Hop Driven Beer with Jeff Edgerton, BridgePort Brewing

10/22/17 • 36 min

The Oregon Brewery Running Series Podcast

In 1984, BridgePort Brewing (initially Columbia River Brewery) opened in an old rope factory in what is now the Pearl district of Portland, Oregon. Back then, they produced a whopping 600 barrels (these day’s they have a capacity around 100,000). This was shortly before the law changed allowing brewpubs to sell alcohol in the same place it was made.

Dick and Nancy Ponzi, BridgePort’s founders (who you may recognize more for their vineyard), teamed up with a few other local brewing legends to get the law changed. Names you may recognize like Kurt and Rob Widmer, Mike and Brian McMenamin as well as and Art Larrance, Fred Bowman, and Jim Goodwin, of Portland Brewing. Their goal was to legalize the brewpub, a place where breweries could make and sell their beer, something not happening at the time in the United States. Well, good news, it passed! The rest is history of course and the craft beer revolution had begun, with BridgePort sitting at the center of it. No matter what you think about BridgePort today, the significance of their role in helping to establish Oregon as a beer mecca is undeniable.

On this episode of the Oregon Brewery Running Series Podcast, I’m talking with Jeff Edgerton, Brewmaster at BridgePort Brewing. If this is your first time hearing about what we do, we host 5K fun runs that start and end at Oregon’s best breweries. Register here and join us for our next run!

Back in February of 2017, we hosted a 5K fun run with BridgePort as part of our winter series. At that time, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jeff and pick his brain about all things BridgePort beer. He’s been there since 1998 and has been in the beer business longer than that, so there was a lot of wisdom to absorb.

Jeff and I talked about a bunch of topics related to BridgePort, as well as what’s changed over the years in the craft beer scene here in Oregon. He also shared some beer tips with me, like why you shouldn’t drink it too cold, the reasons they choose specific ingredients for their recipes and some of the science behind it (Jeff's background is in biology). Jeff also describes, in detail, the stories behind the three beers we shared together.

Notes:

Notes:

Previous Episode

Christian Ettinger - Hopworks Urban Brewery

Hopworks Urban Brewery, based in Portland, Oregon, believes that creating world-class beer and food doesn’t have to come at the expense of maximizing profit over sustainability. They believe in using business practices that improve the environment and inspire the community.

And that’s more than just a marketing thing. Their founder, owner, and brewmaster, Christian Ettinger, believes deeply in the idea of using beer as a source for good.

Christian asks himself, What do I need to make a respectable living, to treat my employees and the external community properly, and not pillage the planet while sourcing?

Today on the show, I’m talking with Christian Ettinger, from Hopworks Brewery. I sat down with Christian over a few beers, three to be exact, a while back, and got to know more about his passion for creating world-class sustainably produced beer and doing good for people and the planet.

In this episode of the Oregon Brewery Running Series Podcast, we’ll dig into how he became interested in beer at a young age, and some of the ways Hopworks is utilizing their platform to invest into green initiatives. We will also chat about the organizational culture at Hopworks, and perhaps most importantly, listen to Christian describe the flavor profiles of the beer we tasted, and where those ingredients come from, so keep listening!

Before we get to all that, however, here’s a plug to signup for our next 5K fun run! We’re going to be running at the Hopworks location in Vancouver Washington on Saturday, November 4th. Register here and save $5 with promo code HUB5! If you’ve never been to one of our runs before, all of them are untimed 3.1-mile events, totally family friendly, and not only do you get a beer when you’re finished but also live music, raffle prizes and more.

Resources

Here are links to some of the sites and organizations references in this episode.

Next Episode

Learning to live Lives of Kindness with Jason Hattrick, Life Vest Inside

The Oregon Brewery Running Series is about three things: Getting Active, Having Fun, and Giving Back. Our name may lead you to believe it’s all about beer and running, but that’s just how we accomplish it.

We get people active by hosting 5K fun runs that start and end at great breweries. These are family-friendly events where people can run as fast or as slow as they want. It doesn’t matter, partially because it’s not timed, but also because the idea is just to get your body moving. A lot of good comes from that.

The second thing, having fun, also doesn’t need an explanation. Yes, our runs involved craft beer from some of the best breweries in Oregon and now Southwest Washington, but the fun doesn’t simply come from what’s in your pint glass. There’s something inherently enjoyable about getting together with like-minded people. Runners and craft beer enthusiasts are some of the nicest folks you’ll meet. The runners high is real, and we have a blast celebrating the accomplishment of finishing a 3.1 mile run by pairing good beer with great people.

The third thing, giving back, is less obvious, but no less important to us. When Drew and I started this in the summer of 2016, it was important to us that we partner with non-profit organizations doing good in and for our community. We wanted to help, to give back to the great communities we live in. Currently, 10% of our proceeds go to help the work of The Oregon Brewshed Alliance through Oregon Wild, and also the Portland Parks Foundation, the fundraising arm of the incredible Portland Park and Rec department.

We’re proud to announce a third non-profit partner. Life Vest Inside is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that inspires, empowers and educates people of all backgrounds to lead a life of kindness.

Today on the Oregon Brewery Running Series podcast, you’ll get to hear my conversation with Jason Hattrick, a local volunteer for Live Vest. He’s also a Kindness Ambassador and a Dance for Kindness Group Leader. We talk about the movement that is Life Vest Inside, what exactly Kindness is, why all of us need more of it in our lives, and a few tips for quickly showing the next person you see a random act of kindness.

We’d love to invite you to one of our next 5K fun runs that start and end at great breweries in Oregon and now a few in Southwest Washington. November 4 we’ll be at the Hopworks location in Vancouver, and next week, November 11, we’ll be in Tualatin at Stickmen Brewing. Use promo code LVI5, for Life Vest Inside to save $5 on your entry.