Hear the Roar at Little Beast Brewing – Part II

Jim Westwood

Jim Westwood – BOQ 3/28/13 – Jim joins Jack as being regarded as one of the premier appellate lawyers in the Pacific Northwest. 

In fact, we deliberately separated the two during the event to avoid them having an animated discussion of Jack’s 1986 victory in front of the Oregon Supreme Court (June v Roberts) involving initiative ballot titles, nuclear energy and Trojan (not the one you’re thinking of….)

Of course, they would have also discussed Jim’s 2005 case before the Oregon Supremes (City of Nyssa v. Dufloth/Smith) involving free speech, nude dancers, prohibited touching and the distinction between the distance of four feet and one foot.  (Surprisingly, Trojans were not involved in this case….)

The Portland Mercury elaborated in its article “Nude Justice – Oregon Supreme Court Appreciates Strippers.”  (It appears that Miss Sally’s Gentlemen’s Club is gone but not forgotten!)

But Jim – one of my most frequent Beerchasing companions – has a story that transcends his legal accomplishments. 

(And I’m not talking about being a fellow graduate of Oregon City High School where his mom, Catherine was my Latin teacher for two years, his stint as a fill-in weatherman on KGW television or how he learned Thai when he was in Naval Intelligence). (#4)

Thai_translation_&_transliteration_of__Meitei_language__(alias__Manipuri_language_)

Jim was the Captain of the legendary Portland State College, GE College Bowl Team in 1965. The College Bowl story is remarkable as evidenced by this excerpt from the Portland State Alumni Association News article by Kathryn Kirkland, May 2, 2005:

“The 415 points scored in their final match ties them for fifth-highest single-game total achieved, and their 1725 points total set a new record at the time and is fourth highest overall.

The March 26, 1965, issue of Time has an article on how the College Bowl victories helped change Portland State’s image as ‘the flunk-out school’ for University of Oregon and Oregon State drop-outs…” (#5)

college-bowl

To obtain some idea of the erudition of this team (Jim describes them as students with GPA’s around 3.0 who were just “nerds.”) take a look at this YouTube link from the University of San Francisco match:

GE College Bowl 1965 – Portland State College v University of San Francisco (youtube.com)

Finishing the Little Beast Story

Little Beast started in 2017 in the former quarters of Brannon’s in Beaverton which never gained traction (Kevin Brannon is a former Schwabe lawyer).  LB also has a brewing facility in Clackamas.

It moved to its current beer garden location after Lompoc Brewing closed it after fourteen years as reported in Portland Eater article 11/20/17 Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter stated:

“The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow….We’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years.“

Well, Little Beast continues to strive, notwithstanding the competition and perhaps, creativity, excellent beer and outstanding food overcome the struggle for market share.  You should find out yourself. (#6)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=540816814406810&set=a.540816787740146)

#2.  Facebook page for Lawless Barbecue (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513171177477762&set=a.513171140811099)

#3. Lawless Barbecue Website (Lawless Barbecue – Slow Smokes Legit Kansas Style BBQ in Portland (lawlessq.com).

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Thai translation & transliteration of “Meitei language” (alias “Manipuri language”).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) File is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.   The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work. Author: Haoreima – 21 July 2024.

#5.  Portland State University Inside Portland State (Historic 1965 College Bowl victory gave PSU national visibility, local credibility – INSIDE PORTLAND STATE (pdx.edu))

#6. Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing  (https://www.facebook.com/littlebeastbeergarden/photos/t.100054354896107/234642883900263/?type=3)

Jack Faust – Beerchaser of the Quarter 9/2/14 – the senior member of our group, has been a mentor and friend to all of us there that day.  He graduated first in his class at University of Oregon Law School, served as a special agent in the Army Intelligence Corps and was regarded as one of the best appellate lawyers in Oregon when he practiced.

But he also had a memorable broadcast media career:

“For 13 years, Faust moderated Town Hall, a weekly public affairs television program on ABC affiliate KATU. The program featured discussions, often contentious, between public officials, experts and plain citizens on topics that ranged from serious (child abuse) to light (alien abductions).

It drew high ratings and received numerous honors including national awards.”

Another of the many interesting Jack Faust tales can be viewed in the 2014 prize-winning Netflix documentary “Battered Bastards of Baseball.” 

Jack served as the Portland Maverick’s lawyer and a good friend of actor Bing Russell, team owner and his son, actor, Kurt.  He obtained a notable victory for Russel in an arbitration with the Pacific Coast League.

Besides his intellect, one of the traits that endeared Jack, not only to his partners but the entire law firm, was his keen sense of humor.  He was always willing to participate in my schemes to make presentations at the firm’s retreats more interesting.

For example, take the two YouTube videos below – the first being part of a retreat video and the second being the outtakes to produce the final product.  Jack is “admonishing” a colleague who has a definite resemblance to former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Art Vandelay.

Amy Faust

Amy Faust – BOQ 4/11/17 – Jack’s daughter (the only father-daughter BOQ) had an extended radio broadcast career.  For nineteen years – in two different stints – she was the Amy in the Mike and Amy Show on KWJJ – The Wolf

They received the CMA award for Major Market Personalities which was accepted on a national television broadcast.

