gigabit_ipa_randy_l_rasmussen.JPG

Everything old is new again. Hopworks launched this beer back in 2010, to promote Portland's bid for Google Fiber.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

When Google arrived at Portland City Hall last week to declare that the company will consider the city and its suburbs for a new high-speed Internet service, much of the talk was of beer.

At Google's announcement, Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz held a bottle of Gigabit IPA, a special brew that Portland's Hopworks cooked up four years ago when the city bid – unsuccessfully – for the first Google Fiber network. (Google picked Kansas City, instead.) The beer, with a label invoking Google's signature color scheme, was a minor online sensation, locally at least, in 2010.

Google mentioned the beer multiple times (gigabit references Google Fiber’s speed – 1,000 megabits per second) last week when describing why it’s revisiting Portland. It wasn’t the beer, as such, but the company said it was symbolic of Portland’s thirst for faster broadband speeds.

On several occasions, Portland officials have said they hope Hopworks will revive the beer now that Portland is again a candidate for Google’s service. But no one has asked Hopworks, who had no inkling Google Fiber might be (again) on tap.

“It kind of caught us off guard,” said marketing director Bruce Kehe.

“We’ve got the recipe,” he said. “It would be a pretty simple thing to just get the recipe out and brew up the beer.”

Hopworks hasn’t decided one way or another, Kehe said, but the brewery hopes to be in touch with City Hall soon to learn if it can – or should – contribute to the effort.

“If we can help,” he said, “we’re certainly open to it.”

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; phone: 503-294-7699