Tag: Portland

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Fall In PDX 2025 – Part 3

When we last posted about Portland aka Living Hell, aka War Zone, I was buying books and beer at the same place, Field Day.

Next we move on to have cider in Milwaukie at Portland Cider just off the 205 freeway. Reminded me a bit of Benny Boy off the 5 here in L.A. Minus the cool backyard vibe but with an extra expansive menu of choices.

I had to go the flight route otherwise I would still be there. Of the five that I sampled, my favorite was the surprising Paloma, a mix of cider and grapefruit juice. Two contrasting fruit notes that worked well together. The Pumpkin Spice was solid too. The others, including the Brut were fine but just didn’t have a burst of energy to them.

The next flight was of Old Fashioneds at Westward Whiskey. One with carrot honey, one with marionberry and one with a super spice. All three radically different in color and taste. The berry was too sweet and the spice was indeed super which left the carrot honey version the clear winner.

Followed by another flight of fresh hop beers at Threshold Brewing and Blending in the Montavilla neighborhood. They had so many fresh hop beers. Two lagers, a pilsner, a white ale and IPA of course. My two neck and neck favorites were described in my best of September post but knowing that someone has fresh hopped a dark lager is great.

I also had a tea flight at Steven Smith. Then I had a flight home to Los Angeles with a stomach full of hops.

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The Best Beers of September 2025

So I was in Portland Chasin’ Freshies all around town and at the Deschutes Brewing at the airport. And despite all the hops flying around, my choices are not too hopped.

Away Days Sheedy’s Irish Stout – a lovely PDX version of the classic stout. I was also partial to their fresh hop British Pale Ale.

Threshold Fresh Hops Electric Fields Strata IPA. – took the fresh crown with seven choices on tap from a fresh hop dark lager and fresh hop white ale but the ripe cantaloupe notes from the Strata was my favorite.

Rosenstadt Houblon Pilsner – one of three collaboration pilsners with local restaurants. Just had an extra kick to it but the Italian Pils was also great.

McMenamin’s Ruby Ale – might be a surprise but my Mom’s name is Ruby and I hadn’t had this in a long time. Great color and great raspberry taste.

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Fall in PDX 2025 – Part 2

In-between slowly savoring the cans of fresh hop beers plus a Pumpkin beer from Fort George Brewery. I was able to check off two spots from my Portland list.

First up was the German brewery, Rosenstadt Brewing. AKA Rose City. Sampled their three collaborative pilsners. With Olympia Provisions, Otto’s Pizza and St. Jack. All three were fantastic but the Italian-styled Pils was really bold and lovely on a hot Portland day.

Needing a Smashburger, we drove through many neighborhoods didn’t need National Guard help to check out the Sure Shot truck which is conveniently parked next to the Oakshire Beer Hall. A hazy fresh hop, Hop Harvest 2025, was my choice and it was one of the more citrus forward fresh hop beers that I have had.

I also made a jaunt to Field Day on the outer rim of Sandy Boulevard to Field Day, a lovely and welcoming bookstore that also sells beer, cider and has book pairings right on the shelves. I found both a book and a Hetty Alice fresh hop Red IPA.

Running out of Portland time, got to hit a few more spots.

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Fall in PDX 2025 – Part 1

I have been fresh hoppin’ since arriving in Rose City. First stop was at Belmont Station and their FH cooler. Next to the Oktoberfest beer cooler. Just so much to choose from. I settled on only four.

From there, it was on to the new and delightful pFriem outpost in my hometown of Milwaukie. The old City Hall has been outfitted really nicely with a coffee shop on the north side and the beer on the south. Complete with the fire pole at the bar. Seven fresh hop beers. I went with a pilsner and a Krush hop IPA. Both delicious and I made a point to come back later for a cocktail.

Taking a hop break to have some excellent Italian Pilsner from Ruse Brewing brewed specifically for pizza. Made me glad I snagged a fresh hop IPA from there as well.

My Mom and I also jumped into the McMenamin’s bottle shop in NW Portland aka “living hell” and found more stuff than I could drink in a week.

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Sorry from Half of Us

I have a feeling that Summer 2025 will be a summer of Canadian Lagers as apologies to our nicer to us than we are to them neighbors to the north.

Here is one recent explicit example….

