Wolves & People

You guys have it easy, it's not even a year yet since their Crowdbrewed fundraiser closed on Dec 5, 2014. J Wakefield's closed on October 25th, 2013 and their soft opening was Jan 9th, 2015 which is 441 days. 441 days after Dec 5th is Feb 19, 2016, so if they open after that day, congrats, you'll be waiting longer than J Wakefield, and we'll all get a good laugh, thanks for the entertainment in the mean time

 

They jump right to the head of the list of "most anticipated breweries to open in 2016." Let's hope the 2017 list sees a refresh.

 

1 month since the last post and 1 year since buying a membership...well not buying, donating to a dream.

The lack of communication and the delay of credentialing is actually quite surprising.

 

Well John, we have to admit, their beers are REALLY scarce!

 

Actually, December 5th is the one year anniversary of them taking our money.

As for communication, there is that newsletter from about a month ago... A lot of words that say very little.

 

I did the same. Entertaining indeed. I'd forgotten about "snowshoes," Pennsylvania's famous brewery investor.

 

What a pathetic joke and what a strange life these guys must live.

 

This just in...

Dear Cellar Society amigos, my heart is full today: I can now report the brewery is fully licensed by all entities and as of this week we are in production! There is more to do, of course (i.e. building out the tasting rooms), but this will come. It's officially underway and we are looking at a big month of brew-days. We couldn't be more excited. It's a dream truly come to life.

Yesterday Jake and I picked up some final permits at the county Land Use Office making it official: this 103-year old barn is now legally defined as a brewery-public house. Then we had some biscuits and gravy and waited out one of the biggest rainstorms Oregon has ever seen—gracias, El Niño. Then we cleaned, kegged off homebrews (to keep us from going thirsty), and capped off the day with some Heater Allen Pilsner, the great beer our brewhouse produced for seven years.

Today things got really interesting. We blended a new beer (a version of Sebastian saison with the house yeast, farm well water, and even a few homegrown hops) into about 45lbs of frozen heirloom Oregon/Italian plums a.k.a. Brooks plums picked and pitted here in the fall of 2015, adding a voracious house-made souring culture we call "Amigos". This wonderful farm brew is already entering a new phase of fermentation in four French oak barrels formerly used for great wines at Evening Lands.

Who knows what these freshly-filled barrels will bring? We honestly do not know what to expect. But we have great expectations! Maybe even the very first bottles of "Batch One". Time will tell and as we wait for each beer to transform in the barrel we'll be brewing more.

So many helping hands have brought the old barn to this day. Especially yours. Stay tuned for more news about the ongoing construction of the tasting room, visiting hours, and plans for events and your first beers in 2016. And thanks again!

Upcoming Events & Plans

Beer Schedule
The fun work is now, truly, just beginning! Of course, as everyone wants to know... when will beer be ready? At Wolves & People we do not believe in taking the shortcut of force-carbonating beer. Since we are planning on brewing larger batches by next week, our first, draft-only, taproom beers are a minimum of 12 weeks out. We will keep you posted of course on all fronts (and please, check the social media channels on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more frequent updates if you prefer. There are only two of us doing everything). And for barrel-aged beers in bottles? Patience, grasshoppers!

Oregon Truffle Fest Beer Dinner: Truffles are a remarkable part of our precious Willamette Valley ecosystem. We're deeply honored to be participating with the Oregon Truffle Festival in January, curating beers for a dinner at The Barlow Room on January 23, 2016 from 6:30 to 9:30PM in the cool little neighboring farm town of Dayton. We are also proud to announce we are partnering with the fest to help forage for truffles, and then brew a uniquely truffled beer that, if successful, will be poured on draft only during this dinner. If you're seriously into great food and this crazy-tasty local fungus like we are, hope you will check out the fest and dinner, and follow The Oregon Truffle Feston Twitter,Instagram, andFacebook.

Beer Bites at The Commons: Thursday night December 10th, 2015 from 5-7PM Christian will be presenting his new cookbook BEER BITES (coauthored with Portland author/chef Andrea Slonecker), with several dishes from the book prepared by Portland cheese expert Steve Jones and four beers by our great friends at The Commons Brewery (four bites, four beers paired, $12). Check the FB invite here, and hope to see you at The Commons Thursday night.

Jester King Collaboration: Yes! We'll be hosting illustrious, industrious, spontaneous team Jester King for a brew day in early 2016 to make a new beer together. Can't wait to have our great Texas friends back in the brewery!

As always, thanks for your support and excitement. You helped make it all happen. Raise a glass tonight! As for us, we might just howl at the moon.

- Christian & Jake

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guys... you're opening soon. hire someone.

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Maybe they can fund the salary with a kickstarter ...

 

Three months out isn't opening soon.

 

And that is just for the "draft-only, taproom beers". Who knows when they'll actually start bottling anything - much less anything barrel aged, which is what their whole raison d'être. It'll probably be at least six months. And at the rate we've seen them move thus far, I would'mt be surprised if it wasn't until 2017.

 

At least my cellar membership will be good for like 3 years.

 

"Since we are planning on brewing larger batches by next week, our first, draft-only, taproom beers are a minimum of 12 weeks out."
"There are only two of us doing everything"
"And for barrel-aged beers in bottles? Patience, grasshoppers!"

wow, what a joke. can we start a pool for what day the first official bottle for kickstarter donors will be ready? we may have to get calendars for the next three years.

 

he'll have crapped out 2 books between the time the crowd-funding started and you receive a bottle.

 

Anything more recent?

 

Yeah, they recently sent out some details including a scheduled tour and tasting in March for the cellar club and some collaborations they've got coming up with JK and The Commons.

 

@dphi beat me to the punch.

They also did a truffle-infused hazelnut stout for the recent Truffelfest...

 

Yesterday, there was a tour and tasting event at Wolves & People for the Cellar Society members. We got to pick up our glasses (with two stickers) and taste three beers: One hoppy saison, one wild fermentation saison and a chocolate hazelnut stout. The hoppy saison was good - but a bit too hoppy for me. The wild fermentation saison was very nice. The chocolate hazelnut stout was phenomenal.

The area where the tasting room will be will not be ready anytime in the near future, since they need to re-do the foundation. So right now, there's just the brewing area and some picnic tables outside and a porta-potty. They did not say when the brewery will be open to visitors... Or when we'd see any beer. While I was at Heater Allen earlier in the day, I did overheard the owner of the Bitter Monk talking about a collaboration beer that W&P are working on with Heater Allen for their upcoming anniversary...

 

Late April open to the public.