Willamette Week Announces Fourth Annual Beer Pro/Am

Willamette Week announces the return of Portland's original home brewer and professional brewer collaboration competition: the Beer Pro/Am, happening Saturday, October 15.

Since its start in 2013, when 11 brewer teams competed in the first Pro/Am in an empty warehouse which is now a New Seasons Market, this event has evolved into what Brewvana.com called "the most unique beer festival of the year" that is "unlike other beer fests that feel too big or too generic."

This year, 30 home brewers will partner with established pro brewers to create and debut a brand new beer, likely with a witty name, that they pour themselves during the event. And for the first time ever, you might find a cider or mead in the running. 500 guests taste all the new brews and vote for their favorite, crowning yet another Beer Pro/Am People's Choice Champion.

Go: Saturday, October 15. Noon to 6:30 p.m. The North Warehouse. 21+. Tickets on sale mid-summer. Tickets at bit.ly/wwproam16tix.

2016 WW Beer Pro/Am Roster Announced:

Brett Wendorf with 54-40 Brewing (Bolt Minister)

Jarett Creason/ John Moore with Baerlic Brewing (Ben Parsons)

Ritch Marvin with Breakside Brewery (Ben Edmunds)

Dean Ehnes with Bridgeport Brewing (Jeff Edgerton)

Jenn McPoland & Jeremie Landers with Burnside Brewing (Natalie Baldwin)

Jon & Parker Hall with Coalition Brewing (Elan Walsky)

Bill Schneller with Culmination Brewing (Tomas Sluter)

Martin Cizmar with Dean's Scene (Dean Pottle)

Enrique "Ricky" Mendez with Drinking Horse Beer (Emerson Lenon)

Mike Marsh with McMenamins Edgefield​ (Matt Bergfield)

Jack Hall with Ex Novo (Joel Gregory)

William McAuliffe with Feckin Brewing Co (Mark Maher)

Chris McNeel with Fort George (Tobiah McNeel)

Will Minderhout with Fat Heads (Mike Hunsaker)

Chad Graham with Great Notion (James Dugan)

Aaron Cohen with Laurelwood (Shane Watterson)

Kyle Kozlowski with Lompoc (Brendan Murphy)

Steve Carper with Montavilla Brewing (Michael Kora)

Chuck Macaluso with Ordnance (Logan Mayfield)

Mo Wark with Pints (Alan Taylor)

Tracy Hensley with Rogue (Danny Connors)

Mitch Scheele with Sasquatch Brewing Co. (Mike Paladino)

Brewvana Brewery Tours with Oregon Mead + Cider Company (Brooks Cooper)

Mirand Karson with Swift Cider (Aiden Currie)

Jeremy Speer with Three Mugs Brewing Co (Jay & Josh Jennings)

Matthew Fields with Trusty Brewing (Gary Paul)

Kevin Smith with Unicorn Brewing (Jay Webb)

Warren Holmes with Uptown Market (Tyler Staples)

Jim Telles with Vanguard (Don Anderson)

Nick Roberts with Zoiglhaus Brewing Company (Alan Taylor)

Steve Munch with Widmer (Dan Munch)

Announcing the (nearly complete) 2016 Beer List:

54-40 Brewing Company with Brett Wendorf

Liberty INXS | India Pale Lager

Over 17 pounds of freshly picked Liberty hops per barrel went into this hoppy lager. Our home-brewer extraordinaire developed the grist bill with a smidge of munich and light crystal malt. This is what you need, we'll give you what you need.

Baerlic Brewing Company with Jarett Creason/ John Moore

Peel the Bern! "Make America Wheat Again!" | Imperial Wheat

Imperial American Wheat ale with tangerine and orange peel fermented in a Bernheim Wheat Whiskey barrel.

Breakside Brewery with Ritch Marvin

TBA | Sour Witbier with Ginger and Kumquat

A tart farmhouse wheat ale brewed with a mixed culture of Saccharomyces and Lactobacillus. Spicy notes of fresh ginger and juicy kumquat balance the yeast and acid profiles in this refreshing quaffer.

