McMenamin’s Sand Trap
1157 Marion Avenue • Gearhart • www.mcmenamins.com
• STORY & PHOTO: NANCY MCCARTHY
Beer and golf: traditions worth continuing
McMenamins brew pubs among the oldest in Oregon
ike the Gearhart Golf Links at locations where it is brewed: Cascade Head,
McMenamins Gearhart Hotel, the Concordia Oktoberfest, Vanport Gold, Edgefield
craft beer served in the hotel’s Hefeweizen.
Sand Trap Pub is among the oldest
“We keep the local thing going,” Vallance
craft beers in Oregon.
said. “The beers are the pride of the locals; they
Granted, the golf course is 126 are very neighborly and family-friendly.
years old and McMenamins has been serving craft
Although the company has 22 breweries, “at
beer at its locations since only 1985, but the two heart, we’re a small brewery,” he added. “We’re
traditions complement each other.
not looking to expand to sell in other markets. Our
When the Oregon Legislature adopted a bill beer is available only in our locations.”
allowing breweries to serve their beer at their own
While there’s no brewery at McMenamins
establishments instead of requiring distributors to Gearhart, the favorites – including Ruby,
take it to other outlets, McMenamins created the Terminator Stout and Hefeweizen – are there.
first brew pub in its Hillsdale brewery, said Rob Enjoy a brew on the patio overlooking the historic
Vallance, the company’s
golf course or pair it with a
brewery general manager.
burger or pizza in the pub
The golf course
McMenamins brews its
inside the Gearhart Hotel.
craft beer in 22 breweries
Although the hotel isn’t
at Gearhart Golf Links
throughout Oregon and
historical – it was built in
is 126 years old
Washington and serves it in
2001 – it is designed after the
65 locations. The nine craft
original Gearhart hotels; the
and McMenamins
beers poured at the Sand Trap
first was built in the late 19th
has been serving
Pub are brewed at their
century, and after that burned
craft beer at
flagship property, Edgefield,
down, it was replaced with
in Troutdale.
another hotel in 1910, but the
its locations since
Customers drink more
second one also burned down
only 1985, but the
than 727,000 gallons of
in 1915. A third Gearhart
McMenamins’ craft brews a
Hotel, near the golf course,
two traditions
year.
was built in the 1920s and
“We’re in the hotbed of complement each other. was razed in the 1970s to
brewing in the country, and
make way for condominiums.
we’re very much a part of the scene,” Vallance
The Pacific Northwest has been the craft beer
said.
leader for a long time and for good reasons,
The Ruby, with its raspberry, fruity taste, is the Vallance said. Most of the nation’s hops are grown
most popular. McMenamins was the first to use in the Northwest, as well as the grain. In addition,
fruit in its brews, according to Vallance. The IPAs the leading yeast lab is in Hood River.
are next in popularity.
“The water here is fantastic for brewing,” he
“We let our brewers experiment with the said. “Everything is here.”
IPAs,” he added.
Oregonians take pride in knowing that their
With 35 brewers, that means a lot of variety. beer is made in Oregon, Vallance added. Some
They come up with names like “Grandma Betty’s craft beer coinesseurs like to say, “ ‘My local
Quilted,” “Heads or Tails,” “Hippocampus” or brewery is better than your local brewery,’ ” he
“Izard of Pog” IPA.
said.
But the beer in each McMenamins brewery is
“I think we’re really in the heart of it,”
made in small batches, and it tends to reflect the Vallance added.
L
NOW ON TAP AT MCMENAMIN’S SAND TRAP
Hammerhead: 6.0% ABV • 30 IBU
Hawthorne Kolsch: 5.03% ABV • 22 IBU
McMenamins Irish Stout: 4.9% ABV • 38 IBU
Miami Weisse: 5.42% ABV • 7 IBU
Needles and Pins IPA: 6.58% ABV • 82 IBU
Poolside Double IPA: 8.13% ABV • 44 IBU
Ruby Ale: 4.13% ABV • 5 IBU
Seaside Porter: 6.45% ABV • 35 IBU
Terminator Stout: 6.45% ABV • 35 IBU
Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale: 6.19% ABV • 54 IBU
Craft Beer 2017 • www.dailyastorian.com • 15