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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Honest Pints at Sixteen Tons

Eugene, hermetically sealed from the good beer explosion for about 15 years, is catching up. It is finally boosting it's brewery-to-human ratio, and is home to an awakening giant (Ninkasi). Now it has a bottle shop/tasting bar in the mode of Portland's Belmont Station, Hop and Vine, Bottles, and so on. I consider these establishments indicative of the growth of beer geekery--they pop up when a community reaches a critical mass for, say, gueuze demand. [Note: see comments for a correction on this point.]

Sixteen Tons, which recently hosted a wild ale fest, is such a place. And thanks to the efforts of our Eugene correspondent, Kevin, we are now delighted to certify them as purveyors of honest pints. As is appropriate for those who take beer very seriously, Sixteen Tons receives a gold star for including an etched line indicating the 16-ounce fill point. Kudos!




Sixteen Tons Beer and Wine Bottle Shop
Certified Purveyor of an Honest Pint
265 E 13th
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 345-2003
website | Facebook




As always, I strongly encourage you to visit this fine establishment.

7 comments:

  1. Jeff,

    I believe that you were writing this blog entry with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but the arrival of Sixteen Tons did not usher in the bottle shop/tasting room era to Eugene.

    Eugene was far ahead of Portland in this concept as the Bier Stein (combination bottle shop, tasting room, pub) opened long before Belmont Station opened its cafe side.

    That said, I will certainly make plans to visit Sixteen Tons the next time I'm down south (only 0.3 miles from the Stein!)

    Cheers to great beers everywhere!
    Patrick

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  2. Patrick, my tongue was not in my cheek, but my brain was apparently still in the dresser drawer. What a remarkable blunder. Thanks for the reminder and apologies to Beer Stein--which, during that hermetically sealed phase, was one of Eugene's bright spots.

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  4. What's this brain doing in here? Huge thanks to Ted Sobel from the Brewer's Union for the pint glass design and inspiration!

    The Bier Stein and McMenamins High Street Brewery are the anchors in our burgeoning beery neighborhood. A block to the West of 16 Tons is Valley Vintner, a fantastic homebrew shop.

    Fields Brewing (long since out of business) was also within a block. I think breweries going out of business (Fields, Wild Duck, West Bros) in Eugene in the 90s and early 2000s is a main reason for the dearth of Craft Beer in Eugene.

    However, there is a very strong undercurrent of beer love in the EUG. I would not be surprised to see 5 more breweries open in the next few years. We are working on it! - Mike 16 Tons

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  5. Sixteen Tons,

    I thought that Fields was a repressed memory of my early beer drinking days. That said, I still revel that my earliest serious pub-going days were at the Wild Duck. It seems like such a double edged sword. I knew the beer was really good - it just took some 20 odd years to realize how very good it was.
    Patrick

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  6. Props to the other commenters for reminding us of the beer oases that got us through those times of shuttering breweries. For a town our size, Eugene is rocking the beer scene. I agree with the lads -- there's only more to come here for breweries, pubs and bottle shops, and plenty of thirsty beer lovers to keep 'em afloat.

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