Hood River brewery moves to Washougal

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales brewers are enjoying the transition from producing beer in a Hood River, Oregon, barn to using newer brewing equipment in downtown Washougal. The approximately 6,500-square-foot space, at 1834 Main St., Washougal, leased by husband and wife team John Plutshack and Jodie Ayura, includes a 15-barrel brewing system manufactured for the February 2013 opening of Amnesia Brewing. Amnesia closed in December 2017, and Plutshack and Ayura signed a 10-year lease with Lone Wolf Development in March 2018. Since then, they obtained a federal permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, as well as a Washington State microbrewery license. The Logsdon brewers started producing beer at the Washougal location in September, and they began serving it during the same weekend as "Pirates in the Plaza," Sept. 15. Plutshack hopes to announce a grand opening celebration before the holidays. Brewery, tap room under one roof Producing beer at the Logsdon Farmhouse Ales brewery in a 100-year-old barn in Hood River involves using equipment that is 20 to 30 years old. Shilpi Halemane, a three year Logsdon Farmhouse Ales employee who earned the title of head brewer in 2017, said it snows a lot at the Hood River location and there are limited grain deliveries for beer production. He appreciates that there is a loading dock, and the water pressure is much better at the Washougal location. Another plus for the Logsdon brewers working in Washougal is the tap room that features Logsdon beer and Alex Smokehouse menu items such as Caesar salads, pulled pork sandwiches and vegetarian chili. The Logsdon tap room had previously been located in downtown Hood River, 10 miles from the Logsdon Farmhouse Ales brewery site. Plutshack said his cousin, Logsdon co-founder David Logsdon, had wanted the brewery, tap room and warehouse to all be located under one roof. Logsdon and Charles Porter established Logsdon Farmhouse Ales in 2011. Halemane said with the Logsdon tap room located in the same building as the brewery in Washougal, he is able to get customer feedback. "I walk out here and see what people are enjoying," he said while seated at a table in the tap room. "Peche 'n Brett," oak aged ale brewed with peaches, is currently the most popular Logsdon beer, according to Halemane. Additional northwest fruit, including cherries, plums, apricots, blueberries and nectarines, are also used in their barrel aged beer. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales is leasing a 3,300-square-foot bay in Building 18 at the Port of Camas-Washougal's Steigerwald Commerce Center, in Washougal. There, the brewing company will expand its' barrel aging program and store beer. While enjoying the modern amenities of the downtown Washougal space, Plutshack said he still wants to "keep a foot in Oregon" and brew seasonal beers at the Hood River location. Halemane, a New Jersey native who moved to Oregon in 2010, had wine harvest and brewery internships while he was a student in the brewing science program at Oregon State University (OSU), in Corvallis. He received a bachelor's degree in food science, with a concentration in fermentation science, in 2013. Halemane worked at Widmer Bros. Brewery, in Portland, before he went to Logsdon Farmhouse Ales. Mark Pearson, a brewer with Logsdon for a year in Hood River, is now working at the Washougal site. He was previously a brewer at de Garde Brewing, in Tillamook, Oregon. Plutshack and Ayura moved from Illinois to the Northwest in 2002, and they have lived in Portland for 10 years. Their son, Tucker, 2, inspired the naming of one of the Logsdon beers, "Tuckered Out Stout." Plutshack's niece, Bella Alexander, 15, created the label artwork for "Tuckered Out Stout," that features Tucker wearing a T-shirt with an image of rapper Tupac Shakur. The plans for the future of Logsdon Farmhouse Ales include the addition of a bottling line in the brewery area behind the Washougal taproom. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales and Alex Smokehouse, 1834 Main St., Washougal, are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday. For more information, call 360-335-1008, visit alexsmokehouse.com or look up "Alex Smokehouse" on Facebook.

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