I recently had the pleasure to sit down with the founder and owner of Lompoc Brewing, Jerry Fechter. We sampled a few beers in front of the fireplace in the Sidebar lounge, next to their Fifth Quadrat Pub, in North Portland. It was bottling day, and the room was filled with boxes and boxes of beer that had just been packaged for distribution.
From the moment I met him, Jerry was a fun, friendly and gregarious guy, who immediately made me feel like we were old pals. As a “publican” (a British term I learned from Jerry that means someone who manages a pub), this must be part of what has kept Lompoc in business for over 20 years.
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Lompoc Brewing, a Brief History
Here is the “short” version of how Lompoc came to be:
Fechter was working at “The Old Lompoc House” on NW 23rd in the early 90’s. It was a small bar that got its name because it reminded the owner of an old bar from the 50’s. When craft beer started getting big in Oregon, Fechter figured out how to brew beer, went to beer school in Chicago, and began building the brewery. They brewed their first batch in early 1996.
In 1999, the owners weren’t, “into the whole craft beer thing,” so he bought them out. “We were playing golf and I said, ‘hey, can I buy the brewery?’ By the end of the round, we had agreed upon a price,” and the rest is history.
He spent a year finding an investor, Don Younger of Horse Brass Fame, who basically let him do whatever he wanted.
They Opened the 5Q location in the fall of 2005 and began brewing there in the spring of 2006, where they have been brewing exclusively since 2012.
Today, Lompoc has five locations around Portland.
Beer we Tried
The first beer Fechter poured for me was their newest beer, the Lömpocker. I loved it and could have easily had a few more of these. This is a “premium hoppy Kölschat.” The name is a reference to a German tradition where you add an “er” to the end of the name of a town, to denote where someone is from. This beer literally means, “of or related to Lompoc.”
“It is a highly drinkable German-style ale with a touch more hops than a traditional Kölsch. Bright golden in color, the beer features a delicate, soft maltiness, while Perle and Mandarina Bavaria hops give off a fruity aroma and a lingering hop bitterness (5% ABV).”
We also tried the Peachy Keen 2014. Fechter sais it’s, “...a blend of a couple different beers. A super smooth, easy drinking beer. It’s a sour, and smells phenomenal! The peaches all came from Hood River. This is a great beer to have in the morning, at breakfast. It’s like peaches and corn flakes with a little sour to them.” I have only in the past year or so, discovered how delicious sour beer is. This one is incredible!
Watch the full interview to learn more about the amazing Lompoc Brewing, then join us for the 5k fun run!
Run with us at Lompoc!
If you would like to run with us at Lompoc Brewing on May 27, register here! The first 5 people who use coupon code LOMPOCFREE, will get to run for free! Alternatively, use LOMPOC5 for $5.
What’s your favorite Lompoc Beer or pub location?
