Philadelphia Review

In lieu of Christmas gifts, my wife and I usually take a trip together each spring. Last year we spent a few days in Burlington, VT. This year: Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Love. What do they have in common? Craft beer.

Now, Philadelphia still has a mixed reputation despite making tremendous strides over the past decade. We spent time walking up-and-coming neighborhoods, taking in some history, imitating Rocky, eating cheesesteaks, and, of course, drinking craft beer.

Philly's beer scene surprised me, both for its depth and quality. Honestly, after Portland, Oregon, this is probably the best beer scene I have experienced (Denver, San Diego, and Asheville, NC remain on my to-do list...) I definitely recommend visiting and would like to make it back myself during the famous Philly Beer Week. Here are the places we got a chance to visit, starting with the stops you cannot miss.

Monk's Cafe (Center City)
This world famous bar is deserving of its billing. We were lucky to snag seats at the very cool, darkly-lit back bar. Kelly was excited for Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale (9), which may be my favorite sour beer. Firestone Walker Reserve (7) was a nice beer, but slightly dulled after being served to cold. And, of course, I couldn't pass up the freshly tapped Russian River Pliny the Elder (10), one of the my favorite beers of all-time. In retrospect, I wish I had stuck around for the highly-billed mussels. A beer destination.

Kraftwork (Fishtown)
Very hip industrial vibe going on, with lots of metal and wood inside. Clearly they go through a lot of kegs here, with a list of beers on deck for every one of the 25 tap lines. Our sampler consisted of: Pennsylvania Brewing Fleur de Lehigh (7), Sly Fox Seamus on cask (5), Cigar City Maduro (8), and Cantillon St. Lamvinus (6).

Eulogy Belgian Tavern (Old City)
Sister bar of Monk's, and it shows. Well put-together menu and very cool decor. The upstairs bar was packed but we were lucky to snag a table near the bar downstairs. Kelly went for the tasty sour Rodenbach Grand Cru (8) while I started with the yeasty Eulogy Busty Blonde (8). Cigar City's Jai Alai (9) was an IPA with a very pleasant herbal bitterness. This is a great Belgian bar, about which I would have a lot more great things to say if I hadn't already visited the real thing at Monk's...

Tria (Center City)
This is a trendy restaurant focused on upscale cheeses and the like. One of two locations in the city. Dim, fashionable lighting and pretty crowded, especially around the bar. The food was fantastic, especially the La Tur whipped goat, sheep, and cow cheese from Italy. The beer list was very good, but one major complaint was that there was no way to distinguish between what was available on tap and in a bottle. A cardinal sin. I tried my first beer from Great Lakes Brewing, the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (9). Coarse, heavy roast that was both lively and smooth. Excellent. Kelly enjoyed Dogfish Head's Namaste (7). Better still was Allagash's Odyssey (10) a fascinatingly complex Wild Ale. A no doubter perfect beer and probably one of the ten best beers I have ever tasted. Find this beer.

Triumph Brewing (Old City)
My favorite of the two brewpubs we visited in the city. Big, open, classy place with a lot of metal and wood. We went to the bar upstairs and split a monstrous sampler. In order of preference, we had the well-balanced Belgian Double Rye Pale Ale (9), aromatic Gold IPA (8), flavorful Belgian Dubbel (8), surprisingly hoppy Amber Ale (7), heavily spiced Belgian Golden (6), slick Munich Dunkel (6), slightly watery Hefe-Weizen (6), and grainy Kinder Pilsner (5).

Standard Tap (Northern Liberties)
This is one of the few bars I have seen with with twenty plus taps, all of them from with 90 miles. An outstanding achievement. We had the gulpable, hand-pumped Sly Fox Chester County Bitter (8) and the-awesomely-named-but-less-than-delicate Pennsylvania Brewing Walt Wit (5). It's worth noting that they get great scores for their food but I didn't see anything too appealing on the menu...

Khyber Pass Pub (Old City)
As the last bar of a long weekend of drinking my notes here are sketchy at best. Dark, divey sort of ambiance with quirky movies showing above the bar. The tap list was inspired and kept up-to-date with chalkboards above the bar. Made for a great closer on a Eulogy, Triumph, mini-pub crawl.

Brauhaus Schmitz (South Street)
A traditional-looking German beer bar smack in the middle of touristy South Street. The array of glassware alone is worth a trip. I went for the Spectrum flight: Gaffel Kolsch (5), Jever Pilsener (4), Hofbrau Maibock (7), Spaten Oktoberfest (4), and Warsteiner Premium Dunkel (5). Kelly's Konig Ludwig Weisse (7) was a good, heavily cloved Hef.

The Abbaye (Northern Liberties)
Another Belgian-leaning bar, albeit with a smallish bottle list. The Chimay-marinated cheesesteak topped with Gruyere cheese and served with Belgian fries was actually one of my best meals of the trip. Yards ESA (6) was a great first beer of the weekend, served by handpump at cellar temp. New Holland Kolsch (7) was nice and sessionable.

City Tavern (Old City)
Was a tourist trap, as you would expect, with overpriced beer and food. That said, how many times do you get a chance to hoist the same brew that our founding fathers drank hundreds of years ago. The old furniture and rooms were cool, and historically-based beers brewed by Yards Brewing were very interesting. In order of preference, we sampled the George Washington's Tavern Porter (7), Thomas Jefferson's 1774 Tavern Ale (5), Alexander Hamilton's Federalist Ale (5), and Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce (5). The sort of place every beer lover should go, once.

Nodding Head Brewery (Center City)
The second of the two breweries we got to check out while in Philly. Very crowded by the time we arrived, so hung out in front of a massive display of bobble-heads. We tried the Saison (6) and IPA (4), neither of which were anything to write home about. Shouldn't be a priority unless you have extra time.

Jose Pistolas (Center City)
A well-regarded Mexican restaurant that didn't quite do it for me. The food was fine, but the beer list short and the crowd a little too frat-like. Bell's Pale Ale (6) was good. The fact this was the last bar on my list is amazing.

Drinking in the dead of winter

During those cold winter months, many hunker down and put on a warm mug of cocoa. I decided to go the other way with it. Since 2008, I have rounded up a few friends, drove to northern Maine, and drank a few cold beers. Previous destinations have included Ebenezer's Pub, Oak Pond Brewing, Bray's Brewpub, Great Lost Bear, Sea Dog Brewpub, and Shipyard Brewing. The road less traveled I guess.

Guy's Weekend started at Gritty McDuff's in Portland's Old Port. With solid food, comfortable atmopshere and communal tables, and reasonable prices, Gritty's has never let me down. While it would be nice to see a little more variety in their largely static menu of beers, their seasonals are very strong and there really isn't a bad beer in the lineup. Pitchers of their 21 IPA, Best Bitter, and Black Fly Stout all went down nicely.

Stop two for the evening was one of my new favorite bars: Mama's Crowbar. Not everyone in the group was grooving on the atmosphere as much as I was, but after spending so much time in trendy brewpubs, I've really become a sucker for a dive / townie bar with good beer. Crowbar definitely meets this criteria with Allagash and Stone on tap, and bottles ranging from Smuttynose IPA to North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner. After a game of trivial persuit and marathon round of cricket, it was closing time before we knew it.

Our destination for Day 2 was a University of Maine hockey game up in Orono. On the way, I had arranged for a visit to Penobscot Bay Brewery. Operated by Mike and Joan Anderson, also owners of Winterport Winery, were kind enough to invite us in for a tour despite being officially closed for the season. It was a very nice facility with kitchen, tasting room, gift shop, the winery and brewery, all overlooking the Penobscot River.

This small brewery is pretty new, only started in 2009. Mike gave us a very entertaining tour, tracing each piece of brewing equipment back through its previous owners. While the room had the feel of a garage, I was impressed with how well organized and clean the whole operation was. Needless to say, Mike isn't haphazardly throwing handfulls of chipotle pepper's into the brewpot like I do when homebrewing.

