My wife is from Eugene and my father in law still lives there and is driving out to Wisconsin (yes, he realizes it is halfway across the country but hates flying) in a few weeks to visit. He loves the Bier Stein and has a rudimentary knowledge of craft beer, but doesnt have a very good handle on what kind of stuff is available. Anyway, what kind of good PNW/west coast stuff might be available for him to pick up and bring to Wisconsin? When we were there over Xmas I picked up a bunch of awesome stuff, but not quite sure what might be around at the moment. Any info would be awesome, replies or BMs Thanks AJ
If you're interested in having him bring out a growler, then I wouild recommend checking the selection at 16 Tons. There are two locations, and between the two of them, there are usually 30 different beers on tap. Not everything is available to go via a growler, but most of their stuff is. Also, one of the things that's nice about 16 tons (as opposed to Bier stein), is that the on-line tap list is kept pretty up to date. Prices are pretty reasonable as well. Boneyard RPM is $12 for a growler, while PtE is $24 for a growler (elder is one of the more expensive beers they sell). For whatever reason, they also seem to have a pretty good selection of draft beer from The Commons (up in PDX) and Block 15 (up in Corvalis). The 16 tons taphouse also sells bottles to go, and while they have a solid selectin (lot of stuff from Cascade, RR, HOTD, Deschutes, Upright, New Belgium Lips of Faith, Logsdon and Firestone Walker), I find their prices to be a bit on the high side. To go prices on bottles seem to be better at the Bier Stein and Market of Choice, for instance. If you want to have your father-in-law pick up something more local, then have him take a look at beers from Oakshire, Hop Valley, Ninkasi and McKenzie. Oakshire just released their seasonal DIPA (the perfect storm), and Ninkasi will soon be releasing their seasonal IPA, Maiden the Shade (which is a personal favorite of mine). Falling Sky also has started bottling their beers I believe, but I've yet to try anything of theirs that was any better than decent. Good luck!
Yeah cool thanks for the idea about 16 tons--Im not as concerned with "local", as I am with "stuff I cant get here"--Ninkasi has never done anything that remotely impressed me--but I may have to check that new Oakshire DIPA. thanks again for the recommendations!
Personally, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the idea that he was somehow able to convince his wife to leave Eugene for Wisconsin.... and I don't care how much she likes cheeseheads, NPR and a Prarie Home Companion.
You know what--I have the exact same thought everytime we go back to visit the west coast, or everytime we are sitting around in the middle of winter and its 15 degrees out--why would someone NOT want to live in Oregon?
Id really really like to try some Boneyard stuff, but I see they are in Bend...does their stuff pop up in Eugene?
:-) Man, you really don't know the Eugene beer scene all that well. Boneyard stuff is READILY available in Eugene. RPM can be found almost everywhere in town, and you can also find suge knite and hop venom without too much of an effort. The only problem is, that they don't bottle any of their beers (you can only find it on draft in town), and it now doesn't appear they are going to can anything either. So your father-in-law will need to bring you a growler fill of anything you want to try from Boneyard. Stuff is undeniably excellent though....
awesome--growler fills shouldnt be an issue for him--so where in Eugene might he be able to get RPM/Suge Knite/Hope Venom (I have to be able to tell him exact locations)!
RPM is on tap at one of the two 16 tons virtually all the time. I would just check their website periodically. Hop Venom and Suge Knite should also be on tap from time to time there. There's also the new Growler Nation filling station, which should be opening very soon (there was an article in the paper today about them). Their website is already up, but it doesn't seem to be fully operational yet. When it gets going, my understanding is that they expect to have 26 different beers on tap at any one time, with an emphasis on local and regional product. It would appear that they plan to have RPM on tap as a regullar iterm. Anyway, here's their website: http://thegrowlernation.com/category/beers/ Of course there's the bier stein as well, but as they don't keep the online taplist up to date, it's difficult to know what's available there without calling ahead. RPM is also available around town at places like Mezza Luna pizzaria and Good Times cafe (just to name a few places), but many places won't fill a growler for you. Good Times has had Hop Venom on tap so long (over a month now), that I'm afraid to order it there any more.
Yep. Am now living in Eugene, as of 4/8/13. Have to say it's a far cry (in a good way) from the time I spent in Morgantown, WV. :-)
