Visiting Eugene/Springfield (Summer/Fall 2016 edition)

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by jbakajust1, Jul 20, 2016.

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  1. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    (Almost) Universally Recommended “must-Visit” breweries and brewpubs
    Oakshire
    Ninkasi

    Other Highly recommended Breweries and Brewpubs
    ColdFire (Crowler fills)
    Falling Sky (multiple locations)
    Agrarian
    Sam Bonds
    Viking
    Claim 52 & The Abbey

    New Comers
    Alesong
    Mancave
    Elk Horn

    Highly Recommended Bars/Growler Stations
    Bier Stein
    16 tons café and tap house
    Tap and Growler
    Growler Guys (Crowler Fills)

    Other recommended Bars/Growler Stations
    First National Tap house
    GrowlerU
    Growler Underground
    The Filling Station
    Steel Pail
    Beer Garden
    Hayden Bridge Tap House
    Gateway Taphouse

    Highly Recommended Bottle Shops
    Bier Stein
    16 tons Tap house
    Market of Choice (the Willakenzie St. and Williamette St. locations)
    Bi-Mart (Royal Avenue store)

    Beer centric restaurants
    Electric Station
    Café 440
    Hot Mama Wings
    Falling Sky Brewhouse
    Falling Sky Deli
    Falling Sky Pizza at EMU
    Planktown brewpub
    Cornucopia Bar & Burger
    North West Burgers 5th Street Market
    Board
    Planktown

    Extra
    You can always try out the Eugene Ale Trail as well.

    Prominent Eugene festivals
    McKenzie Cider and Craft Beer Festival - November 4-5th
    Oakshire Single Batch Fall Bierfest - (Early December)
    KLCC Microbrew Festival (President's Day Weekend)
    Hellshire release and barrel-aged beer fest (Early May)
    Eugene Beer Week (Usually held in early June, and culminating with the annual Tower of Sour at Bier Stein)

    The Eugene area is pretty centrally located, making short day trips and combination beer-centric vacations feasible. The City is just a couple hours from downtown Portland and the Bend/Sunriver area, and is roughly a 45 minute drive over to Block 15/Les Caves via hiway 99, and roughly the same distance over to Oakridge and Brewer’s Union 180 via Highway 58. So it's very easy to add the Eugene/Springfield area into your beercation plans, no matter what your ultimate destination is in Oregon.

    ** Disclaimer: This post is not intended to be a catch-all for Eugene beer establishments. There are many well-regarded beer institutions throughout the area, many of which are not listed in this post. This thread is an attempt to present the most frequently recommended and highest-regarded spots. Exploration and experimentation are certainly encouraged!

    Changes Since Last Edition
    Alesong added to newcomers. Coldfire moved up to other highly recommended. Hop Valley dropped as of their July sale to MillerCoors. Added Crowler Fills for those on the look out. 2 new bars added for Springfield. Changed dates of Oakshire's 2 fests.
     
    #1 jbakajust1, Jul 20, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2016
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  2. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Alesong official first bottle release is August 20th according to the website and @AlesongBrian . Maybe @AlesongMatt can chime in with what to expect as they get closer.
     
    #2 jbakajust1, Jul 20, 2016
  3. sharpski

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

    Perhaps Hellshire Day and Eugene Beer Week should be added to the "Prominent Festivals" section?
     
    #3 sharpski, Jul 20, 2016
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  4. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I originally had them in there and then thought that they might be out of place since they are Winter/Spring fests?
     
    #4 jbakajust1, Jul 20, 2016
  5. sharpski

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

    It's your call, obviously, but I wouldn't worry about rotating the festival info based on the time of year it is currently. List all you think are worth including with dates/months noted, and it's less maintenance each edition. People may be planning now for a Winter/Spring trip.
     
    #5 sharpski, Jul 20, 2016
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  6. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Bier Stein is hosting an Invitational Beer Fest on August 13th

     
    #6 jbakajust1, Jul 20, 2016
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  7. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    More on the Alesong release here.
     
    #7 jbakajust1, Jul 22, 2016
  8. John_M

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

    Well, well, well... and it just so happens I'll be back in town tomorrow, wrapping up (more or less) the sale of my house. I do believe I've just added an extra activity to the itinerary.
     
    #8 John_M, Jul 22, 2016
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  9. LockeNess33

    LockeNess33 Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2016 Oregon

    Just wanted to point out that this opening event is on August 20th. It is a little confusing since it says July 22 on the top of the announcement (the date the announcement was posted). I may be misinterpreting what you're saying, so disregard if this is the case.
     