The tasting room is simply beautiful, with shelves jammed with fruit wines, winery merchandise, and local Maine products. They even sell Bay Brew Ice Cream, made with their own Half Moon Stout! (My stout float later that night was indescribable.) On tap was their Old Factory Whistle Scottish Ale, Stout, and Wheat and Brown Ale described below. It all made for a very enjoyable taster and afternoon. Seeing as you can only get Penobscot Bay's beers in Maine, this is a great stop on any beer road trip. Highly recommended.

The last beer destination of the weekend was Black Bear Brewpub in Orono. Two years ago we stopped here only to discover they were out of all of their beer! We decided to give them one last chance and we are glad we did. My pulled pork sandwich was phenomenal and prices were downright cheap. Only three basic beers were available (pale ale, red ale, and stout) but I thought the stout was excellent. As good as you are going to do in Orono, Maine, that is for sure.

The weekend allowed me to revisit a lot of old favorites, with a few newbies as well. Suddenly a road trip to Maine in February doesn't sound quite as crazy, huh?

Penobscot Bay Meadow Road Wheat Beer, Score: 6
most of the traditional banana / clove characteristics come out in the aroma. wheat dominates flavor but there was a medicinal off-note present too. pretty drinkable, but i prefer their whig street blonde ale as a sessionable brew.

Penobscot Bay Red Flannel Ale, Score: 7
brown ale meets winter warmer. sweet malt and fruity hops combine in aroma. i recall some minor spices in the taste, but flavor is ultimately more of the same. the half moon stout was the group's favorite beer of the day, with this as a close second.

Black Bear Microbrewery Stout, Score: 7
a seasonal beer from this small microbrewery. nice looking beer on pour with great lacing. chocolate malt is oh so tasty. so smooth you have to watch that 6.3% abv. i'm already looking forward to drinking it once again next february.

Vermont Beer Trip

My wife and I recently spent a weekend away in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. Among other tasks was testing the rumor that Burlington had the best beer scene in New England.

Undoubtedly, the crown jewel of Burlington's beer scene was American Flatbread. Highly regarded for both it's flatbread pizza and adventurous brew styles, American Flatbread has expanded to a few select cities across the country. The brewpub has a very warm feel upon entering and was positively packed with UVM students on a Friday night.

With very reasonable $2.25 half-pours, I was able to sample quite a few of their beers. The organic Farmhouse Ale (7) and Bob White (6) were solidly fruity and drinkable Belgian offerings. The Extra Stout (7) was also not too heavy and pretty true to the Irish Dry Stout style. My favorites though, were their more adventurous offerings. Wassail (8) was a "dark brown ale with raspberries." Malty up front, sweet raspberries dominating in a middle, this was a clever style that could appeal to both sexes. The Solstice Gruit (8) succeeded with one of my favorite styles, bringing the taste of grape, without the low carbonation making it feel like drinking a juice. Well worth the hour plus wait.

The next day we went to visit Magic Hat Brewery. There was very little effort put into the brewery tour itself, but there was an entertaining us versus them film at one point charting the rise of craft beer. The gift shop where we started and ended the tour was going for an industrial garage sort of look, with loud thumping club music. If there is one thing Magic Hat does well, its marketing, with Magic Hat frisbee's, $54 sweatshirts, beer bread kits and even soap made with beer on hand.

Very small samples of Magic Hat's seven current beers were available at the bar on the far side of the room. Magic Hat staples #9 (4) and Circus Boy (5) were present but a little too weak for my taste. Lucky Kat (5) and Vinyl (6) had a little more depth with a note of maltiness. Odd Notion American Pale Wheat (6) and Blind Faith (7) would have to be my favorite beers for the presence of some raw, bitter hops. Not the strongest collection in the world, but a pretty good place to bring that novice beer drinker.

The Vermont Pub and Brewery was kind of busy when we went that afternoon, but the waitstaff was totally overwhelmed. I was not allowed to order a sampler, which didn't seem too cool. Anyways, Kelly ordered the Forbidden Fruit (5) which was far to sweet and one-dimensional. The Dogbite Bitter (7) had a nice building bitterness but I think the Vermont Smoked Porter (8) was my favorite. Tasted more like barbeque than smoke to me, with a nice smooth bitterness.

But those weren't the only Vermont beers I came across that weekend. Long Trail Winter White (8) is a tasty and unusual summer offering. Switchback Pale Ale (7) is widely available around town as an extremely sessionable, mildly flavored brew. Stowe is another mountain boasting a brewery. The Shed National IPA (8) delivers a solid hoppiness and their Mountain Ale (7) is a strong ale deserving of its name.

No question, this is a stellar beer scene. Better than Portland, Maine? I don't think so, but I suppose that may require some further research...

Guy's Weekend, Part 2 of 2

Back in January, I posted an article about the Number 1 beer bar in the world (according to BeerAdvocate.com.) Ebenezer's Pub is a Belgian beer bar located in the backwoods of Maine, in the town of Lovell. And I can say, it was possibly the greatest beer experience of my life.

With three friends in tow, we made the drive (thanks to our Designated Driver Nate) and settled in for the next five hours. Below are the results and note the high marks.

Cantillon Gueze 100% Lambic
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
i had never had a beer from cantillon and was anxious to get started with this one. ebenezer's did a short pour on this one since it has such a strong taste. pours a translucent amber with a pretty sour nose. taste is closest to apple cider and very acidic. as dry as a white wine too. interesting, but probably ended up being my least favorite beer of the night.
Score: 7

Val-Dieu Grand Cru
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
planning for a session of drinking, i ordered what i thought would be a relatively light drinking beer. instead, i got a murky brown, 10.5% quad. i never would have guessed the abv though. all i could pick in the flavor was sweet molasses, and a note of coconut / vanilla. silky smoothness made this a pleasure to drink. the fact that the tap kicked 3/4 of the way through and this was on the house made it that much sweeter! thanks, guys!
Score: 10

Avec Les Bons Voeux
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
a saison from dupont. and just what you would expect: yeasty aroma and fruity taste. 9.5% doesn't prevent drinkability at all. nice if somewhat simple.
Score: 7

Duchesse De Bourgogne
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
a flanders red ale. has that sour cherry taste and is balanced by some candy sweetness. medium bodied. my friends weren't feeling it; too salty they thought. i'm going to have to agree to disagree on this one though -- i thought this was amazing.
Score: 10

Pannepot - Old Fisherman's Ale (2007 Version)
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
served quite cold, which was a little sad. dark fruit materializes as dates. burnt malt also present while hops are in mouthfeel more than flavor. nice texture.
Score: 9

Kasteel Tripel
Tap -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
has 11% of most tripel's, but fruity overtones dominate. a very good tripel that dan fell in love with.
Score: 9

De Proef Reserve Signature Ale (w/ Tomme Arthur)
750 ml -- Ebenezer's Pub, Lovell, ME
this will go down in history as my thousandth beer. i chose this beer since it was a collaboration between two legendary brewers: De Proef and Port Brewing. it being "a hybrid of American and Belgian brewing techniques" just seemed appropriate. brettanomyces flavor, biscuity malts, and healthy hopping make this a tasty brew. well-balanced too. a little steep at $25 for the bottle, but it was a special occasion, after all!
Score: 10

Beer number 1,000 ushers in a new era here at Josh's Beer Blog. First off, after writing the words malts and hops at least a thousand times, I am ready to cut back on my descriptions in ranking each beer. I will still keep scoring beers and adding them to my Complete Rankings, but will only do a full write-up on the most interesting beers.

More importantly, I have been offered a position to write a regular column about beer for The Providence Phoenix! What's Brewing will be printed every-other week in The Providence Phoenix and on their website. My first column debuted last weekend and can be found at: http://thephoenix.com/providence/food/97663-mix-the-ultimate-six/ I will put up the whole article shortly. And you can look for a little more info on this epic trip to Ebenezer's on The Phoenix in the coming weeks...

