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A lot has happened since our last visit to the Portland two years ago during the Year in Beer. Between our visits, Merideth and I have traveled to a diverse range of beer destinations and added approximately 160 breweries to our tally. Older and wiser, we had some catching up to do in the Rose City.

Joined by our friend Chris, we left the festival on Thursday evening to explore on the other side of the Willamette River. Crossing the Burnside Bridge, we headed east towards our first destination, 28 blocks away. After a afternoon at the festival, we welcomed the long walk to Coalition Brewing.

Coalition Brewing’s unassuming, grayish/green exterior disguised a real gem inside. Walking through the rolled up doors into the small but airy dining area, our threesome grabbed the only available table  which was close to the bar.

The buzz regarding Coalition Brewing was that they were working with local homebrewers to brew and pour their beers. However, I don’t think any collaboration beers were on tap for our visit, just the regular house lineup. There were six beers, ranging from an ESB to a Stout. The other Chris ordered Bump’s Bitter ESB and Merideth went with the Hans O’ Stout. Of course, I ordered the Two Dogs IPA. Passing the beers around as an impromptu taster set, all were quite delicious.

The kitchen was the pleasant surprise at Coalition Brewing. The simple menu featured inexpensive, yet creative food. While I went the comfort route with Mac-n-Cheese, Merideth ordered the “Coalition of the Willing Ham”, a panini with Black Forest ham, coppa, havarti and pickled carrot. She allowed me one a small bite and I have to say, it was one of the best sandwiches I have tasted in a long time.

The beer gods must have been telling us we needed another long walk. Our next stop was a mere six blocks away, but instead of using our brains and walking up 28th Street, we relied on the iPhone for directions. After a 45 minute tour of some nice Portland neighborhoods and the required ‘it should be right here’ moment, we decided just to find Migration by the address. Ten minutes later we were at the bar ordering a beer.

Another new entry on the Portland scene, Migration was another neighborhood industrial space, roll up the doors, ample beer garden with picnic tables kinda place.

Migration only had three house beers, complimented by eight guest taps including the amazing Racer X from Bear Republic. The three of us enjoyed a pitcher of their flagship Pale Ale on their patio. Well, until Merideth got chilled and we moved inside. Despite enjoying ourselves at Migration, it was a one and done. We still had one more beer stop so after finishing our pitcher, we moved on to Apex, a multi-tap establishment.

After a few beers, I admit that I start wondering about the strangest things. Having never been to Portland in the winter, I always wonder what happens to the outdoor seating in the cold and wet months. Do people actually site outside? Wading through Apex’s rather large beer garden, that was all I could think of.

Luckily, such philosophical questions are short-lived once confronted with a lengthy beer list. After adjusting my eyes to the high tech airport arrival/departure type display, the first thing that caught my eye at Apex was the number of California beers on tap. The owner, being a Toronado alumni, might have something to do with this. Passing on some of my favorite home state brews such as Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin or Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, I went with Double Mountain’s Molten Lava.

We finished our first day in Portland at Apex. What a first day it was; four breweries, a beer bar and Oregon Brewers Festival.

Saturday was our last day in Portland and we passed on attending another day at Oregon Brewers Festival to visit a few more breweries. We were at the Mash Tun, in Northeast Portland, late morning just after opening time. Located in the ultra hip Alberta Arts District, the Mash Tun has been on the Portland beer scene since 2005. Passing through the bar area, our group, including Chris (again) and a friend of his, found a table in the oddly stifling courtyard.

In a town that prides itself on their Pacific Northwest brews, the Mash Tun was an anomaly, brewing English-style beers. On the beer menu during our visit was five brews, including  English Mild and Penfolds Porter. They also had a small number of guest taps.

Tater tots seemed to be a big thing in Portland. We saw them on a number of menus. The highlight of our visit to the Mash Tun was the big steaming plate of deep fried potato goodness. After a taster set, I paired the tater tots with the roasty Penfolds Porter. Merideth went with the Sam Jackson Pale Ale.

The most interesting newcomer brewery in Portland, was Upright. Located in the Rose District just across the Willamette from downtown Portland, Upright was our 567th brewery. And the very first located in a basement. We were greeted by our friend Annalou as we walked into the cool, dark lower level of the Left Bank Building. There was already a fair sized crowd occupying the small space.

Maybe the best taster deal on the planet, Upright’s sample tray was $6 for nine beers. The year-round beers go by the descriptive names of 4, 5, 6 & 7, the names derived from starting gravity in degrees. All four use a Saison yeast and are open fermented. 4 was a great session beer at 4.5% ABV. 6 was the most unique of the four, the only one using rye.

Of the seasonal beers, the stars were Engelberg Pils and Vin Aigruer, a beer reminiscent of Flanders Red. That was until Annalou pulled out a bottle of the Gose. Having only discovered the style the previous month in Germany, Upright’s  version stood up to the brew at Bayerischer Bahnhof in Leipzig.

