10 CapitalPress.com
September 8, 2017
Oregon
Ancient alcoholic beverage makes a comeback
By ALIYA HALL
Capital Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. —
Brothers Nick and Phillip Lo-
renz make mead, a beverage
with lots of history behind it.
Mead is one of the oldest
alcoholic beverages. It was
widely popular in ancient
Greece and during the Middle
Ages, especially in northern
European countries where
grapevines didn’t fl ourish.
“On one hand, it’s not new
at all — it’s the oldest alcohol,
but it’s new commercially,”
Nick Lorenz said. “Especial-
ly our style. It’s a niche, but
emerging marking. The op-
portunities are endless and it’s
just growing.”
The production of mead
starts with fermenting honey
in a tank with water, yeast
and — depending on the
brew — additional flavoring
Aliya Hall/Capital Press
Nick Lorenz and his brother
Phillip make mead, an alco-
holic drink that has honey in
it. Ginger-honey is one of their
most popular meads, along
with a lemon-lime brew called
“Nectorade.”
ingredients, such as berries.
The mead is then filtered
and carbonated in a tank be-
fore packaging.
The process takes around
a month, Nick Lorenz said.
At their company, Nectar
Creek, the brothers produce
session style mead, which
refers to alcohol content, that
ranges from 4 to 8 percent al-
cohol. Nick Lorenz describes
the taste as light and similar to
beer and cider.
For mead with addition-
al fruit fl avors, the company
picks fl avors that pair well
together, along with giving
brewers freedom to experi-
ment. Nick Lorenz said that
ginger-honey is one of their
most popular meads, along
with their lemon-lime brew
they called “Nectorade.”
Nectar Creek formed in
2012, but the brothers had the
idea since high school to start
a value-added agriculture
business.
“Selling strawberries is
great, but strawberry jam is
available all year round,”
Nick Lorenz said.
Phillip Lorenz started
home brewing before going
to work at Queen Bee Honey
Co. When the brothers fi rst
started Nectar Creek Phillip
Lorenz kept bees, but eventu-
ally sold them to Queen Bee
Honey Co.
“It’s too much,” Nick Lo-
renz said. “Beekeeping is a
whole separate business.”
Instead, Nectar Creek re-
ceives honey from local bee-
keepers and describe them-
selves as a “honey co-op.”
Nick Lorenz said that they try
to add a new honey supplier
each year.
As the company has
grown, the brothers have de-
cided to double the size of
their operation and expand
into a new facility that can
also work as a tap house, as
well as a distillery. The fa-
cility is expected to increase
operational effi ciency by 50
percent.
Nick Lorenz hopes that the
building will be done in No-
vember.
The biggest struggle that
the brothers have had is edu-
cating consumers about what
mead is.
“People in the beer indus-
try know everything about
beer and have never heard of
mead,” Nick Lorenz said. “Or
they’ll say, ‘My uncle made
mead in his basement and it
was gross,’ but they don’t re-
ally know what it is.”
He described interactions
with bar owners where it took
multiple attempts and sam-
ples for the owners to even try
the product.
He said that even when the
owners do like it, they aren’t
sure if they can make any mon-
ey from it. He contrasts that
with getting a new IPA in bars.
“A bar will just take it
without trying it or even
knowing if it’s good or not,”
he said.
Although Nick Lorenz
knows there is still a lot of
education to be done about
mead, one of the most re-
warding aspects for him is
seeing customers’ eyes light
up after trying it.
“It’s the impact we have
on people,” he said. “The
goals we have rests on our
positive impact on the envi-
ronment, people and commu-
nity.”
Nectar Creek employs
fi ve workers, and Nick Lo-
renz said that the fi rst time
he wrote an employee’s pay-
check he knew “it was real.”
“The more mead we’re
making, the more people are
drinking it and the more we
can care for our employees,”
he said.
Table grape fi eld
day set for Sept. 13
high yields year after year,
and Canadice, a smaller red
grape from Cornell Universi-
Promising table grape cul- ty with good fl avor and uni-
tivars, not to mention tasty form clusters. Agricultural
grape samples, will be on researchers often share cul-
display and up for discussion tivars among themselves for
during a fi eld day at Oregon evaluation and OSU received
State University’s North Wil- several over the years from
lamette Research and Exten- John Clark, a University of
sion Center.