Guy's Weekend, Part 1 of 2

My first beer trip of 2010! The destination for this guys weekend was none other than the number one beer bar in the world: Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine. Of course, there were a couple of stops along the way. Here are a few new beers sampled the night before at Great Lost Bear, as well as rundown of the beers from my first visit to the very homey, Bray's Brewpub of Naples, Maine.

Allagash Burnham Road
Sample -- Great Lost Bear, Portland
brace yourself -- this was terrible! i never thought i would say such a thing about allagash. this smoked beer has an unmistakable cloroseptic spray taste... which does not work for me.
Score: 2

Freeport Black Gold Porter
Sample -- Great Lost Bear, Portland
my first beer from freeport brewing! aroma is of coffee, while vanilla defines taste. sweetness is balanced by some roasted bitterness. smoothness completes this porter. very good, i thought.
Score: 8

Gritty McDuff's Red Claws Ale
22 oz -- Portland, ME
a cheap bomber. sweet malt has darker coffee note. overall, fairly bitter though. not going to come rushing back here.
Score: 4

Run of the Mill State Budget Red Ale
Sample -- Great Lost Bear, Portland
reddish in color with note of coffee in malt. i ordered intending to get run of the mill's ipa, so this was a bit of a letdown.
Score: 5

Bray's Brewpub Brandy Pond Blonde Pale Ale
Sample -- Bray's Brewpub, Naples, ME
i've tried to order bray's before, but never had any luck. what i was really looking for was their Yammityville Horror Sweet Potato Ale. but maybe next time. my first beer was their blonde ale, creamy but very watery too. grainy wheat / corn taste.
Score: 4

Bray's Brewpub Causeway Cream
Sample -- Bray's Brewpub, Naples, ME
nitro pour, which is always nice. muted, bland taste but hops at finish redeem this beer. went very well with my pastrami sandwich.
Score: 6

Bray's Brewpub Mount Olympus Special Ale
Sample -- Bray's Brewpub, Naples, ME
"hopped like IPA but with darker malts," according to menu. good head, hopped nose... husky bitterness that builds. little watery but smooth. kind of sloppy.
Score: 5

Bray's Brewpub Red Eye Pale Ale
Sample -- Bray's Brewpub, Naples, ME
don't know if this was the dregs of the keg, but had absolutely no head. this beer rallies though. forceful bitterness and... taste of spruce! sticky with slightly thin mouthfeel. probably my favorite offering.
Score: 7

Bray's Brewpub Smokehouse Brown
Sample -- Bray's Brewpub, Naples, ME
my friends liked this beer, but i couldn't do it. cloroseptic taste brought me back to the previous night's disaster of allagash's burnham road. for the record, the smoke materializes as pulled pork.
Score: 3

Bell's

Earlier I mentioned my recent successful trip to Brasserie Beck in Washington, D.C. This was Franklin's idea, but my real ambition was the legendary Brickskeller near Dupont Circle. They boast over 1,000 different bottles of beer (but to be fair, they are inevitably out of a sizeable number of these, and even more surprising, had no taps!) The upstairs was definitely more spacious than the basement, and throughout there was lots of classic beer memorabilia up on the walls.

The list of beers was not as varied as I might have hoped, but there were definitely some gems and interesting regional beers. My favorite find was Bell's, that much respected and elusive brewer from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Bell's Java Stout
Bottle -- Rick's Wine and Gourmet, Alexandria, VA
lots of burnt coffee with note of vanilla. not very drinkable.
Score: 5

Bell's Pale Ale
Bottle -- Brickskeller, Washington, D.C.
very clear with minor head. grassy / hay hops and quite grainy. was not impressed.
Score: 5

Bell's Porter
Bottle -- Brickskeller, Washington, D.C.
cola mouthfeel, primarily chocolate flavor, and very smooth. not bad.
Score: 7

Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Bottle -- Rick's Wine and Gourmet
good smell, but didn't blow me away. but the flavor -- oh, wow! piney, fruity, and balanced with caramel malts. leagues ahead of the other beers i tried from bell's. looking forward to the rest of this six-pack!
Score: 10

PDX illustrated

The 100 beers I drank pale in comparison to the hundreds of pictures taken by Kelly over the course of our one-week honeymoon. Many times when I asked why we were taking this particular picture, she would exclaim "It's our honeymoon!" Apparently, this was an explaination in and of itself. But I digress.

I thought I would put at least some of these pictures to use. Since much of our time was devoted to pub crawling, they are very relevant to this beer blog. They also give you a better idea of how one drinks 100 beers over the course of 7 days. (I am not a terrible husband, I swear!) Anyways, enjoy!

Day 1: Arrive at our hotel / brewpub, McMenamins Kennedy School. It was really late, but thankfully I did manage to get started by finding their Terminator Stout.















Day 2: I got started early, with Deschutes Black Butte Porter for breakfast at Tin Shed. Tell me that doesn't look amazing. By midafternoon, I was hungry again at Alameda Brewhouse.

With samplers at Alameda and Laurelwood on our first full day, we accomplished two of my top priorities right away. 21 different beers is a pretty solid day, too.

Day 3: Logging 22 beers on Day 3, this Brockton-based beer blogger was at his most prolific. Now this was a pub crawl: checkers at Roots [above], an out-of-body experience at Hopworks Urban Brewery, the very fun Horse Brass Pub, and delectable Pix Patisserie.

More pics from HUB. Wow, I have already tried 44 different beers after only two full days of drinking...










Day 4: Token happy married couple picture -- pretty sure I had to include this. Day 4 was our winery tour too. Moving on.

Ah, Full Sail! Kelly was particularly taken by their mural of the brewing process, from field to table.

I, however, was taken by Full Sail's Berliner Weiss -- red on the right and green on the left.

Day 5: Natural hot springs, a mason jar, and The Bruery's farmhouse ale... now how can you beat that?

Back in PDX, we hit old favorite Amnesia Brewpub [left] and the new (to me) Old Lompoc [right] in succession. Note the HUB t-shirt. Wow, I have already drank 73 beers with two days to go! What if...

Day 6: My bride up at Portland City Grille enjoying a... hey, that isn't a beer, at all! Well, at least I enjoyed a few beers at Deschutes, even though there aren't any pictures of my favorite brewery, for some reason. Here is the aftermath, anyways...

Day 7: Sampler number 10 at Bridgeport. And without even trying, I wound up at an even 100 beers! That is something. Well, bye, bye, Beervana. We will miss you!

PDX... and beyond

So we have covered much of the best of Portland (besides Hair of the Dog.) But what of the rest of Oregon -- Eugene and Enterprise, Newport and Ontario? Not to mention the rest of the west. Cali, Washington, Colorado, Alaska. Some high scores here. Good bottle stores and great beer experiences. Read on.

