Recently I had a chance to sit down with Jason Jamie, the Beer Specialist at Whole Foods in the Pearl District. Jason hails from Texas, the cool part of Texas...Austin...and has been with Whole Foods for 11 years. Not long after relocating to Portland "the best job in the store" opened up and he jumped at the chance to fill it. A craft beer fan, sometimes home brewer and occasional blogger he's in the envious position of having a job he loves.
I asked Jason what his biggest challenges were and as Portlanders might guess, high on his list is keeping up with all of the beer releases. That's no small task in this neck of the woods and he's committed to making sure they have a great, current selection of new and seasonal beers. In fact this month all of the Whole Foods stores in this region have been focusing on IPAs and hoppy ciders. The ones Jason selected are a combination of solid beers from Oregon and Washington including Laurelwood Workhorse IPA, Walking Man Homo Erectus DIPA and Breakside Lunch Break ISA. Speaking of Workhorse, it's a beer Jason maintains they will "forever" carry 6-packs of for $7.99. That right there may be incentive for a trip, and the headache of parking nearby, another challenge he identified of this urban location. Conversely the location is a boon in terms of the tourist crowd, especially those staying downtown. As a good beer buyer should, Jason works to make sure he has a great selection of Portland beer at eye level to appeal to them.
Beyond keeping the shelves filled with great beer Jason's excited for Portland Beer Week in June where Whole Foods is a major sponsor. During that week they'll be throwing a beer festival, shutting down a block of NW Couch, which will also serve as a fundraiser for Harper's Playground. In addition to events, including a continuation of the beer pairing dinners held upstairs in a bright, airy space adjacent to their café, Jason anticipates the impending warmer weather will bring an increase in canned beer sales. As people spend more time hiking/boating/camping where cans trump bottles in terms of weight, lack of restrictions by venues and ease of disposal. With ever more breweries offering their beers in cans his choices are plentiful and while it might make his job a bit harder selecting which ones to bring in, it's a boon to consumers to be able to take quality craft beer with them in a more portable friendly format.
So the next time you're making a beer run, keep Whole Foods Pearl in mind. You can keep up on the selection over on Instagram and events on Facebook and Twitter. And the next time you're at a beer event, you might even run into Jason like I did during CBC week.
Update: They will validate parking in their ramp. Thanks for the tip, Chad!
When a last minute opportunity presented itself for me to attend the Whole Foods Market Brewery Dinner it was an offer I couldn't refuse, in large part because the brewery partner was one of my favorites - The Commons. Additionally I was intrigued to see that Whole Foods was dipping their toes in the beer pairing dinner waters.
The dinner was held at the downtown location, upstairs in The Salud. Part of it overlooks the store and part of it overlooks 12th Avenue, a bright and airy space that seems much bigger than it is. While it's set up with those fancy, tilted mirrors for cooking demonstrations the night's focus was what was right in front of us on the table.
Josh and Travis were on hand representing The Commons and after a brief introduction we dove right into the introductory course of two cheeses, baguette, olives, fresh figs and nectarines. Paired with it was The Commons Saison. While Harbison, the softer of the two cheeses immediately won my heart over it was the firmer goat cheese, reminiscent of a parmesan, which I thought paired better with the beer (also delicious with the bright green olives).
The appetizer course was something I was reserved about as I prefer my oysters raw, but I was pleasantly surprised to find these cornmeal-crusted oysters cooked perfectly, retaining their juicy delicateness. The sweet and sour beet emulsion gave the plate a vibrant burst of color and was a visual compliment to the flavors of Flemish Kiss, the pairing for the course. The oysters and the beer were delicious together although the wilted greens the oysters were served atop seemed to clash with the beer.
On to the entrée, a Copper River salmon fillet paired with Fleur de Blanc. The salmon, mussels and veggies accompanying it and the beer were all very bright and light and just plain rocked together. I'd go so far as to say that Mag, who isn't a big fish fan, would have really enjoyed by this pairing as well.
To finish out the event we were presented with a generous portion of chocolate soufflé cake and 2014 Brotherly Love. The dark chocolate flavor of the cake was a perfect complement to the beer, a Belgian Dark Strong ale aged in Bourbon barrels with NW grown sour cherries and Ecuadorian cacao nibs, and my favorite pairing of the night. The whipped cream and berries that the cake was served with were good but unnecessary.
Thanks to The Commons and Whole Foods Market for a delightful evening of tasty treats!
