Stay Fresh IPA with Simcoe hops rolled off Baerlic's canning line last week.Andre Meunier/Staff

Editor’s note: This is a re-publication of Oregon Brews and News, an Oregonian/OregonLive newsletter delivering the week’s craft beer news from Portland and Oregon. To get the newsletter sent directly to your email inbox every week at noon on Thursday, subscribe here.

The conversations at Baerlic Brewing started in mid-June.

“What freshies do we want to have this year?” the team asked each other.

And so began the Southeast Portland brewery’s annual advance toward fresh-hop season, when beer nerds across the Northwest — and even casual craft-beer fans — hunt down their favorite styles made with hops harvested from farms less than 24 hours prior. The beers’ appeal resides in their unique qualities – soft botanical, floral aromas and tastes.

Here in the Northwest we are spoiled lucky — we’re home to two of the world’s largest hop-growing regions, the Yakima Valley in Washington and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Brewers are able to hop in their vehicles and travel to the farms, fill bags with the fragrant green hop cones, and hustle back to the brewhouse. That’s just what Rik Hall, who in 2014 co-founded Baerlic with Ben Parsons, does every year. The conversations play out in similar ways at breweries across the Northwest, but Baerlic’s Nick Perry, the brewery’s distribution manager, last week invited me to come watch the end of the line: fresh-hop beers coming out of conditioning tanks, into cans and onto crates that will head into a cooler, then out the door onto trucks, into stores and finally into your eager mitts.

But the list of to-dos that precedes canning day is staggering, and it’s not over when the trucks roll. Here are just some of the key moments and directives the Baerlic team maps out for itself:

Easy, right? In addition to Hall, Parsons and Perry, other crew leaders include head brewer Travis Robinson, lead driver Adam Moser and general manager David Belcher. In the first two weeks, the Baerlic team has produced fresh-hop beers Fresh Nugs IPA, Never Fresher Pale Ale, Punk Rock Time IPA, Pioneer ESB and the first version of Stay Fresh IPA, with Simcoe hops. In this the third week, the second version of Stay Fresh IPA rolls off the line, this time with Amarillo hops. Next week is the final run, with Baerlic’s first-ever release of Fresh Hop Dark Thoughts, plus possibly one bonus beer.

Needless to say, the process is fascinating, educational and fun to watch. Check out the video The Oregonian/OregonLive’s visuals team put together of canning day. Then head out to Baerlic or wherever you usually find its beer, grab one, and Stay Fresh, my friends.

Baerlic co-founder Rik Hall hauls bags of fresh hop cones back to the brewery.Courtesy of Rik Hall

The view of the Vancouver Waterfront and the Columbia River from the AC Lounge on opening day of the AC Hotel, the latest addition to the development.Andre Meunier/Staff

I was invited last week to the opening of the new AC Hotel and AC Lounge at the Vancouver Waterfront. I was curious about the place and wanted to see if the beer and beverage offerings added another option to the bustling new development just west of the Interstate Bridge on the north shore of the Columbia River. And I wanted to check out the new Waterfront Taproom at the other end of the development as well.

I’ll say this — the AC Hotel, a Marriott property, is beautiful. The rooms afford incredible views of the river and the Waterfront development, and the AC Lounge restaurant and bar spill out onto a spacious riverside patio with plenty of dining and casual spaces along walking paths, with a boardwalk along the water. I had the opportunity to speak with Tanner Genck, the restaurant’s executive chef, who has created with his team a menu of Spanish and Mediterranean influenced dishes. The tapas include Cheesy Arancini — fried risotto balls — and Mushroom Rigatoni. Large plates include a dry-aged New York Strip steak, chili-rubbed chicken, grilled salmon and burgers. The bartender, Jeff, made me a couple of the AC Lounge’s signature drinks, the Queens Empress, a blend of Empress Gin and Creme de Mure, and the Signature GinTonic. Both enjoyable. The taplist had a solid lineup but only four selections: pFriem Pilsner, a Portland Cider Co. offering, Pelican Brewing’s Head Out Hefeweizen and Boneyard IPA. The bottle and cans did offer Deschutes Black Butte Porter, but the rest were an assortment of corporate-assigned macros. I left impressed with the space but underwhelmed on the beer end of things. To be fair, it’s a hotel, after all, not a taproom.

