Friday, February 22, 2019

Zwickelmania 2019: Ruse Brewing


Once again, I happened to be in Portland for this great event.

Every year, on a single day in mid-February, breweries across the state of Oregon host free tours in an open house format. Participants take short tours and receive samples given directly from the conditioning tanks. The tap near the bottom of the tank is called a "zwickel," and hence the name. This event takes in the Portland metro area on one weekend, and then in all other parts of Oregon state on the following weekend. This year, in Portland alone, 65 breweries participated.

Five of us went off across the city in search of some of the newer breweries, or some in cases newer outposts of established breweries: Vagabond Brewing Portland, West Coast Grocery, Ruse Brewing, Von Ebert East, Migration Brewing - Gresham, and Threshold Brewing & Blending.



Our third stop was Ruse Brewing. Founded by Shaun Kalis and Devin Benware, who both previously worked at Culmination Brewing, Ruse specializes in farmhouse ales and wild ales, though they do produce the other styles as well. The name of the brewery is reflected in the artwork on the walls and bottle labels, with a sense of magic and mystery, including mazes, hieroglyphics, and Escher-inspired designs.



We spoke at length with Kalis about how the brewery developed and types of beer he makes. We asked about a large foeder in the brew area, and he mentioned that he had used it to age a blonde sour ale with peaches. And then, rather magically, a bottle of that brew, called “Semicircles,” appeared for us to sample.

                                                          Shaun Kalis (left) w/ R-san


We were very impressed with the variety of beer styles available here. We look forward to revisiting and seeing what Ruse might conjure up in the future.


4784 SE 17th Ave,
Portland, OR 97202

(503) 662-8325

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