A New Urban Winery Pairs Beer with Cheese. WTF?

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Photo Courtesy of Sasha Davies

Photo Courtesy of Sasha Davies

Have you heard of Cyril’s? No? Cyril’s at Clay Pigeon Winery is a remarkable new southeast industrial Portland urban winery. Recently, I visited Cyril’s and tasted some pretty delicious cheese. Not paired with wine, but with beer. Yes, I wrote that. B-E-E-R. No wine in sight except for the wine fermenting in sight, but nothing in a glass. O.K? Don’t worry; I haven’t switched sides.

Cyril's

Photo Courtesy of Mike Conway

 

Cyril's

Photo Courtesy of Mike Conway

My wife is the chef of this new urban eatery and winery (full disclosure), and we both were invited to a beer and cheese tasting promoting Janet Fletcher’s new book Cheese & Beer. Base Camp Brewing (Acclimator), Breakside Brewery (Indian Golden Ale), and The Commons Brewery (Urban Farmhouse Ale) were on hand pouring brews perfectly matched to three artisan cheeses.

I know what you are thinking: why was a winery pairing cheeses with beer and not wine? Well, Cyril’s is different. They have their own cheese counter stocked with a rotating selection of the finest international and domestic artisan cheeses; they make their own wine (2011 Pinot Noir will be available May 18); and they have an ever changing tap list including cider and kombucha. So, rather than only tasting artisan crafted cheese with just wine, owners Michael Claypool and Sasha Davies know their cheese stock—and extensive food menu—can be paired with wine and beer.

I don’t feel the need to go through what I thought of the different pairings of cheese and beer. Why? Each of us tastes things differently and there are so many types of beer. Suffice to say that cheese can bring out myriad of flavors, each pairing offering a uniquely different accent of hops, malt, yeast, and those hidden flavors in all beers. When tasting anything, though, it’s the experience that belongs to the taster and no one else. Davies and Claypool would certainly agree. However, what struck me as incredibly interesting was what Josh Grgas of The Commons Brewer said regarding his Farmhouse ale.

Grgas explained that beer was a very pragmatic beverage. Farmhouse ales in particular were developed several centuries ago for Belgian farm labor to drink through the hot summer days. It was safer to drink than water and kept the farmhands “energized.” This had me thinking. One, I could work 40 acres of land doubled over if I drank several pints of refreshing farmhouse ale throughout the day. And two, beer, it seems, has been historically a beverage for the working people. Rarely has beer been a drink associated with food pairings and developed and enjoyed by connoisseurs like wine.  Well, that is changing and Janet Fletcher and Cyril’s know it and are embracing it.

Wine is no longer the only beverage so well suited to pair with cheese or food for that matter. Beer is moving in and rightly so. Beer is complex, diverse, and full of all sorts of flavors. It’s made with more ingredients than wine so why shouldn’t it have even more complexity than wine? Beer is even a natural palette cleanser due to the carbonation. Fletcher, longtime cheese and food writer, offers up in her new book a description of 23 styles of beers paired with various cheeses all wrapped up in a nice little package waiting to be opened by the wine and beer enthusiasts alike. Sorry winos, you’re not the only drunkard on the block any more that enjoys a good drink with good cheese. Get to Cyril’s and try some cheese and beer…quickly.

Happy Hour Weekly Planner – SE Portland Edition

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Here is the second installment in my Happy Hour Weekly Planner series. The first edition covered N/NE Portland and lined out the fairly rigorous criteria I laid out for establishments to meet. The basic requirement was $3 or less for ‘good’ beer and $2 or less for ‘bad’ beer. I tried to spread the love all around SE where beer drinking options abound, but my final list does tend to the areas I frequent more often. Let me know if I dropped the ball and missed a good one. Cheers!

MONDAY – The Firkin Tavern & Roadside Attraction

The Firkin Tavern is a spot I have passed by often without ever thinking of it as anything other than a standard dive bar until I noticed it was hosting a marquee event in Gigantic Brewing’s Beer Week (Gigantic Turns it Up to 11 on Saturday 5/11 – Gigantic tap takeover with Sons of Huns onstage). Turns out the place has 14 amazingly well selected, rotating taps and live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Although their website is still under development, they are active on Facebook at least in terms of their events. Happy hour runs from 3 to 7 PM daily with $3 drafts, so next time you are rolling south on 11th after work make the stop and enjoy! The Firkin Tavern – 1937 SE 11th Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: To be honest, I have never been to Roadside Attraction (1000 SE 12th Street) during their supposed happy hour from 3 to 6:30 PM which may or may not actually occur (one disgruntled Yelp reviewer said they don’t have one) because the real draw here is the awesome bonfire they have in their courtyard. They do not have a website but various outlets do advertise $1.50 domestics or PBR depending on who you believe. That information is good enough for a lazy blogger like me as the real draw is the place itself. The outside is one of a kind and the inside feels like an opium den. A must visit but remember it is cash only.

