Tag Archives: Sigma Nu Fraternity at U of O

Optimism in Old Town

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Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.  (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #1 – #2)

Adam Milne is an optimist.  He had a vision as a youngster.  And now he has another vision. 

As I’ve related in two previous posts about Old Town Brewing and Old Town Pizza, Adam first became enamored with Old Town Pizza when he visited at the age of nine in 1979 when it was owned by the Accaurdi family.  They originally opened it in 1974.  He then purchased it when he was thirty-three in 2003.

I’ve mentioned how Adam’s unceasing optimism kept his business going after some significant challenges in the early years, during his trademark fight with the City of Portland and as the global pandemic raged in the last few years shuttering many business – especially those in the hospitality sector permanently.

And when I say optimist, it’s not a frivolous compliment. From my previous encounters with Adam, given his buoyant spirit, I would not be surprised to see him start a new diet the week before Thanksgiving. 

He’s so positive about the future, he’s probably committed to stay in Portland during the NBA Western Division Playoffs to see the Trailblazers – 14th out of 15th in the West with a current record of 19 – 49.

Okay, you get the idea, but possibly the following quote from one of Oscar Wilde’s plays is most appropriate to explain his new vision:

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” (#4)

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Looking to the Stars….

Take a look at some of the articles about Portland’s downward spiral in the last few years – not only Oregon publications, but in major papers throughout the country.  They single Portland out among major cities for lingering pandemic related issues.

“Downtown in distress: Portland’s core is unsafe and uninviting, residents say in new poll, threatening city’s recovery.”  Oregon Live 5/24/21

“What’s the matter with Portland? Shootings, theft and other crime test city’s progressive strain.”   Los Angeles Times     2/10/23

“Fighting for Anthony – The Struggle to Save Portland Oregon.”   New York Times  7/29/23  (#5)

But That’s Not Adam’s Mentality

The pandemic decimated many breweries who either closed permanently or shuttered to comply with State mandates or just because there were few, if any, patrons.  Old Town Pizza was no exception:

“At one point in late 2021, his receipts in the original location for the day were $17 and he made the difficult decision to temporarily close that location.  After eighteen months, it reopened five days per week in 2022.  The NE Pub continued to operate during that hiatus.” 

Thebeerchaser https://thebeerchaser.com/2024/01/13/head-downtown-to-old-town-pizza-and-brewing/   (#6 – #8)

Old Town Pizza located in the historic Merchant Hotel Building in Old Town
The Brewery and pub in NE Portland

Carson Bowler, a Sigma Nu fraternity brother of Adam’s at the University of Oregon and a Portland lawyer and I joined Adam for a beer in Old Town in July 2023 to hear about Adam’s new vision.

Carson was almost giddy – not just at seeing his old friend – but at the opportunity to down a Shanghai’d IPA – one of their most popular seasonals and consistent with the historical ambiance in which we raised mugs:

“A Toast to Portland – Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels, an eerie section of which lie beneath our Old Town Taproom.  (about 14,000 square feet of it – see photos below)

Lore of unsuspecting laborers being kidnapped via these secret tunnels and sold to ship captains for a crew in the late 1800’s lives on today.”

I quaffed an Old Town Red Ale – one of their flagship brews:

An impeccably balanced malt-driven ale with notes of sweetbread and caramel partnered with a medium hop bite and finish.  (#9 – #10)

Adam told us at that one point during COVID he thought that his dream and his enterprise might not come back.  “Can I recreate a career at 50?”  But he restarted incrementally and continued to rely both on his marketing talent and his positive outlook.

The Old Town location had been down 60% from pre-pandemic sales numbers; however, the pub and brewery in NE Portland had done better.

But as pointed out in several articles, Adam was not going to join the chorus of those essentially viewing Portland as a lost cause.  One of the articles by The Oregonian’s Beer Columnist and Editor, Andre Meunier, entitled “A New Look for Old Town Brewing Shines a Positive Light on Portland and its Icons,” provides an apt description:

“But Milne is a self-described and unapologetic optimist, and where some see a reason to turn out the lights, he sees motivation to add wattage.

