Oregonians are poetically raw and earthy. Many breweries don’t filter their beer for that pristine commercial polished look and I respect that. What really is the point? The filtering systems removes flavor of the hops and malt. Why would we want to do that? I’ve had some beers that are so filtered to brilliance, I could taste the cotton fibers from the filter plates. I don’t think that’s a real beer! That’s polished crap and you know what they say, “You can’t polish a turd!”

I see your question as more of a ploy for an obtuse answer. ;-} Are ya testing for Oregon Brewing prowess?

In that case, Jeff of Beervana is quick on the heels for a poetic (According to Sunset Magazine….Like they know anything about beer!) answer. Sorry Jeff, but I couldn’t resist!

Others who don’t know any better might prefer a polished brilliant clear beer. Want one of those Stan? Try some of the more commercial breweries in Oregon, they’ll serve ya up one that you can read the Northwest brewing News through. ;-} But…. why would ya want to do that? :-O

Why is the Oregon beer hazy? Because we like it that way! ;-}

Alas, we passed through Bellingham in the first month of our trip (in other words, last June).

As to other causes, I would guess it’s a combo of some or all of these factors: a lot of Oregon breweries don’t filter their beer; hops contribute haze, and Oregon beers are HOPPY, many breweries now dry-hop their beers (dunno if that ‘s a haze-contributor in commercial breweries, but it affects my homebrew), and finally, drinkers don’t prize clarity here, so there’s little incentive for breweries to try to remove it.