Recap: Belmont Station's 15th Anniversary Celebration

On March 15^th, Portland had (2) reasons to celebrate. For one, it was my Birthday, but more importantly it was Belmont Station’s 15^th Year Anniversary. Belmont Station opened its doors in 1997. I don’t know the entire history behind the joint, but it was originally founded by the late, great Don Younger and Joy Campbell. I believe Joy is still involved with the Station, but I’m not entirely sure. I know Carl Signmaster, whose title is CBO (Chief Beer Officer) is entrenched with daily operations and I believe he's an owner. One day, I would love to sit down with Carl and hear how he became part of such a great place.

Belmont’s 15^th Anniversary celebration began at 3pm, but that darn work thing always gets in the way, so we didn’t end up getting there until around 7. Fortunately, there were still lots of great beer to be had. Ted Sobel of Brewers Union Local 180 brought his 4% Wotcha a La Citra Bitter and a special brew for the Station’s big day named 15-15-15, aka The Ides of Belmont Station. I had the 15-15-15; a cask conditioned beer. I’m not a huge Cask fan, but I had to try a beer that incorporates 15 malts and several hops. It turned out to be a winner. It had a nice dark, rich color similar to a stout and was definitely very malty. It went down the pipes easily. The other beer that I really favored from the evening was Barley Brown’s Tank Slapper. This Double IPA kicks Pliny’s ass. ‘Nough said. Shawn Kelso of 10 Barrel (former brewmaster for Barley Brown's) arranged for the Tank Slapper and Speed Wobble to be present on this special day. My cohort and fiancée favored the India Red Ale, Speed Wobble, which I read has never made it west of Baker City.

Ben Edmunds, Breakside's Brewer, Carl Signmaster, CBO of
Belmont Station and Shawn Kelso, 10 Barrel's Brewer

We love EASTERN Oregon Beer

Guest Blogger Contribution from Mark and Brenda:

My wife and I have been enjoying craft beer around the Portland area for nearly a decade and a half, but we’ve been hankering to explore the wide-open expanses of Eastern Oregon and the bounty of great beer that the area offers. We finally took time off work, packed up the truck and dog and set out east. Our first stop along our Eastern Oregon beer quest was Pendleton. Neither one of us had spent much time in this town known for the Pendleton Round Up, but we were pleasantly surprised by its quaint downtown area, cowboy feel, and the newly established Prodigal Son Brewery. A taster tray introduced us to six of their ales. Their Wheatstock Hefeweizen, Bruce/Lee Porter and Fatted Calf Sacrificial Stout were real standouts along with the tasty food offerings.


The next stop along the way was Enterprise, home of Terminal Gravity Brewing. T.G’s IPA is a favorite in our household, and we were excited to visit the headwaters. The brewery/pub has a nice outdoor seating area. We didn’t mess around with a taster tray at TG. We promptly ordered a Weed Wacker, a session beer and a Cascadian Dark Ale that I can’t recall the name of. We also sampled their imperial IPA, which was quite tasty but we both preferred their original IPA. Before leaving, we filled up the growler and traveled the short distance to Joseph and Mutiny Brewing.

At Mutiny, there were only three beers on tap, but they were all very good: Sssswheat, Superpale and Saddler’s Brown. Now, typically, neither one of us is a big fan of wheat beers but the Sssswheat was flavorful and refreshing, especially in the Eastern Oregon heat. Mutiny also had a comfortable outside seating area where our four-legged friend, Raymond, could relax, and the wait staff was nice enough to bring our parched pooch a pale water.

After spending a couple nights on the banks of Wallowa Lake, we again hit the road in search of fermented goodness. Our journey took us to Baker City and Barley Brown's Brewing. Their small system allows them to brew many batches of beer, and they had 10 of their own on tap. We had to order a sample tray to taste them all. While we had only recently discovered Barley Brown's, it came as a surprise to us that they have been open since 1998. Some of the highlights from Barley Browns were the Shredders Wheat, the Whiskey Malt, the Turmoil (a black IPA) and Awesome CDA (originally brewed by a local homebrewer). Tyler, the owner, was kind enough to spend some time with us and talk about Oregon craft beer. We departed with a growler and a new appreciation for the fine work that is happening in the eastern part of the Beer-ver State!