Alaskan Amber
Bottle -- Portland City Grille, PDX
Had heard a lot of positive things about this beer, so I ordered it when I got the chance at the uber-swanky Portland City Grille's happy hour. I was surprised to see this is classified as an altbier, not an amber. I was surprised again to find mostly fresh hops on nose. Solid flavor and washed down my sushi more than adequately.
Score: 7

Beer Valley Pigskin Pale Ale
22 oz -- Vindalho Restaurant, PDX
Bought a big bottle from this western-Oregon brewer to accompany our fancy Indian meal. Very active in appearance... smell of stale hops and taste of sweet malt... medium bodied and quite sticky. Little one-dimensional, but washed down my samosas well.
Score: 6

Big Horse Russian Redneck
Tap -- Big Horse Brew Pub, Hood River
Kelly and I stopped at this brewpub almost on a whim while in Hood River. Glad we did though because this was a really cool place. Built on a hillside overlooking Columbia Gorge, the view was as good as any you will find at a brewery. Comfortable atmosphere with these pretty cool two-tiered tables that work well with bar stools and pitchers of beer (I would definitely copy these for my bar...) Anyways, 7 staple beers on tap but how could I pass on a beer called Russian Redneck. You definitely taste the bourbon that this Russian Imperial Stout is aged on. Malts produce strong sweetness, while hops are quite tasty. Alcohol does come through. Velvety smooth. Very impressed.
Score: 8

Dick's Best Bitter
Bottle -- Belmont Station, PDX
Product of Washington. I wanted to see how this Oregon neighbor compared, but I don't think the two beers I picked up were a fair judge... Dark brown with sustained head... apple juice, note of coffee, sweet malts -- not as bad as it sounds... pretty light. Just fine.
Score: 6

Double Mountain The I.R.A.
Pint -- Hood River Theater & Pub, Hood River
I had planned on going to Double Mountains brewery in Hood River, but it wasn't meant to be. I was glad to find it when we went to see Angels & Demons at the theater across from our hotel (but I still fell asleep 30 minutes in...) Robust bitterness for a red, but caramel malts strike balance. Smooth. I should brew one of these so called, India Red Ale's.
Score: 9

Hair of the Dog Fred
Bottle -- Horse Brass Pub, PDX
Horse Brass Pub was number one on my list of beer bars to hit for the trip. It matched expectations too: lots of rotating taps, knowledgeable (although slow) waitresses, and a bright, fun atmosphere. Reccomended. First brewer selected off the list? Hair of the Dog, very highly regarded Portland-based brewer, but without a brewpub (or else we would have visited...) Their barleywine was named Fred after a friend of theirs (a theme that is repeated for most of their beers.) Anyways, aroma contains alcohol and fruity sweetness... taste has expected sweetness, but it has a unique apricot-like component... Kathryn opined that Fred has a taste of licorice to it, which I don't disagree with. Would never guess alcohol is 10%, so a well-constructed barleywine.
Score: 9

Hair of the Dog Ruth
Bottle -- Lorenzo's Restaurant, PDX
An "american ale," i.e. pale ale. Pure golden color, hops on nose (but I am pretty stuffed up), solid sweetness smack in middle of taste, creeping bitterness. Alcohol seemed rather raw to me, but it was only 4.5% -- not a good sign. Too sweet in my opinion. But still, when do these guys get a brewpub?!
Score: 6

Hale's Ale Kolsch
Bottle -- Belmont Station, PDX
On our way back to the city from our trip to Mount Hood we stopped at Belmont Station, the southeasts elite bottle store/bar. We don't really see these store-bar hybrids out east, and this one seemed to work especially well with two seperate rooms (much better than the odd atmosphere at Concordia Ale House, which we walked out of.) Anyways, interesting selection here. As for Hale's it had a light straw color, nose of grain, corn flavor, extremely light bodied. Not bad actually.
Score: 6

New Belgium Fat Tire
Bottle -- Belmont Station, PDX
THE Fat Tire. Only beer I drank on the trip outside of the west coast, I believe (Fort Collins, CO.) Very appealing looking beer. Very aromatic caramel/nutty malts... fruity overtones blend seamlessly with nutty malt... level of drinkability that is hard to find in an amber. I'd like to say that one of these qualities is why Fat Tire is so popular, but that is probably mostly the marketing... Good beer, nevertheless.
Score: 8, Original Score: 8

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA
Tap -- Mother's Restaurant, PDX
Another Oregon brewer I wanted to be sure to try. It took until the last day, but I did get to try them. Very fresh nose, citrusy flavor, cloying bitterness in throat.
Score: 7

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
Bottle -- Hotel Monaco, PDX
Slightly hazy gold... sweeet, hoppy smell of a barleywine... pleasantly sweet flavor... can't spot an imperfection here. I'm really going to miss these west coast IPA's.
Score: 10

Rogue Chocolate Stout
Tap -- Pix Patisserie, PDX
Ah, a beer float! I haven't done one of these in a while! Pix Patisserie is a pretty ingenious creation. It's a desert bar, as in pastries and (mostly Belgian) beer. For a dollar more they served me a glass of the beer in addition to my float. Most memorable characteristics (because this was the end of a long drinking day) were robust charred malts and lots of different chocolates. Pretty heavy but drinkable. The float was delicious too.
Score: 8, Original Score: 8

Rogue Morimoto Soba
Tap -- Portland Saturday Market, PDX
I have talked about this before but Rogue doesn't have the greatest of reputations in PDX. Their brewpub is pretty crappy and they seem more about clever marketing than anything else. Like say, their Morimoto series, brewed for Chef Morimoto of Iron Chef. However, this fruit beer was better than expected. Lightly hopped, good flavor, extremely drinkable. Surprisingly good. Maybe I will give their brewpub a second chance next time too...
Score: 7

Russian River Blind Pig IPA
22 0z -- New Seasons (Grocery), PDX
My first beer from the legendary California brewer, Russian River. I leapt at the chance to buy this highly-rated IPA on our first trip to this grocery store across the street from our hotel. Quite light, straw golden... big grapefruit nose and flavor, bitterness early not late, malt profile is present but minor, no hint of 6% alcohol, very tasty... pretty light body for such a big flavor. A beautfiul beer, and fitting start as the first IPA I would drink in Portland.
Score: 9

Russian River Pliny the Elder
500 ml -- Cork: A Bottle Store, PDX
The #7 beer in the world according to BeerAdvocate! This double IPA is pretty light in color with a huge piney hop aroma. Taste is very orangey with unmissable biscuity malts. Well-balanced with a well-hidden 8% abv. Hype is deserved. This is the best IPA I have ever had.
Score: 10

Terminal Gravity IPA
Tap -- Horse Brass Pub, PDX
An IPA from Enterprise, OR. Fresh, grassy hops. You feel the nearly 7% abv. Good beer.
Score: 7

The Bruery Saison Rue
750 ml -- Cork: A Bottle Shop, PDX
This was one of the brewers I was watching for and my friend at Cork Bottle Shop told me this was one of the best beers he had tried. And you know how I love those farmhouses! I saved this for our trip to Bagby Hot Springs (pictures to follow...) Anyways, poured a slightly hazy orange with a huge head (into my mason jar, to be fair...) Citrus fruit, spice, yeast, and alcohol mix together on nose and flavor. Flavor is in your face, yet nuanced. Balanced and lively. Lovely. Wish I could try more from these guys.
Score: 9

Trumer Pils
Sample -- Horse Brass Pub, PDX
A German pils straight from Berkley, CA (and then stolen from friend Kathryn.) Lemon and hay are main characteristics (alongside a general skunkiness...) Very easy going down. Not bad. And just like that, 100 beers up and 100 beers down.
Score: 6

PDX: The Best

Drum roll, please...

The Best:
#2. Hopworks Urban Brewery – 2944 SE Powell Blvd, PDX
Hopworks Urban Brewery only recently celebrated its first birthday so it wasn't even on the radar screen during my time in PDX. HUB is an all organic brewery, but get this: it is really, really good! Some 3,000 miles away it was hard to figure out how much of this was hype, but it was obviously at the very top of my to do list. It is a little out of the way on a busy street in the southeast, but once you get there it is nothing but convenient. They have four different types of seating: beer garden, family-friendly restaurant, function mezzanine, and, our choice, the biker bar... as in bicycle bar, of course. Most of the bar is actually made of bicycle parts -- pretty cool. Beyond that they turned some brewery equipment into a fireplace, have a solid stein collection, as well as a pool table and the basketball game on. Food looked good and prices were reasonable. What more can you ask for? Tables are very classy but we sidled up to the bar. Here the bartenders were good and even started you off with a water, which I especially appreciate when sampling ten plus beers. This was a very impressive set of styles, not to mention the highest average alcohol by volume from a line-up of beers that I have ever seen!

