I really didn't know where to put this in the threads so far, so in my typical clumsy way will do a new one. I know many remember Widmer for its bland but popular "Hefe" but was just looking through my many early ratings/reviews...and they had some awesome damned beers. Downward Spiral. A 9% lager aged with oak spirals..damn good beer at a reasonable price. The Nelson Imperial IPA Winternacht. Damn so sad.
Yeah, when I first came out here in 2000, they were a beacon. Even on my vacation before moving, I realized that maybe they weren't 'the best', but they made a lot of very enjoyable beers. And, when I had my place on Lake Samish, even the non-beer drinking lady friends who would bip on out for a swim and some grilling were content with Widmer Hefe, in the cooler.
Lots of good Widmer memories: The Rotator IPAs were a hype brewery move before hype breweries really existed. One of the first Citra beers to get packaged (it was still called by its experimental name, X-114). W’11 KGB, Imperial Russian Stout, Galaxy Hopped Barleywine, Deadlift IIPA. They were on a tear in the late 2000s-early 2010s. They released a Pear Krystallweizen with PDX-only distro for a food festival that @John_M was kind enough to bring over to Bend to share.
I really enjoyed that Pear Krystallweizen - was for the first Feast food festival. Some of my Widmer favorites include the aforementioned KGB, Kill Devil Imperial Brown, and Brrrbon.
I visited family and friends in Portland ocasionally in the 80s and 90s. I remember meeting a friend at the downtown Widmer brewpub at B. Moloch (Heathman Hotel managed) cafe. https://www.portlandmercury.com/food-and-drink/2008/07/24/851595/greg-higgins-extended-intervi I ordered a draft Widmer pale bock, and it was fantastic. It wasn't quite as malt-forward as German Maibocks of the day, but was probably more drinkable because of that. Just a first rate German style beer.
I was hoping you might weigh in on this thread. Apparently, you and I are one of the few who still remember the old downtown pub. Think I first stopped by in the early 90's. The hefe really dominated the craft beer scene in pdx at the time, but their Alt and their bock are what I remember. Two excellent pub only beers (as I recall).
the Widmer in N Portland and Horse Brass were the two places that really got me into craft beer. we used to spend so many summer afternoons sitting outside at the Widmer pub in N Portland drinking all the crazy styles of beers we had never heard of. i think they even made various kinds of Mead. good times
I was only at B. Moloch once. I didn't initially remember the name of the place, and misremembered the hotel it was attached to. An online search finally found the correct info, and I edited to add the name of the cafe and correct the name of the Hotel. Visiting Portland was a treat for the beer availability. My mother lived in SE near Centennial High. It was within walking distance of McMenamins. One time bought some sandwiches at a fairly drab deli nearby, and the place had draft Widmer hefe. One night she wanted a cocktail and we ended up at Glendoveer, which had a few good craft draft options. A PSC/PSU college friend contacted me 30 years after graduation. His favorite place was a McMenamins with pool tables. He wrote a paper (epublished) that seriously analyzed the physics of pool ball action. Also, it seemed every other corner had a small coffee hut.
Ditto. I also liked Brrrr I shopped exclusively at WinCo during this time frame. I was grabbing six packs for 5.99 or 6.99 (which was probably spendy for the time…at least compared to the macros). On a side note, had no idea that X114 was Citra. Explains why it was my favorite of the rotator IPAs
An earlier beer memory. The friend from PSC/PSU and I took some labs together in the new Science I. Afternoon labs were sometimes (after I turned 21 in '68, still PSC) cut short at 300 when the Chocolate Moose (steps away) opened. After a quick beer we'd return to finish the lab. Our E&M professor took our class at the end of a term to Lydia's to celebrate with a drink, where he could get a cocktail.
Widmer memories... Back in the late 00's/early 10's I ran a Portland beer blog, and I was always getting invited to press preview beer releases at Widmer. They seemed to occur almost monthly, and the brewers were always representing. They were consistently super fun events, catered, and great opportunities to pick the brains of brewers and other journalists. The 'big' bloggers (Angelo & Ezra) usually skipped these which made 'em even better (lol). The big takeaway here is that they gave me an opportunity to really get to know some of the most talented brewers Portland has produced in recent memory. Tom Bleigh, Jacob Leonard, Dan Munch, Kyle Krause, and Noel Blake stand out but I'm sure I'm forgetting some. It was also great to finally meet a BA trading friend who worked the taproom. We traded a lot before I moved out west. I forget his name but I'm sure you guys remember him.. he collected full bottles and would never drink what you sent him..
I was biking by the Widmer HQ the other day and noticed the little gift shop place open. I had never been before so I popped my head in. There were a couple beers available on tap, some for takeaway and a bunch of merch. Chatting with the fella working there, he made it sound like the taproom will be opening again this summer but he could not say for sure. Anyone been to their place on Marine Drive? Every time I bike by the "Now Open" sign, it very clearly is not. A brief search online pulled up nothing. Shrugs.
Widmer hefeweizen with obligatory lemon slice was a staple when I moved here in the early ‘90s. And as far as I was concerned (having consumed primarily Milwaukee’s Best and PBR up until that point) it was a fine beer, along with Pyramid Snowcap, Redhook ESB etc. It also happened to be decades ahead of its time in terms of haze.
At our recent Barleywine bottleshare, a friend showed up with almost a case of 'Vintage' Snowcap. It was suboptimal. But, that beer was sooo good back in the day.
I love this song. I'm also a Pete Townshend fan but his version of it is sad by comparison. Probably because Johnny Cash wasn't involved with it, but a synthesizer was.
