Summer Cheer(s)

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Thebeerchaser

(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 so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.)

As fall approaches, take a look at two topics which I think you will enjoy:

First – An update on a former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter

and

Secondly – Both a celebration of the fourth birthday of the Benedictine Brewery and St. Michael Taproom at the Mount Angel Abbey and a recollection of the “foundation” of that inspired enterprise back in 2017

*****

Godfather…..!

When one sees or hears the term above, the image usually crossing the mind is either a pizza or for Baby Boomers, Marlin Brando in his unforgettable role of Don Vito Corleone in the three-time Academy Award winning film The Godfather (1972) uttering his memorable threat:

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse!”

(# External Photo Attribution at the end of the Post – #1 and #2 above)

For those in the Northwest who have an interest in sports and have followed their teams and related issues in the print and broadcast media, the name Dwight Jaynes comes to mind. Dwight for many years has been known professionally as “The Godfather.” And for good reason.

In 2010 he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and has been named Oregon Sportswriter of the Year five separate times. In 2013, he was named Sportscaster of the Year – the first person in Oregon to win both awards.

The Godfather #3

He’s also co-authored two books, The Long Hot Winter: A Year in the Life of the Portland Trail Blazers (1992) with former Blazer coach Rick Adelman and Against the World: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Portland Trail Blazers’ Chase for the NBA Championship (1992) with fellow journalist Kerry Eggers. (#4 – #5)

He had been working for Comcast SportsNet Northwest and not regularly on the air since 2011, when the trio of Dwight, Chad Doing and former Trail Blazer, Antonio Harvey hosted a talk show on radio station 99.5 The Game.

Dwight and I have periodic lunches and at one in July, he seemed energized and told me that “Something is in the Works”. He then added that if he revealed anything, he’d have to shoot me. The Godfather had that Brando look of malice in his eyes when he mumbled this utterance, so I did not press him further.

(As an aside, we ate at the McMenamins’ Wilsonville Old Church – a nice establishment that I will cover in a future post.)

The next day, it was announced that Dwight and Chad would be back together (“Chad & Dwight Ride Again In Rip City” from 3 – 6 PM each weekday on Rip City Radio 620. #6

Now, admittedly I’m biased, because I named Dwight as one of my Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter in 2016 and I love his historical grasp of NW Sports.

Chad Doing also has a great radio background including a stint as a sports radio host in San Francisco as well as an interesting history including working as an Alaska Airlines flight attendant for three years. He’s worked his way up in the radio profession and seems to be a genuine nice-guy with a broad knowledge of sports – especially the Trail Blazers.

“Doing, who lived 27 years in the Pacific Northwest before moving south, came up through the radio ranks in the Portland market, starting by doing high school football for Vancouver’s KVAN. From there, he got an internship with KFXX, at the time the market’s lone all-sports station, and moved up to board operator, then to reading sports updates.

In 2008, when a second all-sports station, KXTG, opened, he moved over, first as a behind-the-scene guy, then just four weeks in, taking over on-air on the morning show, along with Gavin Dawson and, later, Dwight Jaynes.” (Oregon Live 3/24/15)

You should check them out at https://ripcityradio.iheart.com/featured/travis-demers/ These guys complement each other really well and they cover a broad range of topics.

On the first few shows Dwight talked about meeting both Bill Russell and Vince Scully, they reminisced about Portland wrestling and had good discussion about recent Blazer issues such as the potential sale and the unwise decision to have Blazer TV broadcasters call the games remotely rather than traveling with the team.

Note: About one week afterwards, the Blazers reversed this decision:

“Team president Dewayne Hankins joined Portland’s Rip City Radio 620 to discuss the decision with hosts Chad Doing and Dwight Jaynes on Monday. And during the interview, Hankins quickly acknowledged the Trail Blazers heard the backlash and responded accordingly.” (Awful Announcing.com)

The Godfather is also known for the integrity of his written and spoken opinions through the years and taking deserved shots at Management when it’s deserved, be it that of the Blazers, written or broadcast media execs, referees, etc.

