Interview: BrewCycle's Andrea Lins and Chuck Riegelman

STATS
Name: Andrea Lins
Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin
Website: http://brewcycleportland.com/
First Beer Consumed: Milwaukee's Best...embarassing I know.
Favorite Style of Beer: Porters
Preferred Watering Hole: Bridgeport Brewpub, I live really close which makes it too easy! They have great beer and an excellent late night menu!
Best Place for Pizza: Lucky Lab Beer Hall on NW Quimby.

STATS
Name: Chuck Riegelman
Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin
Website: http://brewcycleportland.com/
First Beer Consumed: Whatever my Dad had in the fridge, probably something cheap.
Favorite Style of Beer: IPAs, hands down.
Preferred Watering Hole: Bridgeport Brewpub. They have the most well-rounded IPA I’ve had since moving to Portland and the staff is great, too.
Best Place for Pizza: Lucky Lab.


I met the BrewCycle gang at the 2011 North American Organic Brewers Festival. I actually had the opportunity to help pedal the fifteen-person, 100% green, party machine from one section of the festival grounds to another. I think I must have snapped at least a dozen pictures of this thing. That’s what one does when they come across a marvel of engineering and design. I wanted to find out more about BrewCycle, the machine and the owner. Andrea and Chuck generously donated their time to answer a few questions.

When did you start BrewCycle?
We officially started July of 2011.

Who built the fifteen-person, 100% green, party machine?
It was built by Crawler Fabrications in Savannah, GA.

Have you added anything to the BrewCycle since you got it?
A BUNCH of signatures, we wanted to make the BrewCycle a little more personal. It’s been fun having riders come back for a second time and be able to point out their signature to the new riders they brought with them!

How often do you take the BrewCycle out?
Whenever we are booked! We run seven days a week starting as early as eleven am. As long as we have enough riders, we will be on the road!

Interview: NoPo 'Beer' Run Club Founder, Dave Cornell

STATS

Name: Dave Cornell
Hometown: Austin, TX/Seattle, WA
Website: http://www.meetup.com/NoPo-Run-Club/
First Beer Consumed: Dos Equis Amber
Favorite Style of Beer: Stout/Porter
Preferred Watering Hole(s): When in Portland: BarBar, Bridgetown Beerhouse, or APEX and when in Austin: The Draught House Pub and Brewery
Best Place for Pizza: Sizzle Pie-Portland, Home Slice-Austin

This past summer I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Cornell at the North American Organic Brewers Festival. Dave is the founding member of the North Portland (or NoPo) Run Club; a ‘Meet Up’ group that puts in a good workout and then enjoys a few pints. I’ve had the pleasure of running with the club in its early stages and had a terrific time. Since then, the group has grown in size, are scheduling more runs and doing several other activities. Dave graciously offered up his time to answer a few questions.

What inspired you to start the NoPo Run Club?
When I was in flight school in Pensacola there was a local pub that had a run group where after a few runs you got a shirt and drank on the cheap, needless to say we thought that was pretty awesome. So after I left the Navy in ’06, I met up with a college buddy back in Austin and we started a similar club. We named it SoCo Run Club after the eclectic South Congress district of Austin that the bar was located in. Then, when I moved to Portland a couple years ago I immediately got to work looking for a bar, pub, or brewery to run out of. As soon as I found the Mississippi district I knew it was the place for the kind of club that doesn’t mind getting their hands (or in our case shoes) a little dirty on their way to a proper pint (or the occasional PBR). We ended choosing Mississippi Studios’ Bar Bar and have loved their outdoor patio, great craft beer, and A-mazing burgers ever since!

When was the first run and how did it go?
The first “official” run was back in May of last year. Funny enough, I was the only runner that day but truthfully, I had posted the “Meet-Up” just days prior so I honestly didn’t expect many, if anyone else, to join me.

Interview: Humble Brewing's Chad Freitag and Scott Davis

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Name: Chad Freitag
Hometown: Corning, CA
Website: http://humblebrewing.com/
First Beer Consumed: I seem to remember it being a sip of my dad’s Löwenbräu.
Favorite Style of Beer: For the typical ‘go to’ beers, I enjoy a nice cloudy IPA or Saison. Otherwise, it largely depends on the season.
Preferred Watering Hole: Amnesia Brewing is a favorite of mine.
Best Place for Pizza: Atomic Pizza on Killingsworth.

STATS
Name: Scott Davis
Hometown: Portland, OR
Website: http://humblebrewing.com/
First Beer Consumed: Don’t ask! I’m guessing it was probably Keystone Light.
Favorite Style of Beer: It varies by season, but my year-round choice is IPA.
Preferred Watering Hole: Amnesia Brewing on a sunny afternoon.
Best Place for Pizza: Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River.




I met Chad Freitag at the 1^st Annual Winter Beer Festival at Plew’s Brews in December, 2011. Chad told me that Humble Brewing was at the event having their coming out party. Humble debuted a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale) that evening. It turned out to be one of the most favored beers at the festival. As a matter of fact, the (2) kegs that they brought ended up empty on the second day. Below, Chad and Scott, Humble Brewing’s founders kindly volunteered their time to answer a few questions.

How did you guys meet?
We live on the same block, and beer brings neighbors together.

When did you begin Humble Brewing?
The planning and “research” began in 2010, but we weren’t legal until late 2011.