Last week I took a friend from Dallas, TX out for a night in Portland. The beer selection in Dallas is limited but they do get Bridgeport IPA and Blue Heron as well as Widmer Hefeweizen. His favorite is Bridgeport so we headed to NW Portland to visit Bridgeport’s brewery. After a couple beers each we headed South to get some food at Paragon. On our way out we passed a couple brewman stirring a vat of hops. We stopped to enjoy the smell of hops and brewing beer and one of the brewman invited us over to take a closer look. After explaining that what we were looking at was a “Hop-back,” a way to reintroduce hops in to the brew after boiling to give the beer that hoppiness we like.

Here is where is gets really cool. The brewman we were talking to invited us back to take a tour of the brewery. Now, I know anyone can take a tour. Brewery tours are a part of all brewerys. This one was different. It was only the two of us and a brewman, not some tour guide or PR person. I don’t think we got to see anything more than anyone else does. However, delivery matters. And the perspective we got from our guide Tom was straight from the pits of Bridgeport’s 80 barrel brewing system.

We went from boiling tank to fermentation, to settling tanks, and then to the lab. We drank straight from the settling tanks (well, poured in to a glass), took in the sweet smell of hops in the hop fridge, and tasted some old beer in the lab to see what makes a skunky beer. Along the way we were educated on the finer points of beer brewing and drinking beer with the snarky, cynical delivery that only Tom could supply.

When you love beer like we do, you start to wonder why you love it so much. Of course, some would say it has to do with the alcohol in it. You know, the old Pavlovovian response to stimulus. But I’d like to believe it something more than just a chemical response to alcohol. Brewman like Tom are an inspiring beacon to all of us beer lovers. I learned something about where my beer comes from and why it tastes so good. I learned about the way lagers are brewed as opposed to an IPA or ale and why I like each differently.

So hats off, or better yet raise one up for Tom. His humble attitude and hard work is what makes great beer.