City Club of Portland to Host forum about Craft Beer Industry

At its weekly Friday Forum luncheon on July 8, City Club of Portland presents a program titled Portland on Tap: How Microbrews Became Big Business," featuring Karl Ockert, Brewmaster at BridgePort Brewery, and Jim Parker, former Executive Director of The Oregon Brewers Guild and now Editor-in-Chief of The New Brewer and Zymurgy magazines.

(PRWEB) June 25, 2005 -- At its weekly Friday Forum luncheon on July 8, City Club of Portland presents a program titled Portland on Tap: How Microbrews Became Big Business," featuring Karl Ockert, Brewmaster at BridgePort Brewery, and Jim Parker, former Executive Director of The Oregon Brewers Guild and now Editor-in-Chief of The New Brewer and Zymurgy magazines.

According to the Oregon Brewers Guild, no matter where you are in Portland, you're never more than 15 minutes from a craft brewery. In fact, Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world -- 23 craft breweries in Portland; 34 in the Portland metro area -- and we are home to one of the nation's largest beer festivals.

Given that July is American Beer Month, City Club pauses for a refreshing look at one of Portland's definitive homegrown industries. Join us to learn more about how craft breweries got started in Portland, their impact on the larger industry, the market explosion of craft beer and how that's affected our Oregon economy.

City Club's Friday Forum, which is open to the public, will be held in the Governor Hotel (614 S.W. 11th Ave.). Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon reservations must be made online at www.pdxcityclub.org or by calling 503-228-7231, ext. 103 or 102, by 2 p.m. Wed., July 6 (members only may call 503-241-9242). Luncheon tickets are $20 ($16 for members of City Club). Coffee/tea table tickets are $5 at the door. General seating, available at the door, is $5 (free for members of City Club).

A NOTE TO MEDIA

Because of the holiday weekend, there will be no Friday Forum on July 1, 2005.

Media are encouraged to attend Friday Forums and are invited to sit in general seating. Please sign in at the registration table on the day of the forum. For broadcast media, an audio press patch will be available, and a riser for videotaping can be provided with advance notice. Contact Tim Krause at tim@pdxcityclub.org or 503-228-7231, ext. 102.

NEW LEADERS COUNCIL TO TOUR BRIDGEPORT BREWERY

As a companion program to the July 8 Friday Forum discussing Portland's brew scene, City Club's New Leaders Council invites you and your guests on a tour of BridgePort Brewery, Oregon's oldest craft brewery.

The tour, led by Brewmaster Karl Ockert, begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 8, at BridgePort Brewery (1313 NW Marshall St.). Brewery tours last 45 to 60 minutes and cover a brief history of BridgePort, an inside look at brewing, discussion of the packaging department and the brewery's proprietary bottle. Participants will also be able to observe renovation work in progress on the brewpub's retail space.

The brewery tour is free; because space is limited, however, participants must register in advance by calling City Club at 503-228-7231, ext. 103, or e-mail to cullen@pdxcityclub.org.

ABOUT THE KARL OCKERT

Karl Ockert is Brewmaster of the BridgePort Brewing Co. in Portland. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fermentation Sciences from the University of California at Davis. Karl moved to Oregon with his family in 1972 and first got into fermentations by making wine and beer with his mother as a youngster. He started the BridgePort Brewery with the Ponzi family very soon after graduating from the brewing sciences program at UC Davis. The first BridgePort ale was poured in November 1984 and Karl served as Brewmaster for six years. He left in 1990 to pursue other brewing industry avenues which lead him to work at Anheuser-Busch in Newark NJ, the Nor'Wester Brewery in Portland and to build brewpubs in Tacoma and Puyallup Washington. He returned to BridgePort in 1996 and has served as Brewmaster and Plant Manager for the past nine years. He has designed and supervised two expansion projects that have tripled the brewery's capacity and upgraded brewing and packaging equipment. Karl lives in Lake Oswego with his wife and twin teenage daughters.

ABOUT JIM PARKER

Jim Parker is Editor-in-Chief of The New Brewer and Zymurgy magazines, published by the Brewers Association. He is the former executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild. In an 18-year beer career, he has also worked as a beer writer, pub owner, brewer and brewpub general manager. A third-generation native Oregonian, he lives in Gresham with his wife Susan, son Joel, dogs Barley and Jasmine, two rats and a cat.

ABOUT CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND

City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic affairs organization that promotes civic engagement and active citizenship to build a stronger community. Through unbiased research and compelling programs, City Club connects citizens with ideas and issues that affect our community. City Club is open to everyone who wants to interact with other citizens and shape the future of our city and state, providing a neutral forum for many diverse voices. For more information about City Club of Portland, visit www.pdxcityclub.org or call 503-228-7231.

# # #