TUESDAY – EastBurn & B-Side Tavern

East Burn

EastBurn Beer Belly Dinner

I am probably not breaking any news here that EastBurn has Craft Beer Appreciation Night every Tuesday where all 19 of their taps can be had for the low, low price of $2.50, unless you have been around long enough to remember that it used to be only $2. Nonetheless, it is a great deal at a great place. They keep their draft list updated on Taplister.com so you always know what to expect. Although the draft special runs from 4 PM until midnight, if you want happy hour food you will need to go during ‘recess’ from 4 to 6 PM. I would recommend the pulled pork sliders. If you miss recess, then you need to get the Ubersondvich with trinity fries.  EastBurn – 1800 E Burnside Street

BAD BEER OPTION: The B-Side Tavern’s (632 E Burnside Street) ‘crappy’ hour runs from 4 to 7 PM daily with $1 tall boy cans from various purveyors. You no longer have to worry about smoking inside, but beware of the patio as it is mostly enclosed.

WEDNESDAY – Hobnob Grille & Side Street Tavern/Aalto Lounge

The Hobnob Grille was a late substitution on this list (see Bad Beer Option A below for details), but by no means should that deter you from checking them out. Although their draft list is definitely nothing special when compared to others on this list, they are only $2 on Wednesday’s during ‘hobnob’ hour from 4 to 7 PM. In addition, their happy hour food sells fries and hot wings by the pound ($3.50 and $6 respectively) and a selection of unique sliders (house ground angus, fried chicken, pulled pork or brisket). Lastly, their regular menu has Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I have yet to try it to see how authentic it is, but I am willing to give it a try and you should too. Hobnob Grille – 3350 SE Morrison Street

BAD BEER OPTION A: Side Street Tavern (828 SE 34th Avenue) was my original pick for the ‘good’ beer slot in this area based on their website which lists $3 micros during happy hour from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM (Monday-Friday). With eight taps and selections often coming from the likes of Russian River, Firestone Walker, Double Mountain and Boneyard, I couldn’t leave them out. However, when I visited to confirm the special it turns out they now do the $1 off drafts thing, so I had to demote them. Luckily, they do have a full Pabst section on their menu ranging from the Perfect Gentleman (Pabst with an orange slice) for $2.50 to the Sports Jacket (Pabst tall boy with a Side Street coozy) for $5, so they have the ‘bad’ beer angle covered as well. Plus, they do 9 inch pizzas for $5 during happy hour and also have a Tater Tot section on their menu.

BAD BEER OPTION B: Aalto Lounge’s (3356 SE Belmont Street) happy hour runs from open to 7 PM where you can get an IPA for $2 (Boneyard RPM IPA last time I was there).

THURSDAY – Gemini Lounge & O’Malley’s

I have never bought into horoscopes, so the zodiac theme at the Gemini Lounge was an initial turn-off. However, I wanted to include somewhere outside of my comfort zone so I started exploring FoPo (as a former North Portland resident I wonder if ‘FoPo’ caused as much discussion among locals as ‘NoPo’ did). Turns out Gemini Lounge is right in my and most of Portland’s wheelhouse as they are eco friendly and hyper local. From the remodel (75% of materials bought from local businesses) to the food (local and organic) to the beer (micros from 8 miles away or less and Oly on draft) they live their mission. Happy hour is from 4 to 7 PM Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday & Tuesday) with $3 micros and $2 domestics. If you passed on the sliders Wednesday at Hobnob, then you get another crack at a diverse slider list that of course come in twins and are $2 off during happy hour. Gemini Lounge – 6526 SE Foster Road

BAD BEER OPTION: With Gemini offering Oly on draft for only $2, I was going to be content letting the twins play double duty until I discovered O’Malley’s across the street (6535 SE Foster Road). O’Malley’s bills itself as Foster-Powell’s (they do not appear to embrace FoPo) only Irish pub and it reminds me of some of the great local, Irish pubs on every corner in certain neighborhoods of Chicago. For their happy hour (3 to 6 PM Monday through Friday), they offer their stone hearth 12 inch pizza with a good pint for $12 but you can trade the micro in for two Rainier tallboys. They also have $2 PBRs and free pool and foosball. If it is anything like Chicago, beware of the old timers hustling you on the foosball table.

FRIDAY – Conquistador Lounge & Bare Bones Bar

If the zodiac theme at Gemini was fine, then you should not have any trouble with the Spanish empire theme at Conquistador. The decor, pinball lounge, free jukebox and PBR specials make this place hipster bait but this place is much more than that. The vegetarian menu is a good way to mix up the pub grub you will find at most other places on this list with a Latin focus (e.g., arepas, empandadas and plantain chips). During happy hour from 4 to 7 PM seven days a week, the small but well selected tap selection is only $3 with PBR pints for $2 and pitchers for $6. If you like the Matador on West Burnside, then you will like this place as they are owned by the same folks.  Conquistador Lounge – 2045 SE Belmont Street

BAD BEER OPTION: Bare Bones Bar (2900 SE Belmont Street) runs the same happy hour as Conquistador (4 to 7 PM daily) with $2 PBR, Session or High Life.

SATURDAY – Muddy Rudder & Sellwood Public House

After a long day of antiquing in Sellwood, the Muddy Rudder is a welcoming spot to refuel. Happy hour only runs from 4 to 6 PM every day, so you will need to plan ahead from a timing perspective. Your time management will be rewarded with $3 pints from the likes of Amnesia, Columbia River and Worthy Brewing and $5 personal cheese pizzas. Muddy Rudder has a great neighborhood feel and is a great spot to catch up with friends and neighbors.  Muddy Rudder – 8105 SE 7th Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: For bad beer options, you are not limited to happy hour in this area. Muddy Rudder has PBR tall boys for $2 anytime or you can hit the Sellwood Public House (8132 SE 13th Avenue) for Oly or Old German tall boys for the same price all day. It will be tough, though, with the great good beer selection both of these places have on the regular.

