Welcome to another installment of the Oregon Brewery Running Series Podcast; Inspiring Oregonians to Be Active, Have Fun, and Give Back. We host family-friendly, 5K fun runs that start and end at some of Oregon’s best breweries.
I don’t know if you’re like me, but during this pandemic, our family is trying to balance safety with some semblance of normalcy. From going out to eat to finding stuff to do with the kids, it’s increasingly challenging and a little stressful.
Now that businesses are starting to open up a little bit here in Portland, I thought we’d chat with some local brewery owners to see what they are doing to meet this need for safety and normalcy.
Today, we’re talking with John Harris, owner of Ecliptic Brewing in North Portland. John tells us not only what Ecliptic is doing to keep everyone safe, but also some of the new beers they have on tap, some collabs they are working on, and an overview of how he thinks the Oregon craft beer scene is doing right now.
All of us are very disappointed that we couldn’t run at Ecliptic on July 18th this year. But instead, we invited John to chat with our challenge participants during one of our weekly virtual happy hours. I cracked open a Starbust IPA and enjoyed the time with our awesome little community.
Listen now!
A Bit About John Harris
John began as a brewer at McMenamins’, then moved to Deschutes in Bend, where he created the recipes for Mirror Pond, Black Butte Porter, and Obsidian Stout to name a few. In 1992, he was the brewmaster at Full Sail where he was in charge of creating the Brewmaster Reserve line of beers.
After three decades of brewing for other people, he decided to take on the ambitious challenge of opening his own brewery and restaurant. Ecliptic Brewing began in October of 2013, just off Cook and Mississippi Ave in a booming area of North Portland. They have won numerous awards, and are not only known for their beer and food, but also their contributions to the community. Most recently as part of their Black is Beautiful Collab and contributions to Don’t Shoot PDX and the Black Resilience Fund.
ABOUT ECLIPTIC BREWING
Ecliptic Brewing opened in 2013, by John Harris, an “Oregon craft brewing icon. John’s background is one steeped in Oregon’s rich craft brewing history.” John is responsible for creating the recipes from such iconic beers as “Mirror Pond, Black Butte Porter, Jubelale and Obsidian Stout.”
Ecliptic brings together two of John’s passions: brewing and astronomy. The name means,
The ecliptic is earth’s yearly path around the sun. The centerpiece of their pub is a massive light fixture in the shape of the Analemma, which represents our path through the seasons. John and the entire team at Ecliptic celebrates this journey with beer and food menus that constantly change and rotate.
According to their website, “Our philosophy is to push the limits of creativity in the brewhouse and create a sense of place in both the restaurant and the beer we build. We are set up to welcome both the family out for a meal, as well as the couple who wants to be kid-free.”
Help us Raise $5,000
As part of our summer challenges, we are working with the Oregon Food Bank to help those most impacted by COVID-19. The pandemic has closed most locations where people experience food insecurity typically rely on for meals (schools, community centers, churches, etc). This has created a big gap in the way kids, seniors, and other at-risk populations find food. To respond to this unprecedented need, the Oregon Food Bank has issued the #EmergeStronger Challenge. This is intended to not only meet the current need but also emerge strong once we go back to “normal” whatever that may look like.
We’re working to raise $5,000 for the Oregon Food Bank and we’re REALLY close! $10 provides 30 meals to someone experiencing food insecurity. The need is more profound now than ever!
See the donate link below.
RELATED: The Emerge Stronger Challenge with Kyle Hummel from the Oregon Food Bank.
All are Welcome!
We don’t care if you’re a runner, walker, or something else. We just care that you’re active! We often have 10 – 15 participants who walk our events!
About Us
The Oregon Brewery Running Series is about inspiring Oregonians to Be Active, Have Fun, and Give Back. We host family-friendly, 5K fun runs that start and end at some of Oregon’s best breweries. Register for our next run here! Our theme music, the Oregon Song, is written and performed by James Hoffman.
