FOR THE WIN: WASHINGTON BREWERIES CELEBRATE OREGON DISTRIBUTION VICTORY

Remember the recent lawsuit where Washington breweries filed suit against the state of Oregon to win the right to self-distribute and ship their beers direct to homes in Oregon? The story made national news when it broke, and news again when Oregon opted to settle the case. Well this Portland Beer Week, those pioneering breweries and some of the lawyers behind the massive win are celebrating with a tap takeover and Q & A at Saraveza this Friday, June 16th from 5-8pm.

Saraveza will host an event entitled “For the Win: Washington Breweries Celebrate Oregon Distribution Victory,” where the North Portland bar will take over its taps with offerings from Fortside Brewing, Mirage Beer, Garden Path Fermentation, and Dwinell Country Ales – the Washington breweries that challenged Oregon last summer with a lawsuit alleging that state law discriminated against out-of-state breweries in violation of the U.S. Constitution

After eight months of litigation, in April, the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission agreed to a settlement. As a result, Oregon now allows out-of-state breweries the ability to self-distribute beer to Oregon retail establishments and ship beer directly to Oregon consumers.

“I think it’s symbolic for Saraveza to host us four breweries as one of the official kick off events for PDX Beer Week,” says Justin Leigh, co-owner of Dwinell Country Ales (Goldendale, WA), a licensed attorney who helped to organize the lawsuit and served as an expert witness for the Plaintiffs. “In highlighting our legal victory, this event stands for the proposition that by broadening consumer access to out-of-state producers, we have taken a critical first step in making the Portland beer scene more socially and economically equitable.” 

The tap takeover-style event will run from 5 to 8 pm and feature a Q&A session about the lawsuit at 5:30 pm in the Bad Habit Room. Michael Dempster (Mirage), Justin Leigh (Dwinell), and attorney Judith Parker of J.A. Parker Law Firm, who served as local counsel in the lawsuit, will be in attendance to discuss the underlying lawsuit. A celebratory toast will be held at 7:00 pm.

EVENT BEER LIST:

• Dwinell - Almira - A wild-fermented, French-style cider made from a blend of Muscadet de Lense, Domaines, Marie Menard, and Yarlington Mill apples. 7.3%

  
  

• Dwinell - Ashfall - A classic Czech-style dark lager brewed with Sterling hops. 4.6%

  
  

• Dwinell - Disco Nap - A blended, oak-fermented spontaneous spelt ale re-fermented on crushed Zinfandel grapes. 5.1%

  
  

• Fortside - Hop Grinder - Using our proprietary dry-hopping system, The HoptomizerTM*, we got to work brewing this delicious and absolutely gooey IPA. Hop Grinder unleashes a profundity of hop notes including melon, grapefruit, diesel, and mango before wrapping up in a crisp, bright, pilsner malt finish. 6.8%

  
  

• Fortside - Sunshine Dreamin’ - Sunshine Dreamin’ throws big juicy aromas of ripe mango, bright citrus, smooth strawberry, and tart kiwi from a bounty of dry hops- Citra, Galaxy, El Dorado and Mosaic. This heady juice bomb presents ultra soft and creamy with next to no bitterness. 7.1%

  
  

• Fortside - Rice Crispies - A bright and clean lager at heart, this beer starts with a solid foundation of rice and a nicely tempered fermentation for unctious creaminess and absolute refreshment. We layered Motueka and Citra hops in the whirlpool for a pint that sings with childlike glee. 5.7%

  
  

• MIRAGE - Birds of America - Began as a spontaneously-fermented beer brewed in the méthode traditionelle, fermented in oak, and re-conditioned over raspberries from Sidhu Farms in Puyallup. Before packaging, this beer was blended 2:1 with saison conditioned in oak with hardy Ananasnya "kiwi" berries from Red Cedar Farm in Poulsbo. 5.5%

  
  

• MIRAGE - A Wide-Ranging Conversation with…MIRAGE + Lowercase - A collaboration with our friends at Lowercase Brewing that began (4 years ago!) as a blend of gin barrel-fermented wild ales conditioned in oak with tart Montmorency cherries, sweet Lapin cherries, and Robada apricots. 6.2%

  
  

• Garden Path - The Local Harvest: Cider Apple & Hops - Cider made from a blend of traditional varietal cider apples grown at the WSU orchaed and dry-hopped with Willamette hops from Hop Skagit. 6.9%

  
  

• Garden Path - The Fruitful Barrel Blueberries & Fir Tips - A foudre-aged solera blend of native-yeast ale refermented with fresh blueberries from Silva Farms and finished with foraged fir tips. 7.5%
  
  
  

About PDX Beer Week:

Portland Beer Week is a 10-days city-wide celebration of craft beer throughout Portland, OR. Tastings, creative beer and food pairings, collaborations, arts, concerts, festivals, block parties, pop-ups, barbecues, and cookouts are among the 30+ events happening June 16 to 25th 2023. For more details, visit www.pdxbeerweek.com.