Calapooia Brewing » Albany

What’s up at The ‘Pooia!

Paul — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:50:30 +0000

We’ve been having a great time with special events this month at The Calapooia Brewing Company! February 4th was the 13th Annual Greater Albany Rotary Club Crab Feed, which, if you’ve done the math, has been occurring in our space since before Mark and Laura took it over. Over 800 people came through our doors that day, doing their part to put a dent in the local Dungeness population. Then there was Valentine’s Day and we put on a 4 course meal including Prime Rib and Steelhead and John Shipe played romantic songs. So what’s next? Well there is Fat Tuesday and it’s a leap year, so February is an extra day long. I’d say that’s cause for celebration.

In the mean time, there’s music. Lots and lots of good music. Thursday’s are a rotation of local bands that play the same numbered Thursday of every month, Rusty Hinges, Wild Hog in The Woods and Rough Jazz. Every once in a while we have a guest appearance by another local favorite for a little variety. Every Saturday is our music showcase where we are entertained by singer/songwriters, folk groups, rock bands, jazz ensembles and just about every other kind of musical entertainment you’ve heard of. Every other Friday, or so, is a special musical highlight night where I’ve booked someone very special, or else I’d already filled all my Saturdays and I just had to get this band in before next winter!

On Sundays, something very unique occurs at the ‘Pooia. Lots of places have a blues jam at their establishment, most often occurring on an off business day where local musicians can come jam together and the house doesn’t usually pay them. But what has been happening every Sunday at the ‘Pooia for the last 3 or 4 years is something notable indeed. The brains of the outfit is a fellow named Froggy, who’s been heading up this shindig since it’s inception not long after the opening of Calapooia Brewing. Joined in late 2007 by Dennis Monroe, the heart of the blues jam, a sort of alchemy began. With shredding guitarists, Derek Zane and Steven (who’s last name escapes me) as the core of the jam, a who’s who of Oregon (and now they’re coming from other states!) blues players make cameo appearances and bring fresh juice to an already dynamic compilation. This last Sunday, we enj0yed a phenomenon known as Diva Day, wherein spectacular female vocalists came and dazzled a packed pub. So if you’ve never been to a blues jam, you should come check it out. It never disappoints. They only occasionally take a Sunday off, so you might call the pub just to be sure.

On February 8th we hosted our first Science Pub, in which a chemist from the University of Oregon came and gave a presentation on nanotechnology. It was enlightening, fascinating and fun and we plan on making this a regular occurrence. Evidently, this Science Pub thing has been going on for some time in the United Kingdom and as our pub culture continues to evolve here in the states, I think we’ll see more of this. I am excited to bring this tradition here to Albany, Oregon and will post the date on our events calendar as soon as we’re set for the next one!

There are other things on the horizon for our big, little pub and we are excited for the year ahead. Check our music/events page for what’s happening this weekend and after and I’ll strive to bring you more information on what’s coming up. Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you here at the ‘Pooia!

Cheers!

Paulrus

Tyler Fortier Returns to The Calapooia, This Friday!

Paul — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:38:26 +0000

From the Mid-Willamette Valley comes a young bard with an old soul. Based in Eugene, with roots deep throughout the valley, including Albany, Tyler Fortier is a fine example of the artistic wealth of the region. Barely a quarter of a century old, Tyler exhibits a wisdom beyond his years. Lifetimes of pain, loss, renewal and hope can be heard in the voice of this old soul wearing the guise of a young man. Usually, such depth comes from much suffering and family strife, yet when Tyler plays the Calapooia, the place is filled with family and friends of at least 3, perhaps 4 generations, all delighting in him and one another. It’s as if he is able to speak for the newly born as well as the well worn with their full complicity. When you come to see and hear Tyler Fortier, alone or with a band, you’ll know you’re experiencing something very special.

Showtime is 8pm, Friday the 29th at The Calapooia Brewpub. Free.

Tyler Fortier at McDonald Theatre, Eugene, OR

Albany Crab Feed 2010 in Pictures

Dan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:06:12 +0000

We enjoyed another great year of hosting the Albany Crab Feed. Check out the images I got that afternoon, and if you have some to add, please email me at webmaster@calapooiabrewing.com

dc, webmaster

Crab Feed at Calapooia Brewing in Albany, Oregon.

Calapooia Brewing Stained Glass. Click for an HD widescreen wallpaper.

Pouring Pilsner at Calapooia Brewing

Calapooia Brewing Atrium Panoramic at Crab Feed 2010. Click for the Hi-Res version.

Delicious!

Beavers Basketball!

The Big 2010 ‘Pooia Update!

