Ground Breaker 2/12

 

It was a big shock when we first heard we were going to have to change our name, but if it had to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time. We had just reached a milestone in recipe development, and were in the process of rolling out new recipes for our beers. To celebrate, we were also working on a new look for our labels.

The recipes we started with in 2011 were developed in the garage of our head of R&D, James Neumeister. They were great recipes and they got us started, but with gluten-free brewing still being in its infancy, we know that there are still many things to learn, ingredients to discover, and techniques to develop.

Since opening, we have heard from many people asking that we discontinue the use of certified gluten-free oats in our beers. Finding a suitable way to make good beer without oats was difficult, but never one to give up, James eventually found a solution. Lentils provide us with the proteins we need to maintain a nice head and carbonation without the avenin protein found in oats. The ability to roast lentils to different levels also provides us with another palette of flavors that wasn’t previously available to us.

Try some gluten free beers at Uptown on Thursday, February 12th! Tasting from 5pm-8pm.

Epic Brewing 2/13

 

David Cole and Peter Erickson are the founders and co-owners of Epic Brewing Company. Cole and Erickson, originally from California, started an international aquaculture company in Utah in 1992. In 2008, Utah law changed allowing these two entrepreneurs to pursue their longtime dream of opening a strong beer microbrewery in Utah, like those they frequented in the Golden State.

Together, they have teamed with Brewmaster Kevin Crompton, formerly from Bohemian Brewery. Crompton has been brewing for more than 20 years (since 1994) and has brewed for three Utah breweries and another in Hawaii.

Admittedly, beer geeks, foodies and "Epic" adventure junkies, the three share a passion for making and drinking fine ales and lagers. The Epic team has a strong belief in doing everything "all out."

Tasting at Uptown Market on Friday, February 13th from 5pm-8pm

Pelican Brewing 3/13

In 1995, Jeff Schons and Mary Jones purchased an old brick building on the oceanfront in Pacific City.  Over Sunday morning coffee, Jeff and Mary came up with the idea of opening an oceanfront micro-brewery.  As they knew almost nothing about the brewing process, they decided to attend a Craft Brewers conference in Portland.

While at the conference it occurred to Mary that there might be a brewer there that might be interested in joining the Pelican Pub & Brewery.  On a hand-written 3 x 5 notecard tacked to a bulletin board, Mary scribbled the details of what they were looking for.

It was this notecard that caught Darron Welch's attention.  After several eager phone calls to Jeff and Mary, Darron and his fiance moved to Pacific City and Darron began brewing test batches of beer down the street in mini-storage units while the Pelican was under construction.  On May 4, 1996, the Pelican opened its doors and the rest is history.

Tasting at Uptown on Friday, March 13th from 5pm-8pm

Elysian Tasting 2/20

 

"The Elysian was founded in 1995 by principals Dick Cantwell, Joe Bisacca and David Buhler. Our first Seattle location, a 220-seat beer hall and our main brewery, opened in 1996 on Capitol Hill, Seattle’s most populous neighborhood. In 1997 Elysian was chosen to operate a pub and small brewery at Gameworks—a large entertainment complex owned by Universal Studios, Dreamworks & Sega. Elysian left this partnership in 2002 upon expiration of the five-year contract. A short year later Elysian opened TangleTown, an 80-seat neighborhood brewery/bistro. With a 3-bbl pilot brewery, Elysian-TangleTown acted as the brewers’ test kitchen, fueling the creative fires and helping cement Elysian’s reputation as Seattle’s top brewpub. The most recent addition to the Elysian empire, Elysian Fields, opened in August 2006. Perched next to Seattle’s two sports arenas, Fields seats 400 and packs the house at lunch and on gamedays. It is typical for us to offer over twenty different Elysian beers between the three locations.

From our very first day, when we poured the beers of each of the breweries we had all worked at in the past alongside our own beer, Elysian has honored the efforts of other brewers and brewing cultures. Uniquely among brewpubs, we have offered rare German and Belgian beers at our own taps along with those of our friends, some of whom at times have joined us to brew special commemorative beers. In a way our collaboration with New Belgium is a development of this spirit of fun and mutual respect. From 2008 to early 2011 we were able to produce large batches of our Immortal IPA and seasonal specialties at the New Belgium facility in Fort Collins, and New Belgium’s brewers would produce small-batch, experimental beers in their “Trip” series at our Capitol Hill brewery. In fall 2011, we opened our new production brewery in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, allowing us to bring all our brewing back to our hometown. Despite this change, The Trip series and the spirit of collaboration continue on. We look forward to further growth and innovation in our brewing adventures as we devise not only new and interesting beers, but a new and interesting future for the craft brewing industry."

