Back at the end of July during the Oregon Brewfest weekend we visited Full Sail’s Riverplace brewery as I had been invited to join them for their annual patio party (which in past years was known as the “smokeout” because cigars were the norm before the Oregon laws changed to prevent that). This mini-brewery shares space with McCormick & Schmick’s (indeed all the Full Sail beers are on tap at the Pilsner Room in the restaurant), and of the brewing facility itself Full Sail writes:

Smack dab in the heart of Beervana, (also known as Portland) our Riverplace brewery is located on the waterfront.  You can catch a glimpse of our Riverplace Brewery in action through the wall of glass at McCormick & Schmicks’s Harborside Restaurant. This pint-sized brewhouse serves as our research and development center and is where the small batch Brewmaster Reserve and Brewer’s Share beers are concocted. You can sample our entire line of award winning brews next door.

Brewmaster Jamie Emmerson gave an informal tour of the small brewing space (which I might be wrong about but I believe has a 7bbl capacity) but really, the afternoon was about the party, meeting people, and enjoying beer in a casual and very pleasant Willamette River-side setting.

To that end, not only did I get a chance to rub elbows with Emmerson, but also Full Sail Founder and CEO Irene Firmat, Marketing Manager Sandra Evans, Rogue Track Town brewer Christina Canto, Brew Happy‘s Susanna and Josh, New School‘s Ezra Johnson-Greenough, and others I’m sure that I’m forgetting.

It was a great afternoon, but the highlight was my invention of a new drink: half Berliner Weisse (with Chris’s Summer Delight Berliner Weiss) and half Coke. It was completely in the spirit of the shandy/radler type drink and the tradition of adding sweetened syrups to Berliner Weisse beers—and frankly it was really, really good! (Incidentally the closest “beer + cola” listings on that shandy page might be “shandygaff”, “diesel”, “Flieger (Aviator), Neger (Negro), or Turbo”. )

I wasn’t the only one who thought so either: Jamie Emmerson thought so too (enough so that I joked the next “Session” beer needed to be this concoction) as well as Ezra and several other people who I randomly foisted it upon.

Good times, good times.

Finally, enjoy these photos I took that afternoon:

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