Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Pint of Hopworks Seven Grain Stout
For months I have been contemplating the idea of a beer style that was uniquely Portland. That is right! I am advocating adding another beer style to the 140+ styles already out there. Munich has the Municher lager. Vienna has the Vienna lager. Dusseldorf…the Alt. Cologne (Koln)…the Kolsch. My dilemma, however, is this. Can tehre be one unique beer style that can fully complement such a diverse culture as Portland?
In Milwaukee and Chicago, two cities in which I have lived, finding a unique style is simpler because both cities still cherish their European heritages. One would figure a good lagerr would suit them. In fact when I go home to Milwaukee, the first beer I get is Lakefront’s Riverwest Stein which is an Amber/Vienna Style lager.
I am not insinuating that Portland does not cherish its heritage. I am still amazed by how much the citizens love their city. Believe me. I am one of them. But I am also one of the majority of modern Portlanders: a transplant. Native Portlanders are an endangered species. At least they are in the fact that they are not as vocal about Portland as the transplants are about where they come from. As one would suspect, this diversity created by the transplants causes an identity crisis of sorts. It also makes it difficult to come up with something that says, “Portland!”
As beer styles go, the Northwest Pale Ale is the most common answer I get when I pose the question to other beer geeks. But I find this style too bland to be Portland. Of course the Portland beer style would have to be hoppy. After all, we live in the middle of America’s hop fields. The Portland style would also have to be organic with all the Sustainability geeks who call Portland home. Again…Myself included. But organic and hoppy are all I can come up with.
Maybe the answer is to make the beer style more regional. The Bavarians have their Weizens. The Flanders region of Belgium have their Sour Red and Brown ales. Brussels and the Peyottenland have the Lambic and Gueze. Maybe the answer is to have a style that says we are from the Willamette Valley or the Columbia River Region. That way we can include Vancouver, WA, Eugene and Salem.
Perhaps the final answer is not to create a beer style that says, Portland. Perhaps we should just celebrate the diversity within our brewing culture. You can walk into a brewpub or brewery within the city limits and the tap lineup is as diverse as the culture living within the same city limits. We have brewers who are doing their own version of the Sour ales of Flanders. Brewers who do Alts and Kolsch. Brewers who are masterful at the ales of Britian. So what better way to celebrate our diversity of culture with a diverse lineup of great artisinal brews.
My mind can and will chew on this for a bit longer. If you are a geek from the area who has their own idea, send it my way or come to the Green Dragon on April Fool’s Day and we will hash it out over a pint. Right now I have to get on my bike and finish the last leg of my commute…in the snow…
Prost!
the confucian brewer