[Editor's note: both PDX release events are in MARCH. Date is correct below.]

As I type this, Jeff jumped in the truck with bottles and kegs of our new Spring Seasonal O’Dark:30. We’ve made a Cascadian Dark ale and it will be on PDX shelves within days.

We’ve also planned two release events to let you try out this new beer. The first is Friday, March 12th, 5PM start at The Eastburn. All proceeds from your purchase benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Come hang out with Jeff and Matt at the Eastburn.

Click here for event flyer: Oakshire release-Eastburn

After you have a little rest for the weekend, kick off Belmont Station’s Anniversary week celebration while we sample out all of our bottles in the bottle shop. The event is  Monday, March 15th. In the cafe, you’ll find O’Dark:30 and Collaborative Evil-er. This is our Belgian Golden Strong Ale aged in a Elijah craig Bourbon barrel. There’s only 5 gallons, so don’t be late.

Ask for Oakshire’s O’Dark:30 whereever you drink or purchase beer. Summer is fast approaching, so don’t put it off.

Cheers!

Matt

We’re about to bottle our new Spring seasonal O’Dark:30 and want to share one with you at the Bier Stein on Wednesday March 10th at 6PM.  Bottles and draft may be found around town byFriday the 5th of March. O’Dark:30 is a Cascadian Dark Ale,  For more on this style, check this out.

Well, it’s nearly a week past and I’m just catching my breath from last weekend. Whew! Thanks to everyone for coming out and trying our beer at the KLCC fest Friday and Saturday and for all those who toured Eugene and Springfield breweries, we appreciate you coming out to see us! Here’s a little info to close it out:

-the KLCC fest, our local NPR station’s annual fundraiser,  was a huge success. This was my first time and I was very impressed with the organization and the quality of the fest. 49 breweries were represented with 117 different beers pouring. that’s pretty good! Plus, there were 10 Collaboration brews making for 127 total beers to try. Plus there were countless goodies in the brewers lounge for us to try.  4000+ people came through the doors last weekend and bought 38,000 beer tickets! That took 320 volunteers to pull off. I don’t know the final $$ raised, but by all counts it sounded great.  Oh, don’t forget the homebrew competition with over 240 entries and the music sale which took in another $6000. By all reports a successful event and well done by all. Thanks for supporting Public radio in Eugene!

-We had a great day of tours and tastings at Zwickelmania on Saturday. If you didn’t come out, you missed a great time.  We gave about 10 tours with at least 20 people on each one. I’m sure 200+ people stopped by for a visit.  I’m alos sure it helped that Devour was cooking up their yummy sausages, soup and tater tots(NO DEVOUR THIS WEEKEND, SORRY).  Along with that was our new friend Viva!Vegetarian Grill, the vegetarian food cart.  I happened to have a soysage, and while I profess to be a full on carnivore(I’m making weisswurst this weekend in fact), I thought it was delish. Please find them downtown when ou get a chance. That Philly steak is on my list to try.

-We also had a great visit with 6 Oregon Beer Writers:

• Abram Goldman-Armstrong (Northwest Brewing News, The Beerman Show, certified BJCP judge at the age of 21, and on and on…)
• Dave Selden and Bruce Kehe (BS Brewing)
• John Foyston (The Beer Here)
• Lisa “Beer Goddess” Morrison (Blog, Twitter, Beer O’Clock)
• Matt Wiater (portlandbeer.org) PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT** THANKS!!

All but one of those folks were visiting for the first time. Look for more about their visits to other breweries in Eugene and Corvallis soon. My apologies, guys if I missed anyone who came by!

Finally, I was able to sneak away from my duties at the brewery for a day and a half respite to the coast. Oregon life is grand, no??

The recently launched website, www.craftbeer.com, is a must link. Check it out for all kinds of information on the world of craft beer. From education for the novice to lots of videos and stories for the beer geek in all of us.  Are you a foodie? Some great recipes are there and the site is also interactive so more content, stories, videos, and recipes will be added. It is designed by the Brewers Association, our professional trade organization. They are the same folks who also put on the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.  Supporting the small, independent craft brewer is their mission along with promoting all the is good in craft beer. Check it out and learn a little about your favorite beer! Or watch the video of Stone’s Greg Koch in Norway and wish you were him.

We’re coming back for a return engagement!  Tuesday, February 23rd, we’ll be pairing great beers with great food at Ambrosia in downtown Eugene. Below is the menu. Call Ambrosia for Reservations (541) 342-4141), but please hurry, seating is limited. $55 plus gratuity.

