Posted: May 8th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Brewpubs, Newsworthy | No Comments »
Kathy and I went to the Hawthorne Bridgeport Ale House last night for some celebratory beers and dinner, and were extremely pleased to see that their amazing onion soup is back on the menu! I don’t know why they ever took it off the menu, but its return makes us 100 times more likely to consider Bridgeport as a dining option. I mean, the beer is pretty good, but this onion soup is amazing! And their other food is consistently quite tasty, making it a great impromptu dinner outing destination.
Oh yeah, and have a beer while you’re there!
Posted: April 27th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Ale, Beer Reviews, Brewpubs, Craft Brew, Seasonal, What's that in your fridge? | 1 Comment »
AVB does seasonal ales right! is one of my all-time favorite beers. It’s a real treat to find it on tap, but I’m just as happy when spring arrives and the local store stocks the Summer Solstice. As a seasonal beer, it’ll probably be available from late April through August, then gone until next spring.
What I love about it is that it’s flavorful and interesting, but so drinkable that you could have several pints of it in a day and not mind the repetition. On pouring, it has a clear coppery golden color with a light head that quickly disappates. I love the velvety smooth mouthfeel, the malty, light cream soda flavor that brings a mild but not overwhelming sweetness. The finish is clean, smooth, just enough hops to keep the beer from being sweet. And it gets better as the beer warms up a little, allowing the maltiness and creaminess come through, with the sweetness taking a back seat.
It’s certainly not a beer for everyone, though! I convinced a friend to try it at a bar and she thought it was too weird—too much like cream soda. I hate cream soda, yet I love that taste in this beer. Go figure!
If you happen upon the Summer Solstice at a pub or in the store, really do try it! It’s delicious and unlike any other beer on the market. It will also cost a pretty penny at $9.29/6 pack, but it’s worth the money!
Posted: March 27th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Brewpubs, Craft Brew, Organic | No Comments »
Finally, it’s my turn to go to Hopworks! Kathy reported that it was full to the gills when she drove by at 9:30 on Tuesday, opening night, including bikes locked to every lockable surface she could see. Come Thursday at 6:30 and it’s not quite so insane on the outside, but it’s a total zoo inside. I did have to lock my bike to the hand rails that lead up from the parking lot, so my first comment is: ADD MORE BIKE PARKING. Seriously. Don’t claim to be sustainable and bike-friendly with parking for only 10 bikes.
Entering the building, it’s total chaos. To the right is dining room seating, to the left is the bar. And let me tell you, avoid the bar for a good month or two. Madness! I got my name on the list, spent 10 minutes trying to get a beer at the bar, then fled to the deck outside of the dining room to wait for my name to be called. There’s an upstairs area I couldn’t even access because there were too many people blocking the route to the stairs. Thank goodness for the deck! Quiet, spacious, I could hang out here and not feel like I was going to be crushed to death by other beer geeks. And once the hail started, we had the deck to ourselves!
We got seated after an hour or so, with very friendly service and pretty good attention to our needs. I had the chicken tenders appetizer, which reminded me of Krusty’s Ribwich in all the best possible ways: tasty sauce, breaded exterior, seemed to contain chicken breast meat. The home style fries are good, too.
Oh right, and the beer! My first was the Survival Stout. Grainy, coffee notes, slightly bitter amaranth finish. Pretty good. The second beer I tried was the Abominable Winter Ale. Amber color, honey tones in the flavor, fruity nose, slightly hoppy finish that kept the beer from being too sweet. The last beer was their doppelbock, which was pretty tasty and drinkable, but nothing special to my taste. I’ll have to try it again and see if I like it better.
Next time I’m there, I’d like to try their El Diablo, which Ben reports is like a strong tripel. I did have their Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Olde Ale at the Holiday Ale Festival, and while it was tasty, it’s just too sweet for more than 4oz of beer.
We did get to flip through their construction picture book, and they did an amazing job of rehabbing the old Sunset Heating & Fuel building. You just can’t go wrong in supporting an organic and sustainable brewery and brew pub! Since Hopworks is a 5 minute bike ride or a 15 minute walk from my house, I’ll surely be back! Especially in the summer when it’s nice out on that back deck.
Now if they’d just add some more bike parking…
Posted: March 21st, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Brewpubs, Chit Chat, Newsworthy, Organic | No Comments »
They’ve taken their sweet time getting to this point, so it’s really exciting that Hopworks is actually opening for business on Tuesday, March 25. I’ve had their IPA while schmoozing with fellow designers at Holocene, the ESB at Meridian and Cava, and the lager at Fire on the Mountain. Predictably, the IPA was way too hoppy for me, but I kinda knew that when I ordered it. The ESB is an easy drinker and a solid beer, and their lager sure was tasty with hot wings.
I’m just excited to see worthwhile, stripper-free, quality beer-oriented establishments move in on SE Powell.
Posted: February 21st, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Brewpubs, Craft Brew, Events & Tastings, Gluten-free, Newsworthy, Tripel, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »
It’s time for the finale in my three-part Green’s gluten-free beer review series. I’m kind of wishing all six other styles were imported to the states so I’d have a few more gluten-free beer choices, since this puts me at the end of the line for what I’ve been able to find so far.
On opening the bottle, a lovely malty aroma wafted out and nearly fooled my nose into thinking I was going to have a regular beer. The Quest pours nicely, with finer carbonation and a decent (but not truly Belgian Tripel-quality) head — not nearly as airy and, well, huge as what I’m used to seeing. In under a minute it went from a 1″ head to a .25″ head, as you can see in my photo. But the color is a nice honey gold/red and very clear, though probably not what I’d describe as a “blonde.”
As with the Endeavour dubbel, this beer needs to warm a bit to taste good. My first sip was tart and a bit off-tasting. Not tart and weirdly fruity/grapey, more tart like a dry cider but without the apple taste. Not even lambic or geuze tart, which still has a fruitiness to it. Gone, though, is the up front acrid sorghum bitterness and metallic flavor in my mouth.
Once Quest warms up, it tastes moderately like a traditional tripel — definite spicey aroma, warm feeling in the mouth, honey tones to the sweetness. But there’s a slight bitterness to the finish, just a little bite that’s not quite right.
So far, this is the most convincing “Belgian” style gluten-free beer I’ve tried. I don’t think it’s an every day drinker like the New Grist ale could be, but for the price it’s worth the occasional splurge. And again, if I hadn’t had regular beer within fairly recent memory, this would probably be sweet ambrosia on my lips!