Best of the Year in Oregon Beer & Cider 2022 Awards
After another tumultuous year the Oregon craft beer industry showed signs of rebounding from the pandemic, but a long road to recovery fraught with challenges still lies ahead. To commemorate the year’s end by looking to the past in order to chart our future, we present the New School’s Best of the Year in Beer & Cider Awards for 2022.
As we do each year, the New School has polled Oregon beer industry insiders to first nominate, and then vote on finalists for awards recognizing the best in Oregon beer and cider in 2022. These aren’t just our picks, they are the choices of over 50 non-brewery industry pros who voted in this year’s New School Best of the Year Awards:
Industry insiders who voted in the 2022 awards: Lisa Morrison (Belmont Station, Beer Goddess), TJ Fuller (Tomorrow’s Verse), Herb Apon (Loyal Legion), Paul Petros (John’s Marketplace), Sean Campbell (The Beermongers), Brian Koch (Lombard House), Gene Gligorea (Arch Bridge Taphouse), Ryan Fosbinder (Belmont Station), Jacob Oliver (Common Fields), Jerry Fechter (Horse Brass Pub, Oaks Bottom Public House), Red Gillen (オ州酒 oshuushu), Alison Wood (Crosscut Warming Hut No.5), Colby Phillips (Beergarden, PublicHouse), Nicole Kasten (Beer Connections), Neil Ferguson (New School Beer), Rob Petros (John’s Marketplace), Warren Wills (Craft Beer Scribe), Jeremy Herrig (Brews for New Avenues), Jason Jaime (Maletis Beverage), Erica Baize (The Biere Library), Dan Huish (International IPA), Don Scheidt (New School Beer), Ryan Geise (Saraveza), Aaron Brussat (Beer Stone), Will Witt (Wildwood Taphouse), Ari Moss (13th Moon Gravity Well), Jason Youngers (Side Street Tavern), Dave Stockhausen (The Bier Stein), Jon Abernathy (The Brew Site), Jeremy Lewis (Roscoe’s), Alex Kurnellas (Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom), Sean Hiatt (Proper Pint Taproom), George Kein (ABeer Club), Ryan Born (Mayfly PDX), Pete Dunlop (Beervana Buzz), Michael Perozzo (Zzeppelin), Dana Garves (Oregon Brew Lab), John Lovegrove (Beer Kiwi), John Chilson (Lost Oregon), Robby Roda (Day One Distribution), Kris Thered (Beer Musings), David Connors (White Oak Taphouse), Dwayne Smallwood (Bridge & Tunnel Bottleshop), Tia Williamson (Neighbor’s Taproom), Dave Flores (Bridgetown Beerhouse), Gordon Feighner (Jam on Hawthorne), Ted Olin (Prost!), Casey Armstrong (Function PDX, Road Beers), John Mankes (Sessionable), Ryan Evans (Day One Distribution), Rodney Kibzey (Oregon Brew Crew), Eric Steen (Beers Made by Walking), Holly Amlin (PDX Beer Girl), Andi Prewitt (Willamette Week), Tyler Treadwell (Tulip Shop Tavern), Lucy Burningham (My Beer Year),
Best of the Year 2022 Beer + Cider Awards Winners:
Worst New Trend
Smoothie Sour/Lactose/Over Fruited Puree Beers
runner-up: Dry January and Sober October
Far be it from us to yuck someone else’s yum, but it seems clear that the industry insiders are over the overly flavored adjunct beers based on both complaints and the votes we received for the worst trend of 2022. If consumers are over them is another matter entirely, if the demand is there they will survive, but smart money points to them becoming an even smaller part of the brewing schedule.The only other thing to come close in hatred was the mass expansion of Dry January’s into Sober October’s.
Best New Trend
Diversity in the Industry
runner-up: Dark Lagers (Czech/German-style DarkLager, Schwarz, Black Pils, etc.)
Bringing more people of all ethnicitys, genders, shapes and colors into the craft beer fold can be nothing but an improvement and we are proud that the industry is recognizing that they need to do more to open their arms to other demographics. It’s easy to profess support for diversity, it’s another thing to actualize it. A close runner-up for best new trend is the somewhat surprising embrace of dark lagers which have noticeably increased in popularity as late winter/early new year seasonals over the past 3-4 years.
