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Celebrate Oregon Beer Newsletter
Published 5 days ago • 6 min read
Celebrating Oregon Beer
Your fortnightly round-up of all the beer and hop news from the Beaver State.
With Thanksgiving in the rear-view mirror, we are on to the winter holiday season. That means cozy beer festivals, crafts fairs, and lots of warming winter ales and lagers. In today's edition of the newsletter, we'll discuss those winter beers, along with all the usual news and events.
And if you're looking for a special gift for that beer fan on your list, be sure to check out the merch section of their favorite brewery. You’ll find the classic hats, sweatshirts, and t-shirts that will make people glow with pride, but more exotic gifts as well like an artisanal stein, original art, and puzzles--and even dog collars for your four-legged friends!
News
FH Steinbart to Close
Another sad announcement from FH Steinbart, America's oldest homebrew store, that they would be closing at the end of the year. Founded in 1918, it seemed to be spared this fate a year ago, but sadly not.
America's oldest brewing school, where a number of Oregon brewers were trained, has announced it is moving from its longtime home in Chicago to Montreal.
Yet another new hop variety arrived recently, named Karma. A Yakima Valley/UK collaboration, the hop is said to be a versatile variety featuring "soft lemon, blackcurrant, pine, and peach."
On December 31st, as revelers enjoy a night celebrating the coming new year, breweries and pubs brace for January, their slowest month of the year. The month has become even more dismal thanks to the "dry January" movement that has gotten more robust each year. The brewing industry supports moderation, and taking a month to re-balance one's relationship with alcohol is something we can all support. But it does put our favorite local breweries in more danger.
And you know what? You don't have to choose between sobriety and the pub. Get out to your local and have a non-alcoholic beer or soft drink and a plate of food. Because the weather isn’t nice, we have far fewer activities in January. And because we’re not out already and we’re feeling sluggish and depressed, we tend to hole up. But this is exactly the time to get out and enjoy the company of friends and family, and breweries are a perfect place to visit.
Breweries have a TON of stuff going on, and we'll be promoting and celebrating these activities throughout the month of January. Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop. This #PubJanuary, prepare to have some fun!
The Monday night Acoustic Jam at Albany's Deluxe Brewing.
Upcoming Events
Please send us all your upcoming event information at the following email so we can include them in our weekly roundups: events@celebrateoregonbeer.com
Krampusnacht (1)
Krampus is the Central European version of "dark Santa" who punishes children for being naughty. On Dec 2, Oak Union will host Krampusnacht, with two new beer releases, vintage Baltic porter, with a Krampus and Santa in attendance.
Gigantic celebrates Krampus on Dec 5 at their Hawthorne pub, and Dec 6 (Krampusnacht proper) at the original brewery. Get your photo taken with Krampus and drink Gigantic's Krampus beer, a silky chocolate stout.
Join Baerlic (Piehall location) Dec 6 for a celebration of all things wood. Eighteen vendors specializing in handmade crafts sourced from wood as well as a barrel-aged beer release, DJ's, and Local Tattoo Artists.
Celebrate the change of season at the Tiny Bubble Room on Dec 6 with winter ales, vintage imperial stouts, barley wines, winter IPA’s, and other surprise beers.
The 12 Beers of Gristmas is a passport-based ale trail with a dozen Portland breweries. Pick up your book and collect stamps from all the breweries for fun and prizes. Closing party is at Threshold Brewing on Dec 14.
Visit the Bitter Monk in McMinnville from Dec 19-21 for three days of seasonal brews + live music and local artisan pretzels, chocolates, and cheese. it will be a true celebration of the Wonderland that is McMinnville!
On Dec 28th Bend's Porter Brewing is hosting a Victorian Christmas tea at The Cellar. Tea sandwiches, cookies, sausages, scones, and holiday tea make it an unusual and fun throwback way to spend the day.
Back in 1988, two of Oregon's young breweries introduced a concept new to most drinkers: the winter ale. With Wassail, Full Sail reintroduced an old English term, while Deschutes coined a new one with Jubelale. Both were strong for the time and dark, and people took to them immediately. They helped give the concept of seasonal beers a major boost, and ever since, Oregonians have been looking for something to help warm up those long, cold nights.
The "Wæs hæil" Tradition Oregon's brewers were actually drawing from a deep well of tradition when they first brewed these beers. The term wassail, from the Middle English wæs hæil, a wish for good health, dates back to the medieval tradition of heating ale mixtures and serving them on Christmas Eve, Twelfth Night and New Year's Eve. These concoctions began with unhopped brown ale common at the time, and recipes included spices, eggs, sugar, and sometimes fortification in the form of brandy or rum.
In a time before central heating, warming from the inside out was an important way to endure the long winter, and that carried over into modern winter ales. At the heart of Jubelale and Wassail was a hearty dollop of alcohol--and even as the practice of winter ales has evolved and changed, strength has remained a throughline. Dark ales were once more popular than they are today, but maltiness remains another touchstone. Something about the full, sweet flavor of malt communicates warmth as well.
Evolution in Styles Other breweries adopted the classic model pioneered by Deschutes and Full Sail, and for the next decade or two, "winter warmer" meant a cosy, malt-forward beer of around 7%. Classic examples include Terminal Gravity's Festivale, Golden Valley's Tannen Bomb, Widmer's slightly unusual Brrr, with a big hop profile, and Oakshire's Ill-Tempered Gnome—all of which are still happily in production.
Hops had become a big part of Oregon's beery diet by the turn of the century, and around that time, we started to see some shift in what winter warmers looked like. In 2002, Full Sail was again on the forefront of a new trend of "winter IPAs" with Wreck the Halls. Soon, IPAs would join a growing list of now-classic family of winter warmers: Hopworks' Abominable, with it's classic monster label, Gigantic's "The Cat Ate My Stash & Pissed On the Xmas Tree," with its piney-cannabis hops, and Double Mountain's malty, foresty Fa La La La La.
Other Wintry Expressions Over time, Americans began turning away from darker beers. Winter, however, remains a moment when drinkers hanker for brown and black ales. Following the end of Oktoberfest and pumpkin beer season, most breweries slate at least one special winter beer for production, and now it might be a dark lager, a rich stout, or even something spiced. It's impossible to name every brewery's offering, but here are a few of the modern classics that illustrate the range of winter beers today:
Fort George Magnanimous, an IPA made with hand-harvested Grand Fir tips.
Pelican Bad Santa, a Cascadian dark ale (black IPA).
Block 15 Figgy Pudding, a brandy-aged barley wine.
pFriem Belgian Christmas Ale, made in the style of the classic Bières de Nöel of Belgium.
Ninkasi Sleigh'r, a chestnut-colored beer originally based on a Dusseldorf-style sticke altbier
Wayfinder Secret Secret, a malty Czech dark lager.
Through the month of December, we will be trying to feature as many winter ales as possible on our Instagram feed--but you can also just visit your local brewery. Chances are, you'll love what you find!
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