TONS OF BEER
Exploring the beer fountains of 16 Tons
A
pproaching the bar at Sixteen Tons and
scanning the list of 18 beers on tap,
you’ll see $5 pints, $3 glasses and $2
“Cheater Pints.”
“A cheater pint is actually the
same glass that every other bar
serves pints in,” says Mike Coplin, co-
owner of Sixteen Tons. Eager to give
a demonstration, Coplin pulls out a
familiar, conical glass and begins to fi ll
it with a stout. This glass holds exactly 16 ounces. A
half-inch of head fl oats atop the fully fi lled “pint.”
“Instead of serving ambiguous amounts of beer,
we like to be precise with our pints,” Coplin says as he
holds up a larger glass with clear markings for both a
pint and half-pint and plenty of room for beer’s foamy
companion. The bar is littered with different kinds of
glassware aimed at getting the most out of a beer. “It
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may not be cost-effective to have all these different
types of branded glassware,” admits Coplin, “but it sure
is a lot of fun.”
That’s the general vibe at Sixteen Tons on 13th
Avenue. There is a cornucopia of ways to brew beer and
a multitude of ways to serve it, and this beer emporium
has embraced all of them with an adventurous attitude.
From ales brewed with black chai tea to dark ales
aged in wine barrels to ales fl avored with jalapeño and
serrano peppers — if brewers are trying it, chances
are you’ll fi nd it among the roughly 350 beers offered
by Sixteen Tons. The establishment also has a varied
selection of wines, sakes and ciders.
Much has been said about the beer culture here in
Oregon, but the home-brewing culture is what appeals
most to Coplin. “Little breweries and home brewers
are doing the most exciting things with beer,” he says.
“These kind of guys don’t limit themselves with just
making IPAs, stouts or lager; they have a sense of
adventure.”
Beer afi cionados make up the majority of the
clientele, and quite a few of them are home brewers
themselves. Coplin offers handy tips on where to get
ingredients cheap, on which customers are looking to
brew or share equipment, and other bits of advice to
these kindred spirits. He and co-owner Jeff Moores
don’t claim to be beer experts, but they do “have 20
years of experience drinking beer.”
Sixteen Tons is a place to enjoy a good beer and
a good beer conversation. It is a place where people
gather to talk, chill, maybe play some board games
and eat some food — you can even bring in food from
outside. “We want to be the place in the neighborhood
where everyone goes to hang out, relax and unwind,”
Coplin says. “It’s not just a ‘set up a line of shots and
get fucked up’ place.” ■
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14 THE STATE OF SUDS 2011
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