-Elysian Brewing

Tasting at Uptown Market on Friday, February 20th from 5pm-8pm

TRINITY MEET THE BREWER TONIGHT

 

Surprise! Trinity Brewing event tonight at Uptown! From 5pm-8pm, stop by Uptown for a special "Meet the Brewer" -style tasting featuring Colorado's finest & funkiest artisanal brewery. We will have Red Swingline IPA available on tap and will have the rest of the Trinity line-up available in bottles. This is gonna be awesome.

ALEbriated Tasting! 1/22

This Thursday! Stop in to try the beers from Alebriated Distribution, a company bringing in beer from Oregon, Washington and Idaho!

We will have beers from Crooked Fence, Airways Brewing, Arch Rock, and more!

Tasting from 5pm-8pm

Base Camp Brewing 1/23

Base Camp Brewing Company is the result of brewmaster Justin Fay’s determined vision and years of hard work.  His and brewer Paul Thurston’s combined decades of professional brewing experience are evident in each of Base Camp’s recipes.  Each of our beers have been crafted with an eye toward innovation and creativity as well as consistency and balance, making for awesome brewskies that are at once approachable for any beer drinker and satisfying for the most adventure-minded palate.  

Tasting at Uptown on Friday, January 23rd from 5pm-8pm.

Portland Cider Tasting 1/29

 

"What do you do when you’re frustrated by the quality of the commercial cider available?  You start making your own!  What do you do when friends and family keep telling you it’s the best cider they’ve ever had?  You start a business!  That is the essence of how the Portland Cider Company got its start.  Founded by Jeff Parrish, an Oregon native, and his wife Lynda, an ex-patriot from the Somerset region of England (the Mecca of cider), the Portland Cider Company is based on the belief that good cider comes from good fruit, honest practices, and attention to detail.

Our cider starts with fresh pressed juice from Northwest grown apples.  We then carefully ferment it using yeast that protects the delicate characteristics of the fruit.  The results are cider blends that are easy to drink, refreshing, and downright delicious.  Drink it, it’s good!" - Portland Cider Company

Portland Cider tasting at Uptown Market on Thursday, January 29th from 5pm-8pm.

Three Creeks Tasting 1/30

"Where we utilize only the finest ingredients available for all of our food and brewing activities, while striving to impress even the most sensitive of palates, Our menu of excellent yet casual and unpretentious pub food is served in a family-friendly, smoke-free environment that all patrons will enjoy. Our old west livery stable provides a comfortable, warm and rustic atmosphere that includes a full restaurant, 10 barrel brewing system, comfortable bar area complete with large screen TV’s and pool tables as well as a large patio for the enjoyment of our hand crafted ales." -Three Creeks Brewing Co.

Tasting at Uptown Market on Friday, January 30th from 5pm-8pm.

Woodchuck/Wyders Cider Tasting 1/31

 

"A long time ago, way back in 1991, there was a little winery in the town of Proctorsville, Vermont. Back then, we made our living producing a variety of apple wines, something not many wineries do. We also made a little cider called “Vermont Old-Fashioned Hard Cider” – not the most catchy name, yet pretty darn appropriate.

The Vermontiest of Vermonters are sometimes called “woodchucks” and this seemed like a pretty good name for our small-batch, Vermont-based cider. As you may know, the new Woodchuck cider tasted pretty darn good, and it quickly found distribution. Soon, our winery-turn-cidery was struggling to meet the demand for the cider.

It may sound hard to believe, but when you spend 23 years crafting cider it becomes more than just a job.  We like to think of ourselves as modern day craftsmen, and we believe in what we do.  So while most of our bigger competitors spend a lot of time and money on all of the things that go on outside their bottles (advertisements, promotions, Clydesdales) the hundred or so of us here in Middlebury will just keep focusing on what goes on inside our bottles." - Woodchuck Cider

Reposado. The name given to tequilas aged between two and twelve months in oak barrels. The wood aging smoothes out the tequila while infusing it with subtle oak notes. Wyder’s® Reposado Pear cider is an adventurous tango with the classic blue agave based spirit. Traditional Wyder’s® Pear cider infused with smooth subtle oak laden tequila notes. Refreshing pear cider crafted with some inspiration from south of the border.

