Abram Goldman-Armstrong
Growing up in Yamhill, Oregon, Abram Goldman-Armstrong was exposed to craft beers such as Rogue and MacTarnahan’s. He began brewing at age seventeen while attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he co-founded the Macalester Home-Brewing Society. In 1997 he spent a year at University College Cork, in Ireland where he earned a Certificate in Irish Studies, and developed an appreciation for European beers at Rumplestiltskin’s Pub. Traveling in Scotland, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands, he had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of local ales.
After receiving a degree in English, from Macalester, Abram returned to Oregon and joined the Oregon Brew Crew, the state’s oldest home brewing organization, and has served as club president and newsletter editor. At the age of 21 he passed the Beer Judge Examination Program exam at the National level. He has since judged at numerous professional and amateur beer competitions, and taught classes for BJCP students. In 2004 Abram attended the World Brewing Academy’s Brewing Study Tour in Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, to further his knowledge of European brewing and beer styles.
Abram first wrote about beer in the zine he published, Hector‘s Bag of Fish, and in 2000 took over the Willamette Week’s beer column. His work has appeared in various publications including American Brewer, Celebrator Beer News, Zymurgy, and Northwest Brewing News, for which he writes the Oregon and Portland columns.
Abram is currently a tour guide at Widmer Brothers Brewing, and was a tour guide at Portland Brewing for four years. He is currently a freelance writer and carpenter, and has built a number of bars in Portland.
In addition to brewing, Abram’s hobbies include traveling, reading, gardening, cooking, and soccer, especially the Portland Timbers. Though he enjoys all beer-styles, stout, IPA, and Belgian Wit are some of his favorites to drink and brew. He also enjoys making, drinking, and writing about cider.
Noel Blake
Noel Blake has won numerous awards since becoming a homebrewer in 1994, including the Homebrewer of the Year award from the Oregon Brew Crew in 1997. He now likes to work the other end of the podium, passing judgment on other people's homebrew as a National-level beer judge. He believes that the best beer he has ever tasted was home brewed, though he may have been slightly under the influence at the time.
Noel has also worked on the Collaborator project with Widmer Bros. since its inception in 1998. He has served as advisor to Widmer, competition organizer with the Oregon Brew Crew, and has had three of his creations brewed as Collaborator beers: a Belgian-style Wit (with Martin Wilde), Steel Bridge Porter, and Sled Crasher winter warmer. A fourth beer will be a pale bock.
Noel's fifteen minutes of fame came when a beer description he penned won the realbeer.org "Create a Great Beer" contest in 2001. This honor turned into an unparalleled feat of beer conjuring when his notion of the ideal Belgian beer was turned into what many consider the ideal Belgian-style beer: Ommegang Three Philosophers. He named the beer based on an unpublished William Blake (no relation) manuscript "An Island in the Moon."
Noel has been a freelance beer writer since 2000 when he started writing the Oregon Brewers Festival program. He also publishes occasional articles in the Portland area press and regional beer publications.
Noel believes that the best beer in the world is one you haven't tasted yet, so keep looking.
Kristen Brownell
After writing her first short story at the age of ten, Kristen Brownell knew what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, Kristen decided a change was in order and decided to take her chances on Las Vegas. During her stay, Kristen wrote numerous journals about her experiences in the entertainment industry as well as battling the temptations of the city. After five outrageous years, she decided her luck had finally run out.
Kristen returned to her roots in Southern California and is currently writing a three-part series based on her life in Las Vegas. She is also a freelance writer, full-time college student, and wannabe beer connoisseur. When she’s not writing, Kristen enjoys fine wine, good food, and spending long afternoons at the local bookstore.
Michel J. Brown
Currently residing in SE Portland with my family, I work at F. H. Steinbart's helping the Home Beer and Wine makers to make more and varied potables. As a retired Chiropractic Physician, my point of view is unique in that I appreciate both the art, and the science of brewing and vinting. I enjoy making my own beer and wine, and delight in sharing what I believe is the greatest hobby one can have with your clothes on!
Brian Butenschoen is the Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild and Board Member of Oregon's Culinary Tourism Association. He is the 2005 Oregon Brew Crew's Gold Bung Awardee and one of it's past Presidents.
Gary Corbin
Gary Corbin began writing about beer a few months after he brewed his first batch of home brew in 1992 in his tiny Washington, DC condo. The good suds drew him away from the nation’s political capitol to Portland, its brewing capitol, a year later, where he joined the Oregon Brew Crew and plugged into the local beer scene. Gary teamed with fellow beer writer Michael Rasmussen to produce Hallucinator Old Ale, one of the early Collaborator beers, which won People’s Choice at the 2001 Winter Ale Festival. His Prohibition Porter won the national Gold Medal in 2000 at the National Homebrew Competition. A National Beer Judge, an avid skier, and amateur wine nut who also dabbles in cider and mead, Gary writes and does management consulting out of his home that he shares with his dog Beauty in the Hollywood area of northeast Portland.