I hope you will still read about these beers below, but I have to say up front that this place totally blew me away. It was an almost surreal experience, as each beer seemed to get better and better. By the time I got to the real beers (IPA, strong ale, stout), I was downright giddy. I came in expecting good beer, but for every beer to be this well-crafted and be organic is unheard of. I mean, these guys have only been around for a year and the quality is more consistent than any brewer I have ever encountered yet. Just imagine what is possible for these guys! Or put another way: Hopworks is impressive enough for this cheap bastard to buy a t-shirt on the way out.

Hopworks HUB Lager - Sample
An organic Czech pilsner -- my kind of Budweiser substitute. Fresh hop and pilsner malt aroma. Light hops make this very pleasing. As light as you are looking for.
Score: 8

Hopworks Totally Raddler - Sample
I am going to rate this one and try not to hold it against the brewer. They took that delicious lager I just rated and added 30% lemonade. So, of course, Kelly had to order it. Obviously that delicate lager is totally overwhelmed by sugary sweet lemonade. I'll try not to hold that against HUB, but it was quite sad.
Score: 3

Hopworks Anniversary Cream Ale - Sample
Above the bar where we were sitting HUB had a huge chalkboard with all of the beers on tap listed down to the original gravity. At first glance I didn't see any beer weighing in below 5% abv... except for this one at a still healthy 4.7%. Nitro pour produces creaminess you would hope for. Nice pale malt flavor and again gently hopped. Nice!
Score: 8

Hopworks Crosstown Pale Ale - Sample
An organic pale ale. Clear golden. Potent grassy hops. Flavorful. Sessionable. This was the point that I started getting excited after starting off with three exquisitely crafted beers, in three not-so-exciting styles, mind you! What will they do with an ESB?
Score: 9

Hopworks Velvet ESB - Sample
Attractive red pour... minor fresh hop aroma... caramel malts dominate, not hops as you might have expected in an ESB... chocolate malt and oats do create a very velvety texture... billed as a session beer, which really does. An incredibly unique ESB, and I loved it!
Score: 10

Hopworks Secret Alt - Sample
German Altbier... fruity hop aroma... beautifully balanced flavor... very smooth like all their beers so far.
Score: 8

Hopworks Terry Porter - Sample
Obviously the Trailblazers are huge in town, so how is it possible no one had thought of this beer name yet? Anyways, great name for a beer. Chocolate malt aroma... definite hop presence, with lightly charred malt... heavy aftertaste. When all was said and done, this would actually be the least impressive of the bunch. And it was a pretty good porter!
Score: 7

Hopworks IPA - Sample
Spiderwebs nicely on glass. Big sweet, grapefruit hop aroma. In flavor, hops are deliciously citric and piney. Sweet and lemony flavors come through as well. Flavor has great bitterness, without rawness of East Coast IPA's. Very smooth for an IPA. Probably one of the best IPA's I have ever had... and remember, it is organic!
Score: 10

Hopworks Deluxe Organic Ale - Sample
Well, this is certainly a different sort of name for an American Strong Ale. I had a sense of what I was in for right away since there is no hint of the 6.9% abv on the nose. Any alcohol blends in perfectly with malts in flavor. Lots of caramel malts but very smooth. It would be easy to drink a few of these, so you have to be careful. What an amazing beer!
Score: 10

Hopworks Survival "Seven Grain" Stout - Sample
They used coldpressed Stumptown espresso... and it smells like it too. Coffee in flavor is quite sweet and velvety smooth. Delicious and enjoyable.
Score: 9

Hopworks Rise Up Red - Sample
Cask-conditioned. Strong hoppiness I love in these West Coast/IPA reds. And just like that, HUB's beers finished as strong as they started. This was simply one of the greatest beer experiences I have ever had. Now I cannot in good conscience call them the best brewer in Portland after 1 1/2 hours of drinking their samplers. However, if Hopworks is still churning out beers of this quality next time I get to try them again, they will be sitting atop this list. Go Hopworks!
Score:9

#1. Deschutes Brewery & Public House – 210 NW 11th Ave, PDX
But until that point, Deschutes reigns supreme. One of my favorite trips from my previous time out in Oregon was a road trip to Bend, home of Deschutes Brewing. Since that time they have opened a brewpub in the heart of the previously discussed Pearl District. Huge place with very classy look of a Scottish bar with the large paned windows. Inside there is lots of wood -- from the tables to the spectacular carved murals hanging throughout the building. Good space inside, with several different types of seating, including out on the street. Beautiful stone fireplace and popular gift shop. Did I mention this place is big? We had dinner here and one thing I was not expecting was the quality of the food. Kelly's spicy Tillamook mac and cheese was one of the best meals we had all week. Best of all, they had 17 taps! Yes! Fortunately, I had already had my two favorite Deschutes beers earlier in the week, and was ready to try some new stuff. I had a blast here and it is actually very fulfilling to see one of my very favorite brewers reaching this wider audience. Ladies and gentlemen, the number one brewpub from Josh and Kelly's Beer Trip / Honeymoon! (And yes, that order is correct...)

Deschutes Black Butte Porter - Bottle, Tin Shed Garden Cafe
Deschutes beer was one of the things I was most looking forward to about our trip out to Portland, so it didn't take long for me to find one of their beers. Deschutes Black Butte Porter was available with our first breakfast at Tin Shed Garden Cafe, so I couldn't very well pass. I reranked this beer just a few months ago, so let me just say this beer also goes well with biscuits and gravy.
Score: 10, Original Score: 10

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale - Bottle, Downtown Chapel Cafe
My #1 favorite beer from my time in Portland. Picturesque pour of amber body with tight head. Distinctive aroma of Cascade hops. Sweet citric hops blend perfectly with crisp malt. Balance and smoothness makes this a perfect beer for session drinking, with a meal, or on its own. If I could only drink five beers for the rest of my life, this would still be one of them.
Score: 10, Original Score: 10

Deschutes Cask Conditioned Bachelor ESB - Deschutes Brewpub, Sample
Oh boy! One of my favorite ESB's from a cask! Big creamy head... sweet malts play with bitterness... served a little colder than I would like, which made it even smoother than normal. Top notch session beer, that is even better from the cask.
Score:9, Original Score: 8

Deschutes Red Chair IPA - Sample
63 IBU, 7% abv. Hops are almost singularly sweet on nose... some of the most flavorful hops I have ever encountered. This IPA is almost creamy with pitch perfect balance. Wow, what a beer! What I wouldn't give for an IPA of this caliber in Massachusetts.
Score:10

Deschutes Inversion IPA - Sample
How have I never rated this beer? Citrusy, but it is caramel that strikes senses first, which is impressive. Hops do tickle your tongue (in a good way.) I would never in my wildest dreams guess this was 80 IBU. Awesome.
Score: 9

Deschutes Obsidian Stout - Sample
Dark with hot chocolate-like head. Unmissable chocolate malt aroma with solid roastiness in flavor. Very tasty. Perhaps a little thin. Still, a great beer, that belongs in class with flagship pale, porter, and IPA.
Score:9, Original Score: 9

Deschutes Cascade Ale - Sample
Hazy golden. Healthy dose of floral hops actually. Graininess is present as well. Refreshing to see a pale ale weigh in at an appropriate 4.6%.
Score: 8

Deschutes Pilsner 005 - Sample
Light color. Recognizable skunky, German malt and a little banana if I am not mistaken. Seemed a little directionless to me. Didn't make it.
Score: 5

Deschutes Twilight Ale - Sample
Three American pales on tap? Niiice. By this point in the trip, my new found allergies were limiting my sense of smell. But my wife was kind enough to observe: "Hoppier in aroma than taste. Hops smell funny, like wort." Okay... I think I know what she means. Nice lacing anyway, with pretty lemony flavor. Pretty good.
Score: 7