I wanted to come out of the pandemic and really be a part of the solution to making Portland better,’ Milne said. ‘So we started with that. How can we be a positive voice for Portland?’”  The Oregonian 2/22/23
 
Unlike many of the elected officials and non-profit managers who seem to offer more bombast than action, however, the article sets forth concrete steps he’s taken to help not only his own business, but fellow merchants and the entire City.
 
  • He extended his lease in Old Town by at least seven and up to twelve years.
  • He reopened the underground tunnel tours in the basement space below his building which gives an amazing historic portrayal of Portland’s rich past – especially in Old Town.

He gave us a tour of the chambers below which required some careful navigation of old staircases, (the ancient elevator is not in working order at the present) but was fascinating including an old bar and drinking area.

For those who have any interest in authentic historical settings, the Haunted Shanghai Tunnel Tour is a must.  And for $38 you get a ninety-minute tour plus some extras – what a deal:

“Learn about Portland’s dark history and hear stories about our resident ghost, Nina. Finish up with a special tasting and 1 pint of our internationally award-winning beer.”

Adams recovery actions continue:

  • He initiated a re-branding campaign for Old Town Brewing

“…that focuses on Portland and the images and symbols that have won the city and region affection for decades. 

A new line of beer cans will prominently display the leaping stag of the widely recognizable ‘Portland Oregon’ sign along the Willamette River and each of Old Town’s five core beers will highlight recognizable images and symbols and present a unique toast to each.”

beer cans

Milne stated, “We believe in our city, and want to be a part of the solution in making Portland even better. That’s why our new cans celebrate the city we love, capturing some of our favorite aspects of the city.”

 Pilsner and the Fremont Bridge

 IPA and the “zoo-bombers” down the West Hills roadways

 NW IPA and the Columbia River Gorge

 Hazy IPA – Pillowfist and Mount Hood

Red Ale and the Lone Fir Cemetery

The Stag is still on the front of the cans as Adam views that as a symbol of unity and pride in the City. (#11)

  • The Brewery is now working with area non-profits, most notably Word is Bond, an organization helping young Black men with citizenship and leadership training. 

Adam will host fundraisers and provide food for their programs and is working with visionary Founder and Executive Director Lakayana Drury..

Drury came up with the slogan “Believe in Portland,” which graces the shirts available on the Old Town website and in stores. $10 of every shirt sale will go to a local nonprofit, with a different one getting the money every month.

Next up was Central City Concern, a neighbor of the restaurant in Old Town.  (#12 – #13)

Word is Bond

Patrons can partake of customized three-course meals throughout March, the traditional period when Portland Dining Month took place:

“Better yet: The breweries are sweetening the deal by throwing in one beer, house wine or non-alcoholic beverage and a $10 voucher for use between April 1 and June 30—a perk you didn’t find at Portland Dining Week.” (#14)

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And after wandering through the Old Town’s downtown space and marveling at the alcoves, historic pictures, I checked their website and also discovered that Old Town:

“….  has a beautiful, open lofted level with several semi-private spaces for groups of between 10 and 60 people. Book an event with us and enjoy a full service, buffet-style dinner in the historic Merchant Hotel, plus even more space available at our NE brewery.”

Their Facebook page shows some great pictures of weddings and receptions held recently.

So I decided to take advantage of that for a Beerchasing Event.  I invited former and current members of the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Environmental and Natural Resources Group to meet in the late afternoon last January for beer and pizza.   

There was no room charge, the space was well-suited for our group and the pizza and beer were a hit with all nine of us there.  

schwabe

So what can those of us who love Portland do to support Adam and his compatriots’ vision for restoring Portland to its beauty, vitality and reputation as a prime vacation spot?

Well, you can pay a visit to either the Downtown or NE Portland location, order some beer on-line, buy a t-shirt from the Old Town website, take a Shanghai Tunnel Tour, book an event or just send this Portland leader an e-mail reinforcing what he is trying to accomplish.  https://www.otbrewing.com/contact-1 

And to End this Tome on a Note of Positivity

Speaking of major career decisions, here’s an ending toast to Carson Bowler.  My former colleague and friend for many years is not only a superb lawyer, but a wonderful human being. 

