Alameda Brewhouse

The October edition of the beer club took us to Alameda Brewhouse

Drinks

Siskiyou Golden
lager-ish, like it, taste like miller lite, scores well with midwesterners
Wilshire Wheat Ale
pretty good, i would drink a gallon of this (Steve- but then again Steve what wouldn't he drinka gallon of...), smooth, easy drinking
Klickitat Pale Ale
bitter finish at the end, taste more like an IPA, mislabelled, not rogue bad
El Torero Organic IPA
fruity smell, 2 don't likes, odd tasting , 1 unifinishable
Brickhouse Brown Ale- Nitro
really smooth, should be sold in milk carton, pretty good
Brickhouse Brown Ale- CO2

rich, milder flavor, pretty good
Irvington Park Porter-
mild porter, cloudy, smokey, nod bad- not great, average porter

In the CO2 vs NO2 challenge it was a draw. Steve and Tood favored old school CO2 , Rob and Scott favored NO2

Food
Cheesteak- not the expected cheesesteak. Too clean ...
Salmon tortellini- pretty good
Lasagna- growing on me (Scott), hope that isn't like a mold
Tuna- not bad

overall, a nice neighborhood pub. Decent beer- didn't blow our socks off but no real dogs either

Rob

Widmer

Rob, Todd and Steve made the trip to Widmer on August 20th. It's in a great location in older part of N.E. Portland. Widmer has the charm of an old time upscale brew pub. Food was very good - restaurant quality - not bar food. Scott did not make the trip. He was back visiting extended family in MI – poor SOB!


Waitress fussed a bit about providing tasting trays, but once we helped her understand our V.I.P. stature, everything ran smooth.


Beer samples included:
1) Summer Brau – light easy drinking, great summer beer
2) ALT – German Ale – full bodied, bitter but smooth finish, nice variation from Amber
3) X-114 IPA – Grapefruit flavor. Not bad, but initial taste catches you by surprise. One pint is enough unless you want a permanent pucker face
4) IPA Full Nelson – Fruity smell, lingering aftertaste, bitter finish. Thick like barely wine. A fruit beer drinker won’t like the bitter taste; a bitter drinker won’t like the fruity taste.
5) Albino – Smooth, little thin/thick (can’t remember if it was Todd or Rob who made that comment, but he must have been drinking too much)
6) Pale Ale – Smooth, more body than most. “Good enough to drink out of a pale” (whoever made this comment was definitely drinking too much).
7) Oktoberfest – excellent, good balance, liked by all.

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Top Choices

Todd - Albina

Rob - ALT-German Ale

Steve - Pale Ale (seasonal, not Drop Top, although DT is also good)

Quote of the day: "the BLONDE tastes like piss" - compliments of our waitress, we took her word for it.

Overall, beer was liked by all. All were drinkable and some were downright delicious

Racoon Lodge

Racoon Lodge, July 16, 2008

No samplers outside

Some unknown samplers - nobody got the same 10 beers

Crusty old server

Razberry Wheat

not bad for a fruit beer

not too sweet

actually tastes like beer

Mystery Beer #1: Belgian Wheat or C'est Dengue English Golden?

mediciney smell

tastes just as bad

not finishable

rank, foul

Mystery Beer #2: Cascade Pale Ale?

spearminty

Ringtail Pale Ale

pretty good for pale ale

smooth

Old Salt IPA

it's got some smell to it

not overpowering

Bad Billy Blond Bock

like a Pilsner, but thicker

little hoppy, but smooth

great stickiness on the glass

early leader

Celtic Copper Ale

little bland

malty, not bad

other leader

Porter

vinegar-like

this is the worst beer I've ever tasted

smells bad, tastes bad, different shades of bad

even Steve won't finish it

Todd actually finished this - he was the only one

Black Snout Stout

good, light, coffee