Tag: Portland

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Oregon Beer Trip – Post 3

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.

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Oregon Beer Trip – Post 1

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.

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Oregon Beer Day – Double Decker

Oh how I would love to live near this….

The Rachel and Rose Double Decker is half coffee shop and half pub. It is in Portland but if a sibling were here in Los Angeles, the upper half would be open all the time and you probably wouldn’t need the heated seats much.

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Coming to PDX in 2023

In a patented Beer Search Party move, read THIS about 2023 Oregon and SW Washington breweries about to open first, then you can see below my picks and if you agree with my choices as the most interesting newbies.

Oak Union – hey, hey might be landing in my hometown of Milwaukie

Breakside – big plans for three locations including Astoria

Upright – adding a second location in a former corner gas station

Little Hop Brewing – a brewery and a mobile Tiny Hop House truck

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Spirited Brewery # 2 – Entre Compas

This month I am going to highlight breweries in towns rich in distilleries as well as breweries, in a nod to where I recently went, Portland, we head to the new on the scene Entre Compas.

That phrase is slang for compadre, translating to “between really good friends”.

They do not have many brews out in the world yet but they do have a couple IPA’s out such as Entre Compas IPA and Verano IPA made with Culmination Brewing. They also have a Vienna lager as well.

You can find the beers at restaurant Los Ponchos which is the current home for Entre Compas. They are contract brewing while also looking for their own brewing space in the future.

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PDX 2022 – Report 3

Since I spent three whole days in Portland, I figured that I should do three whole posts, so here are a few more photos and beer talk.

Level Beer on Sandy was the main target after guisados at La Fondita. It was a wide range of beers from a super low ABV Table Saison at 2.8% to a barrel-aged imperial stout at 11.5%.

Of the six tasters the English bitter named in honor of a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bitter Ginsbeer. The space with changing color lights and pinball machines next to a VooDoo Donuts is nice and the beertender was super friendly.

As I always do, I bought too many to-go beers but I found a real gem in a French Pilsner, Houblon from Rosenstadt that was spectacular.

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PDX 2022 – Report 2

Day two was split into Hood River and Southeast Portland, Older and brand newer.

Starting at Double Mountain on 4th in hilly Hood River with a single hop beer using the Zappa Hop, Blessed Relief which was different in a good way. That was a taster, followed by a short pour of the collaboration with Solera with Citra and Strata and it was super different in a not good way to me.

Next up was lunch in the river at pFriem with the family (a quorum of the fam, at least) and a sparkling IPA which was fine but I probably should have gone a sampler route or a kriek with the berries in the salad.

Back to Portland with the traffic and a stop at the former Commons, Modern Times location at the corner of Belmont that is now…

…where I had short pours of a Cerne Pivo dark lager that was excellent. Malty with depth but not weighed down. The space, if memory serves, is in the same layout with the bar at a diagonal and the seating at slices of lumber in an L shape around the windows. Plus lots of green punctuated by a cool white menu board…

…with the taps arrayed like a flock of organized birds. I also tried the Great Notion DIPA collaboration and boy was that an orange bomb. One of the most orange beers in both aroma and taste that I have had.. Maybe it was the hop hash or the Phantasm powder.

Last of the day was Chelsea pre-season on the TV at Away Days for a Post Match Italian Pilsner which was not as sprightly as I hoped but still good and the Home and Away IPA, I also have a cream ale of theirs to try. I just adore the footy names of the beers like Der Klassiker.

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PDX 2022 – Report 1

I have not touched the ground in Portland since 2020. How would the city feel after a long time away? Would it be different post-covid or pre-post covid for the more cautious among us.

Well, I landed hard with popular Portland breweries.

Ruse Brewing at the Crust Collective across the Columbia in Vancouver on the Waterfront walk.

I had two IPAs with Star Senders a mix of Citra and Strata being the winner.

Before that a late night beer at Migration Brewing where I had a Fuji to Hood Cold IPA which was so-so to me. The pilsner my Mom had was good and they must be doing something right because they are up to four locations now.

After Ruse, was the Portland outpost of Chuckanut the excellently named P-Nut where I had the first of three, yes three, Grodziskie lagers. Lightly smoked and rarely brewed but I found two on draft and one canned version.

The P-Nut was a lovely little space near Division and a few other beer spots in the area including Baerlic Brewing. I had the Threshold “Grod” which was noticeably different from Chuckanut. Way lighter in color and smoke but interesting.

Next was Amelia from Steeplejack. The church location is really great but their Grod was way less smoky and more lemony.

I also got a Canadian lager which was a little weird whereas the Osler a DDH IPA which had a wonderful lemon chiffon flavor to it.

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PNW Brewery # 2 – Hammer & Stitch

South to Portland for some classic ales from Widmer vet Ben Dobler at Hammer & Stitch.

Let’s put together a taster tray, starting with…

Choice – “our new Blackberry Hazy IPA is a fundraiser supporting Oregon Planned Parenthood.  This beer is important to us.  Incredibly important.  A portion of every pint sold goes directly to healthcare services and education.”

The Weizen – “Our American interpretation of a German classic. We crafted this brew with all North American ingredients and yeast to give this beer Northwest roots. The beer drinks light on the pallet, and yet is very satiating. The mild citrus from the hops melds with the wheat malt to quench any thirst.  Unlike the German inspiration,  this beer has a mild yeast character. This allows all the flavors to harmonize into this refreshing beer.”

The Amber – “2-Row, Caramel malts provide a subtle, sweet flavor and a beautiful, rich, red-amber hue. We balance the malt-forward nature of this beer with our PNW-grown hop blend that contributes hints of pine aromas along with brilliant floral flavoristics.”

Altbier – “A traditional German ale inspired by our Brewmaster’s origins.”

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PDX22

If the aiport gods smile down upon me, I will be back in my hometown of Milwaukie, (OR) in a few days. While Milwaukie doesn’t have a scene minus Breakside, there is plenty of brewing going on in the larger city to the north, AKA Portland.

Thankfully, the Beervana blog posted travel centered posts in late June for me to plan where I needed to stop. Read the orientation post HERE.

Wherever you summer travel this year, I strongly suggest finding the local beer writer and even if they do not have a travel to piece, all you really need to do is read a few posts to catch the current mood or find a new brewery.