electronics wizard
11In* Mole): •md Hurke’s lap
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Neapolitan mastiff misnamed
Pansy If this is not enough,
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so sleazy you'll want to wash
your hands after reading The
villains in both novels are the
i Inhl molesters and child per
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llurke is on a crusade If
graphic, squalid, sexual
descriptions offend you. you
may not like these novels, but
Vachss is not one to paint a
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reality ot a six iely devouring
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