I usually try to only mention my favorite
places in these blogs, but for my own reference later, I want to talk about all
of the breweries I went to. Discussing breweries is always a difficult thing,
because whether or not you like the brews depends on what kind of beer you
like. As such, I try to talk more about ambiance, service and food. With that
said, it’s difficult not to pick favorites based on the beer that I like. Sam
and I’s beer taste has been drifting closer and closer together, to the point
that we really seek out most of the same things now. Rich, super malty, full
flavor beers with minimal hops and high alcohol content. Specifically, Scotch
ales, amber ales, browns, reds, black IPAs, strong ales, Belgian quadrupels.
You get the idea.
Another thing I want to mention is Fresh
Hops season. Most of the hops used in the US is grown up here in the Northwest.
They just finished the hops harvest, and while the vast majority of beers are
brewed with dry hops, all the breweries in the area lined up for their share of
the fresh variety. This means most of the local breweries are now featuring at
least one fresh hopped beer, which tastes much more… well… fresh! They’re so
good!
So, on to the breweries. As much as I hate
to admit it, Deschutes was probably my favorite in Portland. The brewery
is also a restaurant, which we had a good experience with, and they had the
most of my favorite types of beers, all unique and outstanding. My favorites
were the Dissident, a dark, sour beer, the Strong Man NWPA, Fresh Hop Stock
Ale, Fresh Hop NW Brown, and my super favorite, their new Jubilale! Hair of the Dog Brewery and
Tasting Room was also something special. Really cool little spot, with some
very unique, strong beers, all named after various people’s dogs. My favorites were
Greg, an organic pilsner made with winter squash (what?!), Fred, a Golden
Strong Ale, and their seasonal beer, Otto, which was similar to a barley wine.
Oh, man! I suppose I will mention Rogue Ales here. The first time I
went, I was blown away by a brew called the Hazelnut Brown and their amber, as
well as the service and the bar itself. We went back a few weeks later to get a
growler filled for the road, and experienced possibly the worst service I’ve
ever encountered at a bar. I don’t want to go into details, but I’m now torn
about my opinion of this place. If they didn’t have my favorite beer ever, I
would never go back. But that Hazelnut Brown is insanely delicious! So… take
that as you will. Cascade Brewing Barrel House is a popular one in
Portland, which specializes in sour beers. If you’re not familiar with sours,
it’s pretty much what it sounds like. You know right away what your
relationship will be with this type of beer. I don’t love all of them, but they
have one called the Old Bruin that is fantastic! Some of them taste like Lucas.
Taster trays are a good idea here. They also have a huge patio, and yummy beet
salad and beer soup! Amnesia Brewing was the kind of
place I can see myself hanging out at. Good arts, good music, friendly
bartender and all around delicious beers.
Coalition had a really cool,
small brew vibe to it, and a couple of decent beers. The Wu Cream Ale was
actually really good, and the Maple Porter was ridiculous! BridgePort
Brewery and Brewpub was a cool spot – really large with a full restaurant
and big TVs for the watching of sports. They had some really good seasonals, of
which I do not remember the names. One was spiced just like a pumpkin ale, but
without the pumpkin. Delish! The Hop Czar Imperial IPA was notable as well. Tugboat
Brewery, where a friend of ours works, has some really great beers as well,
and a nice, kind of woody dive bar feel to it. They have a rotating cask ale,
which is always a plus! The Commons Brewery was an awesome little spot
where you try tasters on giant barrels (used as tables) in their actual brew house, and they’re
only open a few hours a week. The super friendly owner was bartending, and so
happy to talk to us. It was exactly what I was expecting and did not receive
from Upright (review below). Their beers were not my favorite style, but the
brewery itself is worth checking out.
Just a few I want to mention (again, mostly
for my own reference) that I was not a huge fan of. We experienced some pretty
terrible service at Sasquatch Brewery, and because of that, combined
with a list of mediocre beers, I won’t be back. Migration Brewing was
not particularly our scene… kind of a loud, sports bar-ish place. The beers
were alright, particularly the amber ale. I probably won’t go back there. Upright
Brewing had the potential to be super cool. There’s one big table in the
middle of their actual brewing room, and they’re only open for a few hours on
the weekend for tastings. The place is kind of difficult to find, and you have
to go into an otherwise unoccupied building, find the elevator, and take it to
the basement brewery. This was a source of some negative Yelp reviews, but I
thought it was super sneaky and awesome! We get there, and nobody greets us… we
have to kind of figure out where the beer is being served, and the guy serving
it acted like we were inconveniencing him by wanting to pay for some tastings. There’s
a guy playing a guitar, and any time the patrons started talking, he would stop
playing and wait for us to stop. We told him we were really enjoying the
background music, and he said, “Maybe when I’m 75, I’ll be ok playing
background music, but not now.” He was in his 60s, and ended up not playing anymore
because the people in the room continued conversing. It was completely
inappropriate. They specialize in saisons, a type of rustic, farmhouse Belgian
beer, and they all tasted pretty much the same to me, except Six and a brown
that they had. Overall, I was pretty let down.
And there you have it. Twelve out of the
40-something breweries in Portland!
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