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Two leaders in Oregon’s burgeoning craft beer industry have signed on to raft the mighty Rogue River with triple “W” in 2011. One is a wildly popular Oregon brewer; the other a spokesWOMAN (cheerleader) for the craft beer industry.
OK, lets talk about these fascinating folks. 
First, Jamie Floyd. Jamie is the owner of Ninkasi Brewery, a craft brewery located in Eugene, Oregon. In 2001, Floyd and co-owner, Nikos Ridge developed Ninkasi Brewing Company, named for the Sumerian goddess of brewing and fermentation from the ancient agrarian civilization in Mesopotamia. “Brewing has been a part of civilization since the beginning,” Floyd says. “I’m just the village brewer.” Floyd will bring his “village brewer” perspectives to our 2nd annual Rogue River “raft & craft” trip. Check out this interesting article/video on Floyd and Ninkasi, written by the Flux staff at the University of Oregon.
Second, Ginger Johnson. This human-ball-o-fire knows so much about the emerging craft beer marketplace that she literally oozes knowledge (and she loves to share that knowledge). Owner of the famous www.womenenjoyingbeer.com website, Ginger’s focus is on opening up the world of beer to women but she is an equal opportunist–making sure that she never excludes the male audience. Just look at that smiling face. Her understanding of the craft beer market is infectious…and she will be on the raft trip to answer questions about craft beers and pairing them with some not so obvious food choices.
When is this incredible, one of a kind river trip scheduled to take place? This summer…July 17 – 19 on Oregon’s beautiful wild & scenic Rogue River. Call Whitewater Warehouse/ROW Adventures today to book your space(s) at 1-800-214-0579 or check out the Whitewater Warehouse website for more information.
This is day two of Ginger Johnson’s (owner of the website/blog Women Enjoying Beer) famous Rogue River rafting and Ninkasi craft beer vacation. In her previous guest blog she wrote, in a very “Gingerish” way, about her first day on the Rogue River with Whitewater Warehouse. This blog details what happened on the second day of the whitewater rafting and craft beer adventure.
Interested in a similar trip in 2011? Click on this link…Oregon Raft & Craft trip.
July 19, 2010
Yaaaaaawn…smack smack….waking up with the natural light is a treat. That’s how day 2 came about on our Raft & Craft Trip. After a fantastic first day, we’re all all-ready for another one.
Everybody rousted out and up to breakfast at 8, with one slow riser who came happily and sleepily in a bit into the meal. No real big deal…we’re on relaxed mode. After a brief good morning and a warm breakfast, we returned to our cabins to pack and be at the river for day 2 by 9:30 to set out.
So we were. Loaded up, ready to go and off we went at about 945ish – another blue sky sunny day ahead of us on the Rogue.
View from the pontoon style raft
I kayaked again for a short bit then was happy to give it to a guest for the rest of the day. I tell you what – I honestly don’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed and alert at the same time! Riding on the raft, soaking up the sun like a sunflower, and feeling so well taken care of.
The morning was smooth again with a variety of rapids as well as an opportunity to jump into the river and float along with the rafts with a life jacket – very refreshing. One of the other kayakers joined the Dunkers Club too!
We stopped for lunch for more fresh tasty fare with a cliff high view of the river. After we were full we set out for the Rogue River Lodge, an historic stop along the river with a colorful history including past visits to some Hollywood celebs years back.
Historic Rogue River Lodge
We meandered around, taking in the museum, a few of us jumped into a crystal clear swimming hole (COLD – whew!), and then headed back to our rafts.
It was only a short bit downriver till our nightly lodging – Marial Lodge – which was entirely lovely and comfortable. The crew proceeded to group unpack again – many hands, you know – and took to assigned cabin rooms. As I offered up to meet in one hour later for the beer tasting upon our arrival, several of the goers said “We have to wait an hour?!”. Good response….and it told me the guests were thoroughly enjoying a great combination trip.
After everyone was once again showered up and had wandered back to the lodge, I had the table set
Tasting night 2
and ready for the 2nd night of beer tasting and pairing. Here’s the menu we enjoyed:
- Ninkasi Double Red Believer with molasses ginger cookies – also paired with the smoked salmon and Oregon Hazelnuts
- Ninkasi Oatis Oatmeal Stout with Dagoba chocolates (milk & dark)
- Russian River Temptation with tangy chevre on water crackers
MMMMMMMMM! Again, met with happy enthusiasm and ‘mmm-ing’ all around.
Dinner in the adjacent dining room followed our tasting on the deck and we all savored a dinner and good company, including 2 other guests staying at the lodge. One of the very unique things about Marial Lodge is the turn tables at the tables – space saver, serving genius. Our host Lori told me her uncle, who had the lodge previous, hated wasted or unused space.