Chad and Dwight are more focused on sports then the rambling and almost irrelevant babble on their Portland competitor in the same timeslot.

Happy Birthday to the Benedictine Brewery – Thanks be to Father God!

I’m proud to be part of the history of this wonderful Brewery on the grounds of the Mount Angel Abbey and one of only three Benedictine breweries owned and operated by monks in the US. The Brewery and Taproom under the guidance of Head Brewer, Fr. Martin Grassel has thrived even during the pandemic and Fr. Martin and his trainees brew a robust group of beers. (#8 -14)

I still remember the wonderful community gathering (about 125 monks, priests, seminarians, Abbey staff and volunteers from the Mount Angel community) at the structure raising on a cloudy and cold November 11 2017, when we started the morning with a cement slab.

By the end of the day, there was a structural frame with six bents ( two-dimensional transverse rigid frames and the building blocks that define the overall shape and character of a structure) using 14,000 board feet of Douglas Fir timber harvested from the Abbey tree farm.

That day was also the occasion of the first prayer in the Benedictine Brewery and Taproom – held at noon before we ate and in lieu of the standard noon-day prayer in the wonderful Abbey chapel. Fr. Vincent Trujillo, O.S.B., the Prior of the Abbey, led the service which was “uplifting” – very consistent with the theme that day! (#15 -19)

The monks sang and were joined by the other participants. Before getting back to work, we feasted on a spread of delicious barbecued chicken, baked beans, potato salad and green salad – all of which boosted the energy and spirits of the workers. (If the videos, don’t have arrows to start them, click your mouse in the center of the photos)

As stated in my Beerchaser post entitled: “The Benedictine Brewery – Beam Me Up”:

“There were 305 pieces of wood that were joined for the structure. Besides the 14,000 for the structural components, another 11,000 board feet of lumber was used for the siding and the tongue and grove boards for the top of the structure. It will also be used for the actual bar in the Taproom. It took seven truckloads of logs for the Brewery and Taproom and additional load that went in exchange to the plywood mill.

Besides the source of the wood, there was another unusual aspect of the construction process:

The timber was harvested, cut, dried, milled using mortise and tenon joinery, which is secured with wooden pegs — an age-old traditional craft — and prepared for a seamless, no-hammer, no-saw construction.” http://www.capitalpress.com/Orchards/20171113/unique-brewery-raising-at-abbey

The volunteers that day know that their labor would be “captured” in the structure for its duration based on the fact that all were encouraged to sign the pegs that secured the bents before they were put in place. Thebeerchaser eagerly participated.

It was a truly remarkable day of spirited and spiritual effort by the entire Community and portended the success of what has become a NW regional destination spot with a devoted constituency for Fr. Martin’s beers.

As you will see from the video below in which the largest timber section – 80 feet in length, requiring forty workers was raised, Jonathan Orpin, the President of New Energy – the contractor for the structure raising – was the equivalent of land-based coxswain for his “crew” team. His enthusiasm and energy was inspiring to all present.

Fall is one of the best times to visit the St. Michael Taproom surrounded by the Abbey’s hop fields.

Try what has become one of the most popular brews – Hairshirt IPA ( 7.1 ABV | IBUs 56). As one reviewer in the site “On Tap” stated, “I feel so penitent while drinking this.”

Although the Brewery’s website countered this on Father’s Day stating:

“This Father’s Day, why buy dad another tie when you could buy him a hairshirt? Taking its name from a garment worn as an act of penance, Hairshirt IPA is now available for the first time for sale in bottles, and drinking it is hardly a penitential experience.”

So let me indulge you. Cheers and here’s to guilt-free drinking! #20 -21)

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons: (http://File:Godfathers Pizza – Hillsboro, Oregon.JPG -) Wikimedia Commons icensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. Author: M.O. Stevens 8 September 2012

#2. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Brando#/media/File:Marlon_Brando_publicity_for_One-Eyed_Jacks.png) By None visible/Paramount Pictures – Publicity photo for the film One-Eyed Jacks (1961), Public Domain.

