Author: Patrick Walsh

Portland Kettle Works would like to congratulation our friends & clients from the following 6 Washington breweries who took home an amazing collection of 16 awards at this year’s Washington Beer Awards:

Big Block Brewing
Counterbalance Brewing
Jellyfish Brewing
Lowercase Brewing
Pacific Brewing & Malting
Well 80 Brewing

Washington Beer Awards’ website defines the competition’s mission as follows:

“…a craft beer competition designed specifically to support Washington’s professional brewers. This competition will provide an opportunity for all of Washington’s craft brewers to compete in a blind format. It will allow recognition of brewing excellence in Washington and provide constructive feedback supporting future competition entry decisions.”

The Washington Beer Awards’ website goes on to summarize the results for the 2019 competition as follows:

“This year 1,467 entries [by 193 Washington breweries] were evaluated over the weekend of June 1st by a team of 78 judges.  All of the beers submitted must have been both brewed and made commercially available in the state of Washington.  The entries were evaluated in a blind format using the Brewers Association Style Guidelines by panels of trained beer judges who awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze placements for each category grouping.”

Portland Kettle Works is proud to be associated with these amazing Washington breweries as they raise the bar for the next generation of great craft beer!  Here is the list of these winners and their awards:

1. Jellyfish Brewing, Hydra Pils, Gold, German-Style Pilsners
2. Lowercase Brewing, American Light Lager, Gold, Light American-Style Lagers
3. Lowercase Brewing, Mexican Lager, Gold, Other American-Style Lagers
4. Lowercase Brewing, Eisbock, Gold, Other Strong Lagers
5. Well 80 Brewing, Folle Pulle!, Silver, South German-Style Hefeweizens
6. Pacific Brewing & Malting, 1897 Lager, Silver, American-Style Cream Ales
7. Lowercase Brewing, ESB, Gold, English-Style Bitters
8. Pacific Brewing & Malting, Grit City Porter, Silver, Robust Porters
9. Pacific Brewing & Malting, Mama Bear Milk Stout, Silver, Sweet/Cream Stouts
10. Big Block Brewing, Flathead Red, Silver, American Amber Ales
11. Big Block Brewing, Big Block Brown, Gold, American-Style Brown and Black Ales
12. Lowercase Brewing, Witbier, Gold, Belgian-Style Witbiers
13. Counterbalance Brewing, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Silver, Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ales
14. Lowercase Brewing & Homebrewer Cory Geerdts, Dorkmunder, Gold, Pro-Am
15. Lowercase Brewing & Floating Bridge Brewing, Forbidden Rice Lager, Silver, Collaboration Beers
16. Lowercase Brewing, Best in Class, Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year

How to Start a Brewery:
Advice from successful breweries

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“Given another shot, I’d totally do it over… just perhaps a bit differently. “

Brewery Owner Shares His Learnings Moving from Homebrewer to Professional Brewer in Seattle WA

Chris Smith has grown from homebrewer to professional brewer and, in the process, expanded from brewing 5 gallons of beer at a time to 500.  His brewery, Lowercase Brewing, opened its doors in January of 2014, and is located in the South Park area of Seattle Washington.  Since then, he has also opened a taproom in Georgetown.  Lowercase’s passion is brewing simple, approachable beers.  Chris has been quoted as saying:  “We got our start making beer in our basement, and seeing what our friends thought of it. After a little trial and error, the beer started tasting pretty good.”  Recently, Chris took the time to share his thoughts with Portland Kettle Works regarding his journey from homebrewer to professional brewer.

Read the entire interview...

How to Start a Brewery:
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“We made a point of hiring beertender and service staff who were craft beer lovers first”

Bent Barley Co-Owner and Co-Brewer Shares His Experiences Starting a Successful Veteran Brewery

Bent Barley Brewing in Aurora Colorado was started by two friends and coworkers, Mark Job and Paul Dampier, who share a love of homebrewing and enjoying great beers with friends.  As a majority veteran brewery, Bent Barley is committed to utilizing American brewing equipment and ingredients, and providing support to their local community and businesses.  Mark recently took time to talk with Portland Kettle Works, describing the connection between his military career and his brewing career in the following manner:

“During a 20-year United States Air Force career I was stationed all over the world. That led to an appreciation of classic beer styles, the importance of authenticity to those styles, and also a willingness to experiment with new styles and brewing processes. ”

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How to Start a Brewery:
Advice from successful breweries

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“You’ll find a way to succeed.  You just have to fight for it.“

Head Brewer Shares His Experiences Starting Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery in San Antonio, Texas

Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery opened in 2014 in what was originally Pearl Brewing Company’s brewhouse, built in 1894 and a San Antonio landmark ever since.  The restaurant portion of this brewery-restaurant is helmed by San Antonio Chef Jeff Balfour, who brings a modern take on Texas cross-cultural cuisine.  Head Brewer Les Locke, who discovered homebrewing in the Marines while stationed in Hawaii at the age of 19, recently shared the following thoughts with Portland Kettle Works regarding his experience at Southerleigh.

A recent Yelp review captures the customer experience at Southerleigh: “The interior is well decorated and rustic looking with all of their brewing equipment exposed on the 2nd floor. The smell of the place is right in your face, seafood and a hint of hops.” Stop in for a bite and a brew.

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How to Start a Brewery:
Advice from successful breweries

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New Smyrna Beach Brewing Wins 2 Gold Medals at the 2019 Best Florida Beer Professional Competition

New Smyrna Beach Brewing has been an amazing partner of Portland Kettle Works for 2 years now, and we are so happy to see they are getting some much deserved recognition. They recently purchased two new 10 bbl fermenters to fill out their cellar which will allow for so much more great, local beer. Make sure you stop in for a beer next time you’re in the Tampa Florida area. New Smyrna Beach is a “must-visit.”

Tampa FL, USA – During the 2019 Brewer’s Ball, the best craft brewers gathered to find out who would win gold, silver, and bronze in the most prestigious professional beer competition in Florida. With over 200 breweries in the state of Florida and 800 entries, only the best of the best would take home a medal and New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company took home two:

• Gold Medal, Mixed Culture Brett, Three Sisters Saison
• Gold Medal, Irish Red Ale, Feeding Frenzy Irish Red

New Smyrna Beach’s Three Sisters Saison went through a mixed culture fermentation and was aged in French white wine barrels for 10 months before undergoing bottle conditioning. It is available in 750 ml corked bottles which can only be purchased in the taproom located at 143 Canal Street. New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company’s Feeding Frenzy Irish Red is available in both the NSB taproom as well as local bars and restaurants in Volusia County.

Make sure you stop in for a beer next time you’re in the Tampa Florida area; New Smyrna Beach Brewing is a “must-visit.”

New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company is an independently owned brewery and taproom located on Canal Street in historic downtown New Smyrna Beach. Brewmaster Chris Coyle opened the brewery in January 2014 with the goal of bringing quality local craft beer to New Smyrna Beach. Specializing in beers brewed for the beach life style, the taproom offers 16 rotating beers on tap that are all brewed in-house. The brewery also distributes the gold medal Feeding Frenzy Irish Red as well as the infamous Shark Attack IPA to local bars and restaurants.

How to Start a Brewery:
Advice from successful breweries

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