SUNDAY – Morrison Hotel & White Owl Social Club

The Morrison Hotel Bar’s regular happy hour from 4 to 7 PM would be good enough to make this list any day of the week, but they extend happy hour all day on Sunday and Monday and offer $3 pints. As many beer geeks in this town pledge allegiance to Red Sox Nation, this may be the spot for you on Sunday as they proudly fly the flag. In addition to the taps on special, Morrison Hotel also has an extensive bottle list with knowledgeable servers.  Morrison Hotel Bar – 719 SE Morrison Street

BAD BEER OPTION: For your bad beer options, you have plenty in this area of town so I am offering up an equally priced but better tasting choice – the White Owl Social Club (1305 SE 8th Avenue). With 15 taps from quality breweries like Double Mountain, Boneyard and Elysian available for $2 from 3 to 6 PM every day, what’s not to like? Just hurry because this location has been several iterations in the recent past (e.g., Acme and Plan B) but maybe they will get enough paying members of the club to keep this party rolling indefinitely!

 

Wineries Have Clubs, So Why Not Breweries?

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Wineries Have Clubs, So Why Not Breweries?

All right, I know that I may be giving away the farm in this blog post, but remember who told you first—and hire me to run your new beer club for your brewery (because I can do it and make you money). Don’t forget who told you first. I’m serious.

I have always been good at finding gaps, seeing where something could be made better or where something lacks. Portland has got the best beer culture in America, but it is missing something the wine industry has been doing for years: Clubs. Not only are these clubs bringing a lot of people into the wine community, but even better, making a butt-load of money from doing it.

Wineries have wine clubs. They’re successful for wineries. They work so well that many wineries survive completely off the membership dues from their wine clubs. People pay to have exclusive rights to reserve wines, member only events, early purchasing rights, and so much more. So, why aren’t breweries doing this?

Well, there are a few across the country. I won’t tell you who because I don’t want you to have too much information, but suffice to say they are doing well and making money and building a whole new way to experience the beer community. During my research, I found one brewery that had 1350 members paying $300 a year. Uh, carry the one, add a few zeros and that comes out to…$405,000. Booty booty bam booty! What!?! Now, that brewery changed their format a little and the membership is less expensive, but they were bringing in extra money from beer specifically brewed and aged for their members, experimenting with new brew recipes, and making a whole lot of people super duper happy. All of the financial responsibility was almost entirely covered by the membership dues and they still turned a profit.

What the heck are you getting at, you ask? I think it is almost self explanatory, but I will break it down.

What

A Community Supported Brewery or Beer Club is similar to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for farms or a wine club for wineries, where a brewery provides specific amounts of beer once a week, bi-weekly, or monthly to prepaid subscribers.

Why

A brewery gets paid in advance to produce subscribers’ beer. This provides the brew master an opportunity to experiment with the beer making process, producing new, unique, and rare beers, and receive the capital for production up front. Therefore, the brewery limits its financial investment and produces fine quality beers for its beer subscribers in small quantities.

The subscriber gets:

  • Limited releases of locally produced beer that the general public cannot.
  • A personal relationship with their brewer.
  • To support the local economy by investing in their local brewery. This ensures their local brewery has the necessary funds to produce amazing and unique beers, and keeps local dollars in their community.
  • Exposure to beers that may only be produced internationally or nationally in large quantities. Drinks freshly made or well aged beers in small batches, made just for them, right in their hometown without having it transported thousands of miles. This decreases the use of fossil fuels necessary to transport beer all over the country and world.

How

You have to contact me to get this part. I can’t give away too much.

Other Potential Benefits to Subscribers:

  • Invites to subscriber only events (e.g. tastings, parties, brew days, etc.)
  • Beer share delivered by bike
  • Discounts for other brewery purchases (e.g. apparel, beer, food, etc.)
  • Newsletter/Blog updates

There you go Portland. As you can see this ain’t no mug-of-the-month club. I gave it to you first. Remember me when you need someone to run your club. Now, get your club started because I want to join it.

Near Beer: Events not to Miss in and Around Portland

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Bailey's Taproom

There’s a lot of beer being poured this weekend around Portland and the surrounding areas. Get it while you can, these are once-a-year events. In the case of John Harris’s new brewery, get the details on this anticipated operation way, way, way before a single beer is poured.

Oregon Garden Brewfest »

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Portland is awesome. I love it and drink as much Portland brewed beer as possible. Not for myself, of course, but rather merely to support the local businesses. Ahem. Despite all of the beer awesomeness within Portland proper, it does get, well, a bit asphalty. Take a break from the city din and the gray streets and head out to Silverton Oregon this weekend to check out some great beers and the simple pleasure of clean, fragrant air.

