Summer Cocktails

A product of the EW Advertising Dept.   The Eugene Cocktail Muddled mint & lemon with a healthy portion of Oregon made whiskey, Genesis Juice Hibiscus Cooler. Topped with sparkling water and garnished with lemon and mint. Cornucopia 2 Locations: 295 W. 17th and 5th & Pearl        Continue reading 

2014: A Beer Odyssey

Eugene’s craft beer scene is out of this world, and Eugene’s biggest brewery, Ninkasi Brewing Company, is ready to make that figurative statement literal. On July 15, the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) will launch its second rocket into space, carrying 16 strains of brewer’s yeast as part of its cargo. Ninkasi CEO Nikos Ridge says that to his knowledge, it’s the first brewing experiment involving ingredients that have traveled to space, and the first step toward brewing beer in space. Continue reading 

Art, Music, Wine

Before launching into this month’s wine discoveries, let me briefly explain last month’s rant against racism and misogyny. Wine, see, is one of life’s little pleasures, but I find it hard to write about such pleasures when my mind is tormented by thoughts of hundreds of young girls abducted and enslaved by gun-wielding fanatics. I can hardly bear to think about their fear and pain, much less devote time and attention to tasty vinos while they suffer.  Continue reading 

Beer Breakdown

Craft beer for beginners

Mike Codlin. Photo by Trask Bedortha.

While tap lists at local bars and breweries seem to range from elusive to overwhelming with not much in between, choosing a beer can be a daunting task. With new craft creations, a multitude of IPAs vying for attention and beer pairing taking a seat at the table, it’s an intimidating, brave new world. So if you’re new to the brewery scene and playing catch up on the craft beer revolution, EW is bringing you the basics with Mike Coplin of 16 Tons Taphouse as our cicerone (aka a beer sommelier).  Continue reading 

Brew It Yourself

Cost and tailored taste draw thousands to eugene’s hopping home brew scene

Members of the cascade brewers society and others sample the entries in the sasquatch homebrew competition. winner to be revealed june 7. Below: Brandt Weaver.

Of the hundreds of varieties of craft beers available at microbreweries throughout Oregon, bacon, oyster, horseradish, fig, beet and pork chop are not mouth-watering flavors that often come to mind when craving a cold pint. But according to members of the Cascade Brewers Society (CBS), home-brewed creations like Curry Stout, Licorice Logger or Beet Weiser are mighty tasty.  Continue reading 

Cask Masters

Local brewers bring old-fashioned cask ale back to life

Plank Town Brewing’s John Crane pulls an ale while steve van rossem looks on. Right: A couple dines at Brewers Union Local 180.

The traditional cask-conditioned style of beer is very much alive, and you can see its influence growing in Oregon’s craft beer industry, where local brewers like Plank Town in Springfield and Oakridge’s Brewers Union Local 180 are making concentrated efforts to keep it a living force in the beer world — a time and place far from the English and European pubs where they were once the norm. Continue reading