Monday, May 23, 2011

Riverport, down in Washington's First Corner

   If Bellingham is the Fourth Corner, nw-most city in the nw-most state of the lower 48, then Clarkston, down in the se-most end of the state, should be the First Corner, right?  Whatever, they have a nice little brewery beside the Snake River there, d/b/a Riverport Brewing   and I stopped to visit them on my way to Montana. Stopped by recently to visit with Pete the brewer and his wife Nancy in the tasting room.
If you follow the link to their website, the first image is the logo for Bedrock Bock next to a banner about trying their seasonal ale. But the bock is not a seasonal any longer, Pete said.  He brought it out in the springtime a year or two ago, but popular demand would not allow him to retire it, so he brews it year-round now. Many beer styles associated with a particular season do tend to sell less outside that season, he opined. He cited Rogue's Dead Guy Ale as a bock that sells better in the fall and winter because Rogue doesn't call it a bock.
     Style names aside, Riverport features the local geography in its names.  Seven Devils IPA refers to the mountains on the Idaho side of Hell's Canyon, a few miles south of town.  Grande Ronde Rye is named for the river that zigzags along the Oregon-Washington line, cutting a dramatic canyon en route to the Snake in Hell's Canyon.  River Rat Red and Old Man River Stout can be about either the barge traffic headed down to the sea or the jet boat excursions up the Snake into Hell's Canyon. Ol' Harold Barleywine is another story, though. The brewery owns a 1952 Chevrolet delivery truck they call Ol' Harold and Pete ramps up the barleywine to 13.5% ABV, almost enough alcohol for the truck to run on.
(Visited 5/16/11)

No comments:

Post a Comment