The concoctions featured at the October Beers Made By Walking tapping were inspired by ongoing hikes with brewers in Forest Park last summer. Proceeds from the event benefited the Forest Park Conservancy. Photos by Peter Korchnak
By Peter Korchnak
For the Oregon Beer Growler
An unusual pub crawl in Southeast Portland on Oct. 10 proved that the ninth time can be a charm, too. After a series of eight walks that invited “brewers to go on nature hikes and make new beer inspired by edible and medicinal plants on the trail,” eager consumers burned a little more shoe leather as they made the trek from pub to pub during the Beers Made By Walking tapping. Oregon Beer Growler covered the original hikes in the August 2015 issue with the article “A Beer Walk in the Woods” and wanted to follow up on the process.
The Portland tapping featured 15 beers and one cider made by 11 commercial breweries, a homebrew club, and a cidery. All four participating pubs were within walking distance of each other. BMBW founder Eric Steen says that the beers “create a drinkable landscape portrait of Forest Park.” The bar hop, which transformed beers made by walking into beers consumed by walking, allowed people to literally drink in what Portland’s landscape has to offer.
While many people joined the informal walking tour, which started at Belmont Station at noon, members of the High Street Homebrew Club gathered at the last stop, Bazi Bierbrasserie, where their brew, Spruce Lee IPA packed a bright punch. Club member Bizzy Gross said the brew took some extra effort. “Spruce tips are out of season and distilleries buy them up to use in whiskey. But we finally found a supplier in Canada that sold us a pound for $50.” The inaugural tasting of the collaboration, made at Portland U-Brew, created a festive atmosphere. Club member Jax Zajdel spoke for many by saying, “It tastes like Christmas.”
The rest of the lineup at Bazi featured Belgian-style beers: Base Camp’s barrel-aged saison made with wild yeast harvested from an old-growth ancient forest preserve; The Commons’ saison featuring redwood and cedar bows and pine-smoked tea; Hopworks’ Belgian pale with licorice fern, wild ginger and maple syrup; and 10 Barrel’s sweet cherry beer with Belgian yeast.
The owners of Likewise, artists Adam Moser and Nancy Prior, also hosted one of the tappings thanks to a personal connection to Steen, who was Moser’s classmate at Portland State University. They also share a philosophy regarding support for fellow artists and a love of beer. “Art formalizes conversations in many different ways,” Moser said. “And beer is all about conversation.”
The lineup at Likewise included an IPA with cedar by Ecliptic, a strong ale with tips from four different trees by Hopworks and a German pilsner with wild red huckleberries by Widmer Brothers. Michael and Meredith Westafer, visiting Portland from Chapel Hill, N.C., said the event encapsulates what they think of the city. “The event brings two Portland institutions — beer and Forest Park — into public life,” said Meredith over a pint of Hopworks’ ale with vanilla leaf.
The Horse Brass Pub offered a grape root gruit by Burnside and Coalition, a saison with Hawthorn berries and lemon balm tea by Humble. While finishing an ESB by Hopworks, Carl Singmaster said he not only appreciated the fresh take on brewing that BMBW offers, but also the fact the event outgrew Belmont Station, which he co-owns and where the tapping exclusively took place from 2012 to 2014. “Local beer doesn’t get any better than this,” he said. Belmont Station’s offering included a red ale with cedar tips by Hopworks, a strawberry gose by Laurelwood, and a Reverend Nat’s cider with Hawthorn berries, dandelion and burdock root as well as a bagged garnish of Western red cedar wood chips.
For the Oregon Beer Growler
An unusual pub crawl in Southeast Portland on Oct. 10 proved that the ninth time can be a charm, too. After a series of eight walks that invited “brewers to go on nature hikes and make new beer inspired by edible and medicinal plants on the trail,” eager consumers burned a little more shoe leather as they made the trek from pub to pub during the Beers Made By Walking tapping. Oregon Beer Growler covered the original hikes in the August 2015 issue with the article “A Beer Walk in the Woods” and wanted to follow up on the process.
The Portland tapping featured 15 beers and one cider made by 11 commercial breweries, a homebrew club, and a cidery. All four participating pubs were within walking distance of each other. BMBW founder Eric Steen says that the beers “create a drinkable landscape portrait of Forest Park.” The bar hop, which transformed beers made by walking into beers consumed by walking, allowed people to literally drink in what Portland’s landscape has to offer.