Chris Crabb
Chris Crabb is a public relations and event specialist who has been working with the craft brew industry for the past 13 years. She is a proud Supporter of Native Oregon Beer and shares her passion for craft beer with media from all over the world.
Robert Daly"Robert Daly, a 14-year member of the Oregon Brew Crew, is a tour guide at
Widmer Brothers Brewing. He is a retired reporter and journalism professor,
who has had a beer in most of the 104 countries he has visited or lived in."
Jason Foster visited Portland from the Great Lakes region in 1997 and found that the good people, marvelous outdoor opportunities, and vibrant beer scene of the Pacific Northwest was too inviting not to stay a while. Home-brewing relentlessly since 2005, Jason’s fascination for fermentation is seemingly without limit. As his wife, Kristy, can attest, no travel plans are made without also investigating the brews and brewers in any locale. Lessons of geography, culture, history, and more are sought in every glass.
Angelo M. De Ieso II
Angelo M. De Ieso II was raised in the remote expanse of Piscataquis County, Maine. He first discovered quality, handcrafted beers such as Geary's, Shipyard, and Sea Dog before living in Boston, San Francisco, and Portland. He has lived in Portland, Oregon since 1998 and graduated from Portland State University in 2005 with a degree in communication. His favorite beer is the American IPA. It is his mission to visit every brewery in the world before he dies (though this maybe a somewhat unrealistic goal). His interests outside of quality handcrafted beers include old-growth forests; big, old trees; baseball; independent music and film; and spending time with his loved ones. He takes particular interest in seeking out brewers and breweries off the radar that still proffer a high quality product. His plans include visiting ancestors in Europe in the near future, travelling and exploring the time-tested brewing recipes of yore.
Fred Eckhardt
- How many people get a beer named for them?
It doesn't happen often, but Fred Eckhardt has inspired one brewer - Alan
Sprints of Hair of the Dog - to do so. As Sprints wrote: "Fred is one of
those larger-than-life kind of people that you are lucky to meet. His
influence on my beers and brewing style has been a blessing, but above and
beyond beer, he has been a role model for life itself.
"After speaking with Fred about his favorite ingredients, I imagined what he
would be like in a glass and out came Fred the Beer. Since its release, the
beer has been my top seller, representing 40 percent of my sales."
It's appropriate that the Granddaddy of Beer lives in Beervana - or maybe
Portland is Beervana in part because Eckhardt has made his home here for
many years.
A tireless partisan for quality and diversity in brewing, Fred has informed
brewers and beer drinkers for decades, introducing them to new beers with
humor and his own distinctive style - complete with Prussian helmet, a waxed
mustache and Falstaffian exuberance. This is the man who coined the phrase
"Listen to your beer" - and meant it.
In 1969, Eckhardt wrote the first American text for home brewers, "A
Treatise on Lager Beers," 10 years before home brewing was legalized, and
beat the drum for tossing out the old Prohibition recipes for all-malt
beers.
He published (irregularly, but enthusiastically) "The Amateur Brewer" to
instill professional values in home brewers. In 1989, he published "The
Essentials of Beerstyle," in a valiant attempt to develop a true taxonomy of
the diverse manifestations of the brewers' art.
Over the decades, Eckhardt has encouraged and hectored home brewers across
the continent, volunteering for countless beer tastings and competitions,
while spreading the word of good beer through articles and personal
appearances. In truth, there's nothing quite like an Eckhardt beer and
chocolate tasting to open the senses to new experiences.
Here in Portland, we are doubly fortunate because we have Eckhardt to drink
beer with and because we get to celebrate this special birthday with him.
Here's to 80 more years with Eckhardt!
Bob’s thanks his grandfathers for providing him with his first sips of beer while watching the Cleveland Indians on television. Their favorites were Carlings Black Label and P.O.C. (Pride of Cleveland, Pilsener of Cleveland, Pilsener on Call). He recalls both beers having more flavor than the Miller High Life Bob’s parents had on hand “for company.”
The first “really good” beers he tasted were Swiss Lowenbrau and Heinekens while serving in the military. He found the “skunkiness” from the green-bottled beers added a taste dimension that was appealingly different from the domestic brands then available. It was many years later before he discovered that the skunkiness was actually a flaw in beer.