Marial Lodge on the Rogue
The rest of the troop bug doped up and went for a walk. I stayed in and lazily read a few of the books on the coffee tables in the lodge – history, stories, nature.
One can only take so much stress, so I headed to bed as the sun went down. Ready to get an abundance of sleep again before day 3.
‘Night!
Next Blog – Day 3
This is a Whitewater Warehouse “guest blog” written by the famous Ginger Johnson owner of the website Women Enjoying Beer. In the next several blogs, Ginger chronicles her 2010 Oregon Rogue River rafting and craft beer trip. Ginger will also be our resident craft beer specialist on Whitewater Warehouse’s 2011 Raft & Craft trip….this blog is part one of her 2010 Craft & Raft Rogue River adventure….
July 18, 2010
Gorgeous day dawns in Southern Oregon. Okay, well, it was really beautiful – partially because we were all looking forward to it as well. Funny how it’s as ‘nice’ as you want it to be.
I got up and drove to meet Bob and Guy at the Rand boat launch for the inaugural White Water Warehouse and Women Enjoying Beer Raft & Craft Trip. When I arrived they were both occupied preparing the 2 pontoon rafts, setting up equipment, gear, coolers, and so on. Practiced hands to be sure – they’ve been at this since 1983.
The guests began arriving at 9 am and everyone exchanged introductions. After our own bags were dry bagged and packed on board, Bob gave us a safety talk and we were off!
Lunching it up – Day 1
Down the lovely and very scenic Rogue River. That first morning, 3 of us experienced the trip at water level in inflatable kayaks. All life jacketed up, we floated along and had an ideal first morning.
Oh – and I started the trip Dunkers Club, going over twice – kerplunk! The key to kayaking, I learned, is to head straight into waves; being 90 degrees to them is how you’ll make it through them. The water, I’m here to tell you, was lovely and felt great in combination with a strong sun.
The river was also deep enough in most places to safely be in the river, legs dangling below you, with no fear of scraping. The tough part is getting back into the kayaks with a bulky (and important) life jacket. Once again, Bob & Guy are smart veterans who help guide you the entire trip so you are totally at ease and able to fully enjoy the adventure.
Tumultuous Rainey Falls
We put in at Rainey Falls for lunch where Bob and Guy proceeded to efficiently unpack and set up. It was obvious right away no would go hungry unless they simply didn’t eat! Fresh foods and plenty of it – cucumbers, hummus, blueberries, cherries, sandwiches (meat, tomatoes, trimmings, PBJ), pasta salad and lots of other stuffs. Lemonade and water to quench our thirst and restock the water bottles, a nice view to enjoy during the midday meal and a cloudless sky to gaze at. Tough job….
After repacking up and heading into the current again, we traveled a while more, with a stop at a water fall with a spot deep enough to cannon ball into – which some of us did following Bob’s lead!
Back into the current we go towards Black Bar Lodge, our accommodations for the night. We landed peacefully, everyone happily intact, around 5pm. After a quick group unload, we headed to our charming cabins, showered up and met in the lodge for the first beer tasting and pairing – 1 of 2 for the trip.
Craft Beer – the “Craft” part of the trip
This being the first time WWW & WEB have collaborated, it went off with much success. The lodge is comfortable, we had three courses and the very happy guests and gracious hosts all had a good time.
Ninkasi was our featured beer partner. And I couldn’t resist also featuring a Russian River beer each night too.
The menu the first night looked like this:
- Ninkasi Total Domination IPA paired with a robust blue cheese
- Ninkasi Radiant Ale with fresh mangoes and deep red plums
- Russian River Consecration paired with Dagoba chocolates (super fruit and Roseberry)
Mmmmmmmm! Lots of great questions and comments came from the group, we all polished off a few (taster) glasses of the beers and savored the foods.
Inside my Black Bar Lodge cabin
Needless to say, they were then really excited about the next nights treats!
After dinner, Bob shared some entertaining stories about the river, lodge and area folk which was totally relaxing. As if we weren’t relaxed enough! A little more conversation flowed and with the sun going slowly down, we all bade good night to each other after given our time to regroup for tomorrow and headed out to our cabins.
It didn’t take long for camp to be silent save for the deer and birds settling in around us. Lights out at 10 as the generators got turned off for the night.
To bed. Ahhhhh….
