Ben Dobler has been the Director of Brewery Operations and Brewmaster at Laurelwood Brewing Co. since late November of 2016. While he may be new to the Laurelwood family, he has been in the beer industry since 1993 when we started scrubbing kegs at BridgePort Brewing. After three years at BridgePort, he spent the next two decades at Widmer Brothers Brewing, (now CBA), where he most recently managed the company’s brewing innovation division.
Ben is a super friendly and knowledgeable guy. He immediately made me feel welcome, and after a few minutes, our conversation felt like a couple of old buddies swapping stories over beers. His colleagues seem to think so as well. “He is a super great get for us…” quipped one of his colleagues I was chatting with after the interview.
In this interview, Ben and I cover a broad range of beer-related topics, including:
- How he got into the beer industry back in the early 90’s.
- What it’s like starting at a new brewery after spending so much time at another.
- What he has learned from working at a large brewery (Widmer) that he is implementing at Laurelwood.
- The balancing act between the brewing process and the business process.
- How good beers should go down easy and make you want to grab another.
- Why and how Laurelwood is catering to families and strives to be approachable to all.
- His athletic endeavors, which include coaching his daughter’s schools track team.
- Some of his favorite things to do in Portland during the summer.
And much more!
Check out the interview, then join us for our run at Laurelwood Brewing Co (5151 NE Sandy Blvd) on August 12, 2017.
https://youtu.be/4daJBw7rw6A
The Beer we Sampled
One of the things I love about doing these interviews is getting to taste beer with the beer makers themselves. Ben poured us the following three, way-to-big, samples:
“The Wood” Lager
Dobler is a huge fan of Lagers. He says they are more challenging to make well because there is a, “subtle level of complexity” to them. It’s harder to hide behind the hops or alcohol present in “bigger” beers.
Dobler describes The Wood Lager as “…super light easy drinking, lower on the caloric and alcohol level (5%)… a little bit more hop flavor than a domestic lager.” It’s named after the colloquialism for Laurelwood – when locals talk about going to the brewery, they say, “let’s go to The Wood!”
Boysenberry Berliner Weisse
Possibly my new favorite beer! The Berliner Weisse is a delicious sour ale brewed with boysenberries. They left it unfiltered, which makes it a tad murkier to hold more flavor. The Boysenberry Berliner Weisse is a new seasonal release that (at the time of this publication) isn’t out yet!
“A German style Berliner Weisee based beer… souring the wort in the kettle, then that basically drops the pH down…Oregon Fruit products provides the boysenberries we add at the end of the fermentation process.”
Listen to the whole brewing process description Dobler shares around the 18-minute mark. It’s fascinating! Hopefully, they will have this on tap after our 5K on August 12, because the Boysenberry Berliner Weisse is insanely refreshing!
Workhorse IPA
Dobler says, “This was IPA before IPA became really popular.” In 2014, the Workhorse IPA won the National IPA Championship (NIPAC) as the best tasting IPA in America! Pretty impressive considering Laurelwood isn’t a massive brewery (although they are growing quite a bit).
This is an extremely well balanced yet super flavorful IPA brewed in the West Coast style. The over-the-top aroma comes from a heavy handed dose of hops in the kettle, hop back, and 2 separate dry-hop additions. A slightly sweet finish helps balance the hop bitterness and creates an ale that is both big on flavor yet remains quite drinkable.
Fans of this beer will be excited to know you will soon be able to get it in cans after a little marketing refresh!
More Beer Related Interviews
If you’re interested in hearing from other brewers who has been in the industry for a long time, check out my interview with Jeff Edgerton, Brewmaster at BridgePort, or Jerry Fechter, owner/founder at Lompoc. Both of these guys have been in the craft beer world for 20+ years.
Run with Us at Laurelwood!
Because of their great following, the Laurelwood 5K on August 12 is sure to sell out. If you’d like to run with us, use promo code Laurelwood5 to get $5 off your registration. If you’d like to run for free, watch the interview to find the free promo code!
See you then!