Best Oregon Taphouse/Beer Bar
The Beermongers
runner-up: Roscoe’s
Beloved beer bar and bottleshop The Beermongers ran away with the win in this highly competitive category that also saw such great taphouses as Roscoe’s, Saraveza, Loyal Legion and Wildwood in the running. Over the past decade The Beermongers has become the ‘Cheers’ tavern of the local beer scene and 2022 was a big year that saw them relocate to a new space with greater potential.
Best Oregon Bottleshop
Belmont Station
runner-up: John’s Marketplace
No surprise that Portland’s two best known and oldest bottle shops specializing in packaged beer dominated this tight race. Each of them also have great taphouse components right up there with the best beer bars, but because they both are known and specialize in bottles and cans they competed in this category against other top nominees Bridge & Tunnel Bottleshop, The Bier Stein, and Broken Top Bottleshop.
Best Oregon Brewpub
Wayfinder Beer
runner-up: pFriem Family Brewers
This award recognizes breweries only that have a kitchen and serve their own food for the comforting brewpub restaurant experience. And it was a nail-biter! Watching the votes come in saw pFriem heavily in the lead but Portland’s Wayfinder Beer surged at the last minute for the win by just 2 votes. Oregon is ripe with great brewpubs though, and there was tough competition in the voting from Sunriver Brewing, Pelican Brewing and the brand new Grand Fir Brewing showing a surprisingly strong showing after less than 2 months in business.
Oregon Brewer of the Year
Sam Pecoraro and Eric Ebel of Von Ebert Brewing Pearl
runner-up: Lisa Allen of Heater Allen Brewing
It’s been pointed out that to award a single individual brewer fails to recognize the greater team and the other brewers that you may not know their names, and there is a lot of merit to that. Indeed this award was created with the intention to reward those individual brewers who might go unrecognized, and while we have done so for many years now this might be the final year before we reimagine the category. That said, the winner and all the nominees and even those who weren’t are all extremely deserving and the reason that New School Beer + Cider exists in the first place! Sam Pecoraro became brewmaster of Von Ebert in 2020 and created one of Oregon’s best IPA’s Volatile Substance, along with lead brewer Eric Ebel, they run production for much of the world-class lagers that won them a Silver for Pils at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival. And staying on the lager theme, runner-up Lisa Allen has grown up in the biz to head brewer for McMinnville’s pioneering Heater Allen Brewing. Without Heater Allen we wouldn’t have the terrific lager scene in Oregon that we do now, and 2022 may have been her year after capturing a prestigious Silver for Heater Allen Pils at the Oregon Beer Awards and a Gold at the World Beer Cup.
Best New Oregon Brewery
Living Haus Beer - Portland, OR
runner-up: Van Henion Brewing - Bend, OR
Despite everything 2022 was a great year for new Oregon breweries that yielded an exceptional and exciting lineup out of central Oregon and Portland especially. Both the winner for best new Oregon brewery and the runner-up were born out of former breweries that shut down or moved out, which speaks to the vitality of the industry. Living Haus Beer comes from former brewers of Culmination, pFriem, and Modern Times in the same space that once held Modern Times Belmont Fermentorium and The Commons before that, they specialize in lagers and west coast IPA in a bright and white space full of greenery. Runner-up Van Henion Brewing is from industry veterans of Boneyard Beer, Ninkasi and Deschutes Brewery who have taken over the former Boneyard Beer facility in Bend and converted it into a lager and West Coast IPA house. Though the brands are different in identity and location, both Van Henion and Living Haus share similar sensibilities.
Most Underrated Oregon Brewery
Upright Brewing
runner-up: ColdFire Brewing
At this point we may have to retire the award for most underrated brewery because it seems to be perpetually Upright Brewing’s to lose at this point. The Portland brewery that started with a farmhouse ale focus has proven adept at pilsners, German-styles, and now English-style cask beers, all as good as the next. How underrated is a brewery beloved by the entire industry? The only mystery is why their beers aren’t on tap everywhere. Runner-up ColdFire Brewing is in the same family of breweries that has proven they can brew top notch beers of almost any style and are a favorite of the Willamette Valley with word of mouth spreading throughout the state.
