Sedition Brewing, set to open in March, is the second business to help break The Dalles’ century-old dry streak when it comes to operating breweries. Aaron and Kelley Lee will be operating out of the historic Stadelman Ice House. Photo courtesy of Christi Thayer Photography
By Kirby Neumann-Rea
For the Oregon Beer Growler
Sedition Brewing’s glasses will make the grand announcement: “100 years in the making.” In 1916, Columbia Brewery, which had been operating in The Dalles since 1867, stopped producing beer when Prohibition took effect in Oregon. After a very long wait, craft brewing has returned to the historic city with two new breweries set to open this year: Sedition Brewing Company and Freebridge Brewing.
Before getting into the beer business, Sedition owners Aaron and Kelley Lee ran Maison de Glace Winery for several years in the same century-old building on Laughlin Street in the heart of the city’s historic downtown neighborhood. Brewmaster Kyle Rossman will be working with a 7-barrel system and the Lees anticipate a 1,000-barrel-a-year capacity to start. Together, they plan to start serving the public in early March.
“It’s close — so close we can taste it,” Aaron said.
Sedition's soft opening will feature a limited food menu and three beers: an IPA, a porter and a third to be announced.
"I'm surprised how many people in this town love dark beers," Rossman said. "It's surprising how many requests we have to 'Make sure you have some dark beer.' It's good to see people moving away from IPA as the sole beer world, and we will do something different — a little left field besides a pale or wheat. We're still trying to settle on what that will be. Probably a saison." He admitted he doesn’t limit himself when it comes to styles and appreciates how all of them are good if brewed well.
One of the earlier experiments will be a classic American-style pilsner, brewed as a tribute to Columbia Brewery, the last to occupy The Dalles. He’ll also do “a new take on an adjunct lager.” Instead of using barley, Rossman will incorporate corn or rice. Meanwhile, plans for the food menu include five appetizers and six to eight paninis and salads, with pizza to join the mix later. “We want to do it a little different than you typically see. I want to tie the beer in: beer sauces, beer bread — bring it all back to the beer as much as possible,” Aaron said.
When asked about the near-simultaneous opening of two breweries in The Dalles after 100 years, Aaron echoed the founders of Freebridge Brewing, located just blocks away, who were featured in January’s Oregon Beer Growler:
"I think it’s a positive. Having been in the wine game, and seeing wineries go up and down, I don't think the Portland market is necessarily going to come down here for one (brewery). They want one, two, three or four. To have two gives us that foot in the door outside of the area."
Before opening the brewery, The Lees have been transforming the old Stadelman Ice House — a big, brick structure with walls that are 3-feet thick. And it turns out, those are perfect for making beer, according to Rossman. "We get really consistent temperatures in the brewing and keg storage areas. When it's 110 degrees outside, it's mid-60s in here."
The historic structure does present some challenges, though: remodeling isn’t always an option. For example, after planning to expand one pub room, the Lees discovered that the walls are weight-bearing, so they opted to keep the space as a separate meeting room. “It will take three to four years to completely finish all the areas the building needs, from masonry repairs to creating an office area.”
Eventually, customers will be able to tour the space, which is nearly 10,000 square feet with high ceilings, the original boiler and some of the ammonia pipes used for cooling. The building is not only full of history; it even comes with personal significance to the Lees. In the early 20th century, Kelley’s grandfather, Jesse Mason, made deliveries for the ice house. "We discovered the family connection when we leased the building," Aaron said.
The Lees ran their winery out of the same building before deciding to switch to beer. "It just never really took off," Aaron said of Maison de Glace. "We kind of broke even, broke even, broke even.” Maison de Glace is still around in bottles and there are plans to serve it as the house wine at Sedition.
Those who keep tabs on the Oregon beer scene and watch for openings may have noticed that Sedition was set to open as Defiance Brewing Company. That plan came to a halt in late 2015.
"Right at Thanksgiving we discovered a potential trademark issue. There was actually a Defiance Brewery, LLC out of Hays, Kan. and a Defiant Brewery on the East Coast,” explained Aaron. Even though they had the name as far back as 2012, they decided it would be best to avoid a court battle. “So we spent a weekend thinking of names, and the name Sedition came up. And I liked it. I actually like it better as far as the direction and labels.” He also added that it’s pretty difficult these days getting a name that hasn’t been trademarked.