Dan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:08:58 +0000

I was just talking to Paul the other day when I recalled it had been some time since I had caught up the website. At last check, we were still hoping the Beavs were Rose Bowl bound… Sadly they were not, but we congratulate them on another great season and look forward to 2010!

Here’s a quick picture from the live radio broadcast of the Joe Beavers Show at our brewpub:

Brewpub News

Since then there have been a couple changes around the pub.

First we’re changing our hours: We are now open every day of the week at 11:30!

And we’ve changed our keg sales hours as follows:

Tuesday 4:30-5:30pm
Thursday 4:30-5:30pm
Friday 4:30-5:30pm

In beer news, Mark has just finished a brand new amber rye recipe that Matt has named Rock Hard Rye. It features a hop that is new to us, the Zeus Bittering hops. It’s an American aromatic high-alpha hop — 15%, aka powerful! Mark reports this will only be available at the pub and should be pouring in about 3 weeks. He also noted that Simco Springs is now available again, and they have enough for some limited distribution as well.

A quick reminder that we have lots of great live music every week at our Downtown Albany brewpub. Become a fan of our Facebook group and get all the updates every week from Paul!

Upcoming Events

This weekend is a BMX expo that will be held in our atrium. The classic BMX Museum members are coming strong with some 50 members and their bikes. They’ll have them all lined up along with parts for sale and trade. And that’s not all. Check out the details from their website:

Our plans are for 70′s,80′s,90′s,freestyle, cruiser and survivor…Trophy’s for all categories!!! The owner of the bar is going to set up a hamburger bar with chicken, burgers, vegetarian if we need? We will have a bike there for raffle and we will be giving 5 or 6 kids bikes who cant afford them…swap meet too…There will be a live Jazz band that nite also…

Very cool guys!

We also wanted to pass on a quick reminder that Crab Feed is just around the corner on February 6th, 3-8pm. $30 per ticket buys crab and chicken, plus all the sides, and 3 live bands will perform as well. We had a blast last year and can’t wait to host again!

Brewfests

We also wanted to let everyone know we’re heading to not only the KLCC Brewfest on February 12th and 13th, but also the Nano Beer Fest in Tigard. KLCC has details on their page and as soon as I get more details on the Nano Beer Fest, I will pass them along.

What’s Cooking

And don’t forget our great food in the new year! Try the Ruben:

Come by the Brewpub on Dec 4th for the Joe Beaver Show!

Dan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:16:36 +0000

The day after the Beavers win the 113th Civil War, Mike Parker and Jon Warren will be at Calapooia Brewing for lunch to host the Joe Beaver Show. Calapooia Brewing may be in Albany, but we are most definitely proud Beaver Nation supporters!

Stop by for a celebration brew next Friday for lunch and enjoy Beaver ticket giveaways, Calapooia Brewing schwag, and the glowing honey tones of Mike Parker basking in our Rose Bowl birth!

See you next Friday,

dc, webmaster

Halloween at the ‘Pooia!

Paul — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:33:18 +0000

Greetings and felicitations, you ghoulish and funky fiends of fermentation and fun! This week you’re in for a treat at the Calapooia Brewpub. Not only do we have a great musical line-up this week (click on Live Music & Events for more info), but the climax on Saturday will be particularly soul-stirring. VOLIFONIX returns to bring us what we need, and what we need is…THE FUNK! So, don your demonic duds and come on down and party like you died in 1999! There will be a $3 cover, but if you bring 2 cans of food for the Linn/Benton Food Share, you get in for free! There will be ‘Pooia schwag for Best Concept, Best Homemade and Best in Show.

Tasty!

Spooky!

Kooky.

Ooky.

See you on the other side…

Come Join Us Saturday for the Inaugural Mid Valley Brewfest in Albany

Dan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:34:22 +0000

We’re joining 20 other local breweries this Saturday for the Inaugural Mid Valley Brewfest at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center. Hang out and enjoy tunes from one our favorite bands, the Bush Pilots, and don’t miss a second of the OSU vs. USC game, which will be broadcast live!

Only $5 for the entry fee and $1 per taste. We’ll be pouring our Pacific Pilsner and rIPArian IPA.

Should be a fantastic time, see you there!

dc, webmaster

By the way, we’re in coming to Suds and Suds tonight in Corvallis for Small Batch Beer Night. Come on by from 6-9pm!

Our Very Own with a Nice Piece in the Democrat Herald!

Dan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:30:39 +0000

Check out Laura in this article in the Democrat Herald that came out a little while back. The piece is about women in local business. Sorry I’m just now getting this out there!

The message from Jones and other women: Women must value themselves and their skills.