#3. Linked-in (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwight-jaynes-68956b6a/overlay/photo/)

#4. (https://www.amazon.com/Against-World-Behind-Scenes-Championship/dp/0915611678/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GJB72IUBR6L&keywords=against+the+world+dwight+jaynes&qid)

#5. (https://www.amazon.com/Long-Hot-Winter-Portland-Blazers/dp/0671748521/ref=sr_1_1?crid)

#6. Dwight Jaynes Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10160255999956894&set=basw.Abpv_1MIIzZM8NJkopm-)

#7. Linked-in (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-doing-35477868/)

#8 – 14. Benedictine Brewery Website and Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/BenedictineBrewery)

#15 – 17. Benedictine Brewery Website (https://www.benedictinebrewery.com/) Courtesy Brother Lorenzo.

#18. New Energy Works Website (https://newenergyworks.com/)

#19 Benedictine Brewery Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/BenedictineBrewery/photos/a.168624736681758/)

#20 Wikipedia Commons (http://(Ivan the Terrible’s cilice 02 by shakko – Cilice – Wikipedia) By shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16218870.  Llicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Thebeerchaser’s 2017 Annual Report

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Thebeerchaser

Cheers from Thebeerchaser

I would suggest that 2017 was a year of good cheer – but isn’t that what you would expect from the author of a blog entitled “Thebeerchaser.” While there were national and international events which make me shudder, the following speaks strictly to my idiosyncratic retirement hobby i.e. visiting bars, taverns and pubs and then blogging about them. The following is my rationale for asserting, “It was a very good year.”

Buffalo Bill’s Saloon in rural Beavercreek

Blog Statistics – while I would still pursue this hobby even if the only people reading my posts were family members (out of a sense of obligation), it is gratifying to see that the number visiting the blog has increased – a lot – each year from my first full year in 2012.

The chart below shows the total number of views with the darker blue being the number of visitors each year.

The unique Multnomah Whiskey Bar

For example in 2017, I had 24,577 views from 18,623 visitors – meaning each visitor looked at an average of 1.32 different posts.

This compares to 2013 when the views rang in at 15,223 by 10,031 people – a 60% increase in views over that four year period. My first full year, only 6,704 ventured in, so the increase has been gratifying.

Thebeerchaser’s Statistics from 2012 – 2017

Since its inception in August, 2011, I have published 189 posts – each one averaging about 1,500 words. In 2017, followers of the blog saw twenty-nine posts, which is pretty close to the annual average over the six full years I have been on this “Tour.” But in 2017, since we were on the road more, we visited more different public houses than in any prior year.

Wonderful scenery (and breweries) along the S. Oregon Coast

When we travel, I describe multiple bars and breweries in each post. For example, in September we headed down the Southern Oregon Coast through Redwood National Park to Eureka.

In three different posts, I described eleven breweries, one bar and one bottle shop that we visited on that trip including our favorite, Mad River Brewing in Blue Lake California.

Drinking with the friendly staff of Mad River Brewing

And I am always amazed to see the locations at which the visitors to Thebeerchaser are doing their Google searches which bring them to my domain.

For example, in 2017, 85% of the views were from the US, but 3% were from India, followed by 1.8% from Canada and even ten views from Saudi Arabia.

Known to roam both New Guinea and Khazakstan

Perhaps that’s some people getting vicarious thrills from reading about watering holes because Saudi Arabia has a complete ban on alcohol – it is illegal to produce it, import it, or consume it.

In fact, in 2017 I even had two visitors from New Guinea and one from Khazakstan. Perhaps they got to my blog by mistake and they meant to do a search for The boar chaser……

Thebeerchasing Itinerary

At the wonderful dive bar AC Tap outside Sister Bay in Door County, Wisconsin

My practice when Beerchasing in the Portland area is to generally visit an establishment at least twice – that gives me a better feel for the place and more opportunity to meet patrons and talk to the bartenders or staff about the bar or brewery’s history and distinguishing characteristics.

