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 

The Ice-Age Express

Last week, a friend wanted to know if she should see Snowpiercer. The easy answer is “Yes.” The longer, glibber answer was, “Did you want a sci-fi movie about class warfare? Then yes.” She replied, “Isn’t that what all sci-fi movies are really about?” Continue reading 

Fun and Games

The Stagger and Sway

Unlike previous efforts, Mike Last feels The Stagger and Sway’s latest release, Fun and Games, is a rock ‘n’ roll record — a sound the quartet has moved toward since adding Brian Schierenbeck on lead guitar.  “Brian played our last CD-release show,” says Last, Stagger and Sway’s vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter. “But he wasn’t on the record.” Last says Fun and Games has “a little more grit to it — a little more teeth. It’s more of a band record.”  Continue reading 

Welcome to the Dollhouse

Hello Dollface

“We love Eugene,” says Ashley Edwards, vocalist and songwriter for Durango, Colorado-based Hello Dollface. “The vibrancy, the grit, the consciousness, the food.” The band’s bass player, Jesse Ogle, attended the UO, Edwards says, and this time ’round through Eugene, Hello Dollface’s “heart-quenching desert vagabond soul” will be backed up onstage by some local players: Ben Scharf, Matt Calkins and Brad Erichsen of local jazz-funk group Eleven Eyes. Continue reading 

Browder Ridge Ramble

Wildflowers, strange hemlock and stunning Cascadia views

Browder Ridge. Photo by John Williams.

Old-growth Western hemlock, Douglas fir and Alaska cedar blanket all slopes of the Browder Ridge near the junction of Hwy. 126 and Hwy. 20. You can hike this trail from west to east, east to west or arrange a shuttle. In my opinion, this hike is best done from the eastern trailhead at Gate Creek.  As we set out up the trail I was quickly reminded how steep this section of the trail is, covering nearly 1,400 feet in just less than 2 miles. The impressive and ever-changing forest gives you the sense of being far from any roads and helps dull the pain in your calves.  Continue reading 

A Dirty Soccer Secret

Argentine friends wear their national team jerseys on game day in Brazil. doherty (right) wears his training jersey of an Argentine club, Estudiantes de la Plata.

I consider myself a fairly transparent person, but there’s something I’ve been reluctant to share: I would not be upset or disappointed if the albiceleste (the Argentine team — nicknamed after the white and sky-blue stripes of their flag and jerseys) wins the World Cup. I was passionately supporting other teams but they’ve all been eliminated.  Continue reading 

The Queen of Critters

Shanna Trumbly’s magical world continues with the 2014 Oregon Country Fair poster

Shanna Trumbly was sitting in a cave roasting hotdogs when she saw the hummingbird. The Eugene artist was visiting Yachats with her family and, while on a hike, they had taken shelter from the rain.  “Out of the corner of my eye, I see this little bzzz,” she says, fluttering her hands. “There are no flowers around or anything. It was just like rock walls and the ocean … It was so bizarre because it wasn’t even a place where a hummingbird would be hanging out.” She adds, “Right when it flew off, the rain stopped.” 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