The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[TooLiveBrew]

Hah. Well honestly EDR would probably know better than me anyway. But I'll give it a shot.

 

- Deschutes Brewpub in the Pearl District

- Rogue Distillery & Public House in the Pearl

- Bridgeport Brewpub in the Pearl

- New Old Lompoc on NW 23d Ave.

- Full Sail at Riverplace on the river in the SW side of Portland

 

- Hopworks Urban Brewery in the SE

- Burnside Brewing in the SE

 

 

I've been to the first four, as I lived in the NW of Portland. All of those are pretty easy to get to with the streetcar. I haven't been to the Portland Full Sail outpost, but I've been to the Full Sail Brewery/Brewpub in Hood River, and really enjoyed it. In general I like Full Sail's brews.

 

The latter two are in the SE of the city, across the river. They're still very do-able with public transportation (MAX light rail &/or buses). I haven't been to either of them, but I'd be surprised if they weren't worth the trip (as long as you had time). If you're only in Portland for one day, just shoot for the first four or five... and if you really have to keep things centralized, 1-4 are all really close together. I included the Google Map links on each of them so you can get an idea about where you'd be going. The downtown of Portland is on the W side of the river, and anything downtown is going to be either a NW or SW street address.

 

I'm guessing I've made some gross omission that EDR will correct me on, hopefully soon. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Oh, and if you're in the area for breakfast or lunch, Kornblatt's is a great Jewish/NY-style deli that I still miss almost every day. It's in the NW, not too far from New Old Lompoc -- N.O. Lompoc also actually has pretty good food, too.

[logan82]

I am drinking a New Belgium Sommersalt. Not impressed. It has almost no flavor at all.

 

I picked up a couple bottles from Chameleon Brewing Company. Hop on Top and Rediculous. I had never heard of it before. It was apparently founded by Randy Sprecher. Founder of Sprecher brewery.

[ttsather]

I'm moving to Atlanta in July (for grad school) - any tips on local breweries to look into?

I'm familiar with Sweetwater - the 420 seems alright; I haven't been hugely impressed otherwise.

[GAME05]

i wasn't all too impressed with Sweetwater 420.

 

Funketown, i just remembered that Magic Hat is another good beer down there (maybe around Atlanta, too, but i'm not sure). the Magic Hat #9 is their most popular and worth a try.

 

i don't know where it's out of, but Three Philosophers is one of my favourites.

 

i like high-gravity beers, and a big favourite of mine is Rigwelter. it has an interesting flavour as if it's something of a wine-beer hybrid; interesting and very good. it's a great choice for people who tend to like wine better and are working their way into beer.

[logan82]

i wasn't all too impressed with Sweetwater 420.

 

Funketown, i just remembered that Magic Hat is another good beer down there (maybe around Atlanta, too, but i'm not sure). the Magic Hat #9 is their most popular and worth a try.

 

i don't know where it's out of, but Three Philosophers is one of my favourites.

 

i like high-gravity beers, and a big favourite of mine is Rigwelter. it has an interesting flavour as if it's something of a wine-beer hybrid; interesting and very good. it's a great choice for people who tend to like wine better and are working their way into beer.

Ommegang Brewery in New York.

[TooLiveBrew]

Had Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA tonight. Beyond the strong hops flavor, imo the flavor is pretty bland. Not one I really liked, but the Beer Advocate crowd seems to love it.

[Beerambassador]

For the fanatics, Dancing Man is out in some markets. Saw it in Madison the other weekend.

[ttsather]

Had Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA tonight. Beyond the strong hops flavor, imo the flavor is pretty bland. Not one I really liked, but the Beer Advocate crowd seems to love it.

I also didn't really like it, for the same reasons. It's a rare beer for me that has been hopped to the point of being unpleasant, but this one was.

[Funketown]

I had Ommegang's Abbey (dubbel) on tap at Brasserie V in Madison last night and it was very well done. Spicy cinnamon/plum aroma and a nice dry finish.

 

 

Fullstream Brewery in Durham looks like it has some interesting stuff. I'm not a big lover of experimental beer (they do things like persimmon, basil, kudzu in the future), but probably worth a try.

 

I wasn't wild about Torpedo either. I found it to be a bit metallic on the finish, some nice hops flavor but otherwise just not that special. Maybe just not fresh, maybe just not that great of a beer.

 

I must buy some Dancing Man for tonight. I'm going to miss New Glarus.

[logan82]

Ommegang makes a few good beers. The Abbey is one of my favorites. Hennepin is a really good one as well. I am not a fan of Three Philosophers but I have friends who like it. I think it is to fruity.

 

Oooooooh, D-Man.

