Here's notice of it in the Spokesman. https://www.google.com/search?oe=ut...28914681406&source=browser-type&action=devloc I was told by a couple people that NoLi actually purchased the Orlison brewing facility outright, but that doesn't seem to be stated in the article, so is perhaps not true.
Thanks for clearing that up, after just reading the article I was wondering if they were becoming a defacto Noli 2?
And just FYI, for those who've already read the story, the link above now takes you to an updated, expanded version (though there's still more to come later on).
They were a strange one, being in the city they brew. They were one of our first mass produced enough beers to leave the state, and often even available at Costco, but hardly ever could be found on any tap handles.
Its a shame i liked them. Used to get their cans down here in Salem just at the time i was transitioning back to lagers and lower alcohol styles.
Tallboys of Havanüther were awesome. They might not have been an authentic pils, but at just 4.5% or so with the breadiest middle of a pils I'd ever had, I seemed to have a four-pack in the fridge more often than not, at least until I stopped seeing them a few years ago. It's a bit sad: First it was Baron Brewing about ten-plus years ago, aiming to do only lagers and German-style beers, but apparently that must've not worked, as they started brewing ho-hum IPAs and standard ales with shitty pirate-themed labels. Then Orlison came along and put decent lagers in cans, but only a few years later, I seldom saw their wares on shelves, and after visiting their website when news of their closure came out, I didn't see many of the lagers left that had intrigued me when they first came out. We certainly have better options now than ten years ago for local lager, but it's pretty amazing how many damn breweries we have today compared to a decade ago, and yet there are barely any who focus - and succeed with any sustainability - on lagers. For someone who does most of his drinking at home, I can only hope Chuckanut eventually starts canning or Heater Allen starts seeing more regular distro up here.
Do you not get Occidental or pFriem stuff up your way? For that matter, is it not possible to get crowlers of Chuckanut? I guess it would be nice to have additional options, but I actually think the current lager availability situation here in PDX is pretty good.
I haven’t seen Occidental up here, unfortunately. We get some pFriem, but in that bottle format, I can’t see myself getting their lagers as often as a four-pack of tall boys or a canned sixer. I’m sure they’ve sent more bottled lagers up here, but I’ve only ever seen their pils in bottles up here (as far as lagers go).
After the original head brewer (who was also the owner when they were called Golden Hills Brewing) stepped down for health reasons, from what I understand, it seems the person who took over was either not as committed to lagers or was not comfortable brewing them, plus I think their owners were wanting the switch to ales as a way of increasing sales by broadening their appeal. I felt like they shed an identity but never managed to replace it with another. Too bad. I quite liked the original Havanuther and the Brunette, and while I'm not fully on board with the Imperial Pilsener style, it was hard not to like Pilsener 37 for it's purpose. Boulder Garden was a pretty nice brown, and I hoped it's winning gold at GABF might signal a change in their fortunes. Alas, not to be.
The shift was well underway before Bernie got sick (and he's doing better, by the way). As Orlin told me, "People don’t understand the difference between lager and ale. Ask people and it’s a blank screen. ... It’s too hard to educate them. We tried. We fought that battle for two or three years." He also noted that lagers are less cost-efficient because they tie up tanks longer. Then again, the way things seem to be going, maybe they were a little ahead of their time (particularly for this market).