At one point, Jack co-hosted with Amy when Mike was gone and did a very credible job – probably feeling as much pressure to perform as when he argued in front of the Oregon Supreme Court…..!

Amy is a talented and creative person with a fascinating career besides her time in radio.  This includes stints in documentary film production, freelance writing, authoring advertising copy, producing TV commercials, television production and as location manager for the show Portlandia

She currently works as a social media/marketing expert for New Seasons Market. If you want to view a sample of Amy’s excellent writing and Jack Faust’s amazing connection with the Rajneesh, read her 1859 Oregon Magazine article from 2018 entitled “Rajneesh in Review – A Memoir.”

Jim Westwood and Amy having a spirited debate with oversight by Amy’s husband, Kevin.

Jim Westwood

Jim Westwood – BOQ 3/28/13 – Jim joins Jack as being regarded as one of the premier appellate lawyers in the Pacific Northwest. 

In fact, we deliberately separated the two during the event to avoid them having an animated discussion of Jack’s 1986 victory in front of the Oregon Supreme Court (June v Roberts) involving initiative ballot titles, nuclear energy and Trojan (not the one you’re thinking of….)

Of course, they would have also discussed Jim’s 2005 case before the Oregon Supremes (City of Nyssa v. Dufloth/Smith) involving free speech, nude dancers, prohibited touching and the distinction between the distance of four feet and one foot.  (Surprisingly, Trojans were not involved in this case….)

The Portland Mercury elaborated in its article “Nude Justice – Oregon Supreme Court Appreciates Strippers.”  (It appears that Miss Sally’s Gentlemen’s Club is gone but not forgotten!)

But Jim – one of my most frequent Beerchasing companions – has a story that transcends his legal accomplishments. 

(And I’m not talking about being a fellow graduate of Oregon City High School where his mom, Catherine was my Latin teacher for two years, his stint as a fill-in weatherman on KGW television or how he learned Thai when he was in Naval Intelligence). (#4)

Thai_translation_&_transliteration_of__Meitei_language__(alias__Manipuri_language_)

Jim was the Captain of the legendary Portland State College, GE College Bowl Team in 1965. The College Bowl story is remarkable as evidenced by this excerpt from the Portland State Alumni Association News article by Kathryn Kirkland, May 2, 2005:

“The 415 points scored in their final match ties them for fifth-highest single-game total achieved, and their 1725 points total set a new record at the time and is fourth highest overall.

The March 26, 1965, issue of Time has an article on how the College Bowl victories helped change Portland State’s image as ‘the flunk-out school’ for University of Oregon and Oregon State drop-outs…” (#5)

college-bowl

To obtain some idea of the erudition of this team (Jim describes them as students with GPA’s around 3.0 who were just “nerds.”) take a look at this YouTube link from the University of San Francisco match:

GE College Bowl 1965 – Portland State College v University of San Francisco (youtube.com)

Finishing the Little Beast Story

Little Beast started in 2017 in the former quarters of Brannon’s in Beaverton which never gained traction (Kevin Brannon is a former Schwabe lawyer).  LB also has a brewing facility in Clackamas.

It moved to its current beer garden location after Lompoc Brewing closed it after fourteen years as reported in Portland Eater article 11/20/17 Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter stated:

“The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow….We’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years.“

Well, Little Beast continues to strive, notwithstanding the competition and perhaps, creativity, excellent beer and outstanding food overcome the struggle for market share.  You should find out yourself. (#6)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=540816814406810&set=a.540816787740146)

#2.  Facebook page for Lawless Barbecue (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513171177477762&set=a.513171140811099)

#3. Lawless Barbecue Website (Lawless Barbecue – Slow Smokes Legit Kansas Style BBQ in Portland (lawlessq.com).

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Thai translation & transliteration of “Meitei language” (alias “Manipuri language”).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) File is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.   The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work. Author: Haoreima – 21 July 2024.

#5.  Portland State University Inside Portland State (Historic 1965 College Bowl victory gave PSU national visibility, local credibility – INSIDE PORTLAND STATE (pdx.edu))

#6. Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing  (https://www.facebook.com/littlebeastbeergarden/photos/t.100054354896107/234642883900263/?type=3)

I’ll finish below with some final thoughts on LB, but first I need to single out three of my Beerchasing companions.  Periodically on this blog, I recognize an individual or group who may or may not have anything to do with bars or breweries but has good story. 

In my opinion, they have made a contribution that should be recognized – thus my Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter. (BOQ)

Past recipients of this “honor” have included veterans – most notably some war heroes, academicians, media personalities, lawyers, athletes including the 1967 Oregon State Giant Killer Football Team and even my retirement oboe instructor.

In our group at LB, I had three former Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter – Jack FaustAmy Faust and Jim Westwood – and I want to briefly highlight their stories.

Jack Faust

Jack Faust – Beerchaser of the Quarter 9/2/14 – the senior member of our group, has been a mentor and friend to all of us there that day.  He graduated first in his class at University of Oregon Law School, served as a special agent in the Army Intelligence Corps and was regarded as one of the best appellate lawyers in Oregon when he practiced.

