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Port Brewing to kick off American Craft Beer Week with “Toast Heard `Round the World”

| April 29, 2009

Brewery will celebrate with a live webcast toast at its 3rd Anniversary party May 9

Declaration of Beer Independence

Declaration of Beer Independence


Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey will be kicking off American Craft Beer Week next month with a “Toast heard `round the world” during the brewery’s 3rd Anniversary Celebration on May 9, 2009.

Inaugurated in 2006 with a U.S. Congressional resolution (House Resolution 753), American Craft Beer Week is a celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer to the nation.

From May 11 through 17, 2009 craft breweries across the country will be holding special events and encouraging beer lovers to sign the Declaration of Beer Independence affirming their support of small, independent American craft breweries.

Much the way the battle at Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts (immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson as “the shot heard `round the world”) presaged the American war for Independence, Port Brewing’s Toast heard `round the world will be the opening salvo in the week-long celebration of America’s growing independent brewery movement.

To be given by Port Brewing’s three-time Great American Beer Festival brewer of the year, Tomme Arthur, those who can’t attend the brewery’s 3rd Anniversary Celebration in person are invited to participate by tuning into the brewery’s live web broadcast and raising a glass along with Arthur and guests.

The toast is scheduled for May 9, 2009 at 5pm Pacific Daylight Time and can be seen on the Lost Abbey brewcam.

More information on the Port Brewing / Lost Abbey Anniversary party can be found here.

For more information on American Craft Beer Week and special events being held at craft breweries around the country, please visit the American Craft Beer week website or at its Facebook page.

Viva La Vida Loca

| April 27, 2009

It’s 4:11 on Monday the 27th of April.  They just fired up the bottling line about an hour ago and we’re now running bottles of Old Viscosity.  WOW!!!  What a feeling it  is to see this sucker run.  We purchased this 16 head filler back in December of 2008 and since then, we have been laboring over the rebuild and installation of the line.  In March, I hired Gordie to come run this thing and it appears that we’ll finally be able to do just that very soon.  The whole thing is surreal.  As I look to my left out my office window, I see bunch of guys(wearing safety goggles) filling bottle after bottle of our beer.  It’s just a test run and there are some sticking points to work out.  (This is Old Viscosity after all).  Yet, I see a levity in the step of my guys.  They know that this is the end of the crazy bottling runs that they have been tortured by. 

Yes, they will still be required to bottle beer.  However, this new setup will allow them to package an entire tank in one day AND apply labels at the same time!!! Get the *^#@ out of here.  Really!  Bottles and labels applied in one sequence.  Somebody cue the Jefferson’s as we’re moving on up here at the Lost Abbey and Port Brewing.  Sure, we aren’t home yet and there’s plenty of battles to wage with this new beast.  Lord knows old bottling equipment can be quite cantankerous.  But, today isn’t about fear.  Nope, today is about the promise of a better tomorrow with each bottle of our beer filled by a machine.  Mind you there’s still enough hand crafting going on out there.  We’re not that good yet.  But, it’s exciting to know that we’ve graduated and that each bottle from this line should be an improvement over our last setup. 

To those of you who have hung in with us, we say thank you.  To those of you just finding us, we say welcome.  Today is a great day.

Today we bottled beer on a machine.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pint of beer with my name on it.

Cuvee de Tomme 2009

| April 27, 2009

Cuvee de Tomme will release this day. This is an annual release of the barrel-aged beer.

Bottles will be available in 375ml and 750ml cork-stoppered bottles with a limit of 12 total bottles (any combination) per customer. The 375ml bottles will be $15, 750ml bottles $30.