Hammerhead Pale Ale, Terminator Stout, Nebraska Bitter: There's plenty of beer varieties being made at the McMenamins brewery in Corvallis. But the company's famous Ruby beer, created in 1985, isn't among them.
The raspberry-flavored beer hasn't been part of the plan for a few weeks now. That's because of raspberry crop failures -- first in the Northwest, then worldwide.
"The number one raspberry producing country in the world is Serbia," said McMenamins brewery manager Rob Vallance. "And they had a horrible, horrible crop as well."
It seems awfully major for me to have totally missed it. (Though that wouldn't be unprecedented.
Yes, it is apparently true. I heard it a couple of weeks ago from a family member who works for McMenamins. I was sceptical at first -- there didn't seem to be any shortage of raspberries at my local farmer's market -- but a little googling confirmed it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true-- though why I never blogged about it escapes me. I learned about it before (and during) Labor Day, when visiting the McMenamins here in Bend, they told me about the raspberry shortage; instead they were promoting the beer "Purple Haze" which was made with marionberries.
ReplyDelete(In retrospect, I don't recall why I didn't write about it... other things going on, I guess.)
Well blow me down. Somehow I missed it. Not surprising in the case of Ruby, which I taste once every decade, but just in general. A raspberry shortage seems like something a person would hear about.
ReplyDeleteThis has been the year of getting in touch with the fragility of international crop supply, hasn't it?
i had the Purple Haze at the John Barleycorns McPub...it was tasty.
ReplyDeleteI just got word from a McMenamin spokesman that a Raspberry contract has been secured and Ruby production will continue.....
ReplyDeleteI think 'Purple Haze' might need to have a name change in time. Abita Brewing Co. in Louisiana already owns the name "Purple Haze."