DAVE FLEMING OF LUCKY LABRADOR
OWNER ROB WIDMER
OF WIDMER BROTHERS
BREWING CO.
LAURELWOOD
BREWMASTER
CHAD
KENNEDY
LEGENDARY BREWMASTER JOHN HARRIS
OF FULL SAIL
THE SKEPTIC’S TONGUE
A wine guy sips some special suds.
W
hat’s a documented wine geek doing on a
brewery tour? Getting a beer education,
working on a beer problem.
The education is clear enough, at least for the out-
lines of the brewing process: Start with good ingredi-
ents (malted barley from various sources), the purest
water (Bull Run is still among the purest in the
world), make a mash, mix ’em up, then heat the
“wort,” add fine hops (particularly from the
Northwest, Willamette and Yakima Valleys), cool and
add yeast to start fermentation, extract the brew,
chill, put it in a keg or bottle. Any home-brewer can
do it, like any cook can turn out a great dinner, right?
Turns out it’s a teensy bit more complex. So, I
learned, are the results, hence my problem:
Nearly all my adult life, I’ve had issues with beer
— not the drinking of beer, the not drinking of beer.
All my pals liked beer — some loved the stuff.
Especially in college, my disconnect from my buds’
passion caused no end of distress: I wouldn’t sign the
petition to put a beer dispenser in the dorm; I would-
n’t volunteer to make the keg run. Got no love when
I’d rather read Herman Melville than “toss a few
brews.” And I couldn’t tell shoot-and-puke stories.
Sure, I agreed it was funny when one major beer stud
sleepwalked in a Bud stupor, shocking himself awake
(sorta) when he peed on the television (crisping the
tube and the tip of his winky), even funnier when he
adjusted his aim enough to try hosing the stream
through a (closed) screen door. Memories like that?
Beer-lovers got a million.
In fairness, not many of my tribe showed much
fervor when I preached about oaky, buttery chardon-
nay or the blackberry/cigar box/black pepper power
of some wild-ass zinfandel. The complexities of first-
o why indulge in a special section on beer in the
middle of summer? Well, July is Craft Beer
Month. We think it’s damn interesting stuff, we
all love Oregon beer, and of course it makes our
advertisers happy!
We would like to thank all the breweries and brew-
S
Product of EW’s Advertising Department
STORY BY LANCE SPARKS • PHOTOS BY TODD COOPER
growth Bordeaux didn’t kindle shared rapture and
kinship. My rants about the subtle charms of
Burgundies drew yawns. I didn’t help myself when I
couldn’t debate the virtues of Coors vs. Bud vs. PBR.
I flat didn’t like the flavor of beer. Mostly it deliv-
ered the simplest possible flavors: bitterness, alcohol,
carbonation, often accented by a distinct eau de
skonk de pew. It’s only now, decades later, that I’ve
come to understand that my experience was related
to the fact that often I was quaffing bad beer, too old
(that stale note), too exposed to light (source of
skunky phenols), brewed for minimums of flavor. In
fact, it was only when some close chums tricked me
into tasting craft brews that I was compelled to admit
that not only can beer have real flavor, but — this
kinda hurts, comes through clenched teeth — some
of it tastes very, very good.
I don’t know that I’m ready to agree with Full Sail
brewmaster John Harris that beer can yield the most
complex flavors of any drink. But after our tour of
four of Portland’s umpteen breweries, I can under-
stand why Gov. Kulongoski and Portland Mayor Tom
Potter would declare July to be Craft Beer Month:
Beer is booming, and there’s a clear linkage between
good beer, good wine, and other good substances.
Rob Widmer, who, with brother Kurt, co-owns micro-
giant Widmer Brothers, nailed it down: “The same
people who are enjoying craft beer are enjoying craft
coffee [or] wine …. It’s quality of life issues..”
The major lesson learned is that the craft brewing
movement has succeeded in returning flavor and tex-
ture to beer, and the proof is in the glass. As we
rolled through the city, the evidence piled up:
• At Lucky Labrador on NW Quimby, brewers
Ben Flerchinger and Dave Fleming showed us the
masters for being such gracious and generous hosts. A
very special thank you goes to Kent Huey and Stacey
McKay from Western Beverage for giving us all the con-
tact information and setting up our brewery tours.
With all of that out of the way, here is who you can
blame for The State of Suds:
thumbnail brewing process in their small facility, then
introduced us to such flavorful samples as Bavarian
Crystal Wheat, delish, with notes of banana and
cloves; Ben calls it a summer brew, “lawnmower
beer”; No Pity Pale Ale, bitter, with caramel accents,
lingering aftertaste; Open Bridge Brown, malty, rich.
• Widmer hosted us for lunch at their Gaust Haus
restaurant on NE Russell, pretty place, good food,
best sausage I’ve tasted, then classic Widmer
Hefeweizen, smooth and creamy, then ales from crisp
pale, to amber to dark, each distinct, each comple-
menting yummy pub grub.
• At Laurelwood Brew Pub on 40th in the Hollywood
District, Head Brewer Chad Kennedy, 34, ex-journalism
major at UO — “Beer was part of my education” —
tasted us through his range of international prize-win-
ners, including (organic) Free Range Red (in Eugene only
at Villard Street Pub) and delish Ettinger Amber (notes of
grapes and grapefruit) then a stunner, a Belgian Tripel
called “Sustenance,” silky and rich.
• Brewmaster John Harris, 42, came smiling out
of the Full Sail brewery on River Place, walked us
through Rip Curl English Pale (fruity, hoppy), Pilsner
(crisply bitter), Amber (malty, herbal notes of hops),
Nitro Stout (chocolate almost), finishing with Session
Lager in its distinctive stubby, 11-ounce bottle —
fruity, crisp, clean, terrif. Harris admits, “I’m kind of a
hophead,” pointed us to Equinox: hoppy for sure,
with faint tangerine tingle.
There it is, clear lesson: Beer, when carefully craft-
ed and tenderly cared for, delivers a wide range of
complex flavors (scientists identify 125 distinct notes).
I’m not ready to convert from wine, but I understand
better why, as Rob Widmer reminded us with a well-
known adage, “It takes a lot of beer to make wine.”
Ad Sales: Mark Frisbee, Rob Weiss, Jennifer Donohue
The Incredible Stories: Mark Frisbee, Rob Weiss,
Jennifer Donohue, Jef Stout, Doug Fuchs, Lance Sparks
Kick-Ass Design & Photography: Todd Cooper
Copy Editing: Ted Taylor
THE STATE OF SUDS SUMMER 2006
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