[TooLiveBrew]

I also didn't really like it, for the same reasons. It's a rare beer for me that has been hopped to the point of being unpleasant, but this one was.

 

Usually, when I see a beer that grades out as well as Torpedo has so far on BeerAdvocate, I 'get' it. I don't get this one. I can't give a beer an A grade just because it uses a ton of hops. Lots of hops doesn't automatically = a good beer. Just seems like the beer *should* be better, but it isn't. Hops + 'meh' supporting flavor.

[logan82]

logan3825 wrote:

I picked up a couple bottles from Chameleon Brewing Company. Hop on Top and Rediculous. I had never heard of it before. It was apparently founded by Randy Sprecher. Founder of Sprecher brewery.

Not good. Either one. Sorry I can't be more specific but I forgot why I didn't like them. I will not be buying them again.

 

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Who shot who in the what now? YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

 

Where are you staying? How long? Transport? Downtown/SoDo not the best spot for beer, not even on bar taps.

 

PDX has REALLY changed in the last 5 years, totally over-saturated with hipster "brew your own" places.

 

Portland, where young people go to retire......

[EdgarDiazRocks]

TooLiveBrew wrote:

 

I'm guessing I've made some gross omission that EDR will correct me on, hopefully soon.

Well, yes. You left off Amnesia which every Brewmaster I've sat down and talked to speaks with reverence that is only rivaled only by foodies talking about Russian River.

 

It's hard to get to, but the beer is worth the cab ride, 'tho everyone freely admits the food there is dodgy at best.

 

Hopworks is a MUST also, and I'm a big fan of the Super Dog Red at Lucky Lab which is now on both sides of the river.

 

Laurelwood has soldiered on after their original brewmaster left to found Hopworks, but his beers are still there and fantastic.

[Beerambassador]

I haven't bought it yet, but I'm really intrigued by Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed 12-pack. 48's brewed with 5 different hops, so the 12-pack is two bottles of 48 and then two bottles each of a single hop beer brewed with only one of the hops used in the beer (Hallertau Mittelfrueh, East Kent Goldings, Zeus, Simcoe, and Ahtanum). A few other brewers have done single hop beers, but some of them have been pretty pricey. It's a neat way to see what each hop adds to the beer. The only complaint I've read so far is that 48 has a kind of "loud" malt base that doesn't really let the hops shine front and center, which to me almost defeats the purpose of something like this. Still sounds cool and it would probably be a lot of fun to drink this with a few beer loving buddies.

[logan82]

I just saw that on Facebook. Sounds like something that would help my beer making. Help me familiarize myself with different hops.

[TooLiveBrew]

EDR to the rescue!

 

At least none of my suggestions got shot down http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Funketown]

I love that Sam Adams idea, and I'll have to grab a 12-pack. The only single hop IPA series I can get around here is Mikkellllller's, and I'm not willing to pay $5.99 for a 500 ml bottle of stale unrefrigerated Euro-IPA.

 

Even if the beers aren't that great, if they're even decent and show off each hop variety I'll be happy.

[logan82]

So I am heading to Woodman's on Friday. What should I be looking for besides the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA Deconstructed and New Glarus products. I can get both locally I think. I already saw D-Man.

 

I want to try something different than Gumballhead. That is the backup beer right now.

[Baldkin]

If you haven't tried it, pick up some Fixed Gear (about $4 for a 22oz bottle) by Lakefront. It's definitely a favorite of mine.

[logan82]

I am not so sure about the Sam Adams Latitude 48. I like the idea but they all taste the sameish. Pine resiny notes in each hop. I am not sure if it is the malt background as much as the hops are not as distinctly different from each other as you would like. Maybe that was their intention though. There are difference but pretty minor ones.

 

I did pick up the Fixed Gear but didn't get to it yet and my wife picked up some D-Man for me. Of course she already drank one of them.

 

I think I might do something like this on my own with a basic pale ale background. Amarillo, Simcoe, Hersbrucker, Fuggles, and Pearle(casue I got some and nothing to do with them).

[Invader3K]

I think Leinie's Light is my favorite cheap light beer.

[GoudaBrew]

Looking for recommendations for good wedding, session beers. We want to have more than just boring macros at our wedding, but it's hard to come up with something that will be widely enjoyed. What do people think of Point's Nude Beach? I'm a hop head myself so NB is just sort of blah to me, but since we're looking for session beers so I know we won't be getting any IPAs or anything.

[TooLiveBrew]

For that kind of beer, I like New Belgium's Skinny Dip. Probably not the best recommendation you'll get, but it's solid.

[logan82]

Spotted Cow is always a hit with the macro crowd in my experience. That is if you are in Wisconsin.