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Beerlandia: How to Cellar Beer That is Exceptional

Wondering how best to cellar beer? There are five simple rules to follow. written by Jeremy Storton | illustrated by Allison Bye As legend has it, British lords would age a batch of barley wine made when a baby was born, then drink it when the lad turned 18. These days, we know fresh is best, but there is still a time and place for something old and something brewed. Cellaring a beer has five simple rules. 1. Keep bottles upright to allow yeast to settle and to minimize surface area oxidation. 2. Keep bottles away from sun and fluorescent light, which will create off flavors reminiscent of skunk or propane. 3. Keep bottles at a steady, even temperature, around 50 degrees, to allow good flavors to evolve and harsh ones to mellow. 4. Stronger beers can store longer, but plan on saving the beer up to five years, unless advised…

A Modest and Chic Portland Home

Modest chic Portland home with texture and bright pops of color written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Built Photo Not all kitchens need the pomp and circumstance of showy stoves and flashy range hoods. Take the one in this custom home in Southeast Portland—it’s all about the subtle details. Sunlight pours through a full-height window which is perfectly aligned to brighten the center aisle on the city’s grayest days. White quartz counters wrap white oak cabinet fronts, revealing a neat shadow gap where the stone and wood meet. Yet behind those cabinet doors are boxes from IKEA’s Sektion line. Such an unfussy approach was deliberate on the homeowners’ part. “They wanted a fairly modest and compact house,” said architect Jeff Stern of In Situ Architecture, who worked with JRA Green Building to complete the home in 2017. “They weren’t looking for anything very formal.” Stern started the design process…

A Modern Traditional Tetherow Home

A modern traditional Tetherow home detailing of modernism, with a few rustic and industrial accents thrown in written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Heaven McArthur for Timberline Construction of Bend When building a brand-new house, the options can seem endless, which sometimes leads to “analysis paralysis” in certain clients. The owners of this recent build in Bend’s Tetherow development avoided indecision by identifying what they didn’t want first. “Especially in Tetherow, a lot of the houses are super modern, but they didn’t want a super contemporary home,” said Bend-based interior designer Lucy Roland of Harper House Design. In 2015, Roland joined Timberline Construction and Tebbs Design Group to guide the owners, a couple in the brewery business, through the design and build process. “[The wife] definitely errs on the side of more traditional,” Roland said. “So, they wanted something that can bridge the gap between modern and traditional.” On the…

Old Blue Raw Honey Behind the Scenes

Nectar of the Gods: Old Blue Raw Honey comes in many (nuanced) flavors written by Sophia McDonald | photography by Bill Purcell The jars of thick liquid sitting on Old Blue Raw Honey’s table at the Corvallis Farmers Market ranged in color from spun gold to dark amber. As customers picked them up, company co-owner Camille Storch explained the hand-printed notes on the labels. Storch and her husband, Henry, who has been keeping bees for about twelve years, pay careful attention to the nectar source available to each of their hives. Instead of mixing everything together when they bottle the honey, they keep each hive’s products separate so they can tell customers where the sweet liquid came from and what the bees were eating. Why go to all this trouble? Just as an animal’s diet affects the flavor of its meat or soil influences a wine’s terroir, a bee’s food…

Home Is Where Oregon Is

Home Is Where Oregon Is written by Maiah Miller The love I feel for Oregon grows in my life much like the native pine tree. I have a delicate version inked on my wrist as a constant reminder of the Pacific Northwest, and each flash of the boughs peeking from my sleeve reminds me of home. As a military spouse, I move often, seemingly farther away from my birthplace of Eugene with each duty station. I carry this love for my home state like a security blanket. It is something I can reach for and cling to in times of homesickness. Oregon invades my thoughts when daydreaming, like the fog along the coast. I find ways to weave my love of the state into my life, even when I’m physically far from the valley I grew up in. When I first left the state to move with my twin to…

