Prost!

Really we still are drinking here... Since the last posting we have visited Coalition, Migration to name a few

This November we visited prost. Along with Scott,Steve,Todd and Rob we also brought along a German colleague Heiko to evaluate the establishment.

We went with the small glasses .3L. All of the beers were served in authentic glasses matching the brewery the beer is from. this got a thumbs up from Heiko.

Hofbrau lager -Good. Nice glasses. Much better than American analogy

Ayinger Brau-Weisse ,"Good carbonation" Scott , "Smooth finish" Steve

Spaten dunkel - Nice licorice flavor

...then my note taking device (phone died)

also sampled- Spaten Optimator, Kostrizer Schwarzbier,...

the beers were all delicious, and if you want to drink German beers in Portland I couldn't imagine a better place. Food wise they didn't fare quite so well. Food was unspectacular. The Brotzeit Teller (german, cheese/salami/bread plate) was not up to native standards. The pretzel was more croissant then pretzel. The food is fine as an accessory to the beer, clearly not the star attraction here.

Rob

Eastburn

A break from the brewpubs, because they aren't opening fast enough...

Summer ipa, cascade brewing
Refreshing_ Rob
Exactly as expected Ben
Mild, mellow could be colder Steve
1st.ipa I called refreshing Scott

Divinity fruit wheat ,ft George brewing
No bitterness, not strong smooth Steve
Don't like smell , but tastes ok
Rob
Like it but not my fab wheat Ben

Dogfish peche (Dogfish brewing)
beer lemonade _ Rob
Not.bad Scott
2 out of 5 not great , not bad
Funny tasting , minature golf to real golf Steve
Ruby class Ben

Big aft calapooia or
Hoppy beer Rob
Hoot all around

Lucky 13 red, lagunitas brewing
Solid red , mild but full Rob
Faint barleywine Steve
After dinner beer _ Scott
Could almost replace a red wine Steve
Taste a bitternes I'm not crazy about Todd
Leaste favorite _ Ben

Jabberwockey strong ale, walk about or
Like it _ Todd, Ben
Almost watery Rob
Suprisingly mellow Scott
Wouldn't order a pint Steve

Smoked porter Alaska beer
Very good all around

Saison upright #5
A Ben beer Rob
more sour than u like but nor bad Rob

Food

very good overall
Meatloaf -Ben
Gumbo (can't read my notes...) Steve /Scott
Paella Rob Todd

I would return here for food alone. (Rob)

Great venue. Good food good drinks, lots of areas indoor, outdoor, downstairs.

Parking a little tough with construction but that is temporary issue..

Rob

BJ's Brewhouse

BJ's brewhouse started in California and grew. At one time they did brew in the Portland facility but not any longer. The atmosphere was nice and actually better than expected. The service people were friendly and overall it was a pleasant experience.

Food:
Steve enjoyed the appetizer pizza. Ben had the Thai shrimp wrap, "nice and light". Rob had the pork sliders. He enjoyed them but ended up with pizza and wrap envy. Todd had the fish tacos. They were good, not too filling with a nice flavor.

Beer:
Blonde - It's a smooth, easy Kolsch. Steve says "its a kegger".
Harvest Hefeweizen - Steve had flashbacks of Oktoberfest in Germany. This beer has a Belgian flavor which makes it a little different from the Widmer and Pyramid hefeweizen. Good flavor and easy drinking.
Piranha Pale - It is definitely hoppy but not too bitter. Rob enjoyed it and Steve liked it the best so far.
Jeremiah Red - A smooth and pleasant Red. Very drinkable.
Nutty Brunette - Good smooth nut brown with a hint of caramel. "Bring out some more..."
PM Porter - Easy drinking, smooth and full of flavor. Ben claimed it was a little too sweet. We asked a "blond waitress" if she liked the porter to which she said "no, I don't like beer that dark". We knew right away it was not a chick beer.
Tatonka Stout - Another smooth beer that was easy drinking with lots of flavor. They consider this an imperial stout so it has a little extra alcohol.

Top 3s- (Don't tell Sigrid but apparently our group favors brunettes!!!!!)
Steve - Piranha pale, Tatonka stout, Nutty Brewnette
Rob - Piranha pale, Tatonka stout, Nutty Brewnette
Todd - Tatonka stout, Nutty Brewnette, Piranha pale
Ben - Harvest Hefe, Nutty Brewnette, Tatonka stout

The consensus is that you will not be disappointed with any of the beer selections. They all have a good flavor and you can easily finish a pint of anything on the menu.

Until next time,
Todd

Salmon Creek Brewery and pub

The February edition of brewpub made it in under the wire last Saturday (2/27). We have sampled many of Portland Metro's finest, this time we were in Vancouver at the award winning Salmon Creek Brewpub.

Attendees this month were Ben, Rob, Todd, Steve and Scott.

