North Portlandites Exchange Homemade Beer, Cheese, Wine in Kenton

January 16, 2010. Portland, OR. The first Homebrew "Exchange" party is a success on many levels. (Click to enlarge images.)

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Honey Kolsch


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The store is closing for the day on Saturday, but the work is not over. Instead of going home for the day, Jocelyn, Aaron, and Joe start setting up tables and ice buckets for their first Homebrew Exchange party. Neighbors and customers start arriving at 4 pm. The turnout is better than expected.

One customer brings a bottle of the very first beer he brewed. Others bring bread made from the spent grains of the brewing process, along with the recipe to share. One local couple brings a dry and complex blackberry wine. Someone you would affectionately call a "cheese geek" shares some fabulous homemade feta to accompany the paneer, also homemade, on the table. A platter of fresh fruit is dipped in a rich vanilla and brown sugar cream cheese--and it tastes even better than it sounds. And then there is the beer.

There are at least a dozen different brews to try, and the variety is exiting. The light, refreshing Honey Kolsch gets compliments all around. Everyone toasts as they try some of Greg's first beer. Many styles are represented, including California common, robust porter, India pale ale, brown ale, stout, and American pale ale. Homemade Sarsparilla soda is on tap as well. The quality of the homemade goods is, overall, amazing.





Children run around and play with the house selection of toys--placed there by the owners to distract their toddler from the items and price tags on the shelves. There is a lot to talk about. Each food or drink has a story, and so does the neighborhood. "What is your mash efficiency with this grinder?", one brewer asks. The attendees talk about temperatures, cultures, ingredients and techniques, but its not all about fermenting.

Neighbors also talk about Kenton and all the exciting changes that are happening. There is a feeling that Kenton has a positive momentum. Neighbors are starting to come out and enjoy the neighborhood more. People talk about the ongoing PDC streetscape renovation that is widening the sidewalks and repaving Denver Avenue. Word is spreading about the new Kenton Third Thursday art walk that is coming together. When the weather gets nice out and the construction on Denver Ave. is finished, people say, those Third Thursdays are going to be a really nice event. There's even buzz about a possible street fair in Kenton's future.





To the owners and employee of the store, the event is validation of their early vision of the venue as a meeting place for neighbors and customers. It is validation of an idea less easy to understand when written in a business plan, than when experienced first hand. The people at the party just get it: Beyond the satisfaction of making your own cheese, or learning to balance malt and hops, sharing your hobby is even more fun. Meeting some of your neighbors is just a bonus.

Thanks to our customers for making this event a success, we had a blast.