Van Havig's New Joint: Havig's Modern Goserie

Van Havig, known internationally as "brewing's Eugene Ionesco" has been out of the public eye since his well-publicized split from the Rock Bottom Gordon Biersch Centerbridge conglomerate. An announcement yesterday made clear why: Havig has been busy putting the final touches on his new venture, an all-gose brewery: "Miles had his horn, LeBron has his ball; I've got a freshly tart, slightly salty wheat beer from Leipzig." He went on to describe the brewery:

"It's a 43-barrel system, typical of the goseries of 19th century Leipzig. (Goslar, where the style was born, employed 39 barrel systems; we preferred the Leipziger version.) I've contracted with local growers to produce both Dresden golden wheat, the strain that made gose famous. In addition, other growers in the Umpqua valley will be producing free-range, organic lactobacillus.

"We have an annual capacity of over 15,000 barrels, which we should easily brew within three years. Gose is the most versatile style, and we have a regular lineup including kaffeegose, hopfengose, schwarzengosen, doppelgose and ungose, which is actually an IPA. The lineup will allow drinkers to enjoy our range of beers throughout the day, from breakfast through to a nice, soothing nightcap."

Havig, who left the field of economics to pursue a lucrative career in professional brewing, was quick to point out the financial upsides.

"The potential growth is astronomic. In 2008 only one gose was available in Oregon, but by 2010 you could easily find four. Four-hundred percent growth! The market has barely been tapped. With my forays into imperial goses and black goses, not to mention hoppy goses, we expect the market to explode. Some people ask if sour is the new hoppy. Sort of. Sour and salty is the new hoppy," Havig said with a wink.

The new brewery will occupy the former Coca Cola bottling plant on NE 28th, exactly three blocks equidistant to both Migration and Coalition Brewing. Production will begin in May.

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PHOTO: BEER OR DIE