But he also had a memorable broadcast media career:

“For 13 years, Faust moderated Town Hall, a weekly public affairs television program on ABC affiliate KATU. The program featured discussions, often contentious, between public officials, experts and plain citizens on topics that ranged from serious (child abuse) to light (alien abductions).

It drew high ratings and received numerous honors including national awards.”

Another of the many interesting Jack Faust tales can be viewed in the 2014 prize-winning Netflix documentary “Battered Bastards of Baseball.” 

Jack served as the Portland Maverick’s lawyer and a good friend of actor Bing Russell, team owner and his son, actor, Kurt.  He obtained a notable victory for Russel in an arbitration with the Pacific Coast League.

Besides his intellect, one of the traits that endeared Jack, not only to his partners but the entire law firm, was his keen sense of humor.  He was always willing to participate in my schemes to make presentations at the firm’s retreats more interesting.

For example, take the two YouTube videos below – the first being part of a retreat video and the second being the outtakes to produce the final product.  Jack is “admonishing” a colleague who has a definite resemblance to former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Art Vandelay.

Amy Faust

Amy Faust – BOQ 4/11/17 – Jack’s daughter (the only father-daughter BOQ) had an extended radio broadcast career.  For nineteen years – in two different stints – she was the Amy in the Mike and Amy Show on KWJJ – The Wolf

They received the CMA award for Major Market Personalities which was accepted on a national television broadcast.

At one point, Jack co-hosted with Amy when Mike was gone and did a very credible job – probably feeling as much pressure to perform as when he argued in front of the Oregon Supreme Court…..!

Amy is a talented and creative person with a fascinating career besides her time in radio.  This includes stints in documentary film production, freelance writing, authoring advertising copy, producing TV commercials, television production and as location manager for the show Portlandia

She currently works as a social media/marketing expert for New Seasons Market. If you want to view a sample of Amy’s excellent writing and Jack Faust’s amazing connection with the Rajneesh, read her 1859 Oregon Magazine article from 2018 entitled “Rajneesh in Review – A Memoir.”

Jim Westwood and Amy having a spirited debate with oversight by Amy’s husband, Kevin.

Jim Westwood

Jim Westwood – BOQ 3/28/13 – Jim joins Jack as being regarded as one of the premier appellate lawyers in the Pacific Northwest. 

In fact, we deliberately separated the two during the event to avoid them having an animated discussion of Jack’s 1986 victory in front of the Oregon Supreme Court (June v Roberts) involving initiative ballot titles, nuclear energy and Trojan (not the one you’re thinking of….)

Of course, they would have also discussed Jim’s 2005 case before the Oregon Supremes (City of Nyssa v. Dufloth/Smith) involving free speech, nude dancers, prohibited touching and the distinction between the distance of four feet and one foot.  (Surprisingly, Trojans were not involved in this case….)

The Portland Mercury elaborated in its article “Nude Justice – Oregon Supreme Court Appreciates Strippers.”  (It appears that Miss Sally’s Gentlemen’s Club is gone but not forgotten!)

But Jim – one of my most frequent Beerchasing companions – has a story that transcends his legal accomplishments. 

(And I’m not talking about being a fellow graduate of Oregon City High School where his mom, Catherine was my Latin teacher for two years, his stint as a fill-in weatherman on KGW television or how he learned Thai when he was in Naval Intelligence). (#4)

Thai_translation_&_transliteration_of__Meitei_language__(alias__Manipuri_language_)

Jim was the Captain of the legendary Portland State College, GE College Bowl Team in 1965. The College Bowl story is remarkable as evidenced by this excerpt from the Portland State Alumni Association News article by Kathryn Kirkland, May 2, 2005:

“The 415 points scored in their final match ties them for fifth-highest single-game total achieved, and their 1725 points total set a new record at the time and is fourth highest overall.

The March 26, 1965, issue of Time has an article on how the College Bowl victories helped change Portland State’s image as ‘the flunk-out school’ for University of Oregon and Oregon State drop-outs…” (#5)

college-bowl

To obtain some idea of the erudition of this team (Jim describes them as students with GPA’s around 3.0 who were just “nerds.”) take a look at this YouTube link from the University of San Francisco match:

GE College Bowl 1965 – Portland State College v University of San Francisco (youtube.com)

Finishing the Little Beast Story

Little Beast started in 2017 in the former quarters of Brannon’s in Beaverton which never gained traction (Kevin Brannon is a former Schwabe lawyer).  LB also has a brewing facility in Clackamas.

It moved to its current beer garden location after Lompoc Brewing closed it after fourteen years as reported in Portland Eater article 11/20/17 Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter stated:

“The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow….We’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years.“

Well, Little Beast continues to strive, notwithstanding the competition and perhaps, creativity, excellent beer and outstanding food overcome the struggle for market share.  You should find out yourself. (#6)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=540816814406810&set=a.540816787740146)

#2.  Facebook page for Lawless Barbecue (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513171177477762&set=a.513171140811099)

#3. Lawless Barbecue Website (Lawless Barbecue – Slow Smokes Legit Kansas Style BBQ in Portland (lawlessq.com).

