I am going to start with two beers drunk later in the month starting in Mount Angel, Oregon at the Benedictine Brewery. Their St. Michael Helles was absolutely on point and very refreshing on a hot day. I do have to add that all their beers were good.
Dewey Beer Moelleux Au Chocolate Stout was the last beer of the trip and my first visit to Function PDX and their newer Alberta outpost. It was also my only “big” beer of the trip. It was super chocolately and very smooth.
Two other beers make the list of the month starting with the 2024 edition of Russian River’s Pliny for President. Not a surprising choice since Russian River hardly ever make a mis-step with hops. Lastly, El Segundo, also known for hoppy beers, came out with Crowner Kolsch which I think is one of their better “alternative” beera.
This second report will be more spirited than the first. We head to 23rd Avenue and gin at Aria. A lovely little spot with all sort of cocktail accoutrements. You got to taste the gin plus the summer seasonal cocktail tasters including a preview of their upcoming G&T canned cocktail.
Then, more gin, over at Aviation. And, of course, the special July cocktail flight which was Weapon X themed. Deadpool drinks. Leaving out the jalapeno infused Aviation cocktail the rest were fun and weird and Marvel-ous.
Right down ( Wade ) Wilson Avenue is Brujos Brewing and their gothic-witchy theme. I like a brewery that leans into their theme and Brujos does. There is a pulpit of beer to order at as well as some serious collaborations which tells you the status of this new brewery. I had an IPA done with Goal Brewing in San Diego.
Lastly was a trip to Scotch Lodge in a random building in the basement. But there was a cellar of spirits there. I had an Old Fashioned but it was no ordinary drink. The bourbon was a blend of four bourbons. It was great and the atmosphere was tres chic.
More spirits as the drive sent us to Forest Grove and Sake One where I got the Happy Lotus Sake made with Eastern Gold hops. A very gentle drink but also pretty boozy at 14.8%. Their was a distributor tasting going on at the same time and I sorta wanted to hear their thoughts.
It was a hop, skip and jump to my college town of McMinnville and the Hotel Oregon of McMenamins. Two MC’s. My lunch was better than the beer which was supposed to be a rye DIPA but seemed more a slightly rye session ale.
From there we walked a couple blocks down 3rd Street to Acorn & Oak the wine bar of The Linfield University. So, I had to have a beer. A really good Helles Lager from local ForeLand Brewing.
The last stop was supposed to be a whisky distillery but the world’s longest train was in the way so an audible was called and we headed to the Emerald Room at Aimsir Distilling for a mega spirits taster tray and vegan dumplings. Aquavit, gin, vodka and bourbon too. Appropriate for Portland, my favorite was the Rose Gin.
Since it is a Portland and Oregon centered month here at BSP, thought I would pass on info that will be travel handy next time you see that famous PDX carpet at the airport.
Not only is Powell’s Bookstore returning but Loyal Legion will also be opening a spot in August. So now there is another beer spot for before or after a flight.
Best in Show: “The Bird” Rauchbier by Trevor McGuire – A masterfully crafted smoked-malt beer celebrated for its rich, roasty flavor and complexity.
2nd Place: “Halfcolt” American Pale Ale by Jack McQueen – A perfectly balanced pale ale with refreshing hop character highlighted by a blend of Simcoe and Amarillo.
3rd Place: “Ikasu” Matcha-infused Gose by Masahiro Katano – A distinctive gose brewed with Matcha, offering a unique blend of tangy sour notes and earthy green tea essence.
So I had to taste them. The Bird is my winner because it fulfilled its task. Bring some smoke and some malt. It did that and made you hungry for BBQ. Ikasu was my second choice. I did not get Matcha notes but I did get a quite nice mix of cantaloupe and lime that I liked. Last was the pale ale. It was kind of dank but not super hoppy. Has a bit of stone fruit to it. But stood out less than the other two winners.
Thanks to Santa Monica Brew Works for providing a platform to taste what homebrewers are doing.
Summer in Portland and two vacation days that covered the spectrum of beer at five breweries. Starting at the Woostock Avenue outpost of Double Mountain. First but not last taster tray ( unless you are ranking and not going by time ).
