Editor’s note: we’re still sorting out all the content from our Bay Area beer trip – it’s taken a bit longer than we thought, but it’s coming. Again, we’ll put together a centralized list of all our stops, in chronological order, when we’re all through.
We got into Ashland a little late on the first night of our beer trip, mostly due to an unplanned stop in Eugene for a sit-down dinner (I thought we’d fast food it). After checking into 4 rooms at the Bard’s Inn, it was already 11:30, but we rushed over to Standing Stone Brewing anyway, since it was the first real stop of our trip. I’d e-mailed the brewery ahead of time (that’s how I got the hotel recommendation), but Thursday looked to be a pretty sleepy night in Ashland, and I wasn’t sure they’d still be open.
In fact, they were just about to lock the front door when 8 thirsty guys from Portland showed up. As our ringleader, I asked if we could sneak one beer in, and Adam, brewer, bartender, and all around nice guy, said yes.
We had the entire place to ourselves, but Adam poured us a round and answered questions for at least a half-hour. Talk ranged from their brewery size (tiny but impressively well-built, beautiful, really) to their energy saving efforts (solar panels on the roof, capturing heat from the brewing process), all while making us feel welcome and unrushed as we drank our excellent beers.
I had the Double IPA, which was a great way to start the trip – it’s a true West-coast style IPA, with tons of hop bitterness backed up by a healthy dose of alcohol and a nice floral character on the aroma. But don’t let me tell you about it: listen to Adam. He’s the Brewer (and a stand-up guy).