Part 7 - Zwickelmania & KLCC Festival in Eugene, OR - Eugene City
by Bob
Eugene City Brewery
Now that the bus had ceased operation (after completing only 4 runs by our estimate) we headed out on foot to the final destination which luckily was not terribly far. Alas, we arrived at the Eugene City Brewery after the official end of Zwickelmania, and thus we could not expect a tour. However, we could expect and did enjoy the typical friendly Rogue hospitality and excellent beer. Besides having the usual large Rogue beer selection, this is the home of the truly remarkable Tracktown Ales, both 100 Meter and 200 Meter. There are also a few guest taps.
This place is typical of Rogue brewpubs - low-key, not fancy, but functional. The building has a modern glass retail facade, although nicely decorated above with the brewery's running shoe logo. (In the summer there are tables out front which make good use of the available sidewalk space.)
Inside there is a fairly large dining room (where kids are OK) with a dark ceiling, hanging lights, and with generic light colored walls and floors. There are lots of square tables and captain's chairs. Towards the back is a separate bar area with varied seating options in addition to a fairly long bar, all with tall bar stools. The bar itself is made from aluminum sheets with wood trim and has tall chairs and steel foot rests. The lower half of the walls in the bar area are covered with the same aluminum sheets as employed on the bar. There are several TVs (sound off) and music in the background. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed.
After enjoying a couple of Tracktown Ales, we took advantage of the quiet to explore the basement which offered a glimpse of the brewery, and the serving tanks and a complete downstairs bar to boot!
Finally, a couple small notes about the restrooms - at this place, the men’s room is labeled “hops” and the women’s room is labeled “barley”. The Rogue in Issaquah, WA uses the opposite labeling (which we think is more accurate). The women’s room itself is an exception to the usual Rogue decor and is quite beautiful with walls painted in blue and scattered with paintings of pink shoes and various characters from the Yellow Submarine animated movie.
Conclusion
And so we come to the end of Zwickelmania 2010 and a fantastic weekend in Eugene. One cannot fail to be impressed with the general friendliness and sophistication of this town. (Hopefully, they can overcome the delays in shuttle bus route before next year.) With six breweries, five of which participated in this event, this is a true haven for the microbrewery fan. Not all Oregon breweries were able to be part of Zwickelmania, and the Steelhead Brewery in Eugene which did not take part, is nonetheless an excellent brewpub and well worth a visit as well. We had a wonderful time here and plan to come back often.
Cheers!
Go back to Part 6…