Tasting at Uptown Market on Saturday, January 31st will feature ciders from Woodchuck and the much anticipated Wyder's Reposado Pear, now available in bottles! 3pm-6pm

Lost Coast Tasting 2/26

The Lost Coast Brewery and Café began with a common dream.  In 1986 Barbara Groom, a pharmacist, and Wendy Pound, a family counselor, wondered what it would require to start their own brewpub.  After years of experimental home brewing, planning and studying, which included visiting scores of pubs in England & Wales, Barbara and Wendy were ready to transform their dream into a reality.

With the 1989 purchase of the Pythian Castle, a 100-year-old building in Eureka, California, the café was ready to open.  The building, a restored wood frame structure constructed in 1892, was purchased from the original owners, The Fraternal Order of the Knights of Pythias.   After spending the winter and spring engaged in extensive remodeling, the Lost Coast Brewery and Café became a living dream in July of 1990.

The cool maritime climate of the Humboldt Bay region has proved to be very conducive to brewing quality ales.  The year round average temperature of 55º Fahrenheit is ideal for top-fermenting ale yeast.  While embracing the rich tradition of English-style ales, Master Brewer Barbara Groom has added a distinctive West Coast flavor to her ales by brewing with Western Plains barley and wheat and the exceptionally clean water of Humboldt County.

Since its humble beginning in 1990, the brewery has outgrown the original facilities in the Pythian Castle and moved production to a larger site down the street. After a record breaking year in 2005, producing over 24,000 barrels, Lost Coast Brewery had expectations of breaking the 30,000-barrel mark. In 2009, it broke that record producing over 50,000 barrels making Lost Coast Brewery the 33rd largest brewery in the United States. Lost Coast Brewery distributes its fine ales in 22 states, in Puerto Rico, and in three Canadian Provinces! Lost Coast Brewery has plans to move to a new location where it can barrel to greater heights!

Tasting at Uptown Market Thursday, February 26th from 5pm-8pm.

Burnside Tasting 2/27

 

"When Burnside Brewing Co. opened its doors in 2010, the vision was concise. Focus on easy to drink beers that accompany and enhance the culinary experience. Brew master Jason McAdam is a creative trendsetter in brewing, bold enough to take risks and smart enough to leave a creative impression on your taste buds. He balances our desires for tradition such as the Oatmeal Pale, then throws in food inspired beers such as the Sweet Heat, an apricot wheat beer dry hopped with scotch bonnet peppers that is reminiscent of a Caribbean chutney. "

Tasting ta Uptown Market on Friday, February 27th from 5pm-8pm

Breakside Tap Takeover! 1/16

This Friday, get ready for a tap takeover of epic proportions.  We will be debuting Breakside's Salted Caramel Stout on tap, alongside 4 other taps of Breakside new and special brews, including:

Wanderlust IPA, EuroTrash IPL,  La Tormenta Dry Hopped Sour, & Amuse Belgian-Style Ale.  This is gonna be awesome.

Tasting this Friday, January 16th at Uptown Market from 5pm-8pm.

Tieton Cider 1/8

The fruit that is used in Tieton Cider Works cider comes from Craig and Sharon Campbell’s Harmony Orchards. This land has been in our family since the 1920’s when our grandfather planted his first trees in Tieton, Washington. We take our stewardship of the land seriously and have been farming organically for the last 25 years.

As a third generation Yakima Valley farmer with a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and over thirty five years’ experience in marketing produce, Craig has always been curious about the back-story: the history, production, science, and industry of food. Growing different varieties of trees is truly what makes Craig happy and he is always looking for new varieties to plant and nurture.  In 2008 he was introduced to cider apple varieties, those gnarly, inedible wild apple varieties needed to make great cider.  He planted twenty five varieties in a test block of two acres to study the growing patterns: did each fit into the existing bloom and harvest schedule of the farm, what were the flavor profiles of the fruit and how did that variety add to the cider that we wanted to make.

Stone Brewing Tasting 1/8

 

Stone Brewing Co. is a brewery headquartered in Escondido, California, USA. Founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, it is the largest brewery in Southern California.

Tasting at Uptown Market on January 8th from 5pm-7pm

Oakshire Tasting 1/15

Begun in October 2006 by brothers Jeff and Chris Althouse, Oakshire Brewing is a 15-barrel production brewery in Eugene, Oregon dedicated to making fine craft beer.  What began as a home-brewing hobby and a love of beer has turned into award-winning beer on draft and in bottles throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The name Oakshire represents our core values: Strength, like the enduring Oak; Independence, which fuels our innovation; and Community, remembering our place within the whole.

