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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