Old Market Brew Pub

Monday, 22Sept08
Tonight's event was at Old Market Brew Pub in the Garden Home area of Portland.
The evening started with Rob, Lynn and Todd. Steve had some business to wrap up but still managed to arrive with time for 2 pints.
We sampled 11 of the beer options on tap.
The group typically prefers the darker beer but tonight the Great White Wheat and the Pinochle Pale Ale topped the list.

• Great White Wheat - Thumbs up, easy drinking, "best wheat bear I've ever had"
• Gravelberry (raspberry wheat) - Rob liked it more than Ruby but Todd and Lynn thought it was too sweet with a fake fruit punch or kool-aid taste.
• Pinochle Pale Ale - This ale is mild, smooth and drinkable. Good body and flavor for a pale ale.
• Mr Toad's Wild Red - A little hoppy with good flavor, Rob says it is not too hoppy.
• Hop-on - Most flavor of any beer yet, kind of like an ESB, lingering after taste and Todd says it is a little too hoppy for me.
• Rat Dog ESB - Not bad, mild and smooth for an ESB. A bitter start with a smooth finish that does not linger. Steve chimed in with a "nice balance" comment.
• British Bombay IPA - The beer is mild for an IPA and the flavor is average for this style of beer. It is okay but nothing exceptional.
• Pacific Porter - This porter is sweet and smokey. The emphasis is on sweet. From a crowd that normally likes porters this one is a little too sweet. 1 pint is drinkable but a second pint would be too much.
• Maple Vanilla Stout - Way too sweet. Rob took a few sips and could not finish the sample. Todd and Lynn finished the sample but the taste was reminiscent of a cream soda. This stout is too sweet for our liking.
• Black Magic Stout - This was a nice stout and Todd ranked it as the third best beer at Old Market.
• Old Granny Smith - This beer was very light with almost a sparkling cider flavor. Too sweet for our taste buds.

Food - Todd had the honey-mustard chicken sandwich which was pretty good pub food. Lynn and Rob tried the Falafel which ended up way over cooked. The beer battered fries were especially tasty. Light and crispy but not greasy and fit in well with the pub atmosphere.

Atmosphere - The pub is definitely family friendly with several TVs for watching sporting events. It is a comfortable space with options for pool or shuffleboard.

Service - Our service was good. We asked for 3 sampler trays and the waitress was happy to fill the order. Several other establishments gave us grief for this same request. The food was delivered timely without any issues.

Beer - The top 3 were not heavily debated and the late arrival, Steve, liked our recommendations. The top 3 in order are the Great White Wheat, Pinochle Pale Ale and the Black Magic Stout.

Overall the experience will bring us back to Old Market.....the only delay is that we have so many other breweries to investigate in the Portland area.

Cheers,
Todd