BridgePort Brewpub with Dean Ehnes

Hop-Podge IPA | Autumnal IPA

Burnside Brewing Company with Jenn McPoland + Jeremie Landers

Fleur de Creme | Layered American 'Cream Ale'

Base layer: Pilsner malt and a touch of corn / Second layer: Bob's Red Mill rolled oats and wheat for added fluffiness and creaminess / Third Layer: Lactose for a bit of sweet creaminess and depth / Top Layer: Conditioned with Madagascar vanilla beans, soft and sweet, bring a subtle sweet flavor and aroma that is delicately balanced by French lavender (locally foraged by many of our beer hunter-gatherer friends in Portland).

Coalition with Parker and Jon Hall

Bretta Persica | 100% brett fermented IPA aged on necatrines

Bretta Persica is a uniquely delicious creation. The base beer begins as an IPA, with galaxy and equinox hops providing tropical and citrus notes. This base is fermented with brettanomyces, a wild yeast which contributes a pleasantly dry finish and notes of fruit, funk, and farmhouse. Nectarines, a.k.a. Prunus Persica, are added mid fermentation, adding delightful fruit notes that intermingle with the tropical hops and fermentation esters. Highly drinkable, unique, and all around delicious!

Culmination Brewing with Bill Schneller

The Trumpet Major | Modern interpretation of traditional Burton Old Ale with Brettanomyces

Burton Old Ales were traditionally aged before release and many English strong ales were actually blends of fresh beer with older, barrel aged strong ales. These blended Old Ales had rich malt and fruity notes, but also had a vinous quality from the barrel aging with Brettanomyces. Our beer is a late 19th/early 20th century Burton Ale recipe blended with a barrel aged strong ale that had Brettanomyes added. It has the strong, rich malt backbone with fruity and vinous notes from Brettanomyces and finishes with assertive bitterness that balances the malt richness.

Drinking Horse Brewing Company with Enrique "Ricky" Mendez

Ale Be Quirky | Hefeweizen

Hefeweisen with mango, lime and habenaro

Edgefield (McMenamins) with Mike Marsh

Sorcerer's Apprentice | Nectarine Brett Pale

350 pounds of roasted Fantasia nectarines, Imperial Yeast's Suburban Brett, 8 Hogshead whiskey barrels, Mike Marsh's ingenuity and Edgefield Brewery's know-how have combined to create a funky, lightly fruity, Brett primary fermented beer that spent its whole life in oak barrels.

Ex Novo Brewing Company with Jack Hall

It Burns When IPA | Jalapeño Cream Ale

Spicy, smooth, and fruity. Cream ale brewed with Jalapeños and tropical fruity hops!

Fat Head's Brewery with Will Minderhout

Roll Tide Rye IPA | Red Rye IPA

The winningest beer made by the best coach in the business. Ready to take another National Championship. IPA with smooth red malt character balanced by dry, spicy rye malt and finishes with tropical fruit aroma and flavors of grapefruit, mango and pine.

Feckin Irish Brewing Company with William McAullife

It's a Feckin Mermaid | Fresh Hop Rye IPA

A twist on Feckin IPA made with a blend of Rye and barley. Fresh hops of Crystal and a mystery hop give it the profile.

Fort George Brewery with Chris McNeel

The Doomed Rider | Wee Heavy

Full bodied malty Wee Heavy with notes of caramel and coffee (hand-roasted by the brewers). Fuggle hops add a woodsy taste of The Old Country.

Great Notion Brewing and Barrel House with Chad Graham

Amprosia | Saison

Amprosia is a saison fermented with a mixed culture of lacto, pedio and brett and aged in stainless steel with local chenin blanc and merlot grapes for two months.

Laurelwood Brewery with Aaron Cohen

Hellfest | German-Style Helles/ Fest Bier

Hellfest is made with German malt, hops and yeast. It is brewed as much like a German beer as Laurelwood's Brewery can pull off! This beer is somewhere between a German-Style Helles and Fest Bier. It is a light, clean, very sessionable, somewhat malty, rich, lager bier perfect for celebrating the fall harvest season. We hope you enjoy Hellfest, prost!