Bob began home brewing in 1996 as a member of the Oregon Brew Crew. He was President of that organization in 2000 and 2001. He has concentrated on making meads and cider the past several years because “the commercial mead was abominable and there is so much great beer available in the Metro area”.
Bob works for Windermere Real Estate and has been known to share his brews with his enlightened clients. His favorite concoctions include pear mead, cysers (fermented honey and apple cider) and “Holiday Cheer” which was fermented raspberries, blueberries, honey, and brandy. He expects to make a mead using atomic fireball candy, honey, and a little habenaro chile very soon.
Kerry Finsand
Kerry Finsand is a native Oregonian who resides in NE Portland with his wife, Josie. He spends his days selling advertising for the popular online city guide, Citysearch. Keeping up with the new bars and brewpubs opening in the area, Kerry enjoys sharing his discoveries of some of the best watering holes in town with his friends. A few years back he started attending many of the local beer festivals and liked what he saw and drank. He recently finished visiting all of the brewpubs in Portland, next in his sights is the state and then the world.
Jeff Frane
Jeff Frane: Beer fan and brewer since the mid-80s. He wrote various beer and brewing-related articles for Zymurgy, Brewing Techniques and Brew Your Own. At various times, Jeff has sold brewing equipment for craft brewers and lab equipment to homebrewers
J. Tom Field
This Publican from the renowned "Rose and Raindrop" reigns from Chicago. He is owner and operator of the Rose and Raindrop at 532 SE Grand in Portland, Oregon. He has a passion for good beer.
Dave Hayes
Dave Hayes and his wife, Mandy, live in Forest Grove, Oregon, and took up brewing seven years ago to occupy the dead time between John Hiatt concerts. When not anxiously tending his brew kettle, Dave, a systems analyst by trade, can often be found searing animal flesh over an open fire or trading Monty Python quotes with his children.
Cindy Hayter
Cindy Hayter is a professional cook on the national barbecue competition circuit. She has recently qualified for the American Royal World Championship in Kansas City in October. Catch her at the Oregon State Fair in late August.
Andrea Hendrickson
Andrea Hendrickson is a college admissions counselor by day, beer lover, writer, and musician by night. During long periods of work-related travel, she is able to enjoy some of the finest craft beers in the Western U.S. Her favorite styles are Belgian Wits, ESBs, and Barleywines. Andrea was first introduced to beer by her partner-in-crime, Ben Love, and both relationships have been strong ever since. You can find her cheering for the Portland Timbers, haunting the stacks at Powell’s Books, or generally taking in the cultural fabulousness that is Portland, Oregon. Ken Kane Ken Kane has been homebrewing for over 20 years, virtually from the time he moved to Oregon. A journalist by training, in recent years he’s turned his attention to the retailing and designing of “beeraphenalia” – souvenirs related to Oregon in general and its distinctive wines and beers in particular. These are available at his Websites, woodbloom.com and PortlandSouvenirs.com. Ken’s Oktoberfest experience was just part of a three-week beer trek across Europe this fall. But perhaps more about that in a future column.
Don is from D.C. where he endured a major puberty rite at a German rathskellar as a college freshman, age 17. Seven litres of Wurzberger later, he was accepted by grizzled WWII vets. Homebrewing filled his curiosity about organic chemistry as well as cooking, and in 1986 he plunged into it as a member of BURP in D.C. When he moved to Portland in 1992, he found himself living within walking distance of the Horse Brass--a life-affirming experience. He's a former board member of the Oregon Brew Crew, and thinks he can judge some beer styles reasonably Ben Love is the Brewery Manager at the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, OR. Ben is an Oregon native, born and raised in Gresham. His passion for beer started with a pint at the Horse Brass Pub and a short career at Belmont Station in 1999. His brewing career began in Appleton, WI. He went to a local brewpub, the now defunct Adler Brau Brewery, and offered to work for free (but they paid him anyway). He worked part-time doing odd jobs as the Brewers Assistant. At the same time he started the Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering Course through the American Brewers Guild. In a bid to return to Oregon, he applied for the Assistant Brewer position at the Pelican Pub & Brewery where he has worked for the past two years. During that time the brewery has continued a tradition and won multiple honors including Small Brewpub of the Year (2005 Great American Beer Festival), Champion International Brewery 2005 (Australian International Beer Awards) and the Grand Champion Beer Trophy 2004 & 2005 (Australian International Beer Awards). Ben is the director of the Oregon Cask Ale Festival and sits on the committees for the Brewers Summer Games and Oregon Fresh Hop Festival. In his spare time he likes homebrewing, concerts, and hiking. What he enjoys most about brewing is the community.
