I turn around for one minute and bam! It’s March! How’s your Monday going? At any rate, here’s the news in Oregon beer to kick off the week/month, which will be updated periodically through the afternoon, so check back in on this post from time to time.

Terminal Gravity focusing exclusively on canning

Terminal Gravity Brewing in Enterprise sent out a press release today announcing the brewery’s transition away from bottling, to focus entirely on cans for its retail packaging. I first saw this announcement Friday on Facebook, and here are details from the press release:

The long established craft brewery will now be packaging previously bottled brands IPA, Tap Out Strong Ale, and Festivale Winter Strong Ale in 12 ounce cans. IPA and Tap Out will be hitting shelves in March, and expect to see Festivale in October for the winter season.

The new cans will still have their classic branding from the bottles, with the exception of Tap Out, which is getting a brand refresh. The fan-favorite American strong ale now has bold red lettering to go along with the beer’s high alcohol content.

The change to cans, which was planned for more than a year, is something the brewery sees as a catalyst for higher beer quality, operational efficiency, and ultimately, growth. Selling their bottler means the quality assurance and packaging teams can focus on canning, and it opens up much-needed space in the brewery. Terminal Gravity has seen the market demand trend towards cans over bottles for the last few years, making the switch a more obvious choice.

Terminal Gravity’s switch to cans comes at a time when the supply chain for aluminum cans is fractured. Many independent breweries have had a hard time securing cans due to the increased demand during the last year. That’s why for all Terminal Gravity cans, customers will notice ridges on the top. The retro-looking cans offered the brewery the best chance for a consistent supply.

I imagine the brewery’s location and the need to ship all its beer longer distance than most Oregon breweries played a large part in this decision, since cans are more economical to ship. Watch for the new cans as the bottles phase out.

Fort George’s new brewery is online

Astoria’s Fort George Brewery has its new production brewery online and brewing beer; over the weekend, the first beer brewed at that brewery (“Beer Number 1, Take 3”) was tapped:

This is the first beer brewed and canned at our new waterfront production brewery and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.

The Fort George brewery, packaging and construction staff have worked tirelessly to get us to this point. It has been a long year outside of opening a new brewery, and now we have a delicious pale ale to cheers to our dream facility here in the City of Dreams. There will be more about the waterfront brewery (which is not open to the public) in the coming weeks, but for now we’re saluting the crew with Beer Number 1, Take 3.

The three brew systems at Fort George have nicknames: Sweet Virginia in the Pub, Little Miss Texas in the Lovell Building, and now “Kingpin: at The Waterfront.” Extra points if you know where we came up with that last name. All 3 will continue to brew Fort George beer for the Pacific Northwest.

Portland Cider new releases for 8th Anniversary and Women’s History Month

Portland Cider Company is releasing two new ciders for the month of March, to commemorate its 8th anniversary as well as Women’s History Month. Details:

Portland Cider Co. is commemorating its 8th anniversary this month with the release of two new ciders: 8th Anniversary Cider and Bloody Hell, a release created by Portland Cider’s five female team members in honor of Women’s History Month.

8th Anniversary Cider is fermented from a blend of culinary Northwest apples and cider apples aged for more than two years in neutral oak barrels on elderflower, then blended with peach and raspberry fruits. In the spirit of celebration, the medium-sweet cider offers an extra bit of carbonation. Offering floral notes of cherry blossom and honey with a touch of champagne, the cider comes in 5.1% ABV. A very limited cider, it is available exclusively on draft at Portland Cider Co.’s two taprooms.

Bloody Hell is a juicy and zesty blood orange cider with a hint of habanero pepper for a sweet heat finish. A limited-release modern cider that comes in at 5.6% ABV, Bloody Hell is available in 19.2oz cans and on draft at the pubs. It was originally developed in 2019 for SheBrew, a festival that brings together a community of female brewers in Portland. The cider’s name was chosen as a nod to Portland Cider Co.’s co-owner, Lynda Parrish, who hails from Somerset, England.

The cider’s release date was timed to coincide with Women’s History Month, as Parrish is one of a handful of women leading a company in the cider industry. In the fall of 2020, she received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Clackamas Chamber of Commerce as part of its yearly Women in Leadership & Management Awards.

Three Creeks introduces new pale ale

Sisters’ Three Creeks Brewing announced the release of a new beer on Friday, Hazy Falls Pale Ale, in cans and on draft. According to the press release:

This hazy pale ale features notes of tropical fruit, citrus and resinous pine created by juicy, fruit-forward hops: Lotus, Citra, Sultana and the new Trident hop blend. It has an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 45. The 2-row barley, white wheat, honey malt, flaked barley and oats add a soft malt base with a touch of sweetness.

Based on the article image, it looks as though the beer will be available in both 12-ounce and 19.2-ounce cans.

New beers list

Roundup of new beers announced over the weekend and now.

• Wolves & People Brewery (Newberg): Black truffle stout, La Truffe: “La Truffe [“the truffle”] is one of the most elusive forest dwellers, a fragrant, subterranean fungi prized for its mysteriously mouth-watering aroma. In collaboration with the @ortrufflefest, we brew a rich, complex stout once a year and then add our own custom-roasted, truffled hazelnuts.”
• Oregon City Brewing: Black is Beautiful, strong dark lager: “Black is Beautiful is a rich, smooth, slightly bitter black beer. This strong, dark lager boasts a robust 9.2% ABV! The Black is Beautiful initiative is a collaborative effort across the Brewing community and with your help we have so far raised over $2,000! We are down to the last two kegs so be sure to grab some while you can. 100% of proceeds for this beer will be donated to the @eji_org (Equal Justice Initiative)”
• Laurelwood Brewing (Portland): Megafauna Double IPA coming out in cans in six-packs, year-round.
• Claim 52 Brewing (Eugene): Thicc: Orange Creamsicle: “5%. Conditioned on Orange purée, Tangerine Purée, and vanilla. $20/4-pack, Limit 4 4-packs per person”