Ian Sharman’s Approach to Ultrarunning

Grit, training and Bend beer Ian Sharman takes a more casual approach to ultrarunning written by Mackenzie Wilson How does an economist from London who’s lived most of his life at sea level transform into an ultrarunner capable of conquering 100-milers above 10,000 feet? For Ian Sharman, 37 and of Bend, it all started with walking. In 2005, Sharman was living in London and saw a TV show highlighting the Marathon des Sables race, 150 miles in six stages over seven days. It made him wonder if he could do something like that. He played sports growing up, but had never focused on running. “On the TV show, I saw people walking most of it and I thought, I’m sure I can walk for a week, that doesn’t seem like a big deal.” The next year, Sharman signed up for the race. During stage three he got hyponatremia—dangerously low levels…

Design Finds With A Modern ‘Mid’ Look

Design Finds Get the modern ‘Mid’ look of the West Hills bath Go bold with Clayhaus Ceramics’ Futura Collection. It’s comprised of five different tile designs that can be mixed and matched in a rainbow of glazes, all with a distinctive three-dimensional quality to their surface. clayhaustile.com There’s no need to have disparate packaging around when the cotton balls and Q-tips can be decanted into these chic stoneware vessels, available in a variety of sizes. Offered in either white or black and topped with low-profile acacia lids, they’ll create a much more cohesive display. rejuvenation.com For a minimalist treatment similar to the floating light fixtures in the West Hills bath, try the Baird Aged Brass Sconce from Hudson Valley Lighting, which combines a simple brass base with an oversized orbital shade. Pick it up at Globe Lighting, an outpost for fine lighting in the Pacific Northwest since its first store…

Gastronomy: Wild About Game

Gastronomy: Wild About Game written by Jen Stevenson Run (and eat) wild with a thicketful of the Pacific Northwest’s best chefs at Nicky USA’s annual celebration of wild game and culinary camaraderie, returning on September 30 to the Mt. Hood Oregon Resort in Welches, Oregon. Now in its eighteenth year, the festival promises an impressive lineup of local cooking talent, from Castagna’s Justin Woodward and Aviary’s Sarah Pliner to Seattle chefs David Nichols (Rider) and Alex Barkley (Manolin). Against a backdrop of the Oregon high country’s brilliant fall foliage, guests sample gourmet meats, craft beers, charcuterie, spirits, cheeses, wine, cider, chocolate and coffee from nearly fifty top local purveyors including Olympia Provisions, Salt & Straw and Crowley Wines, plus meat-centric bites from more than a dozen acclaimed chefs like Gregory Gourdet of Departure and Kachka’s Bonnie Morales. The meaty merriment turns serious come the Carter Cutlery Cooking Competition, which pits…

Two Portland Bathroom Luxury Remodels

Two mid-century Portland bathroom remodels pack a lot of luxury with light tile and charm written by Melissa Dalton A Modern Take on a West Hills Mid-century When a couple bought this rambler in Portland’s West Hills, it still held much of its Mid-century charm, which the new owners loved. Soaring ceilings clad in cedar in the living room? Check. Original kitchen cabinets in excellent shape? Yes, please. Unfortunately, their swooning stopped upon seeing the master bathroom. “ The house was built in 1954, and I don’t think the bathrooms had ever been touched,” said Stewart Horner, principal designer at Penny Black Interiors, who worked with the homeowners on a refresh. “It was pretty much as it had been for fifty-plus years, and it wasn’t pleasant.” First, there was the room’s unappealing Jack-and-Jill layout. A popular treatment during the Mid-century era, it meant the bathroom was shared between the parents’…

Weekend Wanderings in Eastern Oregon

Eastern Oregon: Plan your next vacay to this less traveled part of the state and find out why we think it’s one of the best places to discover. written by Jen Stevenson EN ROUTE In historic Pendleton, home to one of the country’s most famous rodeos every September, grab a bite at busy Sister’s Café before embarking on the entertaining 90-minute Pendleton Underground Tour. Try a pint of Righteous Indignation red ale at Prodigal Son Brewery and Pub, or pair wood-fired pizza with one of the beaker- bound house cocktails at Oregon Grain Growers Brand Distillery, then head a mile east to the Pendleton Woolen Mill, which offers four free weekday tours, no reservations necessary. In La Grande, sip Walla Walla rosé at charmingly renovated Wine Down café and wine bar, then eat 6 Ranch grass-fed beef burgers and smoked aioli-drizzled dirty fries alongside the local college kids at Side…