I sampled the old school IRA, their Japanese lager, Jiro, an ESB and a pair of IPAs. Aside from Jiro, the other beers were below par to me. The IRA that I loved back in the day seemed a little mis-brewed. But it was great to be sitting outside watching the people go by in this busy section of town.
Second was a brief stop at Duality Brewing. Eagle eyed readers will remember that I raved about this brewery earlier this year and the second trip revealed another set of interesting stuff. Boysenberry Hazy Pale, Saison with fig leaves, and what I chose a Kveik yeast beer made with Egyptian barley. This brewery is just flat-out creative.
The next day was a trip to Mount Angel and the Abbey on the hill. Down at the bottom is the Benedictine Brewery. This is a lovely spot with two covered picnic table seating areas and an indoor area. Overlooking a bit of hop fields across the street. Which was already partially harvested.
Flight two time and these beers were solid to great all around. The St. Michael Helles was my favorite, followed by the Half Cloak Belgian single. There were dark beers aplenty and the table quickly agreed that the St. Gabriel Dubbel. It was a great melding of space, beer and divinity and it was real popular, filling up within the first hour.
Then it was a short hop ( sorry ) to Crosby Hop Farm and their beer garden in the hop field, TopWire Beer Project. Operating on the premise of pouring beers made with their hops. Which is how I could be sitting between rows of hops drinking a beer from Chicago, Anti-Hero IPA from Revolution Brewing.
Just a great spot to enjoy a beer and the variety was fantastic. Pilsners, hazies and even an amber ale. I mean who brews that anymore? And I love that it is a summertime treat.
Last stop of a full day was Little Beast on Division for their Tart Ale take-over and BBQ. I had a strawberry lemon sour that was like drinking lemonade. A small pour was what I needed though later I thought that I should have gotten their Japanese rice lager.
Busy, busy and still three days of drinking to do.
When I saw the label for this beer from Harland Brewing, before I looked at logos, I said to myself that it has a touch of Brouwerij West to it. By golly, it is a collaboration beer.
Add this beautifully packaged beer to your treasure hunter list…
La Trappe for their Oak Aged Batch 51 has matured their Quadrupel for 18 months on very fancy Pineau des Charentes Rouge Cognac barrels. Sounds quite luxurious.
Here at BSP headquarters there sits an old-style (thankfully not rotary) phone. It is the red phone, because it is red, and when people have bad ideas, they should call us. Which they never do.
Bit of an intro to say that the Brew Brothers who have eponymous spots in North Hollywood and Burbank are headed to a third place on Ventura Boulevard near Vineland. The place is called…
It is a bit of a tired name to me. Once you finish groaning about the pun, Google it and you get bars all across the United States so you won’t be really standing out namewise. Plus it has a negative connotation.
Now that I have that out of my system, it is great to see that there will be another craft beer bar coming to town and subsequent posts show that they are putting in a lot of effort on the interior look.
Looks like there is a renaissance of branded beers much like in the olden days of craft beer. One of these is a new blonde ale on tap at Gelson’s fancy supermarkets that is brewed for them by El Segundo brewing.
Here is the brewery description, “made with 100% Tettnanger hops, contributing to its subtle floral and herbal spice notes. The malt profile, featuring Rahr 2-Row, Rahr Premium Pilsner, Flaked Corn, and Dextrin malt, creates a harmonious balance of doughy sweetness, white bread, cake batter, and honey.”
It is quite a light beer. I abhor the word crushable but this beer is one that will go down quick. It was served extra cold which both helps on a hot day but also dampens flavor. The malt is the lead act but even it is mild and the corn finish is what you will remember most.
Handy Market has been a Burbank staple for years and with my love of going to non-chain grocery stores / grocery boutiques a miss on my part. But after seeing a few beer posts from the store, I decides to drive a town over and see what I had missed.
It is a tiny space in comparison to most grocery stores but the first positive point was the availability of single cans. I picked up a pils from Highland Park and a pastry sour (never had one of those) from Ogopogo. The next positive was the double endcaps of beer. This was where most of the bottled and barrel-aged resided. There was Bottle Logic but also a couple Belgians and de Garde as well. Third positive was the prices were pretty fair. $5.50 for a local beer is pretty good.
The one down is that it is only the small cold case in the corner. It was a limited selection though one last up, was that it seemed to be curated well.