Deschutes Armory Extra Pale Ale - Sample
Now correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Extra Pale Ale's were usually lighter, right? This has big sweet hop aroma with sharp bitter finish. Seemed unusual to me. Not bad though.
Score: 6

Deschutes Miss Spelt - Sample
I was curious to see the style designation on this one too, but neither beer was listed on BeerAdvocate (their coverage is much better on the East Coast...) Anyways, cloudy appearance, strongly spiced, flavor of bananas and clove. Not a bad Belgian.
Score: 7

Deschutes Big Mountain Bock - Sample
A Maibock. Sweet malt but raw mouthfeel. Not badly brewed, but a pretty superficial beer.
Score: 5

Deschutes Streaking the Quad - Sample
I ordered this on my first sampler paddle, but quickly realized that if I drank this quadruple (9%) and the barleywine (11%), I would be done. Second sampler paddle later, there strong beers had conveniently arrived at room temp. Deschutes brewed this Strong Belgian Ale for Portland's Cheers to Belgian Beers competition. Smell all of 7% and robitussen. Like taking a shot... specifically like taking a shot of bourbon/whiskey. Too much, unpleasant.
Score: 3

Deschutes Mirror Mirror- Sample
Supposedly Deschutes took the recipe for Mirror Pond and doubled it for this beer. What a great idea. Clever name too. Forget "hint" in description, strong raisin smell. Taste of sweet cherry and licorice, or maybe just cough syrup. I really liked it.
Score: 8

And there you have the top 10 brewpubs we visited in Oregon. Now before you think this series is over, we still have another 18 beers to rate from several other top-notch western brewers. I think you all might appreciate some of the pictures from our beer trip too... stay tuned.

PDX: The Better

Okay, this is going to be a long one. Another 37 beers from Beervana. You have been warned.

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention last post was that I decided to spice up the order in which I usually list the beers. Being my perfectionist/obsessive-compulsive self, I usually carefully list the beers in alphabetical order. Instead, I thought it would be interesting to list the beers in the order in which I drank them. As I mentioned, most all of these beers were drank as samplers, so I was careful as to the order in which I drank them. Now, as I have talked about in past posts, the order isn't so simplistic as lightest to darkest as most brewpubs will tell you, but rather, considers alcohol by volume, IBU's (bitterness), and heaviness of the beer. More of a judgement call that you would think since I was drinking so many high-IBU IPA's...

The Better:
#7. Roots Organic Brewery – 1520 SE 7th Ave, PDX
I am pretty sure that Roots was Portland's first all-organic brewery, which is worth something. Despite this, I feel like Roots kind of flies under the radar of a lot of Portlanders with its small, somewhat out of the way location. I've always loved this place, since it proved to me that organic beers can be good too. The island theme is pretty fun -- bright colors, surfing, reggae, etc. Outside seating is available and the back of the restaurant has an industial thing going with the brewing equipment fully visible. Probably the least pretentious place on this list, which is just what you need sometimes.

Roots Burghead Heather Ale - Sample
One of the most unique beers you will ever try since it doesn't use hops! How is this possible you ask? Why heather tips, of course. And this is what I love about Roots -- talk about adventurous. (The absense of hops makes it a Gruit, by the way.) It was a little flat, but that was because I got the dregs of the keg (they switched out immediately after...) Lot of fruity esthers, which translates to a certain juiciness. Light and drinkable too. Highly recommended, just to say you once drank a pretty good beer that contained no hops.
Score: 6, Original Score: 7

Roots Organic Pale Ale - Sample
Very nice bitter hops early without bite at end... some bready malts balance this out very neatly... they call this an English style Pale Ale, but it would have to be an English Pale on roids!
Score: 7, Original Score: 8

Roots EXXXcalibur Stout - Sample
One of my fondest memories of PDX was this delicious, smooth Imperial Stout. Sure enough, this is still one of the smoothest beers I have ever tried... big coffee roast and sweet nose... silky sheet of a head... flavorful chocolate joins roast sweetness in flavor while hops work quietly in the background. Love this beer. Best stout in PDX.
Score: 9, Original Score: 8

Roots Woody Organic IPA - Sample
Haven't rated this yet, but I have drank it. Pours a striking orange... big hop aroma... dual hop nature blends in taste, both citrus and grapefruit... what a flavorful IPA... nice body to it too. This is their most popular beer.
Score: 8

Roots Island Red - Sample
Billed as a "red stout"... oats do give this one a heavier body... rosy amber, nice lacing... malts with coffee note and hops in aroma... balanced flavor... very nice red.
Score: 7

#6. Amnesia Brewing – 832 N Beech St, PDX
Probably my favorite brewpub from my time in Portland (of the top 5, 1 is outside the city, 2 are new brewpubs, and 2 brewers I had never tried before...) Basically, it is a tin shed with an enormous partly covered patio of long, communal picnic tables. Very German. As is the food, brats grilled right in front of you, year round. How awesome is that? And there is live music. The beers rotate and are very hop-centric. Most everyone orders pitchers. So basically, it is heaven on earth.

Amnesia Dusty Trail Pale - Sample
Harsh bitterness at end, very bready... lighter than you might expect... flavor/palate is a little unrefined... I really enjoyed the Pale Ale's in town, but you can find better.
Score: 5

Amnesia The ESB - Sample
Nice looking beer with steady carbonation and a creamy head (like seemingly all of Amnesia's beers)... bitter up-front... fruitty overtones and quite nutty... well-balanced but missing some umph.
Score: 7, Original Score: 7

Amnesia Copacetic IPA - Sample
Shockingly creamy head... all oranges and plums in aroma... and flavor... very smooth and creamy mouthfeel... a unique and delicious IPA. Not to mention probably the greatest name for an IPA in the history of the world. How did no one else think of this?
Score: 9, Original Score: 8

Amnesia Slow Train Porter - Sample
Nice tan creamy head... sweet chocolate nose... roastiness seems to cake mouth... little watery. Amnesia specializes in the hoppy, but this really isn't a bad dark.
Score: 7

Amnesia Blonde Beech - Sample
Okay, now hold on. Their seasonal is a blonde ale with 7.2% abv?! Just wow. Smell is grainy German malts... taste is an odd mix of alcohol, skunky yeast, and indescribable fruitiness. You feel all of the 7% and I am pretty sure Kelly got drunk off the first 4 sips of her pint. Don't believe me? Here is Kelly's only rating of the weekend: "Very beery beer but beery delicious! Easy drinking but full of malt flavor with a light hop taste... Beautiful golden color... Gets you buzzed in a hurry... Yum..." If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what one is.
Score: 6, Kelly's Rating: 9

Amnesia Desolation IPA - Sample
PDX just does IPA's right... thought for sure this 6.2% IPA would be over the top, but surprised me with complexity and subtlety once again. Fruity hops. Mouthfeel has real huskiness at end. Step below Copacetic, but an almost equally cool name.
Score: 7, Original Score: 7

Amnesia Double Dry Hopped Desolation - Sample
Description reads: "If you have to ask, you probably shouldn't order it." Little Arrogant Bastard thing going, I like it. Hoppy aroma is both citrus/grapefruit... extent of malts was unexpected. Missing bite of double IPA, but thought this was more on par with Copacetic.
Score: 8

#5. Laurelwood Public House & Brewery – 5115 NE Sandy Blvd, PDX
Laurelwood has an impeccable reputation about town, so this was at the top of my to-do list. They have a few sites (including pizza pubs) but we went to their main brewery on the Northeast side of town. Whole brewery is visible from the street... it's like chem lab meets garage. Hugeness of place is immediately apparent. Somewhere on the three floors you are going to find the kind of place you are looking for to drink your beer. We chose the rooftop, with a very attractive wooden balcony, replete with a garden boxes everywhere you look. Didn't try the food, but sounded very organic, original, and appealing. Beers were very solid (if a little too slickly marketed), but I feel like if I returned a year from now, the beers on tap would be the same...

