Vertigo Brewing

We can see it coming: Vertigo Brewing, a small startup brewery from the Portland area, continues to expand their distribution network and brewing capacity, eventually joining the list of Oregon nanobreweries to go regional.

Even if you don’t subscribe to the credentialism of beer awards (they have many), the official accolades and unofficial word-of-mouth Vertigo is receiving is on the rise, and people who matter are starting to notice. They bumped Pyramid’s Audacious Apricot from the fruit beer lineup at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern, one of the hottest beer spots in Portland, with their own Apricot Cream Ale. They continue to find success at the waterfront Oregon Brewers Festival with their raspberry Razz Wheat (a close McMenamin’s Ruby clone) and others, serving beer side-by-side with big-name breweries from across the country.

More importantly --- looking under the hood of Vertigo being a commercial brewery --- Brewmasters Mike Haines and Mike Kinion are two exceedingly polite, normal guys who made the transition from talented homebrewers to talented brewmasters on their own, and made it work. Vertigo’s neighborly relationship with their individual and commercial customers is the foundation for their present and future successes; with so much potential, it remains to be seen just how big of an operation they want to become.

Keep an eye out for their stuff. It's always cool when a new brewery has a great story, and good people behind it.

Apricot Cream Ale, Razz Wheat
www.vertigobrew.com