Don Klover had a great-grandfather in and out of the saloon business, a brother with a micro-brewery, and is himself a home brewer. He takes a perspective in his writing that lies variously between citizen consumer and social historian. One day he hopes to add stories of the drinking traveler, but has so far been unable to find anything outside of the Northwest interesting enough to write about.
Don Lief
well. He is sadly mistaken about this.
Ben Love
J Mark Angelus
The 2008, “almost” Beer Drinker of the Year is a graduate of Aloha High School, and spent most of his brain cell altering years in and around München on the Willamette when single digit Weinhard’s Private Reserve was quality beer. He currently lives somewhere between Bills and Pelican on the Oregon Coast.
Mark has traveled and sampled beer in; Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, East & West Germany (OK, he’s old!), Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and throughout the US. In all of those travels he has not found a single city with the number of breweries, diversity of beer styles, or friendlier brewers than his high school hometown of Portland.
His business card identifies him as a “Beer Ambassador”, and he’ll pretty much drop anything except a beer to talk beer and brewing. He has been a home brewer since 1985, after a year in Germany and is a SNOB member of the Oregon Brewers Guild. In 2007 he left Portland and family for almost six months to attend the Master Brewers Program at UC Davis and now occasionally uses chemistry or engineering terms that even he has to look up to figure out what he’s talking about!
Lisa Morrison (a.k.a the Beer Goddess)
Lisa Morrison (a.k.a the Beer Goddess) is the Oregon Correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and a columnist and frequent contributing writer to Northwest Brewing News, The New Brewer and Zymurgy. Lisa is the Recipient of the first-ever Beer Journalism Awards in 2004. Lisa also teaches SudSisters, a beer appreciation class for women in and around Portland. A home brewer and member of the Oregon Brew Crew, Lisa enjoys "beer traveling" with her husband, Mark -- if only to prove that "there's no better beer than right here."
Bill Owens
Bill Owens is president of the American Distilling Institute (www.distilling.com) and can be reached at bill@distilling.com.
Jim ParkerEditor-in-chief Zymurgy and The New Brewer
Michael RasmussenMichael was a late starter, he didn't begin drinking beer until 16. He muddled through Coors, Bud, PBR (quarter a glass!) and the like for almost 10 years. Then a kindly classmate, and former UK resident, gave him a mixed six pack of European beers. Talking with the friend about the different tastes in those bottles Michael learned that it was possible to brew your own beer at home. The first batch, in 1983, wasn't anything to shout from the rooftops about. Wondering about the differences between the homebrew and American and European beers fueled greater interest in what makes beer taste the way it does and how many flavors one can find in beer. After moving from Albuquerque to Portland in 1990 Michael became involved with the Oregon Brew Crew and really started to learn about beer eventually becoming a certified beer judge. Writing began when Michael, as editor of the club newsletter, needed to ensure there was enough news to print. Michael went on to be a correspondent for Northwest Beer Notes and Celebrator Beer News. These days you may encounter him bicycling through the Portland area to work up a good thirst to match the great beers that abound in the area.
Elizabeth Ryan
After having wandered beerless throughout Tennessee, Missouri, Michigan, California, and Colorado in the 70's and 80's, Elizabeth put down roots in Oregon and discovered two treasures that have become integral to her life-running and beer. A mother of three grown children, Elizabeth works in education and spends any spare time she has with her husband Michael, whom she met while running and drinking. She loves to travel and now has discovered the joy of traveling to new territories in the brewing world. Look forward to another episode of her beer odysseys, coming soon.
Yvette Louise Uber
A lifetime Cascadian, Yvette Louise Uber spends her days travelling from Mountain to Brewery to Ocean, and all points in between. A degree in International Studies from Portland State qualified her for a position at the World Famous Horse Brass Pub. She held office and remains active in both the Oregon Brew Crew and her local KIWANIS service club - to find out more about joining either, look her up at one of the many fun and amazing craft beer festivals around the state this year.
Preston Weesner
Preston Weesner lives and drinks in Portland, Oregon. He was brought over from the dark side by beer that actually tasted good, Widmer Hefeweisen. He was later a home brewing convert when a friend gave him a N’or Wester Raspberry weisen clone. He joined the Oregon Brew crew after attending the Oregon Brewers Festival in 1990 and saw two terms as the President of Vice. He is the On-site Volunteer manager for the OBF, General Manager of the Holiday Ale Festival, and is a Draft technician at the Spring Beer and Wine Festival, and both the Portland and Seattle International beer festivals. When he is not working at a festival he is attending festivals to support Craft beer.