GermanFest »

Saturday, 4p-11:30p

Beer wasn’t born in Portland. It wasn’t born in Germany either, but the region does have a few years on us, going all the way back to the early year of 768. If you want to simply gloss over 1200 years of a beer head start, you must be drinking a glass of wine right now. History and heritage are vital to understanding where beer comes from and why it is important to society today. Sure, every beer doesn’t need to be a history lesson, but Bailey’s Taproom is giving you every excuse to taste some of the origins of modern beer. If you’re still intimidated, don’t fret, these are mostly Northwest takes on German classics, so the beer will range from the purely classical interpretation to the West Coast take on all things Deutschland. Will these picks adhere to the strict laws of Reinheitsgebot, or will they push the boundaries of the style? There’s no other way to answer that question than by  taking part in GermanFest at Bailey’s this weekend.

  • 10 Barrel Berlinerweisse
  • Base Camp Rauch the Boat
  • Block 15 Lemon Gose
  • Breakside Kellerbier
  • The Commons Pils
  • Falling Sky Dinkel
  • Flat Tail License to Pils
  • Gigantic Dark Meddle
  • Heater Allen Rauch Dunkel
  • Hopworks Cultivator
  • Humble Dusseldorf Rye Alt
  • Laurelwood Leatherman Lager
  • Lompoc Spring Bock
  • Oakshire Rauchbier
  • Occidental Maibock
  • Silver Moon Back Country Bock
  • Upright Gose
  • Widmer Brother From Another Mother
  • Worthy Kolsch

3rd Annual Pigs-in-a-Blanket Cookoff »

Sunday, 2p

Tired of passive drinking? Come out to the. Their Facebook event page sums it up best: “For the 3rd year in a row, we encourage our customers to create their own unique versions of pigs-in-a-blanket to be judged by staff for prizes. The rules are simple: Must contain pork and be wrapped in an edible ‘blanket’. Bring as much as you’d like, but we suggest 15-20 portions. Arrive with your food between 2-5pm for judging. We will have pig-themed beer specials as well! More info to come…”

Of course, if you want to know what a “pig-themed beer special” is, get cooking and take part in this great beer community event!

John Harris

Sunday, 2p-4p, 805 N Cook St., Portland, OR, 97227

Even if you don’t recognize his name, you’ve had his beer. Most of the Full Sail Reserve Series lineup is was under Harris’s direction and if you want to dig way back you’ll land on a little recipe for a Porter John created when he was working at Deschutes Brewery: Black Butte Porter. John has been a prominent figure in the Oregon beer scene for a long time, shaping and molding it over the years into what it is today. This is a public event, so come check out Harris’s new space, hear about his plans, find out the name of the new brewery, and buy a t-shirt!

Happy Hour Weekly Planner – N/NE Portland Edition

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5th Quadrant Brewpub

Although many folks tout the Northwest’s cold and wet winters as a reason we have such great beer and pub culture, I do not find myself excited to seek out a killer happy hour deal when I punch out and it is already pitch black by 4:30. Therefore, I have held back this post until the sun returned, the days got longer and the mercury routinely rose above 60. The stars have now aligned, so I wanted to unveil my happy hour guide organized by day of the week. Each day of the week will have a designated spot to get a good beer with a short write-up supporting my selection. In a nod to Sheffield’s in Chicago that always had a ‘Bad Beer of the Month’ in addition to their stellar tap list, I will also mention another establishment near the main recommendation where a cheap beer can be had if budget is the primary focus. I do not claim that these are the ‘best’ happy hours, but I did have fairly rigorous criteria that each location had to meet;

  • Pricing: The most vital aspect and the reason for being of any happy hour is discounted pricing on food and/or beverages. For this list, I required good beer to be $3 or less and bad beer to be $2 or less. I also required for those to be the advertised price as opposed to a very popular method of just discounting regular prices by 50 cents or a dollar. The reasoning behind this was two-fold. First, even though I am a CPA, once I hit happy hour I am off the clock. I am not looking to test my mental math skills by doing even simple arithmetic to determine if I am getting a good deal or not. Second, an actual price is durable, reliable and memorable. Most folks can probably name a place they have been to in the past that had dollar bottles on Thursdays or quarter drafts on Mondays, but very few will recollect a place that discounted their house taps by 50 cents on Tuesdays. Discounted food and/or other drinks for non-beer drinking colleagues led to bonus points, but this is portlandbeer.org so that was the main focus.
  • Hours: Specials needed to run until at least 6 PM which is when the majority of the working public can at least get an initial order in by. I don’t know about you, but if I am drinking before 5 PM I will call it happy hour at any price. Major bonus points for all day specials on certain days because that ties in very nicely to the concept of this post and allows for even late comers to join in on the fun. However, disqualification for all day specials every day of the week because that is just dumb marketing. Minor bonus points for happy hour starting when a place opens as opposed to the typical 4 PM as it is nice on the rare occasion that a beer at lunch is not unprofessional to enjoy a happy hour drink, but I reiterate that drinking before 5 PM is always cause for celebration at any price.
  • Selection: A well selected tap list was a basic requirement for any establishment to even grab my attention. Priority, though, was given to those establishments with happy hour pricing on the full tap list as opposed to select taps. I hate being put in a position where I need to choose between the lone happy hour pint versus the rest of the amazing lineup of beers that I have been looking to try. For my bad beer selections, the only differentiators were having something other than Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR). I have nothing against PBR, but you can stumble into almost any bar in Portland and find PBR on the regular menu at less than two bucks, so I was looking for something a little different.
  • Food: Responsible binge drinking requires eating while drinking, so a good happy hour food menu scored bonus points. Often the happy hour tippler is just looking to grab a pint after work with friends, so lack of decent food did not necessitate exclusion.