Now 2017 set a record for the most venues visited. Although the Portland area total was lower than most years at fifteen bars and breweries, this number was supplemented by twenty-seven outside Portland including multiple entries in Wisconsin, California and the Oregon Coast.

Lakefront Brewing in Milwaukee

You can see the list for both categories at the end of this post. And one brewery is in a special category – the Benedictine Brewery in Mount Angel which will be discussed below.

Friendly owner Tom O’Leary

For Portland establishments, I devote the entire post to one venue. For example, my favorite bar in 2017 of the nine Portland area watering holes, was TC O’Leary’s Irish Pub where I got to know the owner, Tom, a former star from Ireland’s most popular soap opera.

And the brewery which captured my imagination of the five Portland area enterprises reviewed was Tigard’s Flyboy Brewing. The outstanding people in these establishments gave them the nod plus you haven’t lived until you have tasted their Pilot’s Peach Pale Ale.

Michelle Faubion and Mark Becker of Flyboy Brewing

Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter

Each quarter I also write about an individual or group for which I bestow the “honor” Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter (BOTQ). In the past, these have included authors, athletes, war heroes, media personalities and even my graduate school Professor of Public Finance, Portland State’s Dr. John Walker.

The only Beerchaser-of-the-Year was named in 2016 – my wife of thirty-eight years, Janet, who has shown the patience and given her support for the time I spend checking out these colorful and many times historic, public houses.

The only Beerchaser-of-the-Year

Fortunately, she has grown to have a fondness for IPAs (Buoy Brewing’s of Astoria is her favorite) – a change from generally consuming an Oregon Pinot when we dined out in prior years.

Amy Faust of 99.5 – The Wolf

I was somewhat remiss this year and only named three BOTQ – Portland radio personality, Amy Faust, of the Mike and Amy Show and then a tribute to the late author and my friend (as a result of this blog) Brian Doyle.

And then there’s Father Martin Grassel, who is the head brewer at the Benedictine Brewery at the Mount Angel Abbey (in addition to being the Procurator for the Abbey – a very big responsibility.) He is a wonderful man with a fascinating background.

Father Martin of the Benedictine Brewery

Stay tuned for a catch-up effort in 2018, when my first BOTQ will be Portland developer and civic leader, Mark Edlen.

For a list of past recipients of Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, see the tab so designated on the header at the top of this post. These people are interesting and have compelling stories and you probably know some of them.

Looking Back and Reflecting……

Dave Booher and Steve Larson at the Central Pastime Tavern in Burns

Since my visit to the Brooklyn Park Pub in August, 2011, my first bar on what has been a six and one-half year journey, I have visited and reviewed a total of 257 different watering holes.

While my initial intent was to restrict these visits to Portland locations, our retirement travel was conducive to telling you about bars in Europe and Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and a bunch of other states in addition to saloons all over the state of Oregon – from the coast to John Day and Baker.

The personable Phoebe of the Brooklyn Park Pub

By the way, I was very happy that I returned to the Brooklyn this summer and had a visit with their wonderful bartender Phoebe Newcombe, one of my favorite of many dynamic personalities (also third place in Willamette Week’s Best- of-Portland Bartenders) I have had the pleasure of interviewing since 2011.

Darwin’s Theory – An OSU Beaver in Anchorage

So of that total (257) 114 have been in Portland and 143 in the aforementioned other geographical locales. (Sometime if we have a beer, I will tell you about our visit to the bar right below the summit of top of Mt. Schilthorn in Switzerland – at an altitude of 9,744 feet.)

Or there was my favorite dive bar of all time – Darwin’s Theory in Anchorage, Alaska – owned by an Oregon State University alum.

The Schilthorn Taverne in Switzerland

You’ve got to be kidding? Beer at 9,500 feet!

