Hello from Portland, OR

Hey, I'm about to try out this home brew thing for the first time. I'm not so much an "aficionado" as I have a reduced sense of smell and thus cannot detect some of the more subtle nuances, but, I love beer and I'm a bit of a science nerd. I'm largely interested in the process of creating beer and getting a firm grasp on the chemical reactions and what separates each style of beer.

But creating a beer that I truly enjoy and perfecting the process would be nice too.

Anyway, I've read through this site quite a bit and there is a lot of great information. Thanks to all who've contributed and hello from Portland, OR (where I couldn't imagine making anything comparable to all the great brews we have locally).

Welcome to the forum. I grew up in the Portland area and still get down there quite often. I was there yesterday in fact.

I'm sure you'll find this site both friendly and informative.

Cheers.

Welcome to HBT Micah! We're glad your here.
Since you state that you have a reduced sense of smell, homebrewing is definitely for you. You can make custom brews with aroma and flavor to suit your senses.

I understand the nerd aspect pretty well myself. I'm not much of a drinker but I love the process of beer making. Luckily, my brew partner husband likes to drink beer so it doesn't go to waste. Also, you gain a lot of friends if you make beer.

Welcome to HBT and welcome to the greatest hobby on the earth!

Making brews of similar quality to our local pros is well within the reach of a homebrewer. In fact, Widmer runs the Collaborator project with the Oregon Brew Crew, where they select homebrews to produce. Mostly, "only" a 40-barrel run in the pilot plant, but Snowplow was a Collaborator winner that has gone on to be a Widmer seasonal.

I get to the Portland area fairly often as well. I also have a reduced sense of smell because of all the fornicating trees (pollen) that wreak havoc on my sinuses. It is possible to make very good beers that are quite flavorful. Your beers will be better than what you can buy locally because you made it yourself.

And welcome to HBT!

Welcome - where are you at in the PDX area?

Soon you'll be making beers you like BETTER than the local micros.

Welcome from another PDXer.

Welcome from another noob in the Pacific NW (Bellingham, WA)! Don't worry about the reduced sense of smell - I have absolutely zero sense of smell (good for traveling in cars with dogs) and the beer still turns out great (so far anyway).

Well allow me to introduce myself along with a fellow PacNW'er. Just moved from ....mumblemumble....southerncali...mumble.... from out of town to Beaverton, OR. I've brewed a couple years ago with a friend from work and caught the bug. We didn't have a homebrew store near buy, so i stuck to store-bought. Once here I found the local store in Hillsboro and bought the starter equipment. I've had batches on and off for the past few months, but only recently now that i have multiple batches at their prime have i thought about keeping both fermenters full. I look forward to recipies, inspiration and help from the HBT community.

Cheers!
Terry

Welcome always good to have more Oregonians!!

Welcome to HBT and a great hobby.

Great, another california transplant Well, you brew beer, so I guess you can stay for now. I hope you realize it rains over THREE FEET of rain a year.

I'm just giving ya a hard time, welcome to the forum!

our first order of business was to get new license plates for the car....then start brewing! we come from a town that gets less rain per year than one storm can produce up here. We're loving the change, especially now that the sun has decided to stick around for more than an afternoon every other week.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow...sorry....

Welcome to this great place.

Im moving to OR in July and I can't wait.

What part of Oregon are you moving to, bethlehembrewer?

Welcome to all the new Oregonians! Knowing the beer culture in Portland. I am sure there are a LOT of us here. I don't post all the much (and haven't been brewing much over the winter, since I moved to a new house over the winter. HBT is a great place for info though. Along with the local homebrew groups.

I never post here and have been lurking on HBT for about a year, but just moved from norcal, and now check the forum all the time. another transplant yup. its good to see so many fellow addicts up here

well after reading your post - i have some hting to ask.
I have ner breiwed beer before.Why did you say about smelling the brew ?
I mean like i never heard of smelling the beer before tasting it !!!

______
michell

michell said:

well after reading your post - i have some hting to ask.
I have ner breiwed beer before.Why did you say about smelling the brew ?
I mean like i never heard of smelling the beer before tasting it !!!

______
michell

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If you have a reduced sense of smell it will effect your ability to taste as our brains need the sense of smell to heighten our sense of taste. This is why many people will try to get the aroma of a beer or wine first so they can further enjoy the subtleties of what they are drinking. For instance when I have a bad cold and am plugged up I can't taste all that much.

not to mention, just smelling the beer can be half the fun. They are very distinct. I brewed two belgians that were quite similar in recipe, but not the same, and there was a world of difference. But you will find a difference in IPA's too.

Portlanders
I just joined the Oregon Brew Crew, but havent been to anything official yet. Any comments about the club as a Portland home brewing community?

I can't say, really, I've never been to their meetings. I'm more of a shut in, and prefer to unleash my *****ebaggery with the safety of the internets. I've heard they're pretty fun though.

I was a member of the OBC in 2000 - 2001. Since I returned to Portland over a year ago I've found it hard to coordinate being able to hit up a meeting with my schedule and the impression I get that over half of their meetings are members only and newbie members aren't permitted to attend. I was also slightly turned off that numerous emails to them have gone unanswered. And like Evil I'm a shut in, but I like to have the *****ebaggery unleashed upon me on the interwebs.


But when I was a member I did enjoy it and appreciated having a monthly outlet to have folks taste some of my beers.

Im kind of like you two as well. But I never went to any kind of home brewer thing and back in my hometown, there was nothing like this. I thought that getting into a club but be good for my beer though, so I tried. I havent gone to a meeting yet, but I am looking forward to it.

A lot of Oregonians here.... I myself am in Beaverton, though I do not want to be for much longer. Southern Cali transplant myself. We are a disease! So to you other PDX area brewers... which store do you frequent? I only know of two: Let's Brew on Stark and Above the Rest (the one I like) in Tigard. Any decent shops closer to home that I should know about?

not sure if it's closer, but Main Street Homebrew in Hillsboro is a pretty nice shop. Guess it depends on where in Beaverton you live. What part of So. Cal are you from? I just moved up from Bakersfield and am in love with (most aspects) of Oregon! But if you've ever been to Bakersfield, you'll know why.

I've never been to Let's Brew or Above the Rest, so I can't say how they compare to Main Street.

Welcome to Oregon!

Welcome,

I was a native until 1998. Still come home every year and love it!

Enjoy Stienbarts!

You can make beer just as good as PDX breweries. Trust me.

Wow. Bakersfield! You are talking to a Tehachapi native. Not sure if I should be proud of that. So yes, I know Bakes very well. Came up here from Diego and been here 4 years or so. I guess P-town will make anyone a beer nut. What part of Bakersfield did you come from?

Steinbarts is my main one. Let's Brew is cool just farther away for me. They dont carry as much stuff, but they're open longer on Saturdays when I brew, so I go there just to pick up forgotten stuff. Either way, I've never been this close to a homebrew store so I'm happy with anything, and they are a lot friendlier than the one I used to go to in Santa Rosa, CA

Dude, Santa Rosa is WAY farther away than Steinbarts. Good choice picking some place closer.