Lompoc Brewing with Kyle Kozlowski

Just Once, Think Twice… | Belgian Tripel

So, we made a tripel. But we added a bunch of hops to give it a nice citrus finish. Then we dry hopped with more hops and some blood orange puree, because that sounded cool. Then we introduced the beer to some brett since that seemed fun. It all adds up to a truly unique beer.

Montavilla Brew Works with Steve Carper

Ein Prosit! Festbier | Festbier

Inspired by the modern beers found in the tents of the original Oktoberfest celebration in Munich, Germany. Deep golden color, rich malt forward flavor well balanced by assertive additions of Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. Ein Prosit!

Ordnance Brewing with Chuck Macaluso

Goofy Oak IPA | Oaked IPA

Our homage to a turn of the century style. This English IPA was brewed and fermented on oak to imitate the trip eastward in an oaken barrel to it's final destination. To keep this tried and true style fresh, we threw in a little west coast flavor with some Willamette and Crystal hops. Here's to the journey!

Oregon Mead and Cider Company with Brewvana Brewery Tours

I Mead You To Mead Me | Barrel Aged Dry Sparkling Session Mead

A delicate blend of fruit, spice and honey with highlights drawn from the barrel.

PINTS with Mo Wark

Zingiber | Ginger-Infused Pale Ale

Pickled sushi ginger and powdered ginger in the kettle, fresh ginger root in the fermentor. The vibrant flavor and aroma of ginger is what is on display. Zingiber utilizes a clean malt bill of American 2-row and C-15 malts with Columbus hops for bittering and Amarillo and El Dorado for the late hop additions. But it is really all about the ginger, let's be honest with each other.

Rogue Ales with Tracy Hensley

Golden Oak | Pinot Gris Barrel Fermented and Aged Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Local Lange Estate Winery invented barrel-fermented, New World, Pinot Gris. Fermented two months in Lange barrel; "Golden Oak" blends Pinot Gris' bright, intricate flavors with Belgian Golden Strong Ale's subtle complexity.

Sasquatch Brewing Company with Mitch Scheele

Dr. Filbert | Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale

Bold dark malts and a choice Belgian yeast give off sweet, spicy aromas and flavors up front with a finish of smooth, earthy nuttiness from hand-toasted local hazelnuts. You'll like this one. We aren't doctors, but you can trust us.

Swift Cider with Miranda Karson

Purple Rain | Cider

Juice from Newtown Pippin apples / Brewer's Gold to please your brain / pureed Oregon black currants / funky brett fermented / into Purple Rain. Purple Rain, Purple Rain….

Three Mugs Brewing Company with Jeremy Speer

I Want Samoa Dat! | Milk Stout with Caramel, Chocolate and Coconut

The Girl Scouts are knocking at the door, but, instead of a box of cookies, they're bringing you a delicious Samoa cookie in a glass. Rich and chocolaty; caramel and coconut: We used hundreds of caramel cubes, plus pounds of cacao nibs and shaved coconut. Take a bite…I bet you can't drink just one.

Trusty Brewing Company with Matthew Fields

OMFUQ (Oh My Favorite Quad) | Belgian style Quadrupel

OMFUQ is a Belgian style Quadrupel brewed with massive variety of classic dark malts, pale malts and traditional Belgian candi sugar. Fermented with a derivative of Trappist yeast, this beer showcases an amalgam of complex flavors. The aroma is loaded with fruity esters of date fig and plumb intertwined with spicy phenolic clove notes and some hints of banana. No spices or fruit were used in its production yet its complex aroma begs to differ, a small amount warming alcohol notes eludes to its dangerous drinkability. In the first few sips you will realize this is drinkable work of art is not for the faint of heart. Big notes of toffee, biscuit, and dough assert themselves at the forefront followed by more dark fruit and ending with a booze soaked fig note. The finish remains dry and tends to linger leaving the mouth watering for another slow sip. This beer can warm you up on a cool fall evening or be your Trusty companion fireside after a day on the ski slopes, meant to be enjoyed with friends, family and fellow beer lovers.

