When visiting a new city, a person is going to almost instantly compare that city with their own. From gas prices to the climate to whether it’s called Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s. It is inevitable. I do it, you do it, everyone does it. Remember every vacation you have ever taken, ever. I was in a Denny’s in Chicago and heard a woman exclaim “Boy these Chicago Denny’s sure is diff’rent!” Please note that this woman was wrong and that the only differences between Denny’s are the names of the surly, pissed off women serving you coffee–and the degrees of tackiness of the art on the wall. But I digress. The point is that comparing these places can lead us in many directions. When I compared my hometown of South Bend, Indiana to Portland, the direction I was lead was west. That means I moved. West. To Portland.
The visit that led to my decision to move to Portland was a pretty great trip. I liked the fact that there were art galleries and quality food everywhere. I liked the surrounding pockets of nature, and I got a kick out of the thought of seeing a mountain daily. In addition, the people were amazingly friendly. Downtown alone, I had at least eight people with clipboards ask me how my day was going or if I wanted to save the Earth. They were mad when I answered that I didn’t want to save the Earth and then got into my H2 and hit that tree for kicks, but it was still nice to be asked. The job market wasn’t too hot but I was an Art History major in college so it wasn’t like I would be getting a job anyway. However, it was only after the move that I discovered the part of Portland that would become my main point of interest: Beer.
Now, before I get into this let me preface it with an example of what beer is like in Indiana. When one goes to a restaurant they usually have 4 or 5 choices. Two of those contain the term “Bud” and the others are usually a cheaper version of a “bud” beer and one of the following: Sam Adams, Killian’s, Honey Brown or Blue Moon. In Portland’s Fred Meyer, where you see Deschutes and BridgePort, the Kroger’s of South Bend would have those four I just listed and maybe Goose Island or something similar. Craft breweries existed but were few and far between. Basically, you could get a quality beer, it just was not as convenient. And if you compared the cultures surrounding beer in Indiana to the culture surrounding beer in Portland, it would be like comparing the New York Yankees with a slow pitch softball team that has a lot of hustle but lacks teamwork, respectively.
So with that being said, when I first settled in town I didn’t think too much about the beer since beer was just a drink, not a hobby. It was nice getting a good 22oz. bottle of IPA from a gas station or a quality six pack every week but that was about the extent of it. Then, week by week, things began to change. Having the amount of selection Portland offered led to wanting to try everything, which led to trips to Belmont Station with friends, which in turn led to many philosophical and critical talks about beer. Restaurant choices depended on what they had on tap not just the quality of food. I started to wonder why and how this happened. During my time here I have heard Portland called “the microbrewery capital of the world” on several occasions. I have seen people spit venom over the idea of drinking Hamm’s (seriously, like a snake.) I have been to tappings that seem more like rock concerts. I have seen the term “Snob” be applied in a (mostly) positive manner. I have seen heated arguments over the merits of one beer vs. another. I have never seen a city take so much pride in its beer. I have asked several people why it came to be that Portland has this thriving beer culture and it seems like everyone has a different answer. I have also written a lot of sentences that begin with “I have”.
Maybe I am thinking too much about it. In fact, I know am. Maybe I am just looking a gift horse in the mouth. Either way I am going to continue to ask and question, and answer questions, and write about the answers to the questions that I asked. Oh, and drink.
Thanks for reading this introduction. Next time I will write something more substantial. Cheers!
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8 Comments on "A Hoosier’s First Musings on Portland Beer"
“And if you compared the cultures surrounding beer in Indiana to the culture surrounding beer in Portland, it would be like comparing the New York Yankees with a slow pitch softball team that has a lot of hustle but lacks teamwork, respectively.”
I think we’re at fast pitch softball level, actually. In any case, I don’t think teamwork is the problem – comparing the portland beer scene to the indiana beer scene is like comparing the indiana pork tenderloin scene to the portland pork tenderloin scene – the market just isn’t quite there. Yet. Hell, you’ve got almost as many breweries in Portland as Indiana has statewide.