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A Book & A Beer – Tilt by Emma Pattee

Being from Portland, I have heard the warnings about the big one in Cascadia and going through earthquakes in Los Angeles gives me a tiny bit of experience so I was primed to read what Emma Pattee imagined could happen to the City of Roses and to one heavily pregnant woman walking through the aftermath and aftershocks, in Tilt.

Annie is our guide through this landscape and at best she is real, in the sense that she is working through shit now and from the past in messy real-time.  She is no hero, though her stamina is damn impressive throughout. But a lot of the time she is so annoyingly millennial.  

Now I can live with that type of character in a novel but when the other main character is her husband Dom, who if you can’t tell by the name is a selfish ass who would not be as far as he is without Annie.  Which, spoiler, ain’t that far. It makes a reader start looking for anyone to latch onto.  For me, it was Taylor, the Ikea employee who is there at the start and then re-appears later.  She has an arc and emotions to wrestle with. Or I could root for the earthquake.

It is a propulsive read and I liked the alternating chapters and the way the timelines came together and though some may not like the ending, I thought it was kinda inevitable and hit the mark. Overall, I was hoping for at least some revelation but I fear that Annie and Dom are still in Portland and stuck in their lives and in their heads.

For beer, instead of something specific, I would recommend s bit of a crawl through Portland’s Eastside beer haunts that you should check out like Belmont Station or Beermongers both excellent bottle shops and tap rooms that could easily provide an overview of Portland beer or you could swing by Living Haus beer which is right near the bridges that span the Willamette River that Annie is trying so hard to reach.

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New Customs

L.A. or other locales may be tired of hearing about how great Portland and their beer scene is but I am afraid to have to rub it in some more as it was recently announced that a new beer and culture festival, MXPDX is coming to the Rose City on July 19th.

The goal is to intertwine both Mexico and Oregon craft cultures and communities in Portland (this year and in Mexico in 2026) for this inaugural party.  13 central Mexico breweries will be sending beer and also brewing collaborations with Oregon brewers and cidermakers.

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Review – Funeral Bock from Wayfinder Beer

Wayfinder Beer makes appearances in Los Angeles on occasion and I do my best to sample their wares as I find their range to be exciting even with old school styles such as, say a bock bier.

This has the initial aroma of a vinous old ale. There is a small touch of sweet and a smaller touch of smoke and some milk chocolate tucked in as well. Many less intense flavors involved in making a bigger whole.

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12 Days Straightaway

This year, Santa gifted me 12 Days of Straightaway Cocktails from Portland, Oregon.

I have now gone through them all and it is time to do summary reviews…

Day 1 – Mai Tai has big rum aroma but the orange lime mix kicks in while the almond note adds a bit of creamy texture.  

Day 2 – Blanco Margarita has the balance of spirit and citrus just right.  simple ingredient list but works really well.

Day 3 – Espresso Martini, my first ever, nitro too. smooth and creamy. weird duality.  good cold brew then not good vodka .

Day 4 – #3 Daquiri coconut top note, heavier abv than the other 3. the acidity keeps it bright though

Day 5 – Manhattan is a classic and this is right up my alley.  big bitters taste here.  nice and spicy. perhaps a touch too much. whiskey is a minor player.

Day 6 – Negroni is not one of my favorite tipples.  I find that Amaro and me are not friends which is a problem for a cocktail heavy with it. But this one, I can get down with. Crimson Snap liquer seems more accessible to me.

Day 7 – Oregon Old Fashioned which is quite strong. was hoping for more of a filbert nutty taste to it. the fir note is not there either. mostly getting honey and whiskey.

Day 8 – Margarita with jalapeno scared me a bit since I am heat averse but this was more on the green vegetal pepper side and though not my favorite had a nice balance of sweet and spicy.

Day 9 –  Bee’s Knees first time trying this drink.  not as sweet as expected.  quite strong.  have never heard of the liqueur in this but it makes this a little top heavy even as it cuts the honey.

Day 10 –  Maple Old Fashioned is not super syrupy which is a good thing?  quite a bit hot as well.  the other old fashioned is slightly better.  was expecting more sweetness or viscosity.

Day 11 – Thai Gimlet has quite a bit of spice to it and a nice hit of lime as well.  for a vodka drink, i quite like it. no alcohol hit but that is ok since the other big flavors take control.

Day 12 – Pacific Paloma has a slight grapefruit pith aroma and a larger citrus taste here. seems a bit watery overall though.  the other listed ingredients do not pop out.