On to the beers

Oktoberfest- flattish (Todd), doesn't taste like it smells (Scott), a little sour, mild (Rob), not like an oktoberfest (Ben)

Springer Pale ale (Seasonal)- drinkable (Todd), typical pale (Steve), nice and hoppy (Rob), hoppy for a pale (Ben)

IPA (Belgian Style)- not typical IPA (Todd), sweet initially (Scott), smoother then expected (Steve), i like it, a little spicy (Rob), likes the start and end but not the middle (Ben)

Scottish Ale- tastes like barleywine (Steve), tastes mediciny (Rob)

ESB - starts bitter, finishes mild (Todd), not much going on (Scott), bitter water (Steve)

Thunderbolt Porter- floral flavor overpowers (Todd), nothing about it taste like a porter (Scott), mediciny (Rob), very sweet (Ben)

Oatmeal Stout (seasonal)- better than porter , smokey (Todd) , aspartame (Scott), better than porter not very thick (Steve), chocolaty smell and taste (Rob)

diet aftertaste (Ben)

Belgian- really good (Todd), very enjoyable (Rob)

Food -

stuffed tots- okay, not your typical tot

3 burger orders- good burgers, fries not great

1 pasta special -delicious

desserts- chocolate cake, mud pies- enjoyed by all

service-

owner was very friendly (43 years of marriage...), staff was very accommodating to our

needs.

bathroom- not usually a list item , but the signs on the wall are worth the visit. (pictures to follow)

final beer ratings

belgian beer- a surprise winner

springer pale- very drinkable

mystery beer- 1 or 2 sampler trays had an unknown beer. This beer was all a stout should be.

Unfortunately, investigations and tastings did not reveal where this one came from.

overall, a pleasant trip and nice diversion in Vancouver.

Rob

Full Sail Brewing - Pilsner Room at McCormick and Schmick's
January 22nd, 2010

Full Sail brews a fair sampling of their beer in the Portland facility right next to the Pilsner Room. This month we stopped in for a visit. I called in advance and the General Manager, Alison, was more than happy to take a reservation for our group. This was nice because we had several friends join our group and for a Thursday night the place was pretty full. Matt, John and Patrick were all first timers.

Atmosphere - This is a great place. The space has an open feeling and there are lots of windows so you can easily see the Willamette river and the activity on the waterfront. Our waitress, Lee, was very attentive and willing to accommodate all the rounds of sampling. With 8 guys we skipped the formal taster trays and just poured out of pints.

Food - Scott and I had the Hawaiian Marlin. Yum! I think Scott cleaned his plate in about 2 minutes. I was not far behind. Steve had a Cajun Chicken roll and said it was great. Rob tried the steelhead and thought it was okay. They have a great happy hour menu too. Since we were there for a while we caught the late part of happy hour and sampled a little more food. I would highly recommend the BBQ pulled pork sliders.

Now for the Beer -
Colesch - This is considered an American Style Kolsch. Steve thought it was good after a 3 hour drive. It is a little sweet and fruity.
Vesuvious - They call this a Belgian Style Golden. This beer has the strong Belgian aroma. Steve claims it is from the "bad side" of Belgium and Rob thought it had lots of body but prefered the sniff over the drink. This one did not go over too well with our group.
Pale Ale - This ale didn't go over too well either. Steve thought it was boring and I thought is was leaning too close to the mass produced American Lager flavor.
IPA - This one was considered by our group to be "mellow", "boring", "subdued" and even "timid". While drinkable it doesn't stand out in a crowd of IPAs.
Wreck the Halls - They call this the Winter IPA. This is closer to what you expect in a real IPA with a hint of holiday flavor. A big step up from their regular IPA.
LTD #3 Amber - Smooth.
Session Lager - This is an American Lager. Reminiscent of the old "Blue Bore" (Henry's). Steve thought is was like "kissing your sister". I'm not sure what to make of that comment...his sister did visit a couple weeks ago....hmmm.
Session Dark - This beer has way more going for it over the lager. Rob has some in his fridge but the rest of the group was pleasantly surprised.
Wassail Winter Ale - An okay winter ale. Rob thought he picked up on a flavor of Pine. I'm not sure how often he chews on Pine trees but I'll go with it. :)
Holiday Blend - Hands down the best beer of the night. The bourbon just blends perfect...I wonder if they know about this in Kentucky? Steve wasn't too crazy about this one but it ranked #1 with the rest.
Cask Amber - very mellow, drinkable but no blog quotes.

Official Ranking - (#1, #2, #3)
Steve - Wreck the Halls, Session Dark & Colesch.
Rob - Holiday Blend, Session Dark & Cask Amber.
Scott - Holiday Blend, Session Dark & Session Lager.
Todd - Holiday Blend, Wreck the Halls & Session Dark.

Another fun evening out sampling beer.
Cheers,
Todd

Mash Tun

December beer club reviews to follow

McMenamins

November beer club, review to follow