Hiking. Beer drinking. Business. It’s an iconic Pacific Northwest combination. Washougal’s 54°40′ Brewing Company has partnered with Friends of the Columbia Gorge, a non-profit organization. The Clark County brewery is donating one dollar for every glass sold of their “Preserve the Wonder” India Pale Ale to the program of same name.
The Preserve the Wonder campaign is to acquire and preserve seven properties (including two in Clark County) totaling 420 acres on the Washington side of the Gorge.
Friends and other staff members noticed the relationship between the gorge, hiking, and beer. A conversation started with Bolt Minister, brewmaster and owner of 54°40′ Brewing Company. He had welcomed Friends of the Columbia Gorge before for presentations in his tap room.
“They knew we were supportive and could bring a different group – the craft beer crowd and some locals that might not know about the Friends,” said Minister.
“I love the concept of what they are trying to build, the giant European style trail,” Minister said.
Minister is referring to the Gorge Towns to Trails. This is a Friends of the Columbia Gorge project where a single trail will wrap around the Gorge, from the Washington to the Oregon side.
“Someday you’ll be able to do a town-to-town hike,” said Sandy Wright, Development Director of Friends of the Columbia Gorge. According to Wright the trail would innervate businesses in the Gorge, attract tourists, and help preserve the Gorge, as well.
The 54°40′ tap room butts up against Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge, which is where the Gorge begins. The Refuge shares a border with one of the properties the Friends hopes to acquire. If acquired the Friends will work to restore a more natural water system, which will be appreciated by birds and wildlife. The restoration will also bring resting habitat to fingerling salmon so they can add size before heading out to the ocean.
The motivation and opportunity are in place. Now the beer must be created. Minister said choosing an IPA was a “no brainer” because IPA’s are the best selling beer in the Pacific Northwest. But the beer needed to be special.
“It needed to be approachable to lots of folks, really refreshing, so you can drink it all day long on your journey through the Gorge,” Minister said. After discussions between the two organizations they decided on a West coast beer, light and fresh, with big hop aromatics. “Preserve the Wonder” is brewed with citra and mandarina hops and organic 2-Row and Munich malt. The IBU (bitterness) is 65-70, with the alcohol 6.1% ABU.
“It’s been insanely popular,” said Minister. “We’re nearly out.” He brewed 15 barrels for draft, about 500 gallons. The production schedule is about a month and half out, and to make a special beer they have to produce it before they know how it will be received, and by then the production schedule is filled up. Minister said they may brew another batch in early fall.
Until then, there will be some on draft at Caps N’ Taps in Camas and Ben’s Bottle Shop in Vancouver. And at 54°40′ Brewing Company’s tap room, of course.
54°40′ is a production brewery with a small tap room attached. But because that tap room became a home away from home for Minister and his family he wanted it to be comfortable. “We wanted some authentic homey touches. We did that by taking it from our own home. At one point my wife said ‘we don’t have anything on our walls.’ It was all at the tap room.”
A dike runs east-west in front of the brewery, on which people like to bike and walk. The brewery is near Cottonwood Beach so they are doing a brisk business on weekends. There are locals that fill in on the weekdays. Soon 54°40′ Brewing Company will own a food truck, offering seasonal food delivered inside to the taproom.
The “Preserve the Wonder” program is about the seven properties. “The seven properties are valuable for conservation, for recreating, scenic protection and also habitat,” Wright said. “Development has just pushed up against the boundary of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area boundary and that boundary has just kept the area beautiful.” The Scenic Area is significant to the Friends of the Columbia Gorge because their founder, Nancy Russel, got the Scenic Acts passed in 1986. “It’s what keeps the Gorge protected.”
Friends of the Columbia Gorge is the only non-profit organization with a singular mission of protecting the Columbia Gorge. Among its self-assigned responsibilities is bringing private land into public ownership, owning land in the Gorge, being politically active about activities that impact the Gorge and connecting Gorge communities to strengthen their economies. Because education and stewardship are also goals, they have public outreach that includes hikes and work days where volunteers might be found on the side of a hill pulling out weeds, or “invasive species,” which threaten the native flora and fauna of the Gorge.
Wright is dedicated to the Gorge. “There are no two places in the world like the Gorge. There are no two days in the Gorge that are the same.” Wright said.
The word “wonder,” now attached to both the program and the beer, came “organically” from the group working on the partnership, Wright recalls. “When people go out to the Gorge they get these little surprises: an amazing sunset, a hummingbird, watching the salmon migrate. You have this sense of awe. Something that’s bigger than you.”
Find “Preserve the Wonder” IPA on tap at 54°40′ Brewing Company located at 3801 S. Truman Road in Washougal. Follow 54°40′ Brewing Company on Facebook to learn more.
