The Portland Brewing Co

Modern Brewery Age, June 12, 2000

The Portland Brewing Co. has released its new summer seasonal beer, Kornhauser's Oast. The brand is named for Portland Brewing Co. brewmaster Alan Kornhauser, who established the "Oast Ale" category with the release of Portland Pale Ale in 1999. The new beer, which is a refinement of that brand, is made with distilled oil from three different vintages of Brewer's Gold hops.

Head brewer Brett Porter reports that the use of the up oils allows "an explosion of floral hop aroma without the bitterness usually associated with heavily hopped ales." The hops are grown in Kaiser, Oregon, and kiln-dried at a Willamette Valley oast house (an oast house is a structure where hops are dried). The dried hops are than shipped to England for distilling, and return as flasks of pure hop oil. "The distilled oil that returns from England is more refined and aromatic than anything available in America," Porter says. "In terms of finished product, one drop is enough for two and half cases of beer." Kornhauser's Oast hit the shelve s in May, and will be sold in bottles and on drought through September.