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Thai translation & transliteration of “Meitei language” (alias “Manipuri language”).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) File is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.   The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work. Author: Haoreima – 21 July 2024.

#5.  Portland State University Inside Portland State (Historic 1965 College Bowl victory gave PSU national visibility, local credibility – INSIDE PORTLAND STATE (pdx.edu))

#6. Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing  (https://www.facebook.com/littlebeastbeergarden/photos/t.100054354896107/234642883900263/?type=3)

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser.  If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the video at the end of the post and so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened.              (External photo attribution at the end of the post # 1)

In Part I on the Little Beast Brewery and Beer Garden, I covered the history and the backgrounds of the co-founders and owners, Brenda Crow and Charles Porter. Porter’s excellent beer was a major focus.

My companions always make these outings enjoyable, and this was no exception. I’ve had numerous Beerchasings with the “Faust Clan” – Jack, Amy, and Charlie. (Kevin Frazier, Amy’s husband and Max, Charlie’s son also joined us. Jack’s wife Alice, joined us a number of times in the past and passed away last year.)

Similarly, lawyers Jim Westwood and my former and now-retired Schwabe law colleagues, Dave Bartz and Jim Finn – all three of which had notable legal careers as did Jack were also there.  As mentioned, Susan Bartz also was a great companion.

Our server, Preston, did a great job of accommodating us with our own table in a prime spot as well as taking the photo below:

Photo Jul 29 2024, 4 41 25 PM

Clockwise Sue Bartz, Thebeerchaser, Dave Bartz, Charlie Faust, Jim Westwood, Amy Faust, Max Faust, Jack Faust and Jim Finn

The Eats

Although Brenda Crow with her culinary background, including a stint at Portland’s Olympic Provisions, has been the guiding hand for the food offerings, Little Beast (hereafter “LB”) entered a partnership with Kevin Koch, the owner of Lawless Barbecue in October 2021 when it became available at the beer garden. (#2)

302051895_513171167477763_9096067598087057205_n

“The result is a menu that includes 13-hour smoked prime brisket, burnt ends, spare ribs and pulled pork….

The mains are rounded out by a handful of classic sides, like barbecue beans, loaded potato salad, mac and cheese, and a vinegar-based slaw—dishes that Koch says are carefully crafted from scratch and not just an afterthought.” (Willamette Week 10/27/21) (#3) 

452701457_18235846555280346_1591207561206125642_n

Dave Bartz had the Mac-n-Cheese with two pork ribs. “Delish,” he stated. (I was sitting next to Dave and was tempted to surreptitiously dig in but was still remembering his years as my boss as Co-Managing Partner at the Schwabe firm…..)

Sue Bartz enjoyed the burnt ends and Jim Finn took an order home. 

I was tempted….

The menu is more than inviting with starters such as nachos, pastrami salad and even Frito pie, sandwiches and inviting sides and the prices are very reasonable.

But let’s look at this 12/10/23 Yelp review which does a decent job of making one want to double his or her dose of statins to partake:

We were a little hungry so we decided to order from their bbq menu, option for their brisket and potato salad. Both items were chef’s kiss! The brisket was tender and juicy and absolutely melted in my mouth.

The potato salad had nice chunky potato without being mushy. I love that the bbq sauce came on the side so I can choose how much sauce I wanted to eat.

The Company

I’ll finish below with some final thoughts on LB, but first I need to single out three of my Beerchasing companions.  Periodically on this blog, I recognize an individual or group who may or may not have anything to do with bars or breweries but has good story. 

In my opinion, they have made a contribution that should be recognized – thus my Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter. (BOQ)

Past recipients of this “honor” have included veterans – most notably some war heroes, academicians, media personalities, lawyers, athletes including the 1967 Oregon State Giant Killer Football Team and even my retirement oboe instructor.

In our group at LB, I had three former Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter – Jack FaustAmy Faust and Jim Westwood – and I want to briefly highlight their stories.

Jack Faust

Jack Faust – Beerchaser of the Quarter 9/2/14 – the senior member of our group, has been a mentor and friend to all of us there that day.  He graduated first in his class at University of Oregon Law School, served as a special agent in the Army Intelligence Corps and was regarded as one of the best appellate lawyers in Oregon when he practiced.

But he also had a memorable broadcast media career:

“For 13 years, Faust moderated Town Hall, a weekly public affairs television program on ABC affiliate KATU. The program featured discussions, often contentious, between public officials, experts and plain citizens on topics that ranged from serious (child abuse) to light (alien abductions).

It drew high ratings and received numerous honors including national awards.”

Another of the many interesting Jack Faust tales can be viewed in the 2014 prize-winning Netflix documentary “Battered Bastards of Baseball.” 

Jack served as the Portland Maverick’s lawyer and a good friend of actor Bing Russell, team owner and his son, actor, Kurt.  He obtained a notable victory for Russel in an arbitration with the Pacific Coast League.

