I will be heading north to Portland in July and one spot that is on the must stop list is the new Portland location of Salem-based craft cider producer La Familia Cider Company The Hawthorne location, formerly the Portland Cider House, opened on June 5th.
There will be 29 taps that will pour 15 ciders from La Familia and other producers, and the remaining 14 taps will serve craft beers. There will also be Cider cocktails plus a small menu featuring Mexican food made from locally sourced ingredients.
The last two times that I have visited Mom and by extension Portland, my first stop after acquiring the rental car has been a stop at Belmont Station Bottle Shop and Beer Bar to stock up on Portland beers.
This year Belmont Station turns 27 and they have a special IPA for the occasion…
Eagle eye beer fans will recognize that motto at the top as from Pizza Port. Yup, a SoCal brewery got the nod this year.
On my latest visit to Portland, I went to the Freeland Distillery and quite liked their gins. I missed out on trying their latest though, an Old Tom. It is their Dry Gin barrel-aged “for 6 months in hand-selected whiskey barrels from women-owned Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.” I do like their whiskey and story as well.
Also, “This exclusive release marries the art of distillation with a cause—supporting women entrepreneurs. AND $5 of each bottle supports Re:Her.”
Yes, I thought that the movie The Witch was great and that the goat portraying Black Peter should have won an award but what caught my eye about this Wayfinder Beer release is not the sinister connotations that abound, but rather that the style is sparkling lager. Hope a bit makes it way to L.A.from Portland.
Well, if you read any of my Portland beer posts in the last week, then you know that this post is all about Duality Brewing in Portland.
And it wasn’t that they smashed a West Coast IPA or Bourbon barrel stout out of the park. No, they put Bergamot tea and Satsuma tangerine into a wheat beer and both featured ingredients shined like a laser, Then they took a Saison through a gauntlet of barrel aging, pine needle filtering and blending in cider and it was really excellent. Get thee to Duality!
I will say that a couple other beers deserve honorable mention. Radiant Beer Co.’s 3rd anniversary TIPA – All the Things We’ve Done was top notch and Santa Monica Brew Works Low and Slow Helles in partnership with Bludso’s BBQ was the perfect brisket accompaniment.
Each time I come to Portland, I buy a four pack + as well as visit a few brewery taprooms. Each time, I try to plan the right amount so I am not leaving beers in my mom’s ‘fridge or having too many un-visited breweries.
And this year, I did good. And I really enjoyed the two new places that I visited.
First was Duality Brewing off Sandy Boulevard. Tucked away and sharing space with a food pop-up and coffee shop was a revelation. Based on two beers at least. Soft Side was a wheat beer with Bergamot and Satsuma. I posted on Instagram that I could drink buckets of it and it is true and I do not say that often, at all. Alpine Timeshare was a bourbon barrel-aged Saison filtered on pine needles and blended with cider! Crazy and it worked.
Second was Foreland Brewing’s Beer Study on Belmont. When I visited, there was a tap share with Kings & Daughters Brewing. The tap list was eclectic and fun. Zwickel, smoke and bitter. Super helpful service and half pours in literally a homey environment. Plus all sorts of outdoor seating. Atmosphere to spare and the two collaboration beers I had were spot on.
First non-beer stop was Freeland Spirits in NW Portland near the towering Montgomery Ward blocks.
Lovely spot with nibbles and seasonal cocktails and mocktails and a little shop too with their signature bottle shape and an RTD Gin Rose and Tonic.
I sampled the “whole flight” which had three gins and three bourbons. The gins were each distinct from the previous one and I quite liked them all. The flagship gin had a mint top note. The Forest Gin despite the presence of chanterelles was very spring day in Oregon. The Navy Strength had a real punch to it and would be a boon to the G&T. The bourbons were less impressive in contrast. I found the standard bourbon a little weak and the rye was extra malty and cereal laden. The Cask strength was my favorite of those three.
Next stop (not the same day, don’t worry) was a trip to the Alberta bar and restaurant, the Radio Room. A multi-level and multi-room experience with a fun cocktail list filled with creative new cocktails as well as reimagined old standbys.
Last, but not least was my first visit to Aviation Gin HQ. Since they only have a distillery license, they can only serve so much gin per person but you can get a flight of special monthly cocktails or classic Ryan Reynolds choices or just a G&T.
The candy Valentine cocktails was my choice and all but the last one was really good. The presentation was excellent and the setting and staff was really cool. Did not see any Wrexham gear though.
I did not go to the main brewery, nor the newly acquired Ecliptic space but instead wandered over to their golf course brewery and restaurant instead. The Glendoveer location has a fireplace and some seating looks out onto a tee (though it was too gloomy and rainy to see any golfing).
The brewing smell of steeping grains was pleasantly everywhere. My taster tray was a bit of a mixed bag though. My favorite was a Baltic Porter with second best being a Modern Citrus Pilsner.
Apparently VE has two Italian pilsners, one has just kicked but later that day, I had their Lombardy Italian Pils which paired excellently with my salad and pizza.
I also made a stop at my happy place Belmont Station to pick up a mixed four pack that included Wayfinder, Great Notion, Gold Dot and Bale Breaker. But just so many good beer choices there, I could have blindly picked and gotten winners.
L.A. is lucky to get Wayfinder Beer shipments sent from the Rose City. That is my transition to this love letter of a beer to Portland, Three of Roses which is a “An unapologetic rustic lager with subtle botanical notes of juniper berries and lime.”
In a divided country it is good to see a little civic pride smack dab on your beer label.