Laurelwood Bottled Blonde - Sample
Yellow in glass, not quite see-through with decent head… minor hop aroma, mostly spicy… slight taste of banana comes through… served too cold, so mouthfeel isn’t all that pleasant. Not really true to style at all -- definitely hoppier than most blonde’s.
Score: 4

Laurelwood Mother Lode Golden Ale - Sample
Entirely translucent… grassy hop aroma and taste. I liked this much better than the Golden I just tried at Alameda… Kelly thought this was too one-dimensional, and weak on the malts. What a bride!
Score: 5

Laurelwood Free Range Red (Organic) - Sample
This beer has some buzz around town, and is seemingly available everywhere. Once again very translucent (apparently a common characteristic at Laurelwood.) Mild malt aroma, and hops only punch through in aftertaste. Light/medium body and quite well balanced. Very nice.
Score: 8

Laurelwood Workhorse IPA - Sample
Won a competition as the Best IPA in America! So that is impressive. A clear golden with remarkably potent smell of pine needles and cat dander (it works though)? Aroma stands out as unique, which is hard to do when you are beer number 800-something… Aroma transfers to flavor, and is somewhat balanced at same time. Very lively. Not going to call it the Best IPA in America, but reputation is deserved.
Score: 10

Laurelwood Hooligan - Sample
Is this an amber? A brown? Clear again with note of coffee in aroma. Otherwise nondescript malts are balanced by bitter hops. Not bad. (P.S. It is a brown.)
Score: 6

Laurelwood Hop Monkey IPA - Sample
Slightly darker than the Workhorse. Grapefruit hops on nose alongside small malt profile. Quite bitter and really dries out mouth.
Score: 7

Laurelwood Organic Tree Hugger Porter - Sample
Coffee/cola smell… dry barley flavor with a little chocolate… translucent and fairly light bodied for a porter. Judging by their menu of organic this and free range that, I think tree hugger is meant as a positive attribute…
Score: 7

Laurelwood Space Stout - Sample
Creamy chocolate, heavy roast, and medium bodied. Like most darker beers in Portland – it is well-brewed but doesn’t stand out.
Score: 6

#4. Alameda Brewing Company – 4765 NE Fremont St, PDX
I had walked by Alameda several times but never actually went in. In a very trendy part of town, but I will try not to hold that against it... A lot of different things going on here: concrete, brick, metal, wood, and these pretty cool burlap tapastries hanging on the wall. I kind of liked it. They have a lot of taps on and serving temperature was actually about right. We hit happy hour so prices were really excellent. Seemed pretty busy for a weekday afternoon, mixed crowd. Nice place.

Alameda Bavarian Hefe - Sample
Cloudy with thick lacing… Belgian cloves… lemony, yeasty flavor… good carbonation. A very flavorful Hefeweizen. Seems more Belgian inspired than German, but whatever. I was very impressed by this beer.
Score: 8

Alameda East Village Amber - Sample
A German altbier, that is, half ale, half lager. Toasted caramel aroma… very malty with note of coffee… hops play on tongue… medium-bodied. Not bad.
Score: 6

Alameda Klickitat Pale Ale - Sample
Look is a very opaque amber-orange. Piney hop aroma with a very fruity flavor. Nicely balanced too, which makes me think this would be a good candidate for a starter beer.
Score: 7

Alameda Irvington Juniper Porter - Sample
Juniper as an ingredient, huh? Well, that is new (and exciting.) Brown color, creamy coffee aroma. Nearly charred coffee bean flavor with only a glimpse of juniper at front of taste. Kelly picked it out of the aroma, but I failed to. Interesting beer.
Score: 7

Alameda El Torero Organic IPA - Sample
Copper-orange color… flavor is balanced with malts and an assertive grapefruit bitterness. Another good IPA. Wish New England good figure out how to brew organic beers this well…
Score: 8

Alameda Black Bear XX Stout CO2 - Sample
This is Alameda’s much hyped Stout. Sweet chocolate and cocoa aroma, vanilla makes its presence known in flavor. Simply robust bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel. Enjoyable.
Score: 7

Alameda Black Bear XX Stout Nitro - Sample
Should I rate the nitro separately? They are visibly different beers, so I think so. Nitro produces much bigger, creamy head you would hope for. Smoother and creamier too. Seemed less hoppy – not sure why that would be. I would definitely give the nitro the nod between the two.
Score: 8

Alameda Wolf Imperial IPA - Sample
I have found this to be the case with several other double IPA’s, but there seems to be a tendency toward a very pleasant peach/apricot taste. Not that I am complaining. Really does dry out mouth and you do feel all of the alcohol.
Score: 7

Alameda Siskiyou Golden - Sample
A kolsch. Stale wheat taste. What can I say? This is bad.
Score: 3

#3. Full Sail Brewery – 506 Columbia St, Hood River, OR
Hood River is a very nice little city about an hour east of PDX on Columbia Gorge. Wind surfing on the river is huge here, with lots of good wineries and hiking around as well. Full Sail was one of the first microbreweries to start up in Oregon and is pretty popular as a result. Whole place is employee owned too. Last time I was out here I took a tour of the brewery, but this time Kelly and I had dinner, which was surprisingly good. They had redone the bar and opened a patio since I was last there. Very comfortable atmosphere with good staff and the game on. The beers speak for themself.

Full Sail Chris's Summer D-Lite: Red - Sample
This was a beer drinking experience I was looking forward to after reading about Full Sail’s experiment with the Berliner Weiss on my favorite PDX beer blog, Beervana. This distinctive German style adds flavored syrup to the beer, and it’s your choice, you can order the green or red. The red has an uber-sweet aroma of pixie sticks or a red snowcone. I suppose you could call flavor tart raspberries. Very smooth and easy drinking but it has this syrupy sweetness that sticks to lips and creates kind of odd mouthfeel. Nevertheless, I would choose this over most fruit beers.
Score: 6

Full Sail Chris's Summer D-Lite: Green - Sample
The green was my pick of the two. More traditional smell of subdued hops and spice. For taste you should think of a Flemish sour – which I really like. Very fun sessionable summer beer. Recommended.
Score: 7

Full Sail Session Lager - Sample
Session was one of my fondest memories from Portland. Can't miss it in its stout 11 oz bottle. Light golden, fresh grain aroma, perfect sweetness and modest bitterness in hops, very clean. Session is beautiful in its simplicity. Earns its name -- as good of a session beer as you will ever find.
Score: 9

Full Sail LTD Series - Bottling 03 - Sample
Apparently this is the third of this year round series of rotating seasonals. Stronger bitterness than I am used to in a lager. Crisp and still light, but doesn't translate to an especially nice mouthfeel though.
Score: 5

Full Sail Pale Ale - Sample
Very appealing fresh hop aroma. First impression of taste: delicious! Great flavorful hop mix that is balanced with just enough malt presence. Love that balance! Crisp. One of those beers you would love to drink a few of. Somehow I don't remember trying this beer when in Portland, but this was my absolute favorite Full Sail brew.
Score: 10

Full Sail Keelhauler Brewmasters Reserve 2009 - Sample
Expected malt aroma... flavor has a kick to it... but it is kind of a little off. Didn't run across many Scottish Ales in the Pacific Northwest, so it was nice to find it, but once I did it was nothing special.
Score: 5

Full Sail IPA - Sample
Leaves lacing... modest aroma... at first I read the delicateness of taste as balance, but I really didn't pickup much of a malt profile. Kind of a weak IPA, in truth. Drinkable enough though.
Score: 7

Full Sail Grandsun of Spot - Sample
A double IPA. Would be interested in the story behind the name here. Sweet, strong hoppiness you are expecting. Bit much.
Score: 6

PDX: The Good

I've mentioned in passing that I had a big beer trip coming up, aka my honeymoon. The destination: Portland, Oregon, aka PDX, aka Beervana. Now most people who heard that this was the location were confused, those who knew me were not. My wife, Kelly, and I each lived in Portland for a year, loved it, but rarely get a chance to go back and visit. And it is called Beervana for a reason.