A leading Portland mediator, several years ago who moderated an all-day session in which CBo (as we affectionately called him) represented one of the parties told me the next day:

“Don, that Carson Bowler is the real deal!

Congratulations to him for leaving the large-firm environment at the beginning of 2024 and starting his own firm – Law Office of Carson Bowler. (#15 – #16)

https://bowler-law.com/

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Portland, Oregon sign + Old Town tower, 2012.JPG – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Another_Believer – 8 January 2012.

#2.  Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thanksgiving_Turkey_2021_(cropped).jpg)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.  Author: Freshman 404 – 23 November 2021.

#3 – #4.  Old Town Brewing Website (Old Town Brewing (otbrewing.com)).

#5.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Northeast Portland homeless camp tents.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Graywalls  1 March 2020.

#6.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Merchant Hotel building – Portland, Oregon (2016).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author:  Steve Morgan  23 October 2016.

#7 – #8. Old Town Brewing Website (Old Town Brewing (otbrewing.com).

#9 – #11 Old Town Brewing Website (BEERS — Old Town Brewing (otbrewing.com)).

#12 – #13.  Word is Bond Website (WordIsBond (mywordisbond.org)).

#14.  Old Town Brewing Facebook Page ((2) old town brewing – Search Results | Facebook)

#15 – #16.  Law Office of Carson Bowler Website (https://bowler-law.com/).

 

New Energy and Ideas at Old Town Brewing

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Old Town Brewing’s brewery and taproom on MLK Blvd – photo ,courtesy of Old Town Brewing

Notwithstanding the fact that there are many thriving breweries in Oregon, the micro-craft business in Oregon – it ranks fifth in the US for the number of breweries per capita – is extremely competitive.

An eastside mainstay closes its door in early 2019

This is evidenced by the closure of three major players in the Portland brewing scene just in the last several months – Alameda, Bridgeport and Burnside.  (Click on the links on the names of the last two to see Thebeerchaser’s reviews.)

And Widmer Brothers, the Lompoc Tavern and Portland Brewing have also closed their pubs – gone, but not forgotten as good places to raise a mug.

Bridgeport joins the legendary Slab Town in closing its doors in NW

While some not familiar with the brewery business, have a dream of establishing their own operation based on their enjoyment from home brewing, it takes considerable planning, risk tolerance and devotion to long hours and meeting challenges to sustain a successful brewery or pub – and there’s also the initial capital to even open it.

Backwoods Brewings’ second location in the Pearl District

That is why I have so much respect for the entrepreneurial spirit of some of my favorites including Mark Becker of Flyboy Brewing, the Waters family of SW Washington’s Backwoods Brewing and Jim Mills’ from Caldera Brewing in Ashland – and these are just a few.

Add to those, Adam Milne, the founder and owner of Old Town Brewing (hereafter OTB) in Portland.  I had dinner and beer with Adam and lawyer, Carson Bowler, on my second visit to Old Town’s operation in NE Portland – the brewpub and actual site where they brew their six flagship beers in addition to a number of limited batch seasonal brews.

By the way, due to the breadth of the story of Adam Milne and Old Town Brewing, it will be covered in two separate blog posts rather than the customary one narrative.

Adam Milne – young entreprenauer

The original, and now companion location is the well-known historic Old Town Pizza site.  And the story is interesting and fulfills a dream – similar to those of the people mentioned above in their enterprises.  Adam first visited Old Town Pizza when he was only nine years old.  It was owned by the Accaurdi family who opened it in 1974.

“It was in the historic Merchant Hotel in Old Town and a hub for like-minded people with a radical agenda. It stood as a beacon for the local community; a place to break bread and enjoy your neighbor.”  (Old Town Brewery web site)

That visit had an impact and demonstrates this young entrepreneur’s vision since he bought Old Town Pizza in 2003 when he was only in his early thirties – 33 to be exact.

He subsequently expanded to NE Portland on NE Martin Luther King Blvd in 2008, where he built the brewery and pub.  Assistance came in the form of a low-interest loan from the Portland Development Commission in its effort to promote enterprise close-in NE Portland.

