Cheers to the Land! Cheers to Craft Beer!

Oct 30

3 min read

Oregon is known for many things – lush green forests of giant Douglas Firs and Ponderosa Pines, roaring rivers, plaid lumberjack-y button-up shirts, beards, our freakish obsession with The Ducks, large populations of actual ducks, gourmet coffee, and, of course, craft beer. Another key selling point for the beautiful state of Oregon is its rich, abundant farmland worked by local farmers to produce a wide range of crops, including hops, malt, wheat, and other beer-friendly things.

Out of deep respect, admiration, and gratitude for our local agriculture and farmers, Falling Sky, along with other Oregon breweries, has collaborated with the Oregon Agricultural Trust to bring you a unique, incredibly flavorful Cascadian Dark Ale that we proudly call Cheers to the Land! This special beer is brewed with Oregon-grown hops, malt, and spruce tips as a celebration of the amazing farmers, ranchers, and land in our fine state.

So, what’s the deal with Oregon Agricultural Trust, the Cheers to the Land collaboration, and Cascadian Dark Ale? We’ve got you covered… read on.

First things first… the beer. Cascadian Dark Ale is a beer of many names – you may have heard it referred to as an India Black Ale (IBA) or a Black IPA. So mysterious, so unnecessarily esoteric, so Pacific Northwest. While the origin of this special beer has become another thing for the East and West coasts to argue about – some insisting the Vermont Pub and Brewery was first, others saying Oregon’s Rogue Ales was first – the most important thing to note is that it’s complex mix of citrus-y hoppiness and rich, dark malt flavor make it unlike any other beer.

According to Northwest Brewing News writer Abe Goldman-Armstrong, the Cascadian Dark Ale has some pretty unique specifications. Its aroma features resinous pine, citrus, sweet malt, and hints of chocolate and its complex flavor profile includes citrus-like and spicy Northwest hops, bitterness, caramel, and roasted chocolate malt.

Our own Cheers to the Land Cascadian Dark Ale is brewed with Oregon-harvested spruce tips, making it an even special-er rendition of this already special beer. We also use salmon-safe base malt from Goschie Farms in Silverton, OR and salmon-safe hops grown in Woodburn, OR. Because, we love been and we love Oregon!

Speaking of Oregon-lovers, remember Oregon Agricultural Trust (OAT)? They started the Cheers to the Land collaboration to highlight the importance of protecting Oregon’s ranch and farm land, which makes up 25% of all the beautiful land in Oregon. Unfortunately, this land is being threatened. Between 2017 and 2020, Oregon lost 660,000 acres, equalling 4% of its agricultural land, to developers. In fact, over the past 50 years, more than half a million acres of Oregon’s agricultural land has been developed, despite the creation of Oregon’s commendable land use system.

Thus, OAT was created in an effort to protect Oregon’s valuable agriculture industry and land. They address the interrelated challenges associated with losing ag land and the difficulties of passing Oreogn’s rich agricultural land onto the next, diverse generation of farmers and ranchers. OAT holds working land easements and educates farmers, ranchers, and service providers about land easements and how they play a crucial role in land conservation and succession planning. OAT’s work also includes advocating for state and federal funding to preserve current agricultural land.

Whether you’re reading this while sitting pretty in the PNW or somewhere out in the wide wild world, we encourage you to join us in celebrating all the beauty, abundance, and quirkiness Oregon has to offer. Obviously, the best way to do this is to visit our brewpub, grab a 4-pack of our Cheers to the Land Cascadian Dark Ale with Spruce Tips, head out to your favorite Oregon spot – butte, mountain, lake, prairie, desert, hotspring, ocean cliff, river valley (I mean…we have it all) – crack open a can, and shout out a big ‘ol “CHEERS TO THE LAND!” before letting its dark-citrus malty hoppy deliciousness pour down your throat with the vigor of an Oregon waterfall. It will be a life-changing experience and we recommend you share it with a friend… so you should probably bring two 4-packs with you, just to be safe.

So, there you have it: the many reasons Oregon is the best and craft beer is also the best, so Oregon craft been is the best of the best and we at Falling Sky are all about brewing the best of the best of the best.