But we’re getting there. And we’ve got a blog, too.
I was following you until the pork tenderloin thing, then I got lost. And by lost I mean hungry.
What you have to keep in mind is that I haven’t lived in Indiana for several years and am commenting on the culture as I saw it before I left. That blog you have or anything like it did not exist at the time of my departure. Maybe the teamwork was there they just needed a good General Manager and better P.R. Anyway, it seems that the culture has grown, which is great since I intend to return for a spell in May.
Thanks for the blog link, I will be checking it often.
Also, I have heard good things about Three Floyds. Can I get some insight on this?
-Ian
As a fellow Hoosier who once thought that the Lennies Brew Pub in Bloomington was the end all be all I would have to agree you all that you have said..
Perhaps your next body of work could investigate the fact that people here in Portland do not know how to use the LEFT LANE on the highway…
GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!
Three Floyds makes better beer than any Portland Brewery. Except maybe Deschutes. That one might be a toss-up.
Nah, I’ll go ahead and say Floyds is better.
But don’t take my word for it, just look at the line.
Mike,
First of all, what Portland beer have you had?
If your answer wasn’t “every beer in Portland”, then your claim is ridiculous. It may be right, 3 Floyds may make the best beer in the world, but you cannot say they make better beer than ALL Portland breweries until you have tried ALL Portland breweries.
Secondly, I don’t even consider Deschutes to be a Portland Brewery since it was only last year that we got a location here. If I did consider it a Portland brewery, I would not consider it the best we have to offer.
So here is what we do:
1. You fly out here.
2. Come over to my place.
3. You leave behind any biases while we go to Amnesia, New Old Lompoc, Laurelwood, Hopworks, Roots and all the rest to sample every single beer that comes out of this city– this will be a multi-day endeavor. We won’t include seasonals as I am sure your family will miss you.
Let me know. I’ll make up the couch.
Sorry if this seemed a little caustic, but I really hate absolute statements like that. They just seem to have no other way to interpret them other than in a negative way. I think it would be super amazing if Three Floyds was as good as you say. They certainly seem to love the craft and as I said earlier, I have heard good things from friends who still live in Indiana.
Were you old enough to have drank beer in Indiana at the time of your departure?
I have not had anything with the name “Bud” in it since around the time I stopped drinking Boones’s Farm. Damn, seems like yesterday, but after a lot of work on calculations….16 years.
-Old Hoosier, now a Michigander
Ian – I’d be glad to take you up on that offer. But calm down. It’s just beer.
Ranking beer is pretty stupid, anyway. BUT.. my claim isn’t the most outrageous statement. Rate beer backs me up.
Now, back to that sampling.. when’s the biking best in Portland? I wanna kill two birds with one stone.
Spring is amazing for biking and I was serious about you staying on the couch. The fee will be several bottles of my favorite brews from back home that I can’t get here. Mainly lots of Bells.
I agree its silly. I am actually a jolly fellow. The response was written after possibly the worst day at work ever so the bitterness was in me and I wanted an argument. In addition, I am proud of being a Hoosier and the fact that good beer is coming out of there makes me amazingly proud. Now I can flaunt that and Vonnegut.
In addition, I just found out that my friend is trying to get a keg from 3 Floyds for his wedding in May so I am psyched to try it, and the fact that it will be free just makes it that much better. How far away is Munster from South Bend? I may have to make a trip for the beer. I will buy you a pint for my unacceptable bitterness and bring you a couple of bottles not available over there. This is giving me an idea of setting up some sort of national beer network where we can visit and share beer not available in that locale.
And yeah, to the other guy, I was of legal drinking age for a few years before I left. The Bud reference is real in most eateries and bars. Bud Light was actually the more popular one. This may be just in my part of Indiana, the part around Notre Dame. It may have changed but I doubt it based on my Uncle’s reaction at my wedding rehearsal dinner when the place didn’t have Bud. He kinda just looked around in amazement that a place couldn’t have Bud then was coerced to get Rainer. Ugh.
Cheers to all!