It is difficult to explain the feeling I get when I visit a new brewery. Overall, I feel as though the experience is ineffable; words just can’t provide enough imagery to truly capture the experience, thus failing miserably in accurately conveying to the readers the scope of awesomeness that has taken place.
But, if I must analogize for the readers out there, it would be similar to being a child trick-or-treating on a street where every other house is a Toys “R” Us and the end of the evening culminates with a trip to the North Pole in Santa’s sleigh. Pretty bitchin’, I know.
Recently, I hitched up the team and took the sleigh to Seven Brides Brewing in Silverton, Oregon. I was invited to this establishment after meeting head brewer Josiah Kelley at a Halloween party. I was already a fan of the offerings from this brewery so this fortuitous encounter worked out well.
Seven Brides gets their name from the fact that the 3 dads and 2 uncles who founded this brewery had only daughters between them all. With plenty of weddings to pay for, these 5 guys decided it would behoove themselves to sell enough beer to pay for all of these blessed events. Each bride has a brew named after her!
The beer sampler is always the way I start when I’m visiting a new brewery. The sampler at Seven Brides is very generous! 12 ample samples for $10 and we were off!
The food was amazing too! The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. And, FYI, get the roasted red potatoes for your side dish; they’re excellent!
I know, I know, get to the beer, Ryan.
After sampling all 12 beers they had on tap, I’d have to say that there wasn’t one that I didn’t like. Sure there were styles that I may not always aggressively seek out, but each beer was very well crafted and was quite quaffable.
The year-round offerings at Seven Brides are Lil’s Pils, Lauren’s Pale Ale, Emily’s Ember, Oatmeal Ellie, Franken Lou’s, and the Becky’s Black Cat Porter. Seasonal beers most definitely worth finding are the Hazelbock, Bridezilla, and the Drunkle.
With the sample glasses as empty as the stockings in Whoville and our plates with but crumbs too small for a mouse, it was time to tour the brewing facility!
Mr. Kelley took time out of his day to show us his laboratory where all of the delicious science goes into perfecting libations which appeal to the masses. Seriously, there was science and math as a part of the tour. I love this job! If only I could go back and tell my 17 year old self about this amazingly PRACTICAL application for math…sigh.
I highly recommend visiting this brewery if you can. And, I definitely recommend talking with Mr. Kelley if he is available. An awesome brewer for an awesome brewery!
It may not be Halloween or Christmas but we left there with plenty of growler fills, bottles, happy palates, and intentions of returning.
Thank you so much to the whole team at Seven Brides for a very memorable experience. We’ll be seeing you soon!
Hey Ryan,
I really enjoyed reading this article. I like the way you really show your love for beer in your writing and the analogies were fantastic. I have yet to check out the Seven Brides brewery, but I will have to give it a shot. You sold me on the brewery by your comparison of the trip to a child’s trick-or-treat experience. Mentioning the great prices and your take on the food and beer didn’t hurt either. Thanks!