Besides his intellect, one of the traits that endeared Jack, not only to his partners but the entire law firm, was his keen sense of humor.  He was always willing to participate in my schemes to make presentations at the firm’s retreats more interesting.

For example, take the two YouTube videos below – the first being part of a retreat video and the second being the outtakes to produce the final product.  Jack is “admonishing” a colleague who has a definite resemblance to former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Art Vandelay.

Amy Faust

Amy Faust – BOQ 4/11/17 – Jack’s daughter (the only father-daughter BOQ) had an extended radio broadcast career.  For nineteen years – in two different stints – she was the Amy in the Mike and Amy Show on KWJJ – The Wolf

They received the CMA award for Major Market Personalities which was accepted on a national television broadcast.

At one point, Jack co-hosted with Amy when Mike was gone and did a very credible job – probably feeling as much pressure to perform as when he argued in front of the Oregon Supreme Court…..!

Amy is a talented and creative person with a fascinating career besides her time in radio.  This includes stints in documentary film production, freelance writing, authoring advertising copy, producing TV commercials, television production and as location manager for the show Portlandia

She currently works as a social media/marketing expert for New Seasons Market. If you want to view a sample of Amy’s excellent writing and Jack Faust’s amazing connection with the Rajneesh, read her 1859 Oregon Magazine article from 2018 entitled “Rajneesh in Review – A Memoir.”

Jim Westwood and Amy having a spirited debate with oversight by Amy’s husband, Kevin.

Jim Westwood

Jim Westwood – BOQ 3/28/13 – Jim joins Jack as being regarded as one of the premier appellate lawyers in the Pacific Northwest. 

In fact, we deliberately separated the two during the event to avoid them having an animated discussion of Jack’s 1986 victory in front of the Oregon Supreme Court (June v Roberts) involving initiative ballot titles, nuclear energy and Trojan (not the one you’re thinking of….)

Of course, they would have also discussed Jim’s 2005 case before the Oregon Supremes (City of Nyssa v. Dufloth/Smith) involving free speech, nude dancers, prohibited touching and the distinction between the distance of four feet and one foot.  (Surprisingly, Trojans were not involved in this case….)

The Portland Mercury elaborated in its article “Nude Justice – Oregon Supreme Court Appreciates Strippers.”  (It appears that Miss Sally’s Gentlemen’s Club is gone but not forgotten!)

But Jim – one of my most frequent Beerchasing companions – has a story that transcends his legal accomplishments. 

(And I’m not talking about being a fellow graduate of Oregon City High School where his mom, Catherine was my Latin teacher for two years, his stint as a fill-in weatherman on KGW television or how he learned Thai when he was in Naval Intelligence). (#4)

Thai_translation_&_transliteration_of__Meitei_language__(alias__Manipuri_language_)

Jim was the Captain of the legendary Portland State College, GE College Bowl Team in 1965. The College Bowl story is remarkable as evidenced by this excerpt from the Portland State Alumni Association News article by Kathryn Kirkland, May 2, 2005:

“The 415 points scored in their final match ties them for fifth-highest single-game total achieved, and their 1725 points total set a new record at the time and is fourth highest overall.

The March 26, 1965, issue of Time has an article on how the College Bowl victories helped change Portland State’s image as ‘the flunk-out school’ for University of Oregon and Oregon State drop-outs…” (#5)

college-bowl

To obtain some idea of the erudition of this team (Jim describes them as students with GPA’s around 3.0 who were just “nerds.”) take a look at this YouTube link from the University of San Francisco match:

GE College Bowl 1965 – Portland State College v University of San Francisco (youtube.com)

Finishing the Little Beast Story

Little Beast started in 2017 in the former quarters of Brannon’s in Beaverton which never gained traction (Kevin Brannon is a former Schwabe lawyer).  LB also has a brewing facility in Clackamas.

It moved to its current beer garden location after Lompoc Brewing closed it after fourteen years as reported in Portland Eater article 11/20/17 Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter stated:

“The competition is greater and frankly, business is slow….We’ve seen decreasing sales for the last two years.“

Well, Little Beast continues to strive, notwithstanding the competition and perhaps, creativity, excellent beer and outstanding food overcome the struggle for market share.  You should find out yourself. (#6)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=540816814406810&set=a.540816787740146)

#2.  Facebook page for Lawless Barbecue (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513171177477762&set=a.513171140811099)

#3. Lawless Barbecue Website (Lawless Barbecue – Slow Smokes Legit Kansas Style BBQ in Portland (lawlessq.com).

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Thai translation & transliteration of “Meitei language” (alias “Manipuri language”).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) File is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.   The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work. Author: Haoreima – 21 July 2024.