Unicorn Brewing Company with Kevin Smith

Miahnator | Doppelbock Lager

Mianator is a classic German doppelbock in every sense of the style. Though rich and full of malt complexity it is not cloyingly sweet or syrupy in its body, and has a gorgeous nut-brown color with blood-red highlights.

Uptown Market Brewery with Warren Holmes

TBA | Herb/Spiced Beer

Yerba Mate infused smoked wheat with lemon zest

Vanguard Brewing Company with Jim Telles

There Can Be Only One | Wee heavy Scottish ale

A malty beer for those fall days. Our version is easy drinking with some lightly smoked flavors to accent the Marris Otter grain used in its production.

Widmer Brothers Brewing with Steve Munch

Munchensteiner Spezial | German Spezial (Strong Helles/Export)

Steve has been homebrewing for over 20 years and is the reason Dan became interested in brewing in the first place. While brewing a variety of styles, his taste preference is for lagers in particular. His ever growing homebrew setup has progressed over the years from plastic buckets to glycol cooled conicals.This example of a Spezial came about when Steve and Dan miscalculated how efficient their garage homebrew helles batch would turn out, and decided not to water it down back to 5%. Steve's favorite homebrew was born, and we are excited to bring this elegant lager to the table.A long and cold fermentation temperature brings out the clean and rich flavors of the german malts. The restrained level of hops and dryness of the finish lend a drinkability to this otherwise robust showcase of 'less is more'.

Zoiglhaus Brewing Company with Nick Roberts

It is what it is… | Fruit-infused Saison

What it is is a strawberry-infused black peppercorn saison. That pretty much sums it up.

Event partners include:

Food

PDX Sliders

Thrive Sauces & Bowls

Wailua Shave Ice

Music

DJ Short Change

And More…

Bailey's Taproom

Brewed Oregon

Brewvana

Digital Pour

Girls Pint Out

Good IV

Green Mountain Energy

Hidden Rose Tattoo

Jayne

Kettle Brand Chips

Krave Jerky

Muv Training

Nature Commode

Sasquatch Sauces

SUM design studio + architecture

Zythos Project

Buy tickets now.

2106 Pro/Am Judges Include:

David Hayes | Homebrewer

Herb Apon | Loyal Legion

Kirsten Ringen | Northwest Food Processors Association

Ezra Johnson-Greenough | New School Beer

Kris McDowell | Ladies of Lagers and Ales

Jessyka Dart-Mclean | Buoy Beer

Brian Kidd | The Unipiper

The 2016 application period is closed.

HOMEBREWER APPLICATION HERE

PROFESSIONAL BREWER APPLICATION HERE

A FEW RULES FOR APPLICANTS:

1. Teams must be made of one home brewer and one professional brewer.

2. Teams must brew at least one full keg (1/2 bbl) and may not release this beer on tap or for sale prior to the event 10/15.

3. Teams may self-select partners. An applicant may also select "free agent" and WW will create teams based on available space.

SPONSORSHIPS:

For sponsorship inquiries, please reach out to events@wweek.com.

PREVIOUS PRO/AM CHAMPIONS:

2013

Judges Choice:

Sasquatch Brewing Co. with George Dimeo

Vanilla Bourbon Cream Ale

People's Choice:

Sasquatch Brewing Co. with George Dimeo

Vanilla Bourbon Cream Ale

2014

Judges Choice:

Kells' Irish Brew Pub with Natalie Baldwin

Boom Roaster Coffee/Milk Stout

People's Choice:

Kells' Irish Brew Pub with Natalie Baldwin

Boom Roaster Coffee/Milk Stout

2015

Judges Choice:

13 Virtues with Bill Schneller

OG Stout, Historical 19th Century Imperial Brown Stout

People's Choice:

Coalition and Cullen Conway

Figtory! Saison with roasted figs

2016

Judges Choice:

???

People's Choice:

???

Willamette Week