Southern Oregon Brewing Co.

1922 United Way

Medford, OR

541.776.9898

www.sobrewing.com

Amy and I drove from Ashland to Yreka, CA in a vain attempt to get closer to Redding CA, our destination.  Waking up the morning of Amy's birthday, after checking the distance to our second day destination, we realized it would take 2 hours less to back track through Medford rather than continuing down to Redding.  What a lucky circumstance!  After checking my BreweryMap app on my iPod, I found our next mark on the Oregon Brew Crawl: Southern Oregon Brewing!

Amy with the SOB lineup.

Go visit this brewery!  Amy and I had so much fun.  Not only did we get to chat the entire time with the lovely bar manager, Jenn Brown, also the #1 of the Mug Club and the owner.  We started with samplers, quite an excellent lineup.  

Gold Digger is a crisp, classic "Northwest lager."  The owner, Dr. Tom called it his gateway beer, introducing people who aren't convinced of the power of craft brews to the SOB lineup.

SOB Pale is in the works to be renamed then bottled into 22s.  The Pale is subtle, definitely a second step in the introduction to the brews.

Nice Rack IPA is a "British style IPA," also Jenn's Mug Club moniker, a mellow IPA with a kick of bitterness at the end.

Na Zdravi, a "Czech-style Pilsner" was my favorite.  I fully intended to bring a bottle back for Jonah, but lost it along the way :)  It's a strong pilsner with full-flavor and a lot of kick.  The name means cheers in Czech, which I love.

Pin Up Porter, a "dry finishing Porter," is very complex; nutty with a clean aftertaste.  The Pin Up is the #1 seller in the Rogue Valley; Amy agreed claiming it her favorite.

Old Humbug, a "Traditional British Winter Ale" is yum yum yum good.  Be careful though, this beer is very sneaky.

Jenn Brown, the wonderful bar manager.

Not only does SOB have great beer, the taproom is a great place to be.  I got to chat with Tad, the #1 of the Mug Club, his dedication to the brews was clear.  When asked which is his favorite beer, his response: "that's like asking a parent who their favorite child is."  SOB puts a genuine effort toward green practices that you can read about on their website.  My favorite part of the taproom is even though they don't have a food service, you can order to-go dishes from local restaurants to munch on while you drink.  Have dinner at home and need beer to-go?  SOB will fill other breweries growlers, a definite plus for me and for the Eco-conscience practices SOB strives for.

Touring the brewery.

We left with full arms.  Jenn filled our quart growlers with Old Humbug and Na Zdravi.  Amy even got a free 22oz for her birthday!  We were well taken care of and had a hard time moving on, but we needed to make it to at least one camp destination on the trip!  The check was paid and we were on our way to Crescent City.

Crescent City, CA