Arkansas plant breeder and
The fi eld day is Wednes- horticulture professor. Clark
day, Sept. 13, from 1 to 4:30 will attend the fi eld day and
p.m. at NWREC, 15210 N.E. talk about his work.
Miley Road, Aurora.
Vance has a viticulture
Research Assistant Aman- background and volunteered
Aliya Hall/Capital Press
da Vance, who has spent the to take on the OSU table
past three years evaluating grape research project. She’ll From left, Jordan Sinn, Earthlight’s Oregon branch manager; Shaun George, Northwest Hazelnut co-owner; Polly Owen, manager of the
cultivars, will talk abut her discuss her work, and OSU Hazelnut Marketing Board; Kevin Cameron, Marion County commissioner; Barb Yates, Ferrero representative; Gov. Kate Brown; Rep.
fi ndings. Oregon is known for berry crops professor Ber- Rick Lewis, R-Silverton; and Larry George, Northwest Hazelnut co-owner, cut the ribbon on the company’s solar array.
its wine grapes, of course, but nadine Strik will talk about
Vance believes there may be grapevine morphology, phys-
a table grape niche for small- iology, trellising, pruning
scale growers who sell at and training. Javier Fernan-
farmers’ markets or roadside dez-Salvador, an OSU Ph.D.
stands.
candidate and an assistant By ALIYA HALL
setting an example for Ore-
The grapes Vance found professor, will talk about or- Capital Press
gon agriculture.”
Hazelnuts rank 11th in
most promising include Nep- ganic table grape production,
HUBBARD, Ore. —
farmgate value among Ore-
tune, a green grape from the including disease and weed
Northwest Hazelnut Co. has
gon’s agricultural commodi-
University of Arkansas with control.
ties. Brown said she expects
completed the installation of a
the rapidly expanding crop to
435-kilowatt solar power sys-
shoot to fi fth in the next cou-
tem that offsets 100 percent of
ple of years.
the electricity the processing
“Thanks for investing in
plant uses.
Hubbard, Marion County
Company co-owner Lar-
and Oregon Agriculture,” she
ry George said the project,
said.
including the replacement of
“SunPower’s reliable so-
halogen lights in the facility
lar energy solutions coupled
with LEDs, ran up a bill of
Aliya Hall/Capital Press with Earthlight’s commercial
roughly $1 million. With the
experience and local pres-
energy savings and govern- The new solar array produces enough electricity to power the
ence were strong reasons why
ment incentives, however, Northwest Hazelnut processing plant.
we decided to move forward
George plans to offset the
costs within fi ve years.
25 years, said Jordan Sinn,
The cost of solar systems on the project. And knowing
Northwest Hazelnut is part Oregon Earthlight branch varies based on size and lo- this is a long-term invest-
of a network of facilities that manager. The panels should cation, and state and federal ment, the robust warranty and
process the Oregon Hazelnut have a lifespan of over 40 incentives are available for higher effi ciency panels were
harvest, and has three sister years.
some businesses, McClelland extremely important to us,”
George said.
processing plants, according
The company partnered said.
Earthlight Technologies
to its website.
with Earthlight Technologies,
Northwest Hazelnut held
Courtesy Maine Extension Service
As a result of going solar, a SunPower Elite Dealer, to a ribbon-cutting ceremony was founded in 2008 as a
Canadice, a variety of table grapes, is one cultivar that will be fea-
Northwest Hazelnut expects install 1,000 of the 435-watt Sept. 1 at the processing fa- family-owned and -operated
tured at Oregon State University’s North Willamette Research
to save $1.6 million on its commercial panels.
cility. The ceremony was at- business.
and Extension Center fi eld day Sept. 13.
Since 2012 the company
electricity bills over the next
The 435-kilowatt system tended by Oregon Gov. Kate
has installed over 2.5 mega-
produces enough electricity to Brown.
power about 40 average Ore-
“It’s a great step forward watts of solar PV in both res-
gon homes, David McClel- for sustainability,” Brown idential and commercial sites,
land, senior program manager said. “(Northwest Hazelnut) and has over 50 employees at
at Energy Trust of Oregon, is leading the way and im- its Ellington, Conn., and Sil-
said.
pacting the future. They’re verton, Ore., offi ces.
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Hazelnut processor shifts to solar
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