Burnin'

John Foyston of The Oregonian made a visit to Hood River to find out more about Full Sail’s latest line extension, Session Black.

The brand’s appeal is broad-based. It attracts drinkers with sophisticated palates who appreciate Session as an example of the kind of robust lagers brewed in the U.S. before Prohibition. Thanks to its packaging and pricing — less than craft beers and on a par with Rolling Rock, Henry’s and some imports — Session is also a favorite among beer drinkers who are part of the Pabst Blue Ribbon backlash against what are perceived as snooty craft beers.

Though the PBR-word is never mentioned at the Hood River brewery, it’s apparent enough to industry observers such as Tom Dalldorf, publisher of Celebrator Beer News, which covers the nation’s craft-brewing scene. “The idea of co-opting PBRs industrial lage rcachet with a craft beer in a stubby was an awesome stroke of marketing genius for Full Sail,” Dalldorf says. “Deschutes has the best-selling dark craft beer with Black Butte Porter so why not piggyback on their success with a dark lager — an established tradition in Europe.”

Session is available only in 12-packs of 11-ounce “stubby” bottles — no kegs, quarts, or six-packs.

As a native Nebraskan, I make it a point to keep up with the progress being made by other Huskers.

Interestingly, new media stars keep shooting from the corn. Evan Williams founded Blogger, sold it to Google, then founded Twitter. Ana Marie Cox rode Wonkette to a book deal, a job with Time and talking headom on the cable news circuit. Now, Rachelle Hruska, creator of GuestofaGuest.com is making some noise.

According to The New York Times:

Ms. Hruska arrived in Manhattan in 2005 to work as a nanny, after graduating from Creighton University, a Jesuit school in Omaha, and ended up an Internet entrepreneur — a small-town-girl-makes-good tale, with a New Media gloss.

Guest of a Guest chronicles night life from the city and the Hamptons through dozens of daily posts and photographs. For followers of such coverage, the coin of the realm has traditionally been exclusivity, a sneering velvet-roped rejection. But GofG, as it calls itself, gives civilian readers the illusion that they can attend these parties, too, as virtual guests. Who would believe that the effusiveness of Nebraska Nice could sell? But in bad-news times, maybe that’s precisely why it does: the site, Ms. Hruska said, which began on April 1, 2008, broke even just this month.

What a charming assessment. But it’s safe to say there’s more than “Nebraska Nice” at work here.

For the first time, The Northwest 100, The Seattle Times’ annual ranking of the region’s best-performing public companies, has fewer than 100 companies listed.

photo courtesy of Flickr user, SpaceNinja

The main culprit: last fall’s stock-market slide, which pushed dozens of Northwest stocks below $2 a share. The Northwest 100 long has excluded companies whose shares have dropped below $2, but never — not even during the dot-com collapse earlier this decade — have so many companies fallen below that threshold.

Another reason for the decline: fewer and fewer publicly traded companies are headquartered in Washington, Oregon or Idaho.

A decade ago, nearly 200 Northwest companies were trading on major exchanges; today, there are just 136. Dozens evaporated in the dot-com bust; others, from big names like Safeco, Puget Energy and Immunex to younger tech firms such as Captaris and Advanced Digital Information, have been vacuumed up by larger companies and private-equity firms.

“Should the dearth of new public companies persist, the region could become a less vibrant, compelling place to work and create,” suggests Drew DeSilver, the Seattle Times reporter on the story.

I think when you couple this report with news that Oregon’s unemployment shot up to 12.4% last month, there is reason for concern. I also find it interesting that these trends are present in a region that thinks of itself as innovative, smart and self-reliant. From the one person design shops to the slow food restaurants and sustainable wineries all the way to Amazon.com and Nike, Northwest companies tend to shoot for the stars. In general, I’d say people have higher standards here.

So, why isn’t this beautiful part of the country, rich in human capital and natural resources, booming? It’s a conundrum.

The Oregonian did a nice job with this video. The economic story in The Dalles is interesting, so that’s a good place to start. But the paper is also showing it can create compelling video content, which is essential for an online media enterprise.

Yesterday morning I finally wandered into BARISTA on NW 13th in the Pearl. Lucky for me, the coffee drinkers coffee shop had just added beans from Vancouver, B.C.’s 49th Parallel Roasters to their menu.

Being able to choose your espresso roast is just one of the many charms here. They also make coffee in Vaccum Pots and this report won’t be complete until I return to sample the black nectar therein.

Given that these particular BARISTAs are also ambassadors for coffee, I was pleased to learn how friendly and unassuming the staff is.

I happened to be wearing my new “I’m Huge On Twitter” t-shirt from Threadless and @petersill got a kick out if it. He asked me my Twitter ID (@davidburn) and I got his. There’s also @baristapdx, the update stream from Billy Wilson.

As for how others perceive BARISTA, the Yelp reviews are generally outstanding. Ryne L. says, “I’d thought that Albina Press would remain the hands down best coffeehouse in Portland. I was wrong. Former Albina Press barista Billy Wilson recently opened what is now the preeminent cafe in Portland (or anywhere for that matter).”

to be continued…