Portal Brewing Company
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
3.67/5 rDev -10.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
3.67/5 rDev -10.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Small space on a corner storefront. A handful of tables and a small bar. Brewing is done off-site. Small food menu too. Wide range of styles on the tap list, overall decent. Owner was there, very friendly. Quirky place, but charming
Apr 04, 2023
Reviewed by John_M from Washington
3.4/5 rDev -17.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.75
3.4/5 rDev -17.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.75
It's difficult to know what to say about this place. I gather Portal brewing is fairly new, and it appears the brewpub has not been fully embraced yet by the local craft beer crowd. The pub is pretty small, located right on the corner of 6th ave and N. Front st. There are no more than 4 or 5 tables inside, as well as a small bar area that has 5 or 6 seats. I think there was some art work on the wall that was for sale, but otherwise there isn't a whole lot going on here atmosphere-wise.
As for the beer, on this particular day I think they had on tap around 10 or 11 different beers, ranging from a cream ale and brown ale, to a DIPA, a coffee vanilla porter, and a dry, licorice stout. There were no duds in the line-up, but by the same token, it was kind of hard to get too excited by the IPA, the CDA, the pale ale, or the ESB. I hate to be harsh, but other than the vanilla porter, "mehhh" describes all the beers I had here. Nothing was bad, but then again, I didn't taste anything I'd go out of my way for either.
Service was OK. There weren't a whole lot of folks in attendance tonight, so orders came quickly. No one was particularly engaging, but everyone here was friendly enough. The food menu is fairly limited, and I assume the kitchen is either non-existent or pretty small. Everything on the menu seemed to consist of items that could be heated up and slapped into some warm pita bread. Still, my lamb shawarma was tasty enough, and reasonably priced at $7.50 I thought. My 6 beer sampler plate was $8, which I thought was reasonable.
Shrug. The folks here seem nice and I wish them the best. Maybe things will improve over time, but for now, there's nothing really here that would make this any sort of beer destination. Granted, the beer scene in Medford seems to be still finding it's legs, but even so, it's pretty hard to get too excited about the beers on offer at Portal. I think the folks working here have to know that.
One last comment. Don't be mislead by the two previous "glowing" reviews of this place. I assume both individuals are associated in some way with the brewery (or friends of the owner or brewer), as it appears both individuals joined BA for the sole purpose of giving Portal a high review (as they've posted no other reviews or comments since joining). It's pretty obvious that Portal doesn't merit such "glowing praise," but whatever... the folks here are nice, they're trying their best, and I wish them nothing but luck in the future.
Jul 17, 2014As for the beer, on this particular day I think they had on tap around 10 or 11 different beers, ranging from a cream ale and brown ale, to a DIPA, a coffee vanilla porter, and a dry, licorice stout. There were no duds in the line-up, but by the same token, it was kind of hard to get too excited by the IPA, the CDA, the pale ale, or the ESB. I hate to be harsh, but other than the vanilla porter, "mehhh" describes all the beers I had here. Nothing was bad, but then again, I didn't taste anything I'd go out of my way for either.
Service was OK. There weren't a whole lot of folks in attendance tonight, so orders came quickly. No one was particularly engaging, but everyone here was friendly enough. The food menu is fairly limited, and I assume the kitchen is either non-existent or pretty small. Everything on the menu seemed to consist of items that could be heated up and slapped into some warm pita bread. Still, my lamb shawarma was tasty enough, and reasonably priced at $7.50 I thought. My 6 beer sampler plate was $8, which I thought was reasonable.
Shrug. The folks here seem nice and I wish them the best. Maybe things will improve over time, but for now, there's nothing really here that would make this any sort of beer destination. Granted, the beer scene in Medford seems to be still finding it's legs, but even so, it's pretty hard to get too excited about the beers on offer at Portal. I think the folks working here have to know that.
One last comment. Don't be mislead by the two previous "glowing" reviews of this place. I assume both individuals are associated in some way with the brewery (or friends of the owner or brewer), as it appears both individuals joined BA for the sole purpose of giving Portal a high review (as they've posted no other reviews or comments since joining). It's pretty obvious that Portal doesn't merit such "glowing praise," but whatever... the folks here are nice, they're trying their best, and I wish them nothing but luck in the future.
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