It now houses, in 6,000 square feet, an attractive and bustling brewpub in addition to their brewing hardware and canning/bottling equipment.  Adam and his family live in the same neighborhood.  This review will focus on the NE location rather than Old Town Pizza brewpub which is still located on Second and NW Davis Streets.

Those who view the story on the OTB website will see that the enterprise, since that time, has had two major expansions and thus may conclude that it’s been a smooth ride for this native of Marcola, Oregon, but that’s not the case.  He graduated from Mohawk High School – with twenty-one other classmates in his senior class.

In 2003, to raise the capital to purchase Old Town Pizza, Adam mortgaged the equity in his home and sold a rental house to make the down payment.  Only one month into the new venture, their primary refrigerator went out – they had no cash to replace it.  He had to buy all new refrigeration and new pizza ovens.   When I asked how they resolved, Adam chuckled and said, “I suppose that’s what credit cards are for!”

Attractive recovery from the 2012 fire in the second story

Then there was the fire upstairs at the NE brewpub in 2012, which resulted in closure of the pub for two to three months.

Many people are also familiar with Adam’s battle with the City of Portland over the Old Town Breweing trademark – the iconic “leaping white stag” – which was not only stressful, but the multi-year legal battle, resulted in significant attorney fees before OTB eventually prevailed and settled with the City.

Source of mult-year legal battle…

On both of my visits to OTB, I was accompanied by Carson Bowler, a partner at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt law firm and with whom I had the pleasure of working for a good portion of my 25 years at the firm.

Starting in 1990 and for four years, while at the U of O, Carson lived in the same fraternity – Sigma Nu – as Adam.  Carson also bears a strong resemblance to former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, Art Vandely, President of Vandely Enterprises.

https://thebeerchaser.com/2014/01/31/beerchaser-of-the-month-art-vandelay/

Art Vandelay in his executive role has a different legal perspective…

This environmental attorney has enjoyed his friendship with Adam and stated:

“I’ve known Adam for more than twenty-five years.  We were in the Sigma Nu house and his reputation then was that he was the nicest guy in the fraternity.  Unfortunately, that reputation was accurate. 

One could never lie to, or ‘borrow’ from or prank Adam without the everlasting worry that God, Himself would punish any such shenanigans with eternal damnation. 

Adam always had one great idea too many until he didn’t and launched Old Town Brewing.  It was in this enterprise that his ambition, good taste, generosity and entrepreneurial spirit blissfully collided to produce pure-love in a pint.  Adam makes good beer because only good things come from Adam.”

We will get back to Adam in the second blog post, but first let’s talk about their quarters in NE Portland.  The architect was another Sigma Nu at Oregon, Eric Aust, now practicing in Newport Beach, CA and who specializes in custom residential and commercial development.

https://www.austarchitect.com/old-town-pizza

He succeeded in making Old Town Brewing one of the most impressive and comfortable brewpubs I have visited in seven and one-half years of Beerchasing.   Thebeerchaser is not conversant with technical design concepts and themes, but I know what I like and that was definitely the case with the environment at OTB.

While some of the new breweries and brewpubs in the Pearl are sleek and modern-industrial, the OTB building is rustic – large fireplaces, dark wood and a home-grown Northwest ambiance.  And there are interesting historic photos as can be seen below.

For example, most of the wood in the two-story structure is reclaimed from an old tobacco warehouse in Kentucky.  When we were touring,Adam stated, “You can still smell tobacco,” – (well, at least somebody without the sinus issues that plague me probably could….)

The round barrel tables are former sewing machine stands purchased from an antique store in nearby Aurora.  The bar and backbar are very attractive and there are a variety of seating options.

Attractive bar

Okay, ambiance is nice, but what about the beer?  OTB fares very well in that category which is evidenced by the extensive list of awards on their website dating back to 2013:

https://www.otbrewing.com/dock-sales

I will cover the beer in significantly more depth as well as the food and the trademark battle and show some of the pictures from my first visit – this time with two lawyers – the aforementioned Carson (not Washington) and his fellow lawyer in the Schwabe Natural Resources Group – Brien Flanagan, the Group Leader.

Bowler and Flannagan

Old Town Brewing        5201 NE Martin Luther King Blvd