The List of 2017 Venues

The charts below show the name, location type of establishment and date of the post for each place reviewed in 2017 – separated by those in the Portland metropolitan area and those outside the Rose City.

Name of Venue	Location	Type	Date of Post
Multnomah Whiskey Library	Downtown	Whiskey Bar	January
Nineteen 33 Taproom	West Linn	Neighborhood	February
Buffalo Bill’s Saloon	Beavercreek	Neighborhood	February
Ancestry Brewing	Tualatin	Brewery	February
The Independent	Downtown	Sports Bar	March
NEPO 42	Northeast	Neighborhood	April
Burnside Brewing	East	Brewery	April
Gil’s Speakeasy	Southeast	Dive Bar	May
Flyboy Brewing	Tigard	Brewery	May
Cascade Brewing Barrel House	Southeast	Brewpub	June
Labrewatory	North	Brewery	June
Renners	Multnomah Village	Dive Bar	August
Slow Bar	Southeast	Neighborhood	October
TC O’Leary’s Irish Pub	Northeast	Neighborhood	October
ZARZ	Downtown	Whiskey Bar	December

Wisconsin Beerchasing

On the Oregon Coast

Name of Venue	Location	Type	Date of Post
Nauti Mermaid Beach Club	Lincoln City, OR	Neighborhood	July
Scooters Pub	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Neighborhood	July
Dukes on the Water	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Dive	July
Water Street Brewery	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Brewery	July
Badger State Brewery	Green Bay, Wisc.	Brewery	July
Hinterland Brewery	Green Bay, Wisc.	Brewery	July
Door County Brewing	Bailey’s Harbor, Wisc.	Brewery	August
AC Tap	Sister Bay, Wisc	Dive	August
Coyote Road House	Bailey’s Harbor, Wisc.	Neighborhood	August
Cornerstone Pub	Bailey’s Harbor, Wisc.	Neighborhood	August
Pourman’s Bar	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Neighborhood	September
Lake Front Brewing	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Brewery	September
McGillycuddy’s Bar	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Neighborhood	September
Bar None	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Neighborhood	September
The Aly Asylum Riverhouse	Milwaukee, Wisc.	Brewpub	September
Yachats Brewing	Yachats, OR	Brewery	November
Defeat River Brewing	Reedsport, OR	Brewery	November
Seven Devils Brewing	Coos Bay, OR	Brewery	November
Bandon Brewery	Bandon, OR	Brewery	November
Broken Anchor Bar and Grill	Bandon, OR	Neighborhood	November
The Beverage Barn	Bandon, OR	Bottle Shop	November
Arch Rock Brewing	Gold Beach, OR	Brewery	November
Chetco Brewing	Brookings, OR	Brewery	November
Six Rivers Brewing	McKinleyville, CA	Brewery	December
Humboldt Regeneration	McKinleyville, CA	Brewery	December
Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka, CA	Brewery	December
Mad River Brewery	Blue Lake, CA	Brewery	December
Benedictine Brewery	Mount Angel, OR	Brewery	November

The Benedictine Brewery

Sign designed and created by Brother Andre’ Love

Fans of great beer and the rich history of brewing can look forward to the opening of the Benedictine Brewery and Taproom in mid-2018. After an incredible community timber raising on November 11th, the Brewery is now framed and its flagship beer, Black Habit got a wonderful review at this link in Willamette Week. http://www.wweek.com/bars/beer/2017/12/12/in-a-bavarian-village-in-oregon-you-can-drink-beer-brewed-by-benedictine-monks/

I have been working as a volunteer on this project for the last fifteen months – it’s a vision of Father Martin Grassel. When completed, it will be the only brewery west of the Mississippi in which the ownership and brewing is by monks – in this case those at the Mount Angel Abbey, established in 1882.

To see some videos which will amaze you and give you an idea of the energy and spirit shown at the timber raising at which about 100 monks, seminarians and friends from the Mt. Angel community worked as a team all day, check out the following link from my post on 11/21.