Next Blog: Day 2 on the Rogue River
It’s no secret that we here at Whitewater Warehouse LOVE great food. When we think of top-notch meals, we think of locally grown and produced foods. We believe fresh foods go into making the most memorable meals. Must be why the French and the Italians are so famous and receive 5-star accolades for their focus on seasonal, local-sourced foods.
Southern Oregon’s agriculture region might be described as “little Italy” with its dozens of world-class wineries and its emphasis on local, sustainable farming practices. The area is so passionate about eating local that it has developed a theme called THRIVE (The Rogue Initiative for a Vital Economy) and a complementary website entitled “Buy Local – Buy Rogue.”
THRIVE’s mission is to bring community members and locally-owned, independent businesses together to create a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable economy in the Rogue Valley. The group encourages consumer to vote with their dollars by buying local.
We put together a listing of Rogue Valley farms and southern Oregon wineries. We think you will be stunned when you review the incredible listing of local food producers and wineries that make their livelihood in the Rogue Valley. As THRIVE would say, “Know your farmer, know your food.”
About the Author: Joy Henkle owns and operates White Water Warehouse (WWW) with her husband, Bob Meister. Ever-interested in making their Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips part of a very special Oregon vacation experience for their guests, Joy writes this blog to educate and inform WWW guests and readers about southern Oregon’s fascinating people, places, foods, and festivals. Questions? Joy can be reached at 1-800-214-0579 or fun@whitewaterwarehouse.com Or visit Whitewater Warehouse’s FaceBook page.
Looking for a unique and different Oregon coast vacation? Plus–bonus–this Oregon Coast Chowder, Blues & Brews festival has one of the cutest logos ever (don’t you agree?!?)
The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce hosts its 13th annual Fall Festival with award-winning chowder offered from all along the coast of Oregon, the finest blues music that Oregon has to offer and microbrews from some of the best breweries in the northwest! The festival is set for a time of the year where we can expect the most beautiful weather one can imagine on the Central Oregon Coast.
Beginning on Friday afternoon, October 8th, the Florence Events Center will be rocking with “musical delights” performed by the great blues artists of the Western Oregon area.
Saturday, October 9th, will highlight the ninth year of the Oregon Coast Professional Chowder Cook-Off where festival goers will have a chance to taste the best chowder the Oregon Coast has to offer from communities extending from Astoria to Brookings. The event will also have delicacies from some 20 food vendors and microbrews from five of Oregon’s best microbreweries.
The Oregon Coast Professional Chowder Cook-Off People’s Choice tasting starts at 1:00 pm on Saturday and goes until the chowder is gone. For more information contact the Florence Area Chamber at 541-997-3128 or the Event Center at 541-997-1994.
About the Author: Joy Henkle owns and operates White Water Warehouse (WWW) with her husband, Bob Meister. Ever-interested in making their Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips part of a very special Oregon vacation experience for their guests, Joy writes this blog to educate and inform WWW guests and readers about southern Oregon’s fascinating people, places, foods, and festivals. Questions? Joy can be reached at 1-800-214-0579 or fun@whitewaterwarehouse.com Or visit Whitewater Warehouse’s FaceBook page.
We’re excited to have finished our first ever Oregon Rogue River “Raft & Craft” lodge-to-lodge trip. Our new bestest buddy, Ginger Johnson of http://www.WomenEnjoyingBeer.com fame, was the featured craft beer specialist each evening. She shared information about the Oregon craft beers folks tasted and offered unique food pairings with each of the beers. This is a special trip and we recognize that there will be other folks out there interested in taking the trip in 2011.
So you can bet that we will be running another “Raft & Craft” trip next year. We should have our calendar to release in late September and will notify you by blog, FaceBook and Twitter….so be on the look out for Whitewater Warehouse’s Rogue River 2011 Raft & Craft trips. Or give us a shout out…we always love to hear from our guests (or future guests!) 1-800-214-0579
July is Oregon craft beer month and Whitewater Warehouse is making merry with a very special Rogue River whitewater rafting trip scheduled for July 18 – 20. Cost is $880 per adult and participants will raft and/or kayak Oregon’s protected Rogue River canyon during the day. Each evening will be set aside for craft beer tastings paired with complementary hors d’oeuvre’s followed by wonderful lodge dinners. Folks who decide to join this incredible trip will enjoy private cabins (and private, attached bathrooms with showers) because this is a lodge to lodge trip. The price of $880 (double occupancy) includes everything–from lunch the first day through lunch the last day, lodging, guides, gear, shuttle back over the mountain at the trip’s end, government fees and, of course, those yummy Oregon craft beer tastings each night.