#5.  Portland State University Inside Portland State (Historic 1965 College Bowl victory gave PSU national visibility, local credibility – INSIDE PORTLAND STATE (pdx.edu))

#6. Facebook page for Little Beast Brewing  (https://www.facebook.com/littlebeastbeergarden/photos/t.100054354896107/234642883900263/?type=3)

Amy Faust – Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter (and Mandolinist…)

Eating her lunch at 10:30 AM

It’s 4:40 AM on a weekday morning and Amy Faust reluctantly rolls out of bed after having racked up about 7 hours and 10 minutes of sleep – if you count the half-hour she spent reading her latest novel as slumber time. This has been the routine for the last eighteen years for this media personality – she’s the Amy of the Mike and Amy in the Morning Show which airs from 5:30 to 10:00 AM each weekday morning on KWJJ The Wolf at 99.5 FM. http://www.thewolfonline.com/shows/mike-amy-morning

Well, the above period of time needs to be modified to state, “This has been the routine for the last eighteen years except for about a two-year period between 2012 and 2014 when she slept more normal hours.”   During that period, she made her living using her considerable talents in various other jobs, because management of the station had unceremoniously fired the popular duo in an economy move – they were replaced by a cheaper syndicated show based in Seattle.

The dynamic duo

But Amy’s morning routine returned in mid 2014 when she and her broadcast partner, Mike Chase, who after being terminated, had moved to North Carolina to take another broadcasting job, were reinstated.   The station ultimately responded to the uproar from the Mike and Amy fans, which were voluminous and incessant.  Perhaps, it’s best described by this June 12, 2014 excerpt from The Columbian – the newspaper in Vancouver where the duo has a lot of fans:

“Getting fired isn’t so rare, especially in the churning world of broadcast media. But getting rehired by a media company that publicly apologizes for its flub is a singular career achievement.

‘I want to speak to you about a mistake that ‘The Wolf’ made back on Aug. 6, 2012,’ program director Mike Moore of Portland country music station KWJJ ‘The Wolf,’ recently said on the air…….. Faust said she’d both halfway expected the pink slip and yet was ‘absolutely shocked’ that corporate station managers based on the East Coast actually went through with it.

But something unexpected happened, Moore continued: ‘Almost immediately, many of you told us that we’d made a mistake. We received thousands of calls, Facebook posts, emails and even snail mail letters. The overwhelming sentiment was that you really missed Mike and Amy, and you wanted them to come back. You also wanted a local show.’   

Back on the bus…….

During their off-the-air stretch, Chase and Faust tried putting out a podcast and worked together for the quirky TV show ‘Portlandia,’ Chase as an actor and Faust as a location manager. Faust also did some writing, some traveling and some ‘sitting on the couch’ in genuine mourning, she said, because she’d loved working with her pal Chase and loved working in radio. Eventually, though, the station invited them back — and publicly called their firing a mistake.

‘I’m not gonna lie. It’s a little satisfying,”’Faust said.”

In Moore’s defense, Amy confirms that it was not his decision and he successfully campaigned hard to get them back on the air.  It had been a perfect job for thirteen years and she remembers when they told her on a Monday with no notice “Your services are no longer required.  Here’s a brown box to take out your stuff – and you should be gone within four hours…..”  Her first reaction was to laugh and say, “Mike was right,” because he had the feeling for six months that they were on the chopping block and even said on the previous Friday, “I think we’re getting fired on Monday!”

With daughter, Alice

In retrospect, it was a positive experience because she was able to take time off with the six months salary remaining from what was a “no-cut contract,” and take a wonderful road trip to the Redwoods with her daughter, Alice, and then able to drive her to school each day.

Amy Faust is the first individual in 2017 to be named Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter and joins the “elite”  list started on this blog five years ago which includes writers, military heroes, academicians and even the crew of the USS Constitution for their “legendary” war cruise in 1798.   Although this is a blog about bars and beer, a number of these individuals have nothing to do with my favorite beverage – they are just interesting individuals who have made worthwhile contributions to society and have a good story which should be told.

Portland author, Brian Doyle ****

Past recipients have been authors such as Dr. Harry Frankfurt (On Bullshit) or Portland’s own Brian Doyle – **** see note at the very end of this post **** (Mink River and The Plover), athletes such as former All-coast and then NFL tackle, Craig “The Dude” Hanneman and Viet Nam veterans and heroes, Jud Blakely, Doug Bomarito and Steve Lawrence.  And the most recent recipient before Amy, is also a media personality – The Godfather, Dwight Jaynes of CSN.  To see the posts for this distinguished group, go up to the blog header and click on the tab entitled “Beerchaser-of -the-Month or Quarter.”

Jack, hosting Town Hall

And it should be noted that Amy becomes the first direct relative of another Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.  Her dad, Jack, retired appellate lawyer at the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt firm and former moderator of the award-winning public affairs program, Town Hall which was broadcast for many years each Sunday on KATU, was so named in September, 2014. 

The elder Faust’s story can be viewed at https://thebeerchaser.com/2014/09/02/john-r-jack-faust-fall-2014-beerchaser-of-the-quarter/

The Faust kids Barbara, Amy and Charlie

One of three children (also Barbara and Charlie) of Jack and Alice Faust, she  was born in Portland and attended Wilson High School where she graduated in 1983 “as a straight B student – I was an academic late bloomer…….!” 

An academic “late bloomer”

Her mom has been active in civic and public affairs having served as a commissioner over 6 years on both the State Commission for Women and the State Child Care Commission and was appointed by both Republican and Democratic Oregon governors.