One thing that won’t change: the raised fist logo that is displayed prominently on the old Ice House building.
For the Oregon Beer Growler
Sedition Brewing’s glasses will make the grand announcement: “100 years in the making.” In 1916, Columbia Brewery, which had been operating in The Dalles since 1867, stopped producing beer when Prohibition took effect in Oregon. After a very long wait, craft brewing has returned to the historic city with two new breweries set to open this year: Sedition Brewing Company and Freebridge Brewing.
Before getting into the beer business, Sedition owners Aaron and Kelley Lee ran Maison de Glace Winery for several years in the same century-old building on Laughlin Street in the heart of the city’s historic downtown neighborhood. Brewmaster Kyle Rossman will be working with a 7-barrel system and the Lees anticipate a 1,000-barrel-a-year capacity to start. Together, they plan to start serving the public in early March.
“It’s close — so close we can taste it,” Aaron said.
Sedition's soft opening will feature a limited food menu and three beers: an IPA, a porter and a third to be announced.
"I'm surprised how many people in this town love dark beers," Rossman said. "It's surprising how many requests we have to 'Make sure you have some dark beer.' It's good to see people moving away from IPA as the sole beer world, and we will do something different — a little left field besides a pale or wheat. We're still trying to settle on what that will be. Probably a saison." He admitted he doesn’t limit himself when it comes to styles and appreciates how all of them are good if brewed well.
One of the earlier experiments will be a classic American-style pilsner, brewed as a tribute to Columbia Brewery, the last to occupy The Dalles. He’ll also do “a new take on an adjunct lager.” Instead of using barley, Rossman will incorporate corn or rice. Meanwhile, plans for the food menu include five appetizers and six to eight paninis and salads, with pizza to join the mix later. “We want to do it a little different than you typically see. I want to tie the beer in: beer sauces, beer bread — bring it all back to the beer as much as possible,” Aaron said.
When asked about the near-simultaneous opening of two breweries in The Dalles after 100 years, Aaron echoed the founders of Freebridge Brewing, located just blocks away, who were featured in January’s Oregon Beer Growler:
"I think it’s a positive. Having been in the wine game, and seeing wineries go up and down, I don't think the Portland market is necessarily going to come down here for one (brewery). They want one, two, three or four. To have two gives us that foot in the door outside of the area."
Before opening the brewery, The Lees have been transforming the old Stadelman Ice House — a big, brick structure with walls that are 3-feet thick. And it turns out, those are perfect for making beer, according to Rossman. "We get really consistent temperatures in the brewing and keg storage areas. When it's 110 degrees outside, it's mid-60s in here."
The historic structure does present some challenges, though: remodeling isn’t always an option. For example, after planning to expand one pub room, the Lees discovered that the walls are weight-bearing, so they opted to keep the space as a separate meeting room. “It will take three to four years to completely finish all the areas the building needs, from masonry repairs to creating an office area.”
Eventually, customers will be able to tour the space, which is nearly 10,000 square feet with high ceilings, the original boiler and some of the ammonia pipes used for cooling. The building is not only full of history; it even comes with personal significance to the Lees. In the early 20th century, Kelley’s grandfather, Jesse Mason, made deliveries for the ice house. "We discovered the family connection when we leased the building," Aaron said.
The Lees ran their winery out of the same building before deciding to switch to beer. "It just never really took off," Aaron said of Maison de Glace. "We kind of broke even, broke even, broke even.” Maison de Glace is still around in bottles and there are plans to serve it as the house wine at Sedition.
Those who keep tabs on the Oregon beer scene and watch for openings may have noticed that Sedition was set to open as Defiance Brewing Company. That plan came to a halt in late 2015.
"Right at Thanksgiving we discovered a potential trademark issue. There was actually a Defiance Brewery, LLC out of Hays, Kan. and a Defiant Brewery on the East Coast,” explained Aaron. Even though they had the name as far back as 2012, they decided it would be best to avoid a court battle. “So we spent a weekend thinking of names, and the name Sedition came up. And I liked it. I actually like it better as far as the direction and labels.” He also added that it’s pretty difficult these days getting a name that hasn’t been trademarked.
One thing that won’t change: the raised fist logo that is displayed prominently on the old Ice House building.
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