Oakshire Brewing

Beer-maker’s Dinner

February 23, 2010

Course 1

Oakshire Amber Ale

A rich and creamy beer cheese soup garnished with a rye crouton and melted Gruyere.

Course 2

2-Wheeler IPA

Bartlett pear and grated Jicama with a light toasted coriander vinaigrette on a bed of butter lettuce.

Course 3

Very Ill Tempered Gnome Winter Ale

Beer-braised Knee Deep Farms beef brisket topped with a grilled slice of marinated pork belly and served with a sweet pepper Achiote sauce.

Course 4

Watershed IPA

Sweet-potato encrusted pan-fried halibut on a bed of red cabbage slaw, topped with a spicy pineapple  salsa.

Course 5

Collaboration Ale

Orange custard ice cream garnished with spiced candied mango and fresh mint. Topped with a signature Black Belgium Rye infused chocolate cinnamon ganache.

Check it:

So we’re calling it A Cascadian Dark Ale. Yep, not scared. New nomenclature for a beer that’s has been made for a while.  Customer confusion? Maybe for a little while. But you’ll all eventually come over to the Dark Side, right?

And because I couldn’t upload a bigger graphic without covering the whole screen, I’ll tell you what the verbage is under the graphic:

“Dawn has not arrived, But we are awake-making beer. A tribute to Oregon’s brewers, O’Dark:30 is a beguiling blend of dark malt and NW hops-A beer style as unique as our heritage.”

Oh yeah, release date: March 3 is the scheduled date. Enjoy it all spring on draft and in bottles.

Cheers!

It’s that time again! I’ve been so busy in the brewhouse that the events that I should have been letting you know about have just piled up.  This post will serve as a catch up to the great things happening this Month with Oakshire beer.

First and Foremost, I should tell you about the upcoming state wide brewery open house sponsored by the Oregon Brewers guild called Zwickelmania. It will be held Saturday, February 13th from 11-4 at more than 40 differerent breweries around the state.  More on the event in general can be found here.

At Oakshire, we’re cracking the doors one hour earlier than usual and waiting for your arrival. We’ll have tours, food to purchase and nearly a dozen beers on tap. Try:

Oakshire Amber

Watershed IPA

Overcast Espresso Stout

Two Wheeler IPA

Frog’s Wort Pale Ale

Ill tempered Gnome

Harvest Ale

Red Nugget

09 Sasquatch

Duck Billed Platypus

Additionally, I saw kegs of Cascade Conundrum, Perfect Storm, and Bourbon Barrel Aged IPA-if I can claw them away from our sales force, I’ll see if we can include them as well!

AND perhaps a sample or two right off the tank (through the Zwickel, or sample port)

Don’t want to drive, or can’t find us without GPS?? Well…..

The brewers of Eugene and Springfield have made it easy. Hop on the bus sponsored by Rogue and get a free lift to each of the participating breweries, Oakshire, Ninkasi, Eugene City Brewery, Hop Valley, and High Street.  It also stops at the Lane Events Center, home of the KLCC brewfest. bus schedule here.

And, as always Devour will be serving up some tasty sandwiches, soup, and possibly a tater tot or two. Word is we might have more than JP’s food cart on the lot. Lots to choose from, so come hungry.

Oh and our founder Jeff Althouse will be serving you the beers, along with his wife Eriel, and me, the brewmaster. This is an event you must attend!

Speaking of the aforementioned KLCC brew fest. We’ll be there along with lots of other great beer. Oakshire is bringing Watershed, Overcast, Ill Tempered Gnome, the KLCC Collaboration beer and a special surprise, last year’s Collaboration, 09 Sasquatch. Come out and see how it’s aged.

There appear to be 50 breweries and 100 different beers.  And proceeds go to support our local KLCC radio Station. Seems like a worthy event in my book!!

Next, we have a beer dinner coming up at Ambrosia on February 23rd. The menu looks GREAT and you’ll surely want to book early as seating is limited. Call Ambrosia for resys. I’ll post the menu next week.