But speaking of taprooms, at the west end of the development is the Waterfront Taproom, which opened a few months ago after the previous tenant, Barlows Brewery, closed. Vice Beer bought Barlows east Vancouver brewery and taphouse and is operating there, but Five Spice Restaurant Group has moved into the waterfront space and transformed it. Out is the self-serve tap wall, in is a varied taplist of 20 beers split between Washington and Oregon breweries. Eye-catchers included the Backwoods Brewing Blueberry Wheat, Brothers Cascadia Vienna Lager and the Oregon City Brewing Dark ‘Vator Black IPA. You’ll also find pFriem Family Brewers, Level Beer and Sunriver Brewing on the board, plus a full liquor bar with plenty of whiskeys and signature drinks. The food has also seen a serious upgrade from the previous pub fare, with a varied menu of pizzas, appetizers, salads, handhelds (think tacos, sandwiches and burgers) and entrees, including a handful of steak options, a pork chop, steelhead and Columbia River sturgeon and mushroom risotto.

Of course, any mention of the Vancouver Waterfront must include Ruse Brewing’s Crust Collective, which offers up creative, mouth-watering Detroit pizza and beer that is the gold standard along the waterfront. Other options not to overlook are Stack 571 Burger & Whiskey Bar (also an excellent taplist) and the numerous — and growing — winery tasting rooms, including Airfield Estates, Barnard Griffin, Brian Carterand Maryhill, among others. The whole place is worth an evening.

Ny and Darren Provenzano started Fracture Brewing in the former Burnside Brewing space. Now Fracture is near opening its taproom at 1015 S.E. Stark St.Andre Meunier/Staff

If you missed my article last week on OregonLive, Fracture Brewing is preparing to open its first taproom in Southeast Portland, with invite-only, trial-run events through the end of the month and a public opening expected in October. Fracture, begun early this year by the husband and wife team of Darren and Ny Provenzano, will be an anchor tenant in a Buckman neighborhood community hub that will include the new home of North Portland’s Dos Hermanos Bakery and Lil’ America, a BIPOC and LGBTQ+ focused food cart pod and seating court. I toured the complex last week and tried some of Provenzano’s beers, which are lovely. The space is creative and cool, and the plans and possibilities are even better. I’m looking forward to a visit once the bakery and food cart pod are up and running, too.

Migration released a video this week touting The Shop, an innovation brewery it created at the original 7-barrel brewhouse on Northeast Glisan Street. Migration says over the winter it “invested heavily in revamping the original brewery to create a world class small batch artisanal program, exploring the world for the hardest to find, most sought after ingredients.” Colby Schlicker, Migration’s marketing director, told me that “The Shop really is where the innovation happens. At any given time there should be two to three Shop beers on our (taplists). Those beers are special because they are small batch and usually executed by a brewer’s vision and passion, or often driven by ingredients that are seasonal, premium, or rare.” They will all be available at the pubs, he said, and some will be brought into bigger production, such as Hop Fire IIPA, which started at The Shop and is now in the package distribution lineup. Watch the video here.

Friendstoberfest will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Culmination Brewing in Northeast Portland.The Oregonian/OregonLive

Friendstoberfest at Culmination Brewing: I’m hosting this gathering with my friend and travel/culinary writer Steven Shomler, so come on out and say hello. The festival will celebrate friends and locally brewed craft Octoberfest-style beers with German music, food and housemade sausages. Participating breweries are Ruse Brewing, Threshold Brewing & Blending, and Widmer Brothers Innovation Brewery, and they each will make a collab beer with Culmination and sausage pairing specifically for the bash. Guest taps are from Chuckanut Brewery, which will pour a classic Oktoberfest lager, and Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider will deliver an Oktoberfest cider. Culmination, 2117 N.E. Oregon St., noon-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

Fresh Hop American Summer at Level Beer: The brewery is celebrating fresh-hop season with a lineup of guest breweries by throwing an “epic backyard party.” It’s closing off the back bar and having lawn games, merchandise packages and more. Breweries include Away Days Brewing, Binary Brewing, Ex Novo Brewing, Foreland Beer, Grain Station Brew Works, Little Beast Brewing, Living Haus Beer, Migration Brewing, Oregon City Brewing, Von Ebert Brewing and Zoiglhaus Brewing. Noon-5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 24., 5211 N.E. 48th Ave.

Portland Fresh Hops Festival: The annual fest returns to Oaks Amusement Park to celebrate its 18th year, and proceeds from the event benefit organizer Oregon Brewers Guild’s efforts to promote and protect the Oregon craft beer industry. The guild also will release the next fresh hop iteration of its State of Excitement Collaboration Series at the festival, which will be on tap as well as packaged, and proceeds will be used to support its Mashing Barriers internship program. An advance ticket special runs online Aug. 29-Sept. 3. Find details and participating breweries via the Oregon Brewers Guild website. The festival is still looking for volunteers for some shifts (which comes with perks), and all those interested should click this link. Noon-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, Saturday, Oct. 1.

Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest: The seventh annual Portland Fresh Hop Pop-Up Beer Fest continues through Oct. 2 at the Prost! Marketplace on Mississippi Avenue. Some of the best breweries in the region are pouring, and each day highlights a particular brewery or theme – get the full lineup and schedule at fresh-hops.com. The fresh hop beer garden runs 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily at 4233 N. Mississippi Ave.

