A focus on the Oregon Coast will be the highlight of the second installment of Winter Waters – Regenerative Seafare Series. This series that takes place during the month of February will bring together chefs and tastemakers across Oregon to celebrate regenerative seafood from our pristine coastal waters.
Winter Waters places an emphasis on farmed sea vegetables as well as other local sustainable seafoods such as line-caught albacore tuna, dive-harvested purple sea urchin, and many other abundant species such as black cod, Dungeness crab, and cold water pink shrimp. And for this year, the series will add a new beer event alongside various prix-fixe fine dining and casual a la carte events, seaweed art classes, free community events, and menu specials all month across Oregon.
One Winter Waters event that caught our eye is Seaweed Beer Night taking place at Loyal Legion in Portland on Thursday, February 21 from 5:00 – 8:00pm. This event is a bit fascinating from its one common ingredient, Oregon grown seaweed, that is used in each of the beers at the event. Andre Meunier, The Oregonian’s beer writer, will lead a fun tasting and the beer judging for this event.
A handful of Oregon breweries, including Obelisk and Siso, are brewing seaweed beers specifically for the February Winter Waters series. And Loyal Legion will be the only place where the public can sample all of the seaweed brewed beers in one setting.
The Winter Waters – Regenerative Seafare Series kicks off in scenic Newport, Oregon from Friday, February 2 – Sunday February 4. During this kickoff weekend, there will be three days of seafood-centric programming, including an educational experience at Central Coast Food Web’s Yaquina Lab, a pre-fixe dinner at Local Ocean Seafoods with Chef Enrique Sanchez-Rodriguez and guest chef Luis Cabanas, the former Executive Chef at Paley’s Place. Plus, there will be a family-friendly, free event at The Pacific Maritime Heritage Center.
During this same weekend, there will also be a seaweed and seafood-centric prix-fixe meal prepared by Executive Chef Aaron Bedard at Cannon Beach’s Stephanie Inn.
There are also several chef collab events planned, including a pop up at Chef Kyle Christy’s Street Disco featuring Chef Jeff Kim, of Aji Fish Butchery, plus Morchella’s Chef Cameron Dunlap has invited Salem-based Epilogue Kitchen’s James Beard Award nominated Chef Jonathan Jones to the restaurant for a seaweed and local seafood feast. Menu specials and seaweed cocktails are also in the works.
The Winter Waters non-profit beneficiary is Oregon Kelp Alliance, a multi-sector partnership working to protect our wild Oregon kelp forests. Last year’s dining series brought in over $60k in revenue for Winter Waters restaurant partners, and over $6k was donated to Oregon Kelp Alliance.
To learn more about Winter Waters, visit winterwaterspnw.com.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.