Based on my research, I have decided to not make any hard decisions and take the easy way out by breaking up this list by quadrant. Today’s edition will feature spots in North and Northeast Portland. Subsequent editions will focus on Southeast and the West side.

MONDAY – Migration Brewing & Beulahland

Migration’s daily happy hour is a good deal at $3.50 for house pints, but on Monday they lower that price to the magic $3 and run it all day long (11 AM – 12 AM which is longer than it first appears). The year round beers are all solid from Clem’s Cream Ale to an English Old Ale called Old Silenus, then they always have some interesting seasonals and usually something on nitro. In a perfect world this post would have coincided nicely with a Blazer playoff run and the return of the Timbers Army, but instead we ended the season with one of the longest losing streaks in Rip City as our Blazers limped towards a potential high lottery pick that we will surely screw up. However, the Timbers are back and Migration has happy hour during all Blazers and Timbers games, so I usually need a Terry’s Porter in hand to enjoy the game. On the food front, I would recommend the excellent pulled pork nachos. Migration Brewing – 2828 NE Glisan Street

BAD BEER OPTION: Beulahland (118 NE 28th Avenue) offers $1 Old German 16 ounce cans during their happy hour from 4-7 PM.

TUESDAY – Fifth Quadrant & Eat Oyster Bar

The 5th Quadrant happy hour story is pretty similar to Migration – $3.50 house pints from 4 PM to 6 PM which is nothing to seek out. For ‘Tightwad Tuesday’, though, the price drops all the way down to $2.50 all day from 11 AM to 12 AM. Be aware that some seasonals are sometimes excluded from this deal, but the standard line-up is quite varied and well brewed with standouts being C-Note Imperial Pale Ale and LSD (Lompoc Special Draft). For food, 5Q has the standard $5 happy hour burger, but their’s includes fries which is a pet peeve of mine when the happy hour burger only comes with chips. Fifth Quadrant - 3901 N Williams Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: Eat Oyster Bar (3808 N. Williams Avenue, Ste 122) has a regular price of $2 for your choice of Highlife, Rainier, Olympia or Old German. Now that is a selection!

WEDNESDAY – Mississippi Studios Bar Bar & Interurban

The tap list at Bar Bar is not going to set anyone on fire with choices from Lagunitas, Deschutes and Bridgeport among others, but the location itself is worth a visit. With the attached Mississippi Studios being a great place to see an intimate performance and the back patio being eclectic and dog friendly, I would recommend heading here any Monday through Thursday when happy hour runs from 12 PM to 7 PM. $3 pints and a regular priced $5 burger, you can have a cheap night out in a unique setting. Mississippi Studios Bar Bar – 3939 N. Mississippi Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: Interurban (4057 N Mississippi Avenue) has a short happy hour (4-6 PM), but the $2 tap selections of Staropramen pilsner or Boneyard RPM IPA more than make up for it if you can get there in time. I know neither of these beers meet the ‘Bad Beer’ moniker, but at $2 the price is right so why slum it. Food specials are also decent.

THURSDAY – Swift Lounge

Swift Lounge is an unlikely spot to make this list. They are best known for their specialty cocktails served in Mason jars (either the ‘Fatty’ at 32 ounces or the ‘Sissy’ at 16 ounces) and they only have four taps. However, those taps are in constant rotation and the choices are usually pretty good. Plus, their Jolly Hour runs from 4:00 – 8:00 PM Monday through Saturday and all day on Sunday. They get the nod for Thursday, though, because as a favorite college professor always said ‘Thursday is the start of the undergraduate weekend’ and these specials are designed for that type of crowd. Select drafts are the requisite $3, but the Sissy Masons are only $5 and they have a great selection of food ranging from $2-$5, including pulled pork/meatloaf/burger sliders, fried chicken and fries. Swift Lounge – 1932 NE Broadway Street

BAD BEER OPTION: Honestly, Swift is the best dive bar in this area and can serve both roles for this post. Old German tall boys are always $2, but during Jolly Hour they pair them with a shot Old Crow Whiskey for $4.

FRIDAY – Aviary &/or Cruz Room

You may have noticed the and/or above between these two choices. The reason for the change is both of these locations on Alberta have standout happy hours that satisfy both my good and bad beer criteria, so they get dual billing. Aviary is best known for their innovative small plates menu, but hidden behind the restaurant is a great bar area. Their happy hour runs from 5 – 7 PM Monday through Friday and their three draft selections are $3. Currently  the choices are Heater Allen Pils, Boneyard RPM IPA or Breakside Cascadian Dark Ale. Food specials run the gamut from Kusshi oysters for $2 each to a $5 slaw dog with brussel sprout nachos in between. Cruz Room would be your choice if you were looking for something a little more casual, although everything in Portland is on the casual end so it’s all relative. They call themselves a ‘taco lab’ because they serve tacos like you have never seen such as The Mac (fried pickles, applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, onions, slaw and their own secret special sauce). Happy hour only runs until 6:30 PM, but it is 7 days of the week. Their tacos are $2.25 and their microbrew drafts are $3, so you can get out of there with a high quality meal for under $10. Either spot is recommended to take out-of-towners to for a ‘Portlandia’ experience. Aviary – 1733 NE Alberta Street; Cruz Room - 2338 NE Alberta Street

BAD BEER OPTION: As I mentioned above, Aviary and Cruz Room can be one-stop shopping here. Aviary has a happy hour special on Old German tall boys for $2 (with all the Old German specials, I think I missed the passing of the torch from PBR to Old German here in PDX). During Cruz Room’s happy hour, you can get Rainier drafts for $2.