Civic activist, Alice Faust

You can see by the picture below from Jack’s law school years that Amy grew up in a conservative and formal household……

Jack receiving nourishment from fellow law school classmae, Dave Krieger

 

Amy attended Scripps College, majoring in American Studies and loved it.  During summers, she had internships first at KATU and then in Washington DC for the Senate Commerce Committee when Oregon Senator Bob Packwood served as its Chair.  She also worked for Public Broadcasting in LA on some documentary films which gave her background for later work.

Admitting that “I had terrible taste in boyfriends in my youth” (something both her parents confirmed), she moved to New York after college graduation “driving my car across the country with a Frenchman.”   After she sold it to an artist, the car was impounded shortly afterward and then smashed in a tow yard after being towed for non-payment of nine parking tickets. (Time constraints precluded research on similar outstanding tickets in Portland.)

The Dixie Chicks neednt have worried……

Her experience in New York lasted nine years in which she worked on freelance documentary productions including helping to write a news book for ABC with Peter Jennings.

She also appeared in a band named “Bushmills” in which she sang and played the mandolin in “underground clubs.” “We were an all-female group similar to the Dixie Chicks although with a lot less talent.”

She leveraged her experience as a disk jockey in college for a gig as a DJ in a venue named Rub-a-Dub – it was a club not a car-wash….

Kevin second from right) and Amy, Beerchasing at the Yard House

She met her future husband, Kevin, at a party in the Ex-Lax Building (“Things have been going smoothly ever since…..”).  They were both dating other people and were friends for a year before they became a couple.  They moved to a wonderful six-unit apartment in Brooklyn right across the street from the bakery where the movie “Moonstruck” was filmed.

“We paid only $350 per month and fortunately Kevin had handy-man talents which the 91-year old landlady needed because even though he was Catholic and had been an alter-boy, she always thought he was Jewish and discriminated in her leases.” 

One of her real estate regrets is when they decided, based on cashflow (or lack thereof) to turn down the opportunity to buy the apartment building for $300,000 – it’s now worth $10 million!

Kevin, Mike and Amy

Kevin then graduated from the prestigious Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, with a degree in architecture where he was class valedictorian.

Founded in 1859, Cooper Union is among the nation’s oldest and most distinguished institutions of higher education.  (He gave the valedictory speech from the same stage on which Abe Lincoln delivered  what has become known as his “right makes might” address” in 1859.)

They moved to Ireland where Kevin taught architecture for a year in Dublin.  Amy did a few television jobs as a production coordinator.

Then it was back to Portland with no jobs. They still live in the same NE Portland house that became their home in 1996.  Kevin got a job in a high-end construction firm (Hammer and Hand) and Amy worked as a freelance writer and authored advertising copy for clients and produced television commercials.  (“It was an experience where I was totally over my head and was stressful because I am not the epitome of a detail-minded person…”

That’s when she first met Mike Chase – he auditioned (and got the part) for a bank commercial Amy produced.  He had just been fired from a weekly radio show on 94.7 FM and got a job on 1080 AM, where he asked Amy to work on the weekly show “just for fun.”  Flash forward to 1998 — Amy is pregnant and gets a call from Chase who has been hired by a country-western station and asks Amy to be co-host (“By the way, our show starts at 5:00 AM.”)

Their thirteen year run brings us back to the spontaneous termination and Amy is back trying to figure out what she wants to do when she grows up.  So she returns to freelance writing and lands a gig as a location manager for Portlandia – a job she loved but was like solving a crazy puzzle for each show – trying to get the permits and the right background for each scene as well as figuring out details such as disposing of trash and parking for the cast and crew.   She managed five people and did the job for about four months the first year and has worked a little on each season ever since.

Amy with her parents, Alice and Jack

Amy, notwithstanding her modesty, is a talented writer and also wrote a column for a low-budget publication –  “Our Town.”  After that it was freelance work for Willamette Week.  You can see a sample of her writing at the end of this post. It will take you to an excerpt from the account of her dad’s fascinating experiences with the RajNeesh when he featured the topic of the cult’s “invasion” of Antelope, Oregon, on three separate Town Hall shows.   The article was originally published in the July, 2014 edition of 1859 magazinehttps://1859oregonmagazine.com/think-oregon/art-culture/rajneesh-oregon-cult-history/

This woman of many talents does not consider herself to be a local celebrity.  “Because I’m on radio rather than television, I’m not recognized except when I go to hockey games or am in doctor’s offices.” 

Her dad’s account contradicts that, however.  “When I used to host Town Hall, people meeting Amy for the first time would always ask if I was her father.  Now, I’m the one who gets the inquiry, ‘Is Amy your daughter?’”

Recognized at Grand Central Bakery by musician Bills Wadhams

Amy and I met for our first interview in Grand Central Bakery in NE Portland and about 45 minutes into the session, a guy walks up to her and greets her with a hug.  It was Bill Wadhams who led a 1980’s one-hit-wonder band named Animotion.  She had interviewed him while working for Willamette Week.

