Portland Debrief: Part 1

My trip to Portland Oct. 23-26 was fantastic. I had a great time visiting friends Jason and Marcelle, and these two newlyweds were superb hosts—cooking scrumptious food from scratch, setting me up with possibly the world's most comfortable air mattress/feather bed, introducing me to Ricky Gervais' squirmingly funny show "Extras," and hauling me all over Portland to let me try new beers. In fact, I tasted an amazing 38 beers in four days. Thanks again to Jason and Marcelle for a wonderful visit.

FRIDAY

My trip started with a 6:10 a.m. flight from Nashville Friday morning. During a two-hour layover in Salt Lake City, I happened upon a Squatters brew pub in Concourse C and ordered a sampler. It was a little early in the day (9:30 a.m. Mountain Time) for me to be drinking alcohol, but it was 10:30 in Nashville and I was on vacation—a beer-finding mission, no less—so I easily rationalized the decision. The sampler featured six beers from the Utah-based brewery: Provo Girl Pilsner, Chasing Tail Golden Ale, Full Suspension Pale Ale, Organic Amber Ale, Captain Bastard's Oatmeal Stout, and the underwhelmingly named Hefeweizen. My favorites: Organic Amber Ale and Full Suspension Pale Ale.

Upon landing in Portland, I was heading toward baggage claim when I noticed a Rogue Ales location. In the Airport. At this point I knew it was going to be a good trip.

Jason picked me up and after enough time to drop my bags and take a quick tour of their great house,  we were off to a nearby brewery, Roots Brewing Co. We sampled a few of their on-tap creations and I settled on a pint of their Gruit Kolsch summer seasonal. It marked my first Kolsch-style beer. I thought it tasted quite different than any beer I had had before, only to later read that it was a hop-free beer. (Oh, the horror, right?) It's brewed with organic malt alongside chamomile and lavender flowers from the brewery's organic garden. A tasty, easy-to-drink beverage, if a little out of season for 50-degree weather.

We returned to Jason's to eat his delicious pizza and unwind while enjoying bottled Full Sail Pale Ale that he had on hand. As a beer that Jason counts as one of his favorites, it was a fitting ending to my first day in Portland.

Next up: A busy—and buzzy—Saturday in Portland.