SATURDAY – Tabla & Tapalaya

Tabla Mediterranean Bistro was not on my radar as a beer place until recently when they hosted Breakside Brewery’s Spring Beer Extravaganza on April 9th. That event featured 16 beers, but you will only have a choice of two during their short happy hour from 5 PM – 6 PM daily. Currently, Breakside Pilsner or Burnside IPA can be had for $3 during happy hour accompanied by half price food from the bar menu. Despite the literal interpretation of happy hour, I decided to put them on the list to class the joint up a bit and it is Saturday so you should not have to worry about getting out of the office to get there in time. Tabla Bistro – 200 NE 28th Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: Tapalaya’s (28 NE 28th Avenue) happy hour matches Tabla’s fairly closely running from 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM seven days a week. You can finally get your PBR fix here for $2, but they also have $2 martinis, $3 hurricanes (it is a cajun/creole restaurant) and $3 drafts.

SUNDAY – Crow Bar & Vendetta

Crow Bar is definitely a hipster bar with an amazing line-up of macro cans (PBR, Highlife, Rainier, Olympia, Coors Banquet and Amstel Light, which I love falls in this category) all for $2, but they balance it out with an equally impressive rotating local taplist of 12 beers. Happy hour runs a generous 3 PM – 8 PM daily and micros are only $3. Food is definitely an afterthought here, but they make up for it with pinball, pool and a great jukebox. Plus, you can hit the food carts in the Mississippi Marketplace on your way to a night cap at Vendetta. Crow Bar – 3954 N. Mississippi Avenue

BAD BEER OPTION: Vendetta (4306 N Williams Avenue) needed to be on this list for their patio and shuffleboard alone. However, they also happen to have a special on Rainier all night long on Sundays: $1.50 pints or you can be a hero grab a couple pitchers for the group at only $6 each.

 

Widmer, Ya Did it Again!

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Widmer Napkin

In my last post (Beer: Don’t Describe it, Drink it.) I discussed how beer brings people together and helps build community. When drinking any one of the many craft beers available, one quickly learns there is more in a beer than just flavor. Widmer Brothers Brewing knows this too.

I was invited to a private Widmer Brothers Brewing tasting held at BEER on Monday, April 15th. I was rather reluctant. Expecting a panel of judges, short pours, and tasting notes, I was pleasantly surprised to find none of that. In fact, BEER was quite the establishment worth visiting and Widmer pulled out some serious punches.

Beer

No tasting notes or descriptions in sight, Widmer offered up 8 new, improved, and experimental beers. Other than asking staff, the only information you had to go by was the name and ABV, which was handwritten on a napkin. Good thing because my first choice for the night was Kill Devil Brown Ale at a whopping 9.5%. Setting that aside and moving towards the refreshing, almost champagne like Marionberry Hibiscus Gose, I realized quickly that I too can love fruit-based beers. With a slightly tart and yeasty finish, the Marionberry proved very refreshing and not overly fruity.

Next, I went straight for the Hopside Down IPL next. The newest edition to the Rotator IPA Series—and the first lager for the series as well—the IPL holds its own against any IPA on the market. A balanced beer with a sharp citrus front, Hopside is dry and super clean thanks to the lager yeast that fermented this fine beast.

As I continued to taste these fine artisan crafted beers, I noticed something that caught my inebriated attention, something more than expected at an beer tasting. People were talking about more than just the beer. Reminiscent of two friends reuniting after years apart, people were catching up, telling stories of years past and future plans. I overheard one guy talking about his recently born child, and another planning a long overdue vacation. I was happy to see both Widmer brothers arrive and quickly fade into the social, community-driven night like any other guest. Both were super kind and mellow, just two brothers enjoying great beer—even if it is the beer they make—among friends and colleagues.

The night ended with me grabbing several sandwiches for my walk home. Thoroughly impressed with a very mellow evening supplied by fantastically crafted beer, “Widmer, Ya did it again!”

Sailing the 7 Seas: A Little Road Trip to Gig Harbor, WA

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7 Seas Brewing

Yep. Cheesy headline. But my obsession for 7 Seas Brewing is ridiculous enough that it just kind of works.

Three years ago I discovered 7 Seas Brewing’s tiny, itty-bitty taproom in a self-storage alleyway, behind a seedy hotel, off the beaten path, in the industrial area of Gig Harbor, WA. They only offered four beers on tap. They were on to something though. Their Ballz Deep IPA was the first craft beer I drank out of a can. It felt like I had a secret, complete with a secret wink-nudge-smirk secret code.

7 Seas Brewing

Last year 7 Seas Brewing moved a few miles up highway 16 into a facility about twenty times (or more) their original size. Afraid of losing the magic I avoided the new space until I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to go get my fix straight from the source.

