over the past six-ish months i've been noticing the beer selection at Hop & Vine starting to dwindle. i stopped in yesterday and it appears that they have pretty much stopped buying beer and have consolidated the entire stock to maybe two racks and the cooler by the door. i asked the girl working the register if they decided to give up on beer and she said that's pretty much the case. i know Drew has done a lot of work over the years to get awesome bottles, limited kegs, and really great events through the door, but it looks like the whole place has been converted to accommodate the people using the bar/restaurant amenities and is geared more towards a cocktail and wine bar. that said, are we seeing the end of the Hop & Vine's involvement in the beer community? can we still expect events like Block 15 tap takeovers and Zwanze Day or will they be gone in due time? also, this isn't a slam or anything on H&V, i'm just curious to know if one of my former favorite beer stops in town is going to be off the beer destination map completely.
I'm not sure who you talked to, but I'm pretty sure Hop N Vine has no intention of giving up beer sales. I agree that Hop N Vine, and Drew specifically does a fantastic job of bringing in unique craft beer. They moved stuff around, and added tables so people cab crack a bottle and sit down. Inventory varies, it just depends on what day you stop in. I think they get deliveries on Wed. and as the week goes on stuff sells out. I'm sure they will continue the fantastic events. They had a Block 15 tap takeover a few weeks ago, and yesterday they had a cool event called Fire and Brimstone.
I think we need to hear from @Gobigvt7 before deciding for ourselves. I visited H&V during my last Portland visit and they couldn't have been better hosts for a truly epic bottleshare. If that is any indication of their involvement and support of the beer community, then I think they will always be a part of it.
Whatever the decision, this won't have any effect on my patronage. The food and tap selection have always been more than good enough to get me in the door, and in my experience, the service there is some of the best in the industry. That and some of the special events they've held in the past have always been the primary reason for a periodic stop there.
the Block 15 tap take over was fantastic and their food has always been above average if not wonderful. I havent explored their bottle shop that much... so no comment?
I didn't talk to anyone but my last two visits to their bottle shop pretty much told me it's not worth stopping at present. Reality speaks loudly. This isn't a subtle shift in the beer inventory - it's a blatant and obvious reduction. Maybe it's temporary and we're being alarmist, but it's still the current case. As someone that always made a point of stopping there on his way back to Seattle - I once found Cuvee Des Champions, Classic Gueze, and Iris all sitting on the shelves on a Sunday - I left scratching my heads the last few times haveing made no purchase and won't be heading back until I hear it's worthwhile again. The Commons + & beer they commisioned (?) was excellent so I hope this is a blip, but let's not pretend nothing has changed and this is just a matter of "inventory changes".
You don't even live in this city! I live down the street, and shop there every week. In the past two weeks I picked up Stone Unapologetic IPA, Gose Gone Wild, Bruery Sucre, Hottenroth, Boulevard Love Child, 3 way IPA, and Breakside Passionfruit Sour. Not saying they have the best selection in town, but they've been very consistent over the years.
Huge thanks @TheeWalrusHunter @John_M @HighWine @jamdugan and even @box_social for the support/feedback here. A few things of note: - First off, we're not going anywhere! From day one, despite our evolution over the past 6 years, we've tried to stand out in as many aspects of food and drink as possible: beer, wine, cocktails, food. There isn't more emphasis (or less) in any of those fields than there was when we first came along. We're definitely not actively trying to become a "cocktail bar" or "wine bar" as much as trying to become the "best bar" we can be. Our commitments to the best beer we can get and having the best taplist to serve our customers are still major facets to the H&V and will remain unchanged. - Everyone knows on-premise sales are preferable to off-premise, as the profit margin is much higher. While we had one of the first shops on the scene, there have been many great shops that have opened around town and increasing pressure on bigger stores and even convenience stores to up their craft offerings. In short, it's a competitive market. Obviously we'd love to have more resources to be able to please everyone, but really we can only do the best we can. - We're turning what used to be solely a bottleshop into a combo bottleshop and bar, as an alternative, more laid back place to hang away from the full bar. If anything, we're getting even more into the beer game by putting in 3-4 new taps in the shop. Planning on a pretty sweet rollout list with a cellared keg of De Garde Rougie, St Bernardus Extra 4 (one of my top 10 beers of this year), and some other goodies to get the ball rolling. - Yes, our inventory has been reduced since January, there's no denying it, but depending on the day it can look worse than it actually is. We're essentially trying to 'get back to our roots' as a specialty, niche craft bottleshop, concerning ourselves less with competing with Plaid Pantry and more with stocking only great beers our customers will want to drink. I've still been bringing in new beers every week and there are a lot of great bottles on the shelves, for cellaring or immediate consumption. The development of our new bar space on the bottleshop side will only help to support this renewal process. - As mentioned, in the last month we did a great Block 15 tap takeover and had our most successful Fire & Brimstone to date. On August 10th, we'll be throwing the 4th Annual Brewer's Burger Brawl w/ Oakshire, The Commons, Flat Tail, Occidental, and Migration throwing their hats in the ring. We'll be celebrating our 6 Year Anniversary in early September and we'll have a pretty nice taplist for it. We plan on being here for as long as we're allowed! Hopefully you'll continue to give us a shot here and there, at an event or bottleshare, for a special draft, or even just for a pint of IPA and one of the