Best Non-Oregon Brand
Chuckanut Brewery
runner-up: Fremont Brewing
For the second year in a row, Washington’s Chuckanut Brewery takes the award for best out of state brewery available in Oregon. After setting down a permanent taproom in Portland in 2021 they have invested in world-class lagers in Oregon and become a favorite to both brewers and beer nerds alike. Fremont Brewing out of Seattle entered Oregon’s market awhile back and were warmly welcomed and in return grace us with regular events and specialty beers almost as much as their hometown.
Non-Oregon Beer of the Year
Alvarado Street Brewery Mai-Tai PA
runner-up: Ghost Town Brewing Nose Goblin
One of the most award-winning IPA’s of the past 5 years is from California’s Alvarado Street Brewery, the Mai-Tai PA is a tropical IPA that is relatively clear, but fruity and light, and it helped set the mold for modern “American IPA” that has become standard with cutting edge breweries all over the country. Thanks to Portland’s Day One Distribution we now can get Mai-Tai PA in Oregon frequently enough to make new fans, but limited enough to keep it feeling special and worth seeking out. The close runner-up is from one of the hottest breweries in the country out of Oakland, Ghost Town Brewing has had some buzz for a bit but in 2022 absolutely crushed it and thanks to Maletis Beverage they can now occasionally be found in Oregon.
Oregon IPA of the Year
Breakside Brewery Wanderjack IPA
runner-up: Von Ebert Brewing Volatile Substance
A 2020 collaboration between Breakside Brewery and Barley Brown’s Brew Pub that was meant as a 10th anniversary one-off is our 2022 Oregon IPA of the Year. WanderJack IPA is not in fact a mash-up of Breakside’s Wanderlust IPA and Barley Brown’s Pallet Jack as many people think, it’s actually a completely original recipe that has absolutely crushed it and drives demand with each periodic re-release to appease consumer demand. At this pace Breakside might have to make it a year-round. Runner-up Volatile Substance IPA was the beer of the year in 2021 and much has already been said about this superior example of the modern day West Coast IPA style, it remains one of the absolute best beers available for hopheads desiring something more polished than a hazy.
Oregon Cidery of the Year
TIE: Son of Man
and Bauman’s Cider
runner-up: Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider
Industry connoisseurs rewarded two of Oregon’s best cidery’s with a split vote for cidery of the year. Enough great things can’t be said for Cascade Lock’s Spanish/Basque-style cidery Son of Man that focuses on spontaneous fermentations and annual releases of foeder refined funky and dry ciders. Bauman’s Cider out of Gervais is perhaps Oregon’s most acclaimed cidery, a farm project that claims a diverse mastery of cider styles and flavors from sweet to dry, fruited to funky, tannic to tart.
Oregon Brewery of the Year
TIE: Block 15 Brewing
and Breakside Brewery
runner-up: pFriem Family Brewers
Fan favorite Block 15 Brewing has managed to hold on to beer geeks hearts for the past decade starting with wild sour ales and intense spirit barrel-aged strong ales and that was before they wowed everyone with perennial favorite Sticky Hands IPA. Breakside Brewery started small with a wild swing of experimental beers in a similar fashion, but then pulled off the rare feat of growing big and aging gracefully without losing any of the magic from their upstart days. Both Block 15 and Breakside have lit a path for other breweries to follow by demonstrating how to grow and be successful without losing sight of what made them special and unique to begin with, by never giving up on the more eccentric beers and instead balancing them with mainstream hits.
Oregon Beer of the Year
Breakside Brewery Wanderjack IPA
runner-up: Heater Allen Brewing Pilsner
What better beers to represent the Oregon Beer of the Year than first place winner a contemporary West Coast IPA and a contemporary German-style Pilsner, the two most current versions of styles that are dominating palates in 2022 and beyond. Always on the cutting edge of hops, Breakside Brewery has hit another one out of the park with this bridge of West Coast and modern juicy and dank flavors with Wanderjack IPA. Our runner-up Heater Allen Pilsner has been around for over a decade, but 2022 was it’s year as the updated recipe won silver at the Oregon Beer Awards and Gold at the World Beer Cup.
That wraps things up for 2022! Let us know what awards categories and voters you’d like to see in next year’s best of the year awards by dropping us a line at newschoolbeer@gmail.com