There were more than a few taps and pretty, shiny, gigantic brewing tanks on display through the windows from the taproom into the brewing facility. Their logo beautifully stained into a vintage-style barn door. Not only did they have around eight of their own taps, they had guest taps. Oh… and bathrooms! I wanted to cry. Clearly my secret was out.

Then I sat down with a Rude Parrot IPA and a Ballz Deep, for good measure… drank deep and got over myself… big or small or somewhere in between… this crew knows how to brew serious beer.

Sidenote: There is a neon Olympia Beer sign in one corner above the bar and a vintage Olympia Beer box in the other… anyone that’s read my bio knows this goes a long way towards my forgiving them for going big.

Why Beer Brings Us Together

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Deschutes Brewery Street Fare 2010

Today, April 15th, 2013 was not a good day for our nation. A cruel act by a coward or a cowardly group can show how despicable and low humans can get. But, it can also show how amazingly great humans can be. Watching footage today after the bombs went off I watched people running right into the blast zone to help those who were injured, not thinking about their own well being and putting their lives on the line to save others. Then it hit me… these are our neighbors. These are the people we sit next to in a pub or brewery and strike up small talk with. When I think back to every time I’ve been to a Portland brewery or pub, all I see are smiling faces and good memories with great people. Friends meet up after work. Couples share a romantic evening away from the kids, or have a pint while thinking about their future kids. Sports fanatics celebrate a win or even celebrate after a loss, because they know that in the end it doesn’t matter—they have friends to commiserate with over a pint about how their team is in a rut.

It’s been said before but I’ll say it again. The craft beer community is just that… a community. We are the smiling faces at every brewery and pub in this great city, passing brews around the table, sharing stories, advice, opinions. Craft beer brings people from different walks of life together in the same way that sports, or tragedies do. A lawyer can sit with a carpenter and find common ground in the fact that they’ve attending several of the same festivals and both love imperial stouts. A republican can sit with a democrat and hopefully agree that they at least both like beer (don’t want to push my luck with that one). A Christian and an Atheist can sit over a pint and discuss why they believe what they believe and possibly come away with a different view of one another. A twenty something can talk with an eighty something and talk about the loved ones they’ve lost.

I’m not saying that it is beer that brings out the good in people, that is already instilled in us. But I will say that judging by some of the people I’ve met in my time in Portland’s craft brewing industry, I feel reassured knowing that when I pull up a barstool at a local brewpub that I am in good company. These people we call strangers are our neighbors, they are someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, best friend.

So, Portland. I challenge you next time you are at a pub or brewery alone (or even if you’re with friends) to put away your phone. Don’t worry about checking in to Facebook to tell your friends you’re out having a great time. I challenge the guy wearing a suit to strike up a conversation with the guy wearing the Carhartt jacket. I challenge the jock to talk to the nerd. I challenge the hipster to talk to the guy who listens to mainstream music. We are all humans. We are all neighbors and we should start acting like it. So let beer be your catalyst to go out and explore what and who is out there. Buy someone a pint, turn off your phone and lend them an ear. You never know, you may just end up with a life long friend.

Cheers to you, Boston. I am raising a glass to you and your heroes this evening.

Beer: Don’t Describe It, Drink It.

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Beer: Don't Describe It, Drink It.

Most beer aficionados have a beer geek side that loves to break beers down, pull out the notes that create the liquid composition. You may hear such descriptions when beer tasting: Earthy, roasty, with a hint of citrus. However, the traditional tastings—like wine tastings—can deter the novice and experienced alike from enjoying the very essence of a pint: to connect with your friends and family.

I decided to forego traditions, invite some beer-loving friends in to my home and asked them, “Bring what you like to drink and don’t worry if you don’t know what kind of bittering hops were used.” The point was to get really cool people together to connect on a personal level, and beer was the conduit to do just that.

Beer: Don't Describe It, Drink It.

Beer is social glue that holds communities together. It is ubiquitous throughout history as the cornerstone of most communities and households. You had to drink it to survive most of the bleakest and darkest periods of human history. Drinking beer was essential not only because you were poor and had to work 20 back-breaking hours a day building a pyramid or growing food for a king, but because beer was safer to drink than water. Aside from providing safe hydration, it gave us communities too. For instance, the British gave us public houses or pubs as they are commonly known. These gathering places are the “third place” for community members to come for food, drink, and merriment. They were the social meeting places before we had Facebook. If you wanted to know what was going on in your town, politically or otherwise, you went to a pub to catch-up and interact intimately with your fellow citizen.

But what is more intimate that a pub? Your home. Inviting people to come in, stay, drink, and talk about whatever is on their mind, says volumes of what you think of your guests. My beer tasting was cleverly cloaked to appear as an event to celebrate and critique beer, but really it was a way to say, “You are special and we should drink and hang out.”

At times, we discussed some of the technical aspects of the various beers on the table, all of which were amazing, but mostly we discussed other things: traveling, music, relationships, and food. Our beer was the silent guest, prompting questions we were to discuss and answer throughout the night. Each food dish prompted more discussion: “How did you make that? What is in here that tastes so good?” Near the close of the evening, plans were being made to meet again; not only for more tastings, but to surf, play bocce ball, and to hang out. Shifting the focus of the tasting away from the technical to the experiential profited so much more than what kind of bittering hops were used to produce a beer’s flavor to what kind of person is sitting across from you.