With gas still left in the tank, our next stop was Belmont Station for their Oregon Craft Brewers Fringe Fest. The idea behind the Fringe Fest was to give Oregon breweries not at OBF a chance to showcase their brews. At different times during the day, these breweries poured samples of their beers. What had me excited was the cask beers. My first beer was Barley Brown’s WFO IPA, an excellent beer from the Baker City brewpub. Equally tasty was their 60 Love Pale Ale, a hoppy brew also on cask. Two other stars were the German-style beers from Heater Allen in McMinnville. Their Isarweizen and Pils were both tasty brews.

We ended our ninth Portland beer adventure at our favorite beer spot in Portland, Amnesia Brewing. Amidst a lively Saturday night crowd, Merideth and I wound down for the evening knowing we had a long drive ahead the following day. We quietly enjoyed our brats and beers as the sun set on another Portland trip.

 

The 23rd edition of the Oregon Brewers Festival was our ninth. Attending six straight years at the end of the 1990s and three out of the last four years, we have seen it grow and change over the 16 year span. Changes aside, one thing remains the same: the Oregon Brewers Festival is, in my humble opinion, the West Coast’s premier beer event and our favorite large US festival.

Correction: Due to some poor math on my part, we previously reported that the 2008 Oregon Brewers Festival was our ninth visit. We have lived a lie for the last two years. Thebeergeek.com regrets any confusion this may have caused. Having said that, I will now report on our actual ninth visit to OBF.

There are a myriad of reasons that we have been to OBF nine times. First, the setting along the Willamette River and the almost always perfect weather is idyllic for a beer festival. Second, the festival is just so well run. There have a few glitches and blips over the years, but the problems are always corrected. Most important, it is one of the festivals where we get to see many of our West Coast beer friends.

Similar to past years, our plan included attending the Thursday and Friday sessions.

Merideth and I arrived on the first day of the festival a few hours after opening. Minutes after showing our IDs to the gate security, we had mugs and tokens in hand. Obviously, this is not the case for every session. Just like any large festival, Friday and Saturday nights are popular sessions and we’ve learned from experience to avoid those more congested times.

Wading through the unexpectedly large Thursday afternoon crowd to find our friend Chris Devlin, we were surprised to hear that the “woo-ing” had already started. Such behavior usually didn’t begin until later. We found Chris and went in search of our first beers. I started with Flying Fish’s GABF gold medal winning Exit 4, a Belgian-style Trippel. Merideth began her 2010 OBF with Boundary Bay’s German Tradition Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale, a beer specially made for Oregon Brewers Festival.

Being an unabashed hophead, over half the beers I tried over the two sessions were an IPA or Double IPA. However, my two favorites didn’t come from the hopbomb world. On the top of my list was the aforementioned Flying Fish Exit 4, the first beer I tried. That wonderful brew was closely followed by Boundary Bay German Tradition Double Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Merideth’s first beer. Of the hoppy brews, there were a number of good examples but kudos has to go out to Alpha Centauri Binary IPA from Hop Valley Brewing.

Merideth, following  a warm weather drinking pattern, focused on Kölschs, Wits and Saisons. Of particular note for her were two Portland beers, the Summer Gose from Cascade Brewing and Reggae Junkie Gruit from Upright Brewing.

Over the years, if we have seen one disappointing trend, it would be the beer selection. I think part of it is nostalgia for our younger days. (“When I was a kid, I had to walk ten miles in the snow to get to OBF.”) In the ’90s, breweries poured new and unique beers to ‘wow’ the crowd. I’m sure if I dug out some of our old programs, this may be a bit of revisionist history, but a number of friends did comment to us that the beer selection this year was pretty average.

To the credit of festival organizers, they appear to be trying to combat this criticism. This year was our first experience with the “Buzz Tent.” Started last year, the “Buzz Tent” serves special and rare beers. Costing two tokens instead of the normal one, the beers served in this tent rotated regularly. As one keg blew, a new beer was put on.

I was more than willing to use two tokens each on San Diego beers such as Ballast Point Sculpin IPA and Green Flash Super Freak. But the most interesting beer was a 13 year-old keg of Russian Imperial Stout from Hood River’s Full Sail Brewing. When the gathering crowd heard that it was finally available, the area really started to buzz. I joined the 20 person line, something I usually avoid at OBF, and waited patiently for a 4oz taste of the very rare brew. As expected, the beer was  jet black with strong booze and raisin flavors.

After four hours at the Thursday session, we called it a day at the Oregon Brewers Festival. We planned a return visit to the Friday afternoon session, but we hadn’t been to Portland in two years and there were plenty of new additions to the Portland beer scene to explore.