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This truly is Wildflower Month, as the majority of our valley native plants achieve their peak of bloom in May. The blue camas is at its peak early in May. People driving south should keep an eye out for the ivory colored camas that is found along the freeway from Sutherlin to Riddle. Its ivory petal color is different from the pure white of albino forms of the related blue species. Continue reading
Marijuana is legal in Washington and Colorado, and it should be in Oregon, too. That’s the goal of the upcoming Global Cannabis March to be held at high noon on Saturday, May 4, in downtown Eugene’s Free Speech Plaza. Eugene is one of 235 cities participating worldwide, and it joins Portland and Medford in a localized effort to pass legislation. Continue reading
Talk about starting off strong: When The Bier Stein reopened at 16th and Willamette on Tax Day, it was inevitable that the beloved beer bar would have a good day, but owner Chip Hardy says that the new location has overwhelmingly exceeded expectations. “Our best day ever at the other location we doubled on our opening day, and by Friday it tripled,” he says. “I was completely blown away by so many customers.” Continue reading
When Agrarian Ales was planting its first rows of hops seven years ago, an unexpected visitor dropped by. “An 85-year-old farmer stops his pickup and jumps out and has the biggest grin on his face I’ve ever seen,” says Ben Tilley, one of the owners and brewers. The farmer told Ben and co-owner-brewers Nathan Tilley and Tobias Schock that he used to pick hops by hand on that very field when he was a little boy. Continue reading
Head Brewer Steve van Rossem is still finishing the assembly of the brewing side of Plank Town Brewing Company, but the fledgling first brew, Bart’s Best Bitter or B^3, is already a refined recipe. Van Rossem, who is transitioning to Springfield’s newest brewpub from Block 15 in Corvallis, brewed B^3 test batches up at Block 15, and he says that Plank Town will likely stick with the recipe. “It’s made using British yeast, British malt and British hops,” van Rossem says, “a classic-style British best bitter.” Continue reading
Ninkasi’s latest brew, crafted with the help of student brewers, is called Sasquatch Legacy Baltic Porter, but it’s not a reference to Bigfoot. The beer pays tribute to Glen “Sasquatch” Falcolner, a longtime Eugene brewer with close ties to the brewing community. He died in a 2002 accident, but his passion for helping other brewers was too powerful to quench, and now his work lives on through the Glen Hay Falcolner Foundation and its scholarship program. Continue reading
Sky High Brewing, located in downtown Corvallis, currently lacks a kitchen, seats not even a fifth of its desired capacity and has a second-floor staircase leading straight into the ceiling a la the Winchester Mystery House, but Scott McFarland, his co-owners and brewer Laurence Livingston were too excited to wait. They didn’t mind opening with a half-finished brewery in August 2012. Getting into beer has long been McFarland’s dream. “I did pizza for a number of years but always kind of had a hankering to get into the beer business,” he says. Continue reading
Remember those old Olympia beer ads? “It’s the water.” When it comes to good beer, it really is the water, and that’s why Oakshire Brewing has begun its “1% for Watershed” program, donating one percent of the profits from its Watershed IPA in the lower Willamette Valley to keep the watershed and its water clean and healthy. In 2013, the McKenzie River Trust (MRT) will receive the funds to continue its restoration and conservation work. Continue reading
As usual, we begin this month’s wine column with a digression, about thinking and the emergence of taste, eventually returning to wine: In classes I taught at LCC, we had a rule: no use of cell phones during class (exceptions for possible emergencies). One morning, I was filling the whiteboard with notes and noticed a student in the back row looking down at his cupped hands. My students might think I’m a bit dim about their current stratagems but I knew what was going on. “Kyle,” I said, “are you on your cell?” Continue reading
Whether you’re a tour guide for out-of-town friends during Eugene Beer Week or you just want to soak up some sun while enjoying a few brews, a self-guided bike tour of breweries is an entertaining way to get immersed in the feel of Eugene and Springfield. Continue reading