What to look for from the Pacific Northwest region.
Ahead of the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, we asked beer writers from across the country to offer lists of can’t-miss breweries in each region showcased at the festival — and add a few wild cards they want to check out.This is our fourth of eight previews.
The region: Pacific Northwest
The writer: Brian Yaeger is the author of “Oregon Breweries,” a comprehensive guidebook to the breweries of Beervana. He lives in Portland, where he writes about beer for local and national publications. He and his wife run Inn Beervana — a bed ’n’ beer. You can follow him on twitter @Yaeger.
Here are Yaeger’s GABF 2016 picks for the Pacific Northwest:
The Pacific Northwest is “Beervana” because it’s not just where beer comes from, it’s where the ingredients that make beer come from. It’s not just the pure brewing water — more than 90 percent of America’s hops emanate from Washington’s Yakima Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. But stroll down the PNW aisles and you’ll discover that brewers expertly wield more than just hoppy IPAs. When the rain keeps us indoors so much, we need to mix it up with truly seasonal saisons and our brewers always find a way to infuse our verdant terroir (even beyond green hops) into our chalices, tulips and Tekus. Here are some breweries to seek out:
Barley Brown’s, Baker City, Ore., Booths V22 and K5: Since earning their second and third GABF medals in 2009, Barley Brown’s (aka Baker City Brewing Co.) has continued to garner some hardware. Not only do they have 23 medals (and counting), the last four were straight gold. They’re not just hop maestros — they also master the dark malt arts, and even Shredders Wheat has won five times. Bottom line: Get in line, get the IPA that sounds most appealing to you, then get the other ones because at least one of them is bound to continue their winning streak.
Breakside Brewing, Portland and Milwaukie Ore., Booths K11 and K12: In 2014, Breakside medaled with its Wanderlust AND Breakside IPAs. Though they were blanked last year, I’m wagering the whatever-doesn’t-kill-youmakes-you-stronger effect will find them heading home with heavy necks this year. Among the 10 beers pouring (because they’re technically two breweries given separate facilities) this year, four are IPAs: the Portland-fave eponymous Breakside IPA, Wanderlust, Lunch Break ISA and Fresh Hop Simcoe IPA. Brewmaster Ben Edmunds hints there’ll be some barrel-aged sour, and those are always a treat from them.
Great Notion, Portland, Ore., Booth L2: In a city with more than five dozen breweries it can be hard to make a splash, but from day one Great Notion got beer lovers buzzing with multiple IPAs in that whole “New England-style” of all late-addition, fruit-throwing hops. Check out both Juice Box (8.2 percent ABV) and Juice Jr. (6 percent) with nothin’ but Mosaic hops — but you’d swear it was nothing but tangerine nectar. Complete their lineup with Double Stack (stout with coffee and dehydrated Vermont maple syrup) and Peach Zest, a Berliner Weisse that tastes like driving through a Georgia peach orchard.
Brewed by Gnomes, Portland, Ore., Booth
K13: Shay Hosseinion is the nomadic brewer behind this brand-new brewing company “inspired by ancient traditions.” Every recipe is all herbal (in the vein of old-world gruits, but they’re lightly hopped) and all organic, featuring herbs and spices such as yarrow root, cardamom and honeysuckle. Check out Dark Flowers Ale, a Belgian black beer with mugwort, fennel and Kaffir lime. It’s sweet and spicy, and Hosseinion describes it as, “The beer that our Cascadian gnomes have learned from their forefathers…I need to share their medicine and their magic.”
54-40 Brewing, Washougal, Wash., Booth L25: Named for parallel 54 degrees 40 minutes of “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” fame, 54-50 Brewing is the result of veteran brewer Bolt Minister finally getting to brew for himself, which is why he makes the drinkable beers he enjoys most. Take a break from the Peanut Butter Chipotle Cookie Stout and sink your teeth into Käscadia Kölsch. 54-40 will also pour a Germanstyle pils, their Broken Record IPA (which is being entered into the ever-enigmatic Australian-style IPA category), and, because it’s the PNW, a fresh hop pale ale.
Reuben’s Brews, Seattle, Wash., Booth V18: Named for owner Adam Robbins’s son, this Seattle brewery in the beer-hot Ballard neighborhood is the first stop, and then you hopefully have time to visit more. They medaled last year for their dry stout (bronze) and gose (gold), which is saying something since Germanstyle sours is one of the fastest growing categories.
Beyond the Pacific Northwest: I love traversing the entire floor, making sure I hit every region, and I am open to surprises. Having said that, I cannot wait to return to try what Scratch Brewing (Ava, Ill.; Booth U8) will pour this year after flooring me last year with their “single tree series,” for which one beer used maple sap in lieu of water. Down in Florida, so many breweries have put the Southeast on the map, including Cigar City, Funky Buddha, J. Wakefield and more, which is why I want to dive into what else they’re doing. M.I.A. (Doral, Fla.; Booth M22) has been around for a few years but hasn’t garnered the hype that some fellow Floridians have. The first sample I’ll ask for is Babalu, since Sunshine State Berliner Weisses are on a tear, and this one features carrots and ginger. Last but not least, since I always like to make sure I explore what’s going on in Colorado brewing, I met a woman here in Oregon who raved about Broken Compass (Breckenridge; Booth W20). I’m looking forward to trying their Coconut Porter that medaled in the Field Beer category last year, as well as other mash-up concoctions like Chocolate Coffee Stout and Raspberry Habanero Pale Ale.