Stammtisch: The German restaurant and beer bar in Northeast Portland throws its annual Oktoberfest celebration. 11 a.m. to close, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 23-25. 401 N.E. 28th Ave.

Buoy Beer Oktoberfest: The Astoria brewery holds its first Oktoberfest event at its restaurant, which moved three blocks east along Astoria’s Riverwalk to the Astoria Food Hub. A weekend of beers, music, and German-style cuisine. Collaborations with ForeLand Beer and Level Beer will be on tap, along with fresh-hopped selections from both breweries, plus live music. Noon Friday-Sunday, Sept. 23-25; 1152 Marine Drive, Astoria.

Widmer Brothers Oktoberfest: The longtime event features live music, food carts, classic and small batch Widmer Brothers beers and Oktoberfest llamas. Noon-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, brewery main lot, 929 N. Russell St.

McMenamins Edgefield Oktoberfest: Live music and plant sale beginning at 11 a.m., plus face painting and a “balloon guy” from 3-6 p.m. All day, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2126 S.W. Halsey St., Troutdale; free entry, all ages welcome.

Shougtoberfest at 54-40 Brewing: The Washougal brewery hosts a night of Oktoberfest music, stein holding and bag tossing. Noon-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, 3801 S. Truman Road, Washougal.

Fresh Hop Chinook IPA, from Mt. Tabor Brewing.Andre Meunier/Staff

Fresh Hop Chinook IPA, Mt Tabor Brewing (5.3% ABV; 40 IBU). This fresh hop IPA uses Chinook and Azacca hops. Mt Tabor partnered with Flying Fish Co. restaurant and fish market in Southeast Portland and the Salmon Safe Organization to help growers transition to more watershed-friendly farming practices. The beer is brewed with 2Row and Crystal Light malts, supplemented with a generous amount of Chinook hops in the boil, and then dryhopped with more fresh Chinook hops from Goschie Farms picked the morning of the brew. From Mt Tabor founder Eric Surface: ”Fresh Hop Chinook IPA has the same digits — 5.3% ABV, 40 IBU — as the old BridgePort IPA. Kind of a fun throwback in the world of over-the-top IPA.” 

Get to the Crux Fermentation Project in Bend soon to try Crosby Strata Fresh Hop IPA, exclusive to the taproom.Andre Meunier/Staff

Away Days Brewing's Pavé SaisonCourtesy of Away Days Brewing

Pavé Saison, Away Days Brewing (4.9% ABV). Brewed in tribute to the cycling history of Belgium, and inspired by the iconic kits of Belgian cycling greats. Pilsner malt, wheat and triticale and well-hopped exclusively with Huell Melon. Brewery notes: “An expressive strain of yeast makes for a dry and quenching finish with notes of watermelon, bubblegum and a touch of spice.” Available on draft at the Away Days taproom and in cans to go.

Festibier, Wayfinder Beer/Zupan’s Markets collab (5.7% ABV). The 20th beer in Zupan’s Farm-to-Market collab series is this crisp-bodied, golden malted lager. This take on a classic Oktoberfest beer is lightly golden, strong and incredibly sessionable. Currently on shelves at all three Zupan’s Markets locations and at Wayfinder’s pub. Notes: “Complements a wide range of cuisine, and pairs well with freshly baked pretzels with mustard or Bavarian beer cheese; bratwurst, kielbasa or cheddar link.”

Thumb Splitter West Coast Pale Ale, Great Notion Brewing (4% ABV). A perfect choice for any warm weather activities, or when you just want to have a couple beers, without the high alcohol percentage. Brewery notes: “Thumbsplitter still has all the hop bitterness and crisp mouthfeel you love from a WC IPA, with plenty of citrus and pine.”

Cascadia Common, Chuckanut Brewery. A play on the California Common Ale style, with a Chuckanut-Pacific Northwest twist, as Yakima hops were used in this Common to give it the name. California Common is brewed with lager yeast but fermented at ale temperatures and finished earlier than lagers. Brewery notes: “Cascadia Common has malt-forward elements and interesting NW and German Noble hop bitterness and aromas.” On tap at Chuckanut’s P. Nut taproom in Southeast Portland and distribution accounts.

At Dawn They Sleep, Grains of Wrath (6.9% ABV). Collab with Ghost Town Brewing of Oakland, California. Brewery notes: “Tropical punch, sweet cannabis, strawberry jam, and papaya.” Available at Grains of Wrath’s Camas and North Portland locations.

— Andre Meunier; sign up for my weekly newsletter Oregon Brews and News, and follow me on Instagram, where I’m @oregonianbeerguy.

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