Widmer Brothers Releasing Collaborator Series Steel Bridge Porter

Widmer Brothers has been a longtime advocate for the homebrewing community. Kurt and Rob Widmer started as homebrewers before opening Widmer Brothers Brewing and have been a part of the local Portland homebrew club, the Oregon Brew Crew, for more than 30 years. The Collaborator Project began in 1998 after Oregon Brew Crew members were encouraged to develop a homebrew recipe using Widmer Brothers’ house yeast.

Since then, annual winners of the Collaborator homebrew competition have earned opportunities to brew their recipes at Widmer Brothers’ pilot brewery system and have their beers distributed locally.

“Every Collaborator brewer has been like a proud parent,” said Rob Widmer. “And I can relate. When you are a homebrewer, to your non-brewer friends you are a hobbyist, an amateur. But when you brew for the Project and can take your friends into a local pub and order your own beer, your friends look at you differently. Your position as a brewer is certainly elevated in their eyes — It’s a very proud moment.”

The Project has been pushing brewing boundaries for the last 15 years, and the Oregon Brew Crew and The Collaborator Project take some claim in the remarkable innovation taking place within Portland’s craft beer scene.
“Former homebrewers have taken over,” said Blake, the creator of Steel Bridge Porter and 18-year member of the Oregon Brew Crew. “The inmates are now running the asylum, and innovation is oozing out of brewhouses all across the country. Ultra-hop beers are now a competitive sport, and souring, barrel-aging, hybrid styles, exotic yeasting, and yes, collaboration brews, are demanded by consumers in the leading craft beer markets.”

While Steel Bridge Porter can best be described as a chocolaty porter, it has depth that reveals an interplay of dominant chocolate character with toast, coffee, and orange notes. “The mouthfeel is rich, yet the bitterness just assertive enough to lead the finish to the dry side,” said Blake.