So the next time you want to have a pint, call a friend or a few, and expect nothing but a good time.

Beer: Don't Describe It, Drink It.

All Photos © Laura Birshan

RVA 2, PDX 0

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Mekong Table

The first shot that I heard was fired last October when Richmond, Virginia (RVA) was named by Outside magazine and its readers as the top river town in America from 10 finalists. Although Portland was not one of the finalists, Hood River was on the list and they are an acceptable proxy for PDX in this competition. It does not appear beer was one of the listed criteria, but many of the things we pride ourselves on were, such as cultural vibrancy, environmental stewardship and access to the outdoors. RVA received 46 percent of the 20,000 plus votes to second place Hood River’s 13 percent. Other finalists often mentioned for quality beer combined with outdoor access included Durango (8 percent), Asheville (6 percent), Missoula (5 percent) and Boise (4 percent), so Hood River represented PDX well. Many from Beervana might take particular pleasure in beating Asheville which has out-voted Portland several times to earn the right to use the title of ‘Beer City USA’ which Outside did mention in their write-up on Asheville.

This triumph for RVA was on my mind when non-beer related business took me through Richmond last week. Although I would not be able to take part in any of the river related activities mentioned in the article such as kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding, I had high hopes of checking out the Hardywood Park Craft Brewery that held a voting drive ‘fueled by 8 percent beer’ for the River Town title. However, Hardywood only has a tasting room that is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so they would not be an option on this trip. This led me to perform a quick search on the world wide web for a good beer bar where I could grab dinner. Soon I discovered that during the same time that people were online voting RVA as the best river town, they were also stuffing the ballot for Mekong Restaurant on the Brewer’s Association’s inaugural ‘Great America Beer Bar’ contest. The contest drew nearly 30,000 votes and even though the Brewer’s Association is not as transparent with their voting results as Outside, APEX (the Pacific region’s top beer bar, beating out Urban Family Public House in Seattle and Beer Revolution in Oakland) did not even make the top three nationally. The top honors went to, you guessed it, Mekong Restaurant in Richmond, VA.

Normally, I do not put a lot of stock in best of lists on the internet. However, I was extremely intrigued to check out the ‘Best Beer Bar’ in America because not only do I always try to find a place to get a good meal and a good beer when travelling, but also because this particular place was a Vietnamese restaurant. Portland has many things beer related, but an Asian restaurant with more than a handful of decent beers does not exist here to my knowledge.

Mekong Front

From the outside, Mekong looks like any other suburban Asian restaurant in a strip mall. It is on a busy thoroughfare surrounded by gas stations, mini marts and other businesses that would never make any best of lists. Once you step inside, expectations do not change much. The place has dark carpet that may or may not be clean, banquet tables spread across four rooms with table cloths and lazy susans in the middle of the larger ones and ceiling tiles with visible markings from water damage. If you are lucky enough to get one of the few tables without a table cloth, you will notice Mekong’s logo that plays on Virginia’s famous travel slogan of ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ by changing it to ‘Mekong is for Beer Lovers’. The walls are mostly decorated with nondescript Asian decorations like fans and drawings, but intermixed are banners for beers that you would not think would ever be served in a place like this such as Ommegang and Allagash. Sitting down in the restaurant portion, aside from all the workers wearing t-shirts with ‘Beer is the Answer’ on the back, you may still not realize you are in anything other than a standard issue Vietnamese restaurant. The food was average and made no mention of suggested beer pairings or anything about beer being used in its preparation. In fact, beer was not even listed on the menu.

However, once you ask for a tap list you realize that they do indeed take their beer seriously here. On the day I visited, the 26 taps selected by Chief Beer Officer An Mekong leaned heavily on imports from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but also had a good craft selection from across the States. The bottom of the list even had a separate section for ‘Wild, Sour, Sweet, Funky, Beer Gone Wild’ (e.g., Tilquin Oude Gueuze and BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2011). One beer on the tap list from a brewer called ‘The Andall’ required furthering inquiry. It was called Morning Thunder Stout and it was described as 9.0% abv stout with coffee, figs and vanilla notes from the good ole USA. It turns out it is an imperial strength stout that they then run through a randall stuffed with Madagascar vanilla beans, Chesterfield figs and home roasted coffee beans. What Asian restaurant is infusing their own beers?

After dinner, I decided to wander over to the bar to see if that felt more beer focused. The carpet continues into the bar, but the Asian influence mostly fades away to signs for things like the RVA Beard League and Mekong’s upcoming 18th Anniversary party. In case you will be in the area March 25-31 or if you are just curious, the greatest beer bar in American will be celebrating their right to vote by hosting a ‘Festival of Barrels n Wood’ with over 100 beers that have been aged in barrels or on wood. The bar area itself was standing room only and it was a Tuesday night with no discernible event going on. Show me any other Asian restaurant bar that has more than a few people in it after happy hour ends and before karaoke begins.

I am not sure Mekong is the best beer bar in America, but it is certainly the most unique. I would not go out of my way to go to Mekong again, but every beer lover should go there at least once to experience it. Then maybe someone will bring the idea back to Portland so we can catch up to Richmond.