Vignette 28: Jason Kahler (Solera)

Jason Kahler is the co-owner and brewer at tiny Solera Brewery in even tinier Parkdale, OR, which sits in the shadow of Mt. Hood. Jason has a special love and affinity for wild ales--truly wild--and he shared his philosophy with me. See more vignettes in this series here.

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“It’s kind of magical in my head. There’s obviously hard science behind it, but I don’t understand all that science, and I don’t think you have to understand that science. You can get Brettanomyces from the laboratory and you can get Brett from the air. I love Brettanomyces, I love Lactobacillus, pedio. They’re all there in the air; you don’t need to buy them. If you’re buying them from a lab, you’re really trying to control the process, you’re trying to drive the end result. You’re not embracing your terroir—which I’m a big fan of. You should just embrace what you have.”

“I don’t worry too much about spontaneous fermentation. Getting back to philosophy: that’s something that you have to get over, your fear, if you’re going to try these beers. You can’t lose sleep over something like this.” 

At the launch of The Secrets of Master Brewers, with (l-r) me, Jason Kahler, Josh Pfriem (pFriem), and Matt Swihart (Double Mountain).