RIP Ted Sobel, Brewers Union Local 180 founder passes away at 57
John Crane, left, with a shy Ted Sobel in December, 2019. Photo by Aaron Brussat
The world has lost a special sort of pioneering brewer. Ted Sobel, founder of Brewers Union Local 180 in Oakridge, OR, passed away on October 10, 2020. Sobel took a left turn from a computer tech job to start the small brewpub in 2008. Brewers Union was the first cask-only brewery in Oregon, and introduced many, many people to the joys of English-style ales served properly, in a proper Pub.
Though I didn't know him well, it was always a pleasure to encounter him on either side of the bar. His publican's earnestness and commitment to the beer was both impressive and endearing, easily showing behind his superficial crankiness. He was a regular at the pub's open mic nights, as he was at good beer bars in Eugene during his Thursday errand runs to town for fish from Newman's and a pile of Eugene Weeklies.
Ted's vision of the pub was modeled, as best one could in the Oregon woods, after the pubs he visited on a long walk in England before starting the brewery. Comfy dining nooks, a handful of bar seats, a pool table and a nice patio set it apart from bustling, modern brewpubs; some built-in inefficiency begets a welcome slowness.
The beer, of course, was very English. It was sessionable before "session beer" was a thing; rarely did any break 5.5-6% abv, so sure I'll have another Imperial pint! And another. One of the things about Ted's beer, open fermented and naturally conditioned, was its sense of life. Yeah, you could tell when it was nice and fresh and you could tell when it should have been gone a week ago; sometimes a little Brett would creep in there, getting curiouser and curiouser. Ted'd tell you, if you asked.
He'd also tell you where to put it if you asked for macro beer. The small list of guest beer and cider was a concession to folks who couldn't quite get their heads around the whole cask thing. And now, under new ownership as The Three Legged Crane, there are house-brewed beers served through modern carbonation apparatus.
It was already a given that Ted's brewing legacy would live on when John Crane bought the business last year. Some of Ted's recipes are still in rotation, and the cask side remains true and real. So, next time you're passing through, or just want to go there (reason enough to visit Oakridge), hoist a pint to Ted.
