Portland Debrief: Part 3

Well, it's been over a month since the trip and I'm finally wrapping up the recap of my journey to Portland, Ore. The trip was primarily a long overdue visit with a longtime friend, but you can't go to this craft beer capital without getting wrapped up in the beer culture. If you're just now tuning in, you can check out Part 1 and Part 2 to catch up.

SUNDAY

Sunday's beer-related activities started with lunch at BridgePort Brewing Co.'s brewpub. My friend Jason and I split a tasty pizza while I enjoyed two more new-to-me beers: a Blue Heron Pale Ale and a seasonal Ebenezer Ale. Both were very good, but after two pints it was time to move on to another stop.

We didn't have to go far to reach Deschutes Brewery's Portland Brewery & Public House, which like BridgePort is also located in the Pearl District. Here we had a six-beer sampler that featured Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Obsidian Stout, Mirror Mirror oak-aged barley wine, Armory XPA, and the Dubbel-style Seafort 7 Abbey Ale. Deschutes has several beers on tap so you truly get to choose your own sampler and they'll fill it for you (unlike some breweries that only offer a predetermined sampler). Jason recommended the first three based on past experience and we kind of winged it on the last three. Of the latter trio, we got lucky with one in particular.

The Mirror Mirror barley wine, which is part of Deschutes' "Reserve Series" and clocks in at 11% alcohol by volume, was absolutely delicious. As I've mentioned before, I did not keep tasting notes (not that I even know how to properly record a tasting anyway) but Mirror Mirror was easily one of my two favorites from this trip—the other being Lompoc's Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Ale. Needless to say, I've started exploring options for incorporating bourbon-soaked oak into my homebrewing process.

While I also really enjoyed the Mirror Pond Pale Ale, another highlight from the sampler was the Black Butte Porter. Jason and I made a new friend who sat one next stool over and raved about Deschutes' Porter offering. And he's got the judges to back him up, as Black Butte recently ranked No. 1 in the 2009 U.S. Open Beer Championship's Porter category. I was also surprised to learn since my return that Deschutes ranked sixth overall in 2008 craft brew sales, well ahead of breweries like Stone, Dogfish Head and Rogue. After sampling their offerings, I can see why.

Deschutes also offered the most amazing growler I had ever seen before—a fairly elaborate stein combining glass and metal, and sealed with a massive Grolsch-style, clamp-down cap. As we exited and returned to Jason's car (in a lucky parking spot right by the front door), I glimpsed a funny image of a youngster tasked with wrangling one of his family's proportionately massive beer vessels back to the brewery for a refill.

Our next stop was a bit farther away but my helpful host and designated driver, Jason, was keen on me trying a staple of the Northwest: MacTarnahan's Amber Ale. While the pint was great, the taproom was by far the oddest we visited. The atmosphere was an awkward mix of tradition (amazing porcelain tap towers, for example) and cookie-cutter modern (menu boards that resembled those from a chain eatery). After seeing three different names (MacTarnahan's Brewing, Portland Brewing and Pyramid Brewing) and talking with the bartender, it was easier to see why: Pyramid purchased the other two venerable Portland institutions five years ago and now oversees their operation. The good news is they are keeping the MacTarnahan's flowing. I purchased a MacTarnahan's pint glass and had samples of two other brews (their Humbug'r seasonal and the Thunderhead IPA) before we headed home.

After picking up Jason's wife, Marcelle, we headed to the vibey McMenamin's St. Johns Theater & Pub to cap my final full day in the City of Roses. Thanks to my sampler research at McMenamin's Edgefield the day before, I ordered a pint of Hammerhead Pale Ale. I was then introduced to another McMenamin's delight: the Scooby Snacks appetizer of bite-sized corn dogs. Not sure if it was the daily volume of alcohol consumed or the time that has since lapsed, but I can't remember my entree. I'm pretty sure it was my first experience paying for a meal that I ate on a couch, though.

We returned home to wind down with some videogame racing battles and I cracked open the 22 oz. Lompoc C-Note Imperial Pale Ale bottle I had bought on Saturday. After my first sip, I exclaimed to Jason, "It's assaulting my tongue!" Every taste bud was standing at attention and screaming as the beer's 100 IBU's powered their way toward my throat. While definitely a little strong for my pale ale wheelhouse, it was a very tasty beverage and one that I will surely revisit when given the opportunity.

MONDAY

Sad to leave but excited to return home to my wife and son, I packed my bags Monday morning and enjoyed a bagel before Jason chauffeured me to the airport. En route, we stopped at the post office to mail myself a box packed with 12 ounces of hops he and Marcelle had harvested from his backyard. Those will be put to good use in coming brew sessions. As we pulled up to the airport terminal, Jason bid me farewell and suggested that I visit one last brewery with a location in Concourse E: Laurelwood Brewing Company. I had just enough time to grab a sandwich and sample Laurelwood's Hooligan, an English Brown Ale, before heading to my gate and lifting off.

Fittingly, my beer-finding mission ended exactly where it started. During a layover in Salt Lake City, I made a return visit to Squatters Brewing Co. While I had opted for a sampler in this airport pub on Friday, I zeroed in on their Organic Amber Ale this time through. It wasn't the best beer I had on the trip, but the pint offered me the perfect opportunity to reflect on all the beers I had enjoyed during my four-day crash course in Portland beer culture.