Finally, we heard great news on the culinary front last week.  I have been to Saraveza in Portland several times, and a few months ago, I saw a little case full of cupcakes that were labeled ‘Overcast Espresso Stout Cupcakes.’ Well, I certainly grabbed one, along with a bottle of black gold from Sarah’s case and it was delish. And if you know my afinity for sweets, this would come as no surprise.  I now come to find out that Lori Adams Clinton, aka SugarPimp is the mastermind behind these delectable treats at Saraveza. Lori was asked to participate in the Naral/Pro-Choice Oregon’s Chocolate for Choice event and that cupcake combination won the Most Decadent award. She even got a little trophy for it!   As Lori describes it, “My buttercream is not overly-sweet to start and the Overcast Espresso Stout flavor reinforces the creamy sensation, especially when paired with the rich, chocolately cake enhanced with the same great beer. ” Congratulations to Sugar Pimp for the award and thanks for baking with beer. mmmmmmm….espresso stout cupcakes!!….

There’s likely more news coming soon including the menu for the Ambrosia dinner and the bottle label for our spring seasonal. It’s been sent to the TTB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Please come see us on December 13th at both the KLCC brewfest at at the brewery for Zwickelmania.

Cheers!

Matt

If you haven’t been to Saraveza in Portland yet, you are certainly missing out. A slice of the Northwoods right in NE Portland. Man, eating pasties and drinking killer craft beer all the while surrounded by midwest breweriana and Packer bobbleheads-now that’s livin’!

Why don’t you join us next Wednesday as we pour three specialty beers from 6-8. I believe IPA and stout will be available as well, and don’t forget the beers to go. Vintage coolers are jam packed with great bottle beer.

From John Foyston’s blog:

“OAKSHIRE AT SARAVEZA - Eugene’s Oakshire Brewing has been winning lots of fans with well-made and inventive beers. Brewer Matt Van Wyk will be bringing some to Saraveza this week, including a bourbon-barrel-aged Belgian strong ale; Smokin’ Bagpipes Scotch Ale,  made with cherrywood-smoked malt; and Two Wheeler IPA,  a one-off amber/red IPA.

This would be a fine time to congratulate Saraveza’s Jonathan Carmean6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Saraveza, 1004 N. Killingsworth St for being named Bartender of the Year in a recent beer magazine poll. He well deserves it.”

Hello Oakshire Fans,

Coming up on Saturday, January 30th, Oakshire’s Brewmaster, Matt Van Wyk and company will be headed to Cloud 9 in Corvallis for a Beer Maker’s Dinner of pure deliciousness! The dinner will kick off at 6PM and the culinary artists from Cloud 9 have pulled together a tasty 5 course feast paired with 5 different Oakshire brews!

#1 Oakshire Wheat paired with Ahi tar tar with wasabi aioli on wonton crisp
#2 Watershed IPA paired with Habanero Kobe corn dog with house mustard
#3 Oakshire Amber paired with Braised pork shoulder with Puerto Rican rice
#4 Smokin’ Bagpipes Scotch Ale paired with Hand rubbed tri-tip with baked beans and kale
#5 Overcast Espresso Stout paired with Black Forest Cake

So..gather up a group of friends, call Cloud 9 and make a reservation @ (541) 753-9900, then head on down to Cloud 9 on Saturday, January 30th at 6:00PM!

Cheers!

Oakshire Brewing team

Who says post Holidays are a slow time of year?  Oakshire brewing plans to pound the pavement and come out and see you and share a beer with you.

As always, you can click on “Oakshire events” to the right for a calendar of what we are up to.

And as always, you can come to use every Saturday from 12-4 for tours and tastings.  Plus, we are visited by our friends at Devour who have tasty sandwiches and soup made with Oakshire beer. Stop by for lunch and a tour this Saturday!

Here’s some highlights of our month:

On Sat., Jan  16th, we’ll be at the Willamette Valley Sustainable Food Alliance Fun with Fermentation event at WOW Hall in Eugene. Come see how fermentation works in our, and other local businesses. Demonstrations and samples. Proceeds benefit Food for Lane County.

On Jan 22nd and 23rd you can find us at the Good Earth Home, Garden, and Living Show in Eugene.

On Wed. Jan 27th, we’ll head to Portland to pour some very special beers at Saraveza.

On Sat. Jan 30th we have a very special dinner planned in Corvallis at Cloud 9. Call cloud nine today for details and reservations. You don’t want to miss this one.

Of course you can also find Sam and the crew out doing several bottle tastings around town. Soon we’ll have a new seasonal in bottles as weel and you’ll want to seek Sam out while this one is in house. It’s gonna be delish!

Cheers

Matt