Went back to last August and found no threads on these guys WTF? Just spent a week in OR and went to a ton of spots, tried a lot of different beers. Honestly their takes on traditional German/Czech lagers and Kolsch were phenomenal. Some of the best I’ve had in the states this year. Amazed these guys don’t get more love? Am I missing something?
They're an awesome brewery that we all love, but we just don't see much of a reason to talk about them. They're also not in Portland so they're not mentioned in the Visiting thread. Same with Chuckanut, a brewery from Bellingham that makes similar awesome German style beers. We love them, everyone here knows about them so we don't talk about them. [shrug] I crushed a bottle of their pils on Thursday night. So damn good.
Im a huge fan. I think people are coming around to REALLY well made traditional styles. the sour / BA / and IPA crowd will always be the loudest and largest contingent on BeerAdvocate, but im starting to see a lot more folks willing to appreciate a perfectly made Pilsner or Kolsch. Heater Allen definitely delivers
I wish Heater Allen would can their pils in either four or six packs. It would live in my fridge all the time. I was bummed when they stopped selling bottled six packs.
The reason they don't have their own thread (I suspect) is because they aren't pumping out a steady stream of new releases every week/month like Fremont, Great Notion, etc. That said, they do get mentioned every single time there's a thread about local lagers, and they're widely regarded as one of (if not the best) in the area at what they do. Also, I second @guajolote on the can request. I would happily pay $12/4pk for pint cans of their pils. It would easily be my goto golfing beer.
Buddy smuggled me some more pils last week. Just back to say it’s amazing. One of the top three US brewed Pils I’ve had. I just need to figure out how to get more so I can bump this thread at least once a month. This is insanely well made beer.
Heater Allen definitely makes great stuff. Really enjoyed their Rauch Bock and Lenz Bock's in recent months. Along with Zoiglhaus and pFriem, we are definitely not hurting in the lager departments around here. Check out the latter if you haven't already @wasatchback . Prost!
I’ve had occidental and pfriem lagers and while good they didn’t quite hit the nail on the head as much as the Heater Allen pils (and Kolsch for that matter) did. I know Pfriem now force carbs their lagers and at least for me it makes a difference. I’ve heard all about the Chuckanut beers but haven’t had the chance to have them yet. Hopefully sometime, especially the Kolsch.
So, the brewer was there at the Passport to Pinot Noir event in McMinnville on Sunday, and I asked him if he had any plans to start canning any of their beers (the pils in particular of course). He acknowledged that sales were pretty strong for the pils, and that they'd given it some thought, but presently didn't feel as if the added expense to start canning their beer was justified. He still considers Heater Allen a small, family owned brewery, and thought it would be hard to justify the capital outlay (he indicated they would likely have to purchase or rent a separate warehouse if they were going to start canning their beer, and he also mentioned the recent increase in aluminum costs caused by the tariff.). So while he wouldn't completely rule it out, I got the impression that they have no plans to start canning any of their beer for the foreseeable future. He did say that they planned to install a crowler machine soon in the tasting room.