So Portland has the highest number of breweries per person in the world, but it is the quality of beers that come out of Portland that sets it apart in my opinion. So you can imagine what happened. I drank 100 different beers! Now before you call me a bad husband (there will be plenty more chances for that) I would like to point out that many of these were samples and we did get to do a lot of other fun stuff throughout the course of the week. But this ain't no travel blog (for that check out africaisnotacountry.blogspot.com...)

So 100 beers. Where to begin? Let's do it like this. There were 10 main brewpubs that Kelly and I went to over the course of the week. I am going to seperate them into three tiers: the good, the better, and the best. With each I will speak a little to the brewpub itself, but obviously the focus will be on the beers themselves. There will probably be a fourth post with the other beers I came across as well, so get comfortable. While very few Oregon beers are available on the East Coast (Rogue and Widmer Hefeweizen are all I have seen...) any serious beer enthusiast should consider a trip for themselves out to The Beervana.

(And now is probably as good a time as any to report back on the wedding beer situation. The site where we held our wedding reception was honestly a little difficult about the whole situation. I erroneously reported that Ipswich Original Ale and Cape Anne's Fisherman's Brew would be the bottles of choice. In reality we had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (something I wasn't even considering, but it was fine) and Shipyard's Export Ale, a welcome session beer. Honestly, my wedding homebrew, It Must Be Wedding Saison!, was the highlight of the weekend. Wow, I really have to catch up on my posting, I guess!)

The Good:
#10. McMenamins: Kennedy School – 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR
In Portland, Oregon, McMenamins is an empire. Started by a couple of brothers, McMenamins opened Oregon’s first brewpub and now is some 55 sites strong. All of these are fun and unique in some way – theater pubs, a ballroom, a chapel, an ex-mental institution, and, our favorite, the old Kennedy School in northeast Portland. This is a must-visit, with very intricately decorated themed rooms, like the boiler room and detention bar. We stayed at the hotel here three nights and still didn’t get to everything we would have liked to. Anywhere else in the country, McMenamins would be one of the top spots. But in Beervana, the atmosphere draws you more than their beer, and McMenamins starts our list at number 10.

McMenamins India Pale Ale – Pint
Smell of citric hops and biscuits – more than I usually am able to pickup… piney bitterness that is almost puckering… much closer to raw, unsophisticated type of IPA’s we get back east…
Score: 5

McMenamins Ruby Ale – Sample
Distinctive appearance with hazy, pinkish pour… by Kelly’s own admission this one tastes like a juice. Often a crowd pleaser with the non-beer drinking ladies, but not much more than that.
Score: 2

McMenamins Terminator Stout – 22 oz bottle
Forceful pour need to produce head, but looks nice on top of jet black body… sweet java / brown sugar nose… sweet roast, with vanilla note that adds needed depth to flavor… hop bitterness well-placed… medium-bodied and smooth enough to be accessible to most drinkers… by far their best beer, in my opinion.
Score: 8, Original Score: 7

#9. Bridgeport Brewpub – 1313 NW Marshall St, PDX
Bridgeport’s brewery was closed for most of the year that I was in Oregon as it underwent extensive renovations. It looks beautiful now, with a classy combination of brick and black metal. Love the look of the bar with tanks visible immediately behind and a huge board with all of the beers specs above. Their beer is widely available in six-packs out here, but their focus on brand identity and pretty static lineup of beers seems to bore most of the beer community. Personally, I respect the place, as it was definitely ahead of its time by building in the warehouse district that has now morphed into the uber-trendy Pearl District. And again, I would kill for a place like this in Boston…

Bridgeport Blue Heron Ale – Sample
A Pale Ale. Translucent… floral hoppiness… barley flavor comes though to an extent that I am not used to… sessionable, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that it is kind of a week pale for PDX.
Score: 7, Original Score: 6

Bridgeport Ropewalk Amber Ale – Sample
Flavor is of caramel malts first, followed by very fruity overtones… light bitterness is concentrated up front… another kind of watery beer, doesn’t bog you down, but doesn’t satisfy you either. This trend towards watery beers is something I remember now about Bridgeport.
Score: 6, Original Score: 6

Bridgeport Haymaker Extra Pale Ale – Sample
Lemony, grainy aroma, taste follows. Soft, light mouthfeel. Reminds me of a light hef. Quite good actually, a lawnmower beer.
Score: 7

Bridgeport ESB – Sample
Billowy head… lemon on nose again, alongside malts… malty for an ESB, bitterness only shows itself cumulatively. Over-emphasis on balance makes this kind of an unusual ESB in my opinion, closer to a brown in style.
Score: 6

Bridgeport IPA – Sample
Unmistakable aroma of piney hops and, wait for it, wet dog! My friends mock me, but pet dander is most definitely a characteristic in some beers, just like children’s cough syrup. Flavor is piney and sweet… with a heavy, breathiness in mouthfeel. Not as good as I had remembered.
Score: 6, Original Score: 8

Bridgeport Porter – Sample
Creative beer namer here at Bridgeport, huh? Low carbonation is visible from distance. Heavy, coffee roastiness you would expect. Solid.
Score: 7

Bridgeport Black Strap Stout – Sample
An Irish Stout. Light roast, I guess. Silky smooth, but downright watery. Color me very unimpressed.
Score: 4

Bridgeport Hop Czar – Sample
Saw the new, slickly marketed bombers of this double IPA all over town, so excited to actually try it. And the wet dog is back, and stronger than before! Hops are piney with nearly puckering bitterness. Missing depth and subtlety of other IIPA’s came across.
Score: 6

#8. Lompoc 5th Quadrant – 3901B N Williams Ave, PDX
This is a brewer that I did not encounter in my time in Portland, despite their four sites scattered through the city. We went to the 5th Quadrant in the up-and-coming Mississippi District, and honestly, it kind of had a weird feel to it. Now it is common place in Portland to throw together a bunch of different styles and just call it eclectic, but this one didn’t really work for me. I think they were going for chic meets comfort, but it came across as Gilded Age with picnic tables. If you know what I mean (I am sure you don't). Beer was a little disappointing too.

Lompoc Fool’s Golden Ale – Sample
Very clear, golden pour… aroma is light, sweet licorice, I think… sweetness is a bit bold in flavor. Unusual.
Score: 4

Lompoc Condor Pale Ale – Sample
Taste is nearly totally of apple… body is light and lively. One of strangest Pale Ales have ever tasted. Personally, I like the normal style better.
Score: 4

Lompoc Proletariat Red – Sample
No head, appears to be flat… malty aroma and body, with note of darker coffee malts typical of many Irish-style reds… I may try brewing a Red next, but it would be closer to the west coast style red(i.e. India Red Ales) that we will talk more about soon.
Score: 4

Lompoc Centennial IPA – Sample
Like these hops a lot, nice floral fruitiness to them. Add in some nutty malts, and you have a solid, balanced IPA. Best in show.
Score: 8

Lompoc LSD (Lompoc Strong Draft) – Sample
Okay, name is pretty clever… surprised the Feds let them get away with that one. Billed as a drinkable Russian Imperial Stout, or something of the like. Not sure I buy that, but it is pretty good. Coffee, vanilla, touch of smoke is what you are getting here.
Score: 7

Lompoc Sockeye Cream Stout – Sample
Mild coffee malts, that are probably closer to toffee than anything else, I suppose. Pretty light and watery though.
Score: 6

Lompoc C-Note Imperial Pale Ale – Sample
Double IPA of 100 IBU’s… what you would expect with big, aggressive pine hops. Pretty good, but not great. Just like the Lompoc.
Score: 7