One of the rising stars of Oregon’s craft beer industry has agreed to offer tastings of their innovative beverages. Ninkasi Brewing Co., a brewer out of Eugene, Oregon will be offering tastings of several of their brews each evening. Southern Oregon beer specialist, Ginger Johnson, of Women Enjoying Beer fame, will also be on hand to add commentary each night!
To learn more, call the friendly folks at White Water Warehouse: 1-800-214-0579 or visit their website.
About the Author: Joy Henkle owns and operates White Water Warehouse (WWW) with her husband, Bob Meister. Ever-interested in making their Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips part of a very special Oregon vacation experience for their guests, Joy writes this blog to educate and inform WWW guests and readers about southern Oregon’s fascinating people, places, foods, and festivals. Questions? Joy can be reached at 1-800-214-0579 or fun@whitewaterwarehouse.com Or visit Whitewater Warehouse’s FaceBook page.
We keep shaking our heads at the fascinating people that live and work in southern Oregon. Ginger Johnson is one of them. Dreamer and organizer for her Women Enjoying Beer (WEB) business, her energy, smarts, and authentic personality just reel you in. You can’t help but want to sit down with her and discuss whatever over a beer or two.
We asked Ginger why she started her WEB business and here’s how she answered. “In late 2008, the Craft Brewers Convention invited me to submit a discussion proposal on women and beer. What I discovered is that very little research had been done in this area. Honestly, every beer brewer in the world should be interested in this subject since women represent at least 50% of the potential marketplace. And, I believe, this is a marketplace that has been largely untapped. All this led up to designing my WEB business and website so I could engage with and secure legitimate focus group research for the beer industry. I’ve been able to talk to a large universe of women about why they do or don’t drink beer. For me, this has been a fascinating journey.”
Ginger’s business focuses on much more than just women drinking (enjoying) beer. She has an updated blog that goes into subjects like how beer is crafted, an insider’s view as to which breweries (with a focus on southern Oregon craft breweries) are producing provocative beer, and even thought-provoking subjects like comments on the latest excise tax issue.
Interested in knowing more about WEB? You can reach Ginger by dialing 515-450-7757 or contacting her off the WEB site. She also invites you to join the Women Enjoying Beer club…
New News: Ginger and White Water Warehouse are organizing a Rogue River rafting and kayaking trip that will feature different Oregon beer samples each evening. Interested? Cost is $880 per person (double occupancy) and the trip is scheduled for July 18 – 20, 2010. Call Whitewater Warehouse at 1-800-214-0579 for more details or check out the trip online. The trip is open to men and women.
About the Author: Joy Henkle owns and operates White Water Warehouse (WWW) with her husband, Bob Meister. Ever-interested in making their Oregon Rogue River rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips part of a very special Oregon vacation experience for their guests, Joy writes this blog to educate and inform WWW guests and readers about southern Oregon’s fascinating people, places, foods, and festivals. Questions? Joy can be reached at 1-800-214-0579 or fun@whitewaterwarehouse.com Or visit Whitewater Warehouse’s FaceBook page.
Oregon Microbrewery: Oregon is known for its top-notch microbreweries but southern Oregon’s Standing Stone Brewing Co. delivers more than just quality brews. In 1996, two brothers, Alex and Emile Amarotico, conceived the idea of Ashland’s Standing Stone Brewery. Not only did they want to focus on producing premium beer but the two were also interested in providing quality, local-sourced food items in their restaurant. Their dream became a reality in August of 1997.
Today, the Brewery and Restaurant stand as a leader in energy-saving improvements and engaging ways to reduce natural resource consumption to meet their long-term goal of operating with zero net energy use. Alex states that their philosophy is: “you can do well by doing good. We have always wanted to make environmentally responsible choices, and sometimes economics can compete for doing the right thing. But, at this point, our customers are expecting us to push the envelope towards a more sustainable operation.”
We asked Alex about the Standing Stone name…”Standing Stone is a loose translation of ‘Pilot Rock.’ The native Takelma Indians called it ‘tsin tsat tsaniptha,’ which means ‘stone stands up.’ We at one time were using the name ‘Pilot Rock Brewing Co.’ and decided to change the name to something with a stronger trademark.
Future plans for this amazing brewery and restaurant? “Local sourcing of the products we sell has the biggest impact towards a sustainably run business and community! Not only do we continue to grow our bank of locally grown and produced products, we have a goal of raising our own cattle, bison, sheep, pig, turkey, and chickens at a local farm possibly even owned and operated by us. We have already come so far, but I think we are only beginning,” says Alex.
Standing Stone Brewing Company is open 7 days a week. Located at 101 Oak St, in Ashland, Oregon. For reservations call them at: 541-484-2448.
Southern Oregon's Surprise Destinations 