Barley Browns !!

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by Reidrover, Feb 8, 2015.

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  1. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just had a fresh pint of Pallet Jack and its a wonderful IPA.
    I am kinda late to the party over their beers, so was wondering how it all changed?
    Forever i had seen Barley Browns as a small place in the middle of nowhere, never seeing their beers and very rare reviews. They had been a round for a long time but never made a dent.
    Now in the last 2 years they are the toast of Oregon.
    ITs great to see a brewer from the middle of rural Eastern Oregon do great. How di they turn things around?
    New brewer? More confidence?
    Anyone have the story?
     
    #1 Reidrover, Feb 8, 2015
  2. SeaAle

    SeaAle Maven (1,381) Jun 24, 2012 Oregon

    Is it just a coincidence that they got better after Shawn Kelso left to go to 10 Barrel in Boise?
     
    #2 SeaAle, Feb 8, 2015
  3. sharpski

    sharpski Grand Pooh-Bah (3,100) Oct 11, 2010 Oregon
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    http://www.barleybrownsbeer.com/awards/
    Seems Shawn Kelso won plenty of awards out of Baker City, so I don't think it's that he was holding them back. Maybe it was a matter of momentum hitting a tipping point, or perhaps @TankSlapper made some other change that did the trick?
     
    #3 sharpski, Feb 8, 2015
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  4. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Its weird ever since i moved to Oregon in 2000 i heard stories of this legendary outpost of beer..but now they are everywhere.
     
    #4 Reidrover, Feb 8, 2015
  5. PDX_dennis

    PDX_dennis Initiate (0) Dec 28, 2012 Oregon

    This should probably be merged with the "Barley Brown's is awesome" thread. :slight_smile:
     
    #5 PDX_dennis, Feb 8, 2015
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  6. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    Nothing changed other than the fact that they drastically increased the size of their system. We were getting amazing things from them years ago, but now that they can send a truckload of beer to Portland every couple weeks they're gaining more notoriety.
     
    #6 maltmaster420, Feb 8, 2015
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  7. Strangestbrewer

    Strangestbrewer Crusader (477) Oct 17, 2014 Oregon

    I thnk the biggest thing is they got a bigger system. They've always been that great brewery in the middle of nowhere, but then they got that large system and now EVERYONE knows how good they are. They are able to deliver kegs of beer every week to the western half the state instead of once a month. Also, getting that awesome brewer from Oregon State hasn't hurt them it seems.
     
    #7 Strangestbrewer, Feb 8, 2015
  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Agreed. Quality wise, I feel as if little if anything has changed there. In the past, I would look forward to seeing their stuff during fringe fest (the primary reason to attend FF, back in the day), as unfortunately, that was generally the only time I would see their beer around town. Jdense (BA name) lives out that way, and periodically he would bring growlers of their stuff to bottle shares in PDX. Everything he brought out was incredible, so you knew BB was kind of a special place.
     
    #8 John_M, Feb 8, 2015
  9. WhiteJordan

    WhiteJordan Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2012 Washington

    They brought us some sample bottles last year before they entered Washington. The international pale they did with Boneyard was so money. They are limping into Washington, but I hope we get a chance to try serve more of their beers.
     
    #9 WhiteJordan, Feb 9, 2015
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  10. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I remember that Pallet Jack won a gold medal at some contest for best IPA. Shortly after that I started seeing it around town much more often and then all of their beer was available all the time. good stuff
     
    #10 derftron, Feb 9, 2015
  11. shnsajax

    shnsajax Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2013 Idaho

    Boise gets 1-2 shipments a month and its gone within 24-72 hours of being tapped at each location. Now if we can start getting Boneyard too I would be very happy.
     
    #11 shnsajax, Feb 9, 2015
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  12. Aestro

    Aestro Devotee (360) Nov 29, 2009 Oregon

    Pallet Jack apparently also took first place in that Hophouse blind tasting.

    I didn't make it to the tasting, but probably would have had it behind Breakside, Boneyard, and Laurelwood. Which is to say it's still a fantastic IPA that I'd put toe-to-toe with nearly any IPA outside Oregon.
     
    #12 Aestro, Feb 9, 2015
  13. cherche

    cherche Pooh-Bah (2,476) Mar 27, 2013 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Fresh Hop Pallet Jack also won Gold at the Fresh Hop festival if i am remembering correctly...

    I would put PJ right behind RPM but ahead of Breakside by a hair and Laurelwood by a little more...all are amazing IPAs though.
     
    #13 cherche, Feb 9, 2015
  14. TheeWalrusHunter

    TheeWalrusHunter Initiate (0) Aug 23, 2013 Oregon

    I did the blind tasting and had breakside winning, laurelwood second, pallet jack third. I was a bit surprised.
     
    #14 TheeWalrusHunter, Feb 9, 2015
  15. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    I didn't do the Hophouse tasting, but my local (b2 here in Salem) randomly had PJ, RPM, Breakside IPA and Lagunitas IPA on at the same time a couple months ago. I had the barkeep pour me a blind taster tray for shits & giggles. PJ was my favorite, followed by RPM, Breakside, and then Lagunitas in a distant 4th. Pallet Jack is definitely my favorite IPA at the moment.
     
    #15 guajolote, Feb 10, 2015
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  16. jakeitup

    jakeitup Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2014 Oregon

    It was the Brewing News National IPA championship two years ago. They just posted the bracket again.

    http://www.brewingnews.com/nipac/
     
    #16 jakeitup, Feb 10, 2015
  17. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's available pretty much all the time here in Eugene, so I have it pretty often. Not that there aren't plenty of great IPA's available at any given time (am liking the current sticky hands very much), but the PJ definitely stands out. For whatever reason, I hadn't had it in several weeks (which is very unusual), and tried a freshly tapped batch over at 16 tons the other day, and remember thinking again... damn, but this is really an outstanding IPA.
     
    #17 John_M, Feb 10, 2015
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  18. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    My wife loves the smell of IPAs, but doesn't like drinking them. She loves drinking Pallet Jack, so Barley Browns is doing something right.
     
    #18 distantmantra, Feb 10, 2015
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  19. TankSlapper

    TankSlapper Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2012 Oregon

    Thank you for the kind words!
     
    #19 TankSlapper, Feb 15, 2015
  20. Syndicate

    Syndicate Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2014 Idaho

    I love that Boise now gets regualar doses of Barley Browns. Had it a gabf a couple years ago and was blown away. Sometime soon im gonna be heading to the taproom and see the brewery in person.
     
    #20 Syndicate, Feb 15, 2015
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