2017 in Pictures
This is one of my favorite posts of the year--and based on the click-throughs, one of your least favorite. I guess you had to be there--and I was! Anyway, another eventful year, and lots of nice pictures documenting it. As always, they roughly follow events chronologically.
The year got started with a snowy blast.
The view from The Horn, which wasn't yet brewing but is now (Depoe Bay).
I got to interview a Portland legend for my Widmer project, publican-turned-mayor Bud Clark.
We took a trip to Bend in the middle of the snowy season--or "pub season" as I understand they call it there. This is Crux Fermentation Project.
A speaking trip in Mexico took me to Agua Mala, one of Baja's best breweries.
This was one of the best drinking experiences of my life. Live Mexican bands playing at the edge of the ocean in a pub where eight or ten local breweries all poured their beer.
This was the opening of the third Breakside outpost (called "Slabtown"), and that was the first round of beers poured at the pub.
The men of Imperial yeast labs, who appeared on the podcast.
Karl Ockert, founding brewer at BridgePort and current Deschutes head man--another interview for the Widmer project.
My book launch in Hood River. Appropriate because these gents, all from the Hood River region, all have a chapter in the book. (from left, me, Jason Kahler, Josh pFriem, and Matt Swihart.)
One of the best beers of the year--Deschutes' Cultivateur.
Hops researcher Tom Shellhammer of Oregon State U. We interviewed him for the pod.
Jonathan Reeves of Port City in Alexandria, VA, just outside of DC. I was there judging beer for the World Beer Awards.
A snifter of Kout Na Sumave (which is the wrong glass choice, but nevermind) at the legendary ChurchKey in DC.
That plume you see comes from the 5pm whistle they blow each day at Fort George, a tradition going back decades to the canning industry. It summoned me for a Three-Way IPA, another of the year's best beers. In the foreground is Reach Break Brewing, Astoria, OR's newest.
Another new brewery--Public Coast in Cannon Beach.
Hey, look, Wayfinder finally got their brewery installed! One of the year's best debuts.
At one point during 2017, the sun was blotted out in the middle of the day, which seemed a little too metaphoric for many people's tastes.
Homebrew Con in Minneapolis.
Two Roads Brewing in Connecticut. I was in neighboring Stamford giving a speech and ended with a tour by Em Sauter of Phil Markowski's new brewery (he wrote Farmhouse Ales).
Another great drinking experience. I sipped a Harpoon IPA from this pub inside Fenway Park. That kid is looking out longingly at the field where the Red Sox would soon pummel the White Sox.
If you're not eating lobster and swordfish while drinking New England IPAs, you're doing it wrong--at least on Cape Cod.
If you're not standing in line to buy New England IPA (I guess) you're doing it wrong.
The Columbia River Gorge burned this summer, and cast the City of Roses in an apocalyptic light.
Level Brewing, the other really impressive Portland debut.
The goodbye party for The Commons, which closed on November 11. (Million sad emojis.)
Monks (and, if you look closely, Sally) hoist a "bent"--a wall, essentially--in their new brewery. This happened, amazingly, the same day the Commons closed.
When the brewing community learned that Old Town Brewing was in a battle over their trademark with the City of Portland, they hosted a rally in support of the brewery.
Fermenting sake at SakeOne in Forest Grove. (More to come on this subject.)
Steve Luke and Zach Kornfeld of Seattle's Cloudburst Brewery.
Matt Lincecum in Fremont Brewing's big new Huppmann brewhouse (Seattle).
Adam and Grace Robbings of Seattle's Reuben's Brews in their holiday sweaters.
And that last photo brings us to December 19, which ends a fun, full year. I just got a new phone, so I'm ready for 2018--