    #9 LockeNess33, Jul 22, 2016
  10. John_M

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

    Appreciate that. No, I'm aware the actual release event was on Wednesday, but was excited to read about the ba stuff. I'm assuming (hopefully not wrongly), based on the article, that they'll continue to have the new ba beers available at the tasting room... Will find out tomorrow I guess.
     
    #10 John_M, Jul 23, 2016
  11. LockeNess33

    LockeNess33 Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2016 Oregon

    I'm confused ... I was under the impression that they wouldn't be opening until 8/20 with their opening event. Were you able to go by and try some beers? If so, what are your thoughts?
     
    #11 LockeNess33, Jul 26, 2016
  12. John_M

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

    You're not the one confused, I am. I mistook the date of the article for the date of the release. Fortunately I guess, when I was asking some friends about the event, they set me straight. So no, I wasn't able to try those beers... just yet. Hopefully in August...
     
    #12 John_M, Jul 26, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  13. LockeNess33

    LockeNess33 Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2016 Oregon

    Yeah, it was confusing the way they presented the announcement. Maybe I'll see you there in August .... looking forward to trying some of these beers!
     
    #13 LockeNess33, Jul 26, 2016
  14. AlesongMatt

    AlesongMatt Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2016 Oregon

    Sorry for the confusion guys! (We'll fix that up) And sorry for the absence here. We've had our heads down trying to make it all happen on AUG 20!.
    First and foremost, I'd like to encourage you to sign up your name on our website at www.alesongbrewing.com/join, if you haven't. Then, you are part of our 'club' with no obligation to buy anything. What it does is get you updates on what is coming out and what the allocations are, and allow you to pre purchase your allocation. We are getting all that together and details are forthcoming. Also, we will be releasing a blog post once per week highlighting each beer that will be released. The beers coming out in bottle are:
    Touch of Brett-Citra Dry Hopped Brett (Lambicus) Saison matured in pinot noir barrels
    Tangled up in Blueberry-mixed culture ferment Belgian ale with Blueberries aged in oak and acacia barrels.
    Hop Farm-Dry Hopped India Pharmhouse Ale aged in oak and acacia barrels and conditioned with Brett (drei)
    Gin Hop Farm- India Pharmhouse Ale aged in Gin barrels
    Blackberry Gose-no barrels. 750 ml bottles (the instant gratification beer :slight_smile: )

    More info on those to follow each week with a blog post about Touch of Brett launching tomorrow(Fri).
    And the biggest news, if you are on our mailing list and pre purchase bottles, you can get complimentary entry into the fest. (logo'd Teku glass +drink tokens. 12 beers on tap. 2 food trucks (tacos and thai -Da Nang. 2-3 bands)

    I hope you can join us. Thanks for spreading the word. Thanks for your patience. As this is our first one, we're trying to learn from other events and make sure we give you the best experience possible.
    Cheers!
    Matt

    PS- we do NOT have a tasting room(yet) and this is the only time our brewery will be open . Willy Wonka opens the doors? Ok, not that cool. But now is your chance. And we should have some renderings of our wine country brewery to show off. Coming soon! -speaking of patience.
     
    #14 AlesongMatt, Jul 29, 2016
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  15. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks for the info Matt! Looking forward to the release, that's for sure!
     
    #15 jbakajust1, Jul 29, 2016
  16. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Just edited to remove Hop Valley from the list after the sale to MillerCoors today.
     
    #16 jbakajust1, Jul 29, 2016
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  17. John_M

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

    Just read the article in Brewbound. Does Chuck Hare always talk like that? Man, what a load.

    While their beer has never wowed me, I've had some good stuff from them over the years, and I've liked their pubs (and thought the food above average). I'll miss visiting their pubs from time to time, but eliminating their beer line-up from my consumption rotation won't cause any strain at all.
     
    #17 John_M, Jul 29, 2016
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  18. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    For sure. I am going to miss the memories shared with people whilst there more than the actual beer (or food for that matter, good but not great). Becca and I sat in the pub off Gateway and discussed what to name Callen (our first born) on numerous occasions and watched the Ducks dominate with Jeremiah Masoli and Chip Kelly. Had a few date nights there while grandma watched the boys. Hung out with friends and family playing games. That's what I will miss. The beer, not so much.
     
    #18 jbakajust1, Jul 29, 2016
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  19. nicholasofcusa

    nicholasofcusa Initiate (0) Jan 14, 2006 Florida

    Nice. I may rent a car and drive to Eugene next week.
     
    #19 nicholasofcusa, Jul 30, 2016
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  20. hopguy28

    hopguy28 Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2016 Oregon

    Go ducks! Eugene oregon has a free spirit full of exuberance. Micro brews, local food and acceptance of any and all culture. Green as can be and proud of it!
     
    #20 hopguy28, Aug 7, 2016
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