When Wild Ride Brewing in Redmond created the inaugural PorterMania — a celebration of dark, roasty, seasonally-appropriate ales — in 2018, Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter was just catching on en route to it being a flagship brand today. “The interest and hope was to put on a unique but exciting beer festival that could highlight the style,” says Wild Ride’s head brewer Matt “Matt Kat” Katakura, “but also fun (by brewing) crazy, one-off versions utilizing all sorts of different ingredients” ranging from herbs and spices such as cardamom and chilis to all manner of fruits and nuts.
Suffice it so say, a porter with two roots — rhizomes, technically — synonymous with sushi are fairly crazy even in the craft beer world that’s seen it all and brewed with it all. I’ll spare you, dear readers, the list of animal parts and byproducts I’ve seen thrown into various beers all in the name of distinctiveness. But Katakura, a Japanese-American raised on his native Oahu, is not making this simply as a stunt. And don’t expect the finished product to be tongue-torturingly spicy, because the green stuff you get at virtually every sushi spot simply isn’t real wasabi, but is actually edible Playdough made of horseradish, mustard, and a gorgeous hue of green food coloring.
“The process of determining our beers for PorterMania really starts with a few of us sitting down, usually while having a pint or two, to talk about the potential ideas…We always try to see how different we can be from years’ past,” explains Katakura. “Wasabi was one that we had definitely not used, but I’ve had it in mind previously…I have used similar ingredients in my past — other rhizome-types like ginger and turmeric — so having an idea where to start for a wasabi beer was an easy one for me (even though) this is definitely my first time brewing with wasabi.”
While native to Japan (wasabi’s Latin name is Wasabia japonica), Katakura sourced fresh wasabi from Frog Eyes Farm in Tillamook, which rebranded as Oregon Coast Wasabi. He says, “I plan on treating both the wasabi and ginger the same way, which is by breaking the cell walls by smashing the rhizomes, and adding them into a muslin bag into the keg directly. The goal here is to extract the flavors from the alcohol in the beer, and lock in any flavors and aromas in the (carbon dioxide)-rich environment that the keg provides.”
“I have consumed a lot of wasabi over the years,” declares Katakura. “As I became older and wiser, I know now what we were mostly eating a combination of common horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)…and food coloring. Real wasabi must be grated immediately, because the oils are so volatile that they lose all potency within the first 30 minutes or so of being processed for consumption (presumably grated).”
Wasabi is supposed to complement sushi and other dishes, not overpower them.
“I really don’t think there are any specific pairing suggestions (for this beer)” offers Katakura, and adds, “although…I’d naturally say a sort of fresh nigiri-style sushi, or Japanese-inspired dish. I think that this combination of flavors of earthy, sweet, mildly spicy, with the zing of ginger and the quick nostril flaring from the wasabi, will go well with a pairing that is particularly rich, or even potentially fried.” He offers up more common pub offerings such as a burger, wings, or poutine.
Beyond what is almost assuredly your first chance to try a wasabi-infused beer, this year’s lineup of PorterMania includes three collaboration beers: a bittersweet dark chocolate cherry porter with Worthy Brewing, a mocha-inspired porter using Backporch Coffee Roasters in tandem with Crux Fermentation Project, and a riff on Silver Moon Brewing’s Raspberry Nights porter turning it into a raspberry white chocolate cheesecake-inspired porter.
Lest you think themed beer festivals are waning, PorterMania 2026 will be held Saturday, Jan. 31 at Wild Ride Brewing on the same day as the 13th annual High Gravity Brewfest celebrating strong beers at McMenamins Old St. Francis and the 4th annual Flannel Fest at Midtown Yacht Club. But while those other two are guaranteed to offer a couple various porters, only Wild Ride’s lives up to the name PorterMania.
PorterMania 2026
Sat, Jan 31 3-8pm
Wild Ride Brewing
332 SW 5th Ave., Redmond
wildridebrew.com/events
$30
High Gravity Brewfest
Sat, Jan 31 1-8pm
McMenamins Father Luke's Room
700 NW Bond St., Bend
mcmenamins.com/events/273781-13th-annual-high-gravity-brewfest
$30 advance/$35 at door
Flannel Fest
Sat, Jan 31 Noon
Midtown Yacht Club
1661 NE 4th St., Bend
facebook.com/events/898227329319236
Free
This article appears in the Source January 22, 2026.
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