30 Beers for 30 Years – Doppelbock and Ur-Alt label

Doppelbock label: Will Bryant
Ur-Alt label: Print and Grain
Client: Widmer Brothers Brewing
Type Of Work: Commercial Work
Country: USA

WIDMER BROTHERS’ 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONTINUES WITH TWO NEW RELEASES IN THE 30 BEERS FOR 30 YEARS SERIES

Doppelbock and Ur-Alt Offer Widmer Brothers’ Unique Takes on Two Classic German Beer Styles

The 30 Beers for 30 Years Series keeps rolling today as Widmer Brothers Brewing announces the ninth and tenth beers in the series. Doppelbock and Ur-Alt are being released and represent the years 1992 and 1993, respectively, in the brewery’s 30-year history.

Doppelbock is a traditional strong German-style lager that uses heavy portions of dark malts. Although the beer is traditionally brewed for the winter months, Widmer Brothers is re-releasing Doppelbock in July as the beer appeared in the brewery’s history in 1992. The beer has been brewed by Widmer Brothers periodically for over 20 years, and Rob Widmer likens the brew to “liquid bread.” Fans of German lagers will welcome this release, but note it is not for the faint of heart – as Kurt and Rob say, “helmet required.”

Ur-Alt is a legend in the history of Widmer Brothers because it replicates the very first batches of Altbier ever produced by Kurt and Rob in the earliest days of the brewery. Before they perfected Alt, a few batches were much more bitter than intended. The unintended bitterness was embraced, and the beer geeks of Portland asked Kurt and Rob to try and reproduce the original batches. They did, and the resulting recipe was called Ur-Alt. It is now being released in bottles for the first time.

Both beers will be available throughout July and early August in the Portland area only. Like all beers in the 30 Beers for 30 Years Series, an extremely limited quantity of each beer was brewed and packaged with custom labels for sale in 22-ounce bottles and on draught.

Each beer in the 30 Beers for 30 Years Series features unique label art from 30 different local artists and designers. Portland artist Will Bryant created the Doppelbock label, and the creative team at Portland design and letterpress studio Print and Grain created the Ur-Alt label.