Breakside Tap Takeover 1/16

 

On January 16th, Uptown will host a very special event featuring Breakside Brewery!  We will be celebrating the release of the coveted Salted Caramel Stout alongside a tap-takeover of rare seasonals and limited release brews from Breakside!

Hope to see you there!

Tasting from 5pm-8pm

Salem Ale Works Tasting 12/19

 

Salem Ale Works was founded by two college friends and former wildland firefighters; Justin Ego and Jake Bonham. Their shared experiences and love of great craft beer gave rise to the formation of a nano-brewery in 2013; through which they plan to bring well-crafted and enjoyable beers to the Salem community and beyond.

At SAW we honor the rich history of Salem, striving to have fun while passionately writing the latest chapter in our capital’s brewing legacy. Our beers are hand crafted in small batches using as many fresh, local ingredients as possible. We brew beer for you, our neighbors and friends; continually working at “Putting the Ale in Salem”.

Tasting at Uptown Market this Friday, December 19th, from 5pm to 8pm

No-Li Tasting 12/20

 

Back in the 1980s, when craft beer was still called microbrew or that weird hippy beer, Mark Irvin fell in love.  First, as a military brat living with his family and getting a taste of the rich beer culture of Germany, then as a homebrewer, and then on to brewing for Coeur d’Alene Brewing and Hale’s Ales, Mark fell head over heels for the art and science of brewing beer with character.

In 1993, after years of invaluable brewhouse experience, Mark decided to crack the top on his own small venture, Northern Lights Brewing Company, in his native Spokane.  “I could have brewed in Seattle, but I never could have passed up the chance to brew in my hometown and create my own independent style,” says Irvin.

For eight years NLBC made its home in Airway Heights as a production brewery producing primarily draft beer and self-distributing kegs to local restaurants and bars in the Spokane area. In 2002, the NLBC moved to its current location on the Spokane River and began operating the pub in addition to the brewery. The philosophy of the beers naturally spills over into the pub’s offerings: globally inspired, local sourced. That manifests as crisp, regional produce, ingredients raised and produced by our neighbors, and Inland Empire wines to complement our ales.

One other item Mark sourced locally - at the beer-famous Viking Tavern no less - was his wife Stacy. It was love at first beer and Mark is quick to admit NLBC would not exist without his life and business partner Stacy.

In 2012, John Bryant, a craft brewery veteran of 20 plus years, found the magnet that is Spokane irresistible after a long absence from his home state. John helped lead the revolutions at Deschutes, Odell, and Oskar Blues breweries, yet it took less than a pint of Mark Irvin’s ale for him to realize there was something special going on NLBC.   “I grew up in Washington, went to WAZZU, and married a Spokane gal,” says Bryant. ”I pretty much bleed crimson and gray. And beer. Really good beer. This opportunity to work alongside master brewer Mark Irvin and move my family back to the Inland Empire is already proving to be the most rewarding move of my career.”

Curiously, about the time John and Mark were proving how craft beer has a way of bringing great people together, they were getting an uncharacteristically cold shoulder from another craft brewery on the East Coast that also had a claim on the name “Northern Lights.” With 1800 plus craft breweries these days, innocent trademark lap overs are not uncommon, but typically these can be resolved in an attorney-free setting over a couple of beers. After multiple calls and letters though, all Mark and John got back was the silent treatment. No Lie.  But, rather than losing sleep or brewing time over it, they inspired to shorten Northern Lights to No-Li – which also makes a subtle nod to how they candidly brew their beers and run their business. Plus, since they got the Silent Treatment, they wryly decided that would make a great name for their Pale Ale.

Whether you’ve been drinking Northern Lights since 1993 or you’re imbibing in your first ever No-Li ale, Mark, John and the crew hope the pride they have in their craft and in their hometown shines through.

Tasting at Uptown Market this Saturday, December 20th, from 3pm-6pm

Uptown 3rd Anniversary Party! 12/13

 

Come celebrate with us!  Uptown Market is turning 3, and Uptown Brewing is turning 1!  It will be our 1/3 Anniversary Party, and you are all invited.

So far we have booked Hop Valley and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales for tastings on Saturday the 13th!  Look for more updates as we confirm more breweries to celebrate our birthday with us.