In the cellar at Loop de Loop winery, Julia Bailey practices low-intervention winemaking — a kind of glorious alchemy where Gorge-grown grapes meet wild yeast to become Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Grüner Veltliner. Working with fruit from Underwood Mountain’s volcanic...
Pacific Northwesterners usually choose to hibernate in January, but wintering here can feel more fulfilling by seeking warmth and comfort as the light of longer days slowly returns. New Year’s resolutions made at the stroke of midnight typically involve things that...
As the days stretch longer, wildflowers are blooming in the Columbia River Gorge and taprooms are raising their garage doors to let in the warm rays of the sun. Craft brewers around Oregon are brewing light, breezy, golden beers that mimic this vibrant light and the...
On a trip to Alaska with friends, Scott Lawrence dreamed of opening a Portland brewery. But he never could have imagined that over a decade and a half later that his company, Breakside Brewery, would have five Portland metro locations, expand into Washington, and...
A winery wasn’t the first Columbia Gorge-based business for Jure Poberaj and Nina Jimenez. The couple founded and formerly owned White Salmon Bakery and Soča Wine Bar in White Salmon, Washington. These seemingly disparate businesses share a common thread. “We want to...
Anna Buxton loves to learn and problem solve. After growing up in Gig Harbor, Washington, she headed to the Chimpanzee Human Communications Institute in Ellensburg, Washington, to study language. When that didn’t seem like a good fit, she moved to China and studied...
Low-alcohol or no-alcohol beer is gaining popularity, especially as a large portion of the adult drinking public is observing dry or damp January. Light beer isn’t a new concept in the United States. For instance, Anheuser-Busch brewed an alcohol-free beer during...
Brewing classic styles as well as experimental brews Brewing beer seemed inevitable for Bryon Pyka. A high school friend’s dad was a homebrewer and, later, so was a college buddy. While going to school in Chicago in the early 2000s, specialty beer was...
Harvest schedules and lack of refrigeration have historically affected brewing cycles, but in modern times the seasonality of beer is more primal. As we head into the cooler, darker months the body craves something rich, sweet and boozy with flavors that mimic baked...
When Jarek Szymanski opened Threshold Brewing and Blending in Portland, Oregon, with his wife Sara, he wasn’t brewing beer from his home country of Poland — yet. He was brewing the hazy IPAs that drew him into craft brewing when he moved to the area 20 years ago. On...