Perhaps she does not have the visual profile of local television personalities, but she was also “recognized” in the Buoy Beer Company Brew-pub in Astoria.  “Our group was being kind of rowdy and I was talking and laughing rather loudly and a woman at the table behind us turned around and said,  “Aren’t you Amy Faust from KWJJ The Wolf.”

A distinctive laugh…..

Evidence that she can be recognized by her laugh can be garnered by listening to this brief interview Mike and Amy had with Keith Urban.  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mike+and+amy+kwjj+the+wolf&&view=

Her preparation for the show (besides setting her alarm for earlier than any of us would want to consider) consists of filing things away for discussion pieces and the quizzes they feature each day.   She also stays abreast of trending topics on social media and what’s going on in the community.  “We’re always looking for topics.  Our show is a context eating machine…”

Grant Constitution Team – Alice is the last student on the right next to coach, Jim Westwood – former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter.

Daughter Alice is now a high school senior at Grant High and a member of the Constitution Team which recently placed first in the Oregon high school competition and will soon travel to Washington DC for the “We the People” national finals.  She has previously admonished her mom, “Don’t ever mention me on the show.”  Alice will attend the U of O in the fall.

I reminded Amy about a show I enjoyed some years ago when, in the absence of Mike Chase, she got her dad to be the guest co-host. “It was a fun show although I had a “dump” button with a seven-second delay to control what he was saying if necessary.”  (She didn’t have to use it.”)

Amy is also active in the community.  One of her favorite civic pursuits is volunteer coordinator for Portland Meet, an organization that “……welcomes and befriends immigrants and refugees, enriching community by creating mutually beneficial mentoring opportunities that promote cross-cultural learning, enhance work skills and build trust.”

Her involvement was inspired after she read the book What is the What, a novel by Dave Eggers based on one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who after fleeing his country during the civil war, eventually immigrated to the US.  The book portrays his “struggles to adjust to the mixed blessing of his new life.”

She teaches citizenship classes – the picture is of Howa, a woman from Somalia who gained citizenship after the class.

Subject of nightmares…..

Amy also related how their listeners “never forget anything” and in response to my question about examples of this premise, she launched into some interesting (if not curious) stories about her cat that used to lick the wax from her ears and the sucker fish that died an ignominious death in her basement after Amy forgot about it – “I still have nightmares about that.”

Each Beerchasing session in which Amy has joined Jack and her brother, Charlie, (at Kelly’s Olympian, MadSon’s Pub and The Independent) has elicited other great stories such as when she met Dolly Parton and the legendary, George Jones.  They are always fun to hear her recount although people in surrounding booths often wonder who in the group has the unique laugh.

Jack, Amy and brother, Charlie in the center, Beerchasing at Kelly’s Olympian

While Mike and Amy’s gig on The Wolf is going quite well, I can assure you that should the ax fall again, Amy Faust will use her considerable talents on some new adventure.  We can just take comfort knowing that it would never be working in a commercial aquarium……..

Excerpt from Thebeerchaser post on September 2, 2014

Three Town Hall shows on the Rajneesh and the Bhagwan concluded with two in Rancho Rajneesh – now, Antelope, Oregon. Ma Anand Sheila was the spokesperson for the Bhagwan.  Amy Faust, Jack’s daughter and a local media celebrity, writes a compelling account of these shows in the July, 2014 edition of 1859 Magazine(The first two shows had not gone well for the Followers and they balked at having the third one):

“Then, just one day before the scheduled taping (of the third show), they reversed their stance, sending my dad an apology and a boxed lunch from Zorba the Budha Deli. While my dad remembers his receptionist, Jeannine Marks, saying, ‘I wouldn’t eat that if I were you,’ like a good, waste-not child of the Great Depression, he wolfed it down. ‘What are they going to do,’ he replied, ‘poison me?’

The next day, his producer, India Simmons, got an odd phone call from Ma Prem Sunshine, asking simply, ‘How’s Jack today?”’Sunshine’s tone of voice prompted Simmons to call my dad, who was in fact at home in bed with a fever of 103, horribly sick for the first time since age 5. Not wanting to miss the show, he recruited my mom to drive him to Antelope, feeling nauseous the whole way.          Copyright2003 Samvado Gunnar Kossatz (http://web.org/web/2007/1026130939/http://m31.de/ranch/index.html) Osho Drive By

After a heavy does of Tylenol, he hosted the show, which was indeed more damaging to the Rajneeshee reputation than the previous episodes. In the face of criticism from detractors, the Rajneeshees often broke into loud, disconcerting laughter, and at one point responded to an angry local by bursting into song.”  (Jack Faust’s response in ending the chanting was, “This show is not a musical!”)

**** Note

My friend, Brian Doyle, author and University of Portland’s editor of their award-winning magazine, Portland, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.  After surgery, he is recuperating at home under the care of his wife, Mary.   Whether Brian will be able to return to work is uncertain and his friends have started a “Go-Fund-Me” site to help with the costs of his recuperation.

The response so far has been good and if you want to contribute to this worthwhile effort, use the link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/betenderandlaugh