“Know your own worth,” said Laura Bryngelson, co-owner and president of Calapooia Brewing in Albany and Flat Tail Brewing, which is under construction in downtown Corvallis.

dc, webmaster

The Music Scene!

Paul — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:38:23 +0000

Hello and welcome to the website! I’ve got some new pics and some video clips of some recent goings on at the ‘Pooia. This last week was very a very eventful one musically…

Our usual nights for live music are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, plus the Sunday afternoon blues jam. But this last week we had some special guests on Wednesday the 23d. The Peculiar Pretzelmen were cruising through from Reno on their way to Portland and managed to squeeze us in on their “Smile, life’s not as long as you think” tour. This Los Angeles based trio bills themselves as “hammer and brimstone, stomp and holler voodoo swamp jazz.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Imagine if you will, Tom Waits meets the ghost of Spike Jones in some deep-south cemetery. In his 1930′s era step-side pickup truck he has a trash can with lid, some chains, buckets, skillets, a washboard, kid whistles, an accordion, a saw, banjo and an old guitar. They light some candles, and maybe a couple kerosene lamps and evoke a nightmare circus dance of the dead to rattle the bones of the living. That’s the sort of thing that ran around in my head while watching and listening to these guys. One song that really stood out for me was one called “Pretty Eyes,” about a man who falls in love with a robot, and subsequently kills himself when he sees her without her eyes. One regular customer said to me, “Where do you find these guys? Seems like everytime I come here you’ve got some wierd, great band playing! I love it!” That about sums it up. Look for these guys to return.

The Peculiar Pretzelmen: Kevin(guitar), Deacon(percussion), Mike(saw).

Capturing their essence!

Calling us out!

The drum kit.

Another good use of kitchenware.

Here’s a little video to give you some idea of the dynamism of The Peculiar Pretzelmen. This little HP camera doesn’t do them justice, but it’s a nice little taste.

As if all that weren’t enough, and not to detract from The great fun and wildly popular Wild Hog in the Woods on Thursday and the multi-talented loop artist American Nobody on Friday, we had a huge double-header in the warehouse on Saturday…

The show was opened by Corvallis’ own Junior Raimey and the Town Drunks and their outlaw country/hick-hop stylings.

Junior Raimey

From left, Dan Loretz(Calapooia bartender), Junior, Dave Clark, Jake Sellers.

And then came Albany legends, Blind Rhino…

Blind Rhino and Calapooia's new brewing system, still under construction.

Johnny"Allnight"Fox.

Moe Dorsey, center.

Roy Barnes while his guitar gently weeps.

The indefatigable Tom Hanna.

Here’s a little clip of the fun that was had by all…

Stay tuned for the further adventures of the Calapooia Brewing Company!

Until then, Cheers!

The Music Scene!

Paul — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:30:18 +0000

Thanks to the fabulous work of our brewers and our cooks, The Calapooia Brewpub has enjoyed a great reception throughout the valley. When it comes to beer and burgers, we got it goin’ on. But that’s not all that’s goin’ on. We have been bringing great musical entertainment to the town of Albany for well over 2 years now. It started slowly, but now we have live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as a smokin’ hot blues jam every Sunday afternoon. The music is eclectic and is drawn primarily from valley talent. Sometimes we even get a visit from someone out of state. Most often, the music is free, and sometimes we charge a cover (hey, musicians gotta eat too), but it’s usually only a couple bucks. To see our musical line-up, just click on “Music and Events” on this website. You may also join “Friends of The Calapooia” if you have a FaceBook account, for a weekly heads up of what’s in store for the coming weekend. Or you can pick up a copy of The Alchemist for details of what’s happening here and in Corvallis. Here are some photos of recent shows at The ‘Pooia.

Sky Lynn of Seattle band, Levator. (No flash setting on HPR707)

Nate Gunn, of Levator, plays keys and sax, usually at the same time.

Levator the band, with Matt, the two-headed drummer.

Forrestal’s Fall rock the warehouse. Note the new brewing system under construction.

The Sons of Confusion, also in the warehouse.

Terry Giell, leader of Sons of Confusion, Bleach and The Bonejars. He even hosts karaoke. The man is a rock star and Calapooia favorite.

A good turn out for the warehouse rock double-header of Forrestal's Fall and The Son's of Confusion.

It was actually darker than the flash makes it look. Note alternate use of pool table.

Terry gets serious.

Volifonix brings the funk behind a hop proscenium.

Tomo Tsurumi, Samurai Sax.

Joe McClain (Volifonix) mid-shred.

This is just a sampling of the music scene from the last 3 weekends. If you are curious about the sound of a band, they often have a myspace or other site that allows sampling. For the real thing, come on down to The ‘Pooia!