While many people joined the informal walking tour, which started at Belmont Station at noon, members of the High Street Homebrew Club gathered at the last stop, Bazi Bierbrasserie, where their brew, Spruce Lee IPA packed a bright punch. Club member Bizzy Gross said the brew took some extra effort. “Spruce tips are out of season and distilleries buy them up to use in whiskey. But we finally found a supplier in Canada that sold us a pound for $50.” The inaugural tasting of the collaboration, made at Portland U-Brew, created a festive atmosphere. Club member Jax Zajdel spoke for many by saying, “It tastes like Christmas.”
The rest of the lineup at Bazi featured Belgian-style beers: Base Camp’s barrel-aged saison made with wild yeast harvested from an old-growth ancient forest preserve; The Commons’ saison featuring redwood and cedar bows and pine-smoked tea; Hopworks’ Belgian pale with licorice fern, wild ginger and maple syrup; and 10 Barrel’s sweet cherry beer with Belgian yeast.
The owners of Likewise, artists Adam Moser and Nancy Prior, also hosted one of the tappings thanks to a personal connection to Steen, who was Moser’s classmate at Portland State University. They also share a philosophy regarding support for fellow artists and a love of beer. “Art formalizes conversations in many different ways,” Moser said. “And beer is all about conversation.”
The lineup at Likewise included an IPA with cedar by Ecliptic, a strong ale with tips from four different trees by Hopworks and a German pilsner with wild red huckleberries by Widmer Brothers. Michael and Meredith Westafer, visiting Portland from Chapel Hill, N.C., said the event encapsulates what they think of the city. “The event brings two Portland institutions — beer and Forest Park — into public life,” said Meredith over a pint of Hopworks’ ale with vanilla leaf.
The Horse Brass Pub offered a grape root gruit by Burnside and Coalition, a saison with Hawthorn berries and lemon balm tea by Humble. While finishing an ESB by Hopworks, Carl Singmaster said he not only appreciated the fresh take on brewing that BMBW offers, but also the fact the event outgrew Belmont Station, which he co-owns and where the tapping exclusively took place from 2012 to 2014. “Local beer doesn’t get any better than this,” he said. Belmont Station’s offering included a red ale with cedar tips by Hopworks, a strawberry gose by Laurelwood, and a Reverend Nat’s cider with Hawthorn berries, dandelion and burdock root as well as a bagged garnish of Western red cedar wood chips.
Michael and Meredith Westafer, who were visiting Portland from Chapel Hill, N.C., attended the Beers Made By Walking tapping last month. The event encapsulated their thoughts about the city by combining the outdoors and brewing.
Proceeds from the event benefited Forest Park Conservancy. Cody Chambers, who serves as the organization’s trails and restoration coordinator, led several of the walks. The program has not only brought people into the park; Chambers said, “it’s intriguing to see the brewers’ creativity bring the beers from inception to consumption.”
Because foraging in Forest Park is not permitted, brewers had to find ingredients they identified on their walks elsewhere. Brewers at Hopworks, where Steen works a day job as a communications coordinator, foraged for ingredients on trails along the Sandy River. The challenge for him this year, as the organizer of the tapping event, was identifying the right tapping locations. “Walking from bar to bar was a satisfying fulfilment of all those negotiations.”
This year, BMBW events were held in eight cities across five states. The Eugene tapping takes place Nov. 5 at The Bier Stein, with eight beers and ciders inspired by three walks in the area. Learn more at www.beersmadebywalking.com.
Because foraging in Forest Park is not permitted, brewers had to find ingredients they identified on their walks elsewhere. Brewers at Hopworks, where Steen works a day job as a communications coordinator, foraged for ingredients on trails along the Sandy River. The challenge for him this year, as the organizer of the tapping event, was identifying the right tapping locations. “Walking from bar to bar was a satisfying fulfilment of all those negotiations.”
This year, BMBW events were held in eight cities across five states. The Eugene tapping takes place Nov. 5 at The Bier Stein, with eight beers and ciders inspired by three walks in the area. Learn more at www.beersmadebywalking.com.
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