Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
bottle shops, pubs and breweries
Fans of South Park know of the famous Casa Bonita. Heaven to one Eric Cartman. Now comes Casa Beer, created by Denver’s Ratio Beerworks, a Mexican-style lager with lime. The very sessiony 4.8% ABV beer is available on draft at bars (yes, plural) throughout the restaurant.
Brew at the Zoo is back to mix wild animals with (mostly) L.A. beer. Get your tickets for one of the more unique beer festivals that Los Angeles has to offer.
See below for the participating breweries…
When I travel and beer is on the agenda, I research new places, places getting buzz, beers that do not come to my neck of the woods. Usually that means driving all over to hit the spots that most interest me.
Or, both breweries could be within 4 blocks of each other on one street.
Both Grand Fir Brewing and Fracture Brewing sit on the north side of East Stark Street and I popped into both and came away impressed by both the beer and the atmosphere.
Grand Fir is two floors with a small amount of outdoor and first floor seating. Upstairs is the bar along with the kitchen so you can get beer and lunch / dinner. Touches of green and wood are everywhere.
I tasted four beers from their line-up and bar one that was fine, the others from brewer Whitney Burnside were great including the Lichen West Coast IPA and the Ember Schwarzbier.
Next door to a small food cart pod is Fracture where the vibe is cocktail bar (which it is) but with great beer.
I tasted two beers both IPA, both oat cream hazy and both simply fantastic. Their Anniversary IPA had a little sharp edge to it but was fruity and soft on the palate. Hype Machine V1 was somehow even more pillowy and more tropical fruity. I didn’t sample the lighter or darker stuff but based on the first two, my expectations are high.
Time to pick up where I left off. I visited pFriem again after peeking through at close by Ferment Brewing but finding the food menu a little more to my liking.
There I had the half pours of the Jammy Pale Ale and Coconut IPA. The latter was a toe over the line too much coconut but the jammy pale had a great watermelon note to it that I really enjoyed.
The next day was a jaunt through the orchards that comprise the Hood River Fruit Loop. It was the early end of cherry season but apricots were aplenty as were cideries along the way including at Draper Girls where I had an excellent sampling of eight of their ciders in teeny portions including a French Pear and Lavender one that struck my fancy.
Our last stop was Mt. View Orchards who, in addition to a farmstand have a winery, cidery and brewery in a new building with a grand view of Mount Hood. After a false start getting a pour of the wrong beer, I settled in with the eponymous IPA which was middle of the road but that view more than made up for it.
Next day, up the hill I went to Timberline Lodge. There at the snug Blue Ox Bar on the ground floor I sipped an Ice Axe IPA from Mt. Hood Brewing while the pizza oven filled the space with wonderful aromas.
There will be future posts on a duo of Stark Street breweries as well as Wilderton N/A Spirits.
Yup, those are taps on a train. Maybe Amtrak should look into premium-izing some of their routes with beer on tap. Considering the sorry state of planes even taking you to your destination not to mention the security and change in beer flavor at altitude the train could differentiate itself as luxury travel.
Sometimes a beer vacation takes you exactly where you planned to go and other times, you scramble to Plan B. Or if you are on vacation you in Oregon, you just walk a little to the next place.
I wanted to stop at Gorges Beer Co. outside Hood River in Cacade Locks. But as I walked to the door, I was told they were closed because an employee didn’t make it back from Las Vegas. So, to nearby Thunder Island I went. And the view of the island and the Columbia River was fantastic on a cold and rainy July day.
The beers were tilted to light and Belgiany which was cool. I had a Belgian IPA and a regular IPA. A saison and Kveik Pale Ale. The Belgians were strong enough to overpower the others. Solid overall if not spectacular.
I should backtrack though. Fresh off the plane from Burbank, the first stop was Belmont Station to grab a 4-pack of new to me Oregon beers.
I picked up Via, Fracture, Hetty Alice and Away Days.
More to come from Oregon.
Timbo Week returns at Highland Park Brewery starting on August 4th.
And here is what the brewery has in store for Pils fans…
“Of course we’ll have fresh Timbo to kick the week off but we’ll also have some other Timbo favorites including a couple draft only variations.
We’re planning on going big this year with Timbo Service, a timbo corner, golden ticket, & even a Tim appreciation day for all the Timbo fans named Tim!”
The festivities run through August 11th.
Sage Brew in Echo Park is giving their bar space a refresh, it is now…
Everywhere Beer Co. down in Anaheim will be doing that 1st Anniversary thing. Here is where I say that it might be a good time to visit their tap room if you haven’t before.
Well, you caught me in two untruths there. One, GABF is in September. It is only the tickets that are on sale. And second, general sales start on the 12th as the insider sales get a one day jump on the action.
$95 will get you in to a session with the big blue bear.