Heater Allen

In this month’s beer club, we’re highlighting some of the country’s cultiest breweries. One of them is McMinnville, Oregon’s Heater Allen, which makes one of the world’s most awarded, sought-after pilsners. In the late 90s, Rick Allen started home brewing as a way to decompress from his stressful job as an investment banker. Turns out, he had quite a knack for it. In 2007, Rick finally went for it, and opened a truly tiny microbrewery. Accolades started to roll in, culminating in the brewery’s 2022 Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup for the pilsner.

Who are they?

Heater Allen remains a family business. The “Heater” refers to his wife’s maiden name (Rick thinks his wife “should always get first billing”). His daughter Lisa also joined the brewery in 2009, working her way up until she finally became the head brewer in 2017. In November of 2022, Lisa and her partner Kevin Davey (the founder of Portland’s Wayfinder Beer) took over Heater Allen as its new owners and head brewers.

Heater Allen focuses on traditional, Czech-style beers. We have their pilsner and their schwarzbeir (black lager) in the shop right now, and both are incredibly vivid expressions of the style. The hops taste fresh, the malt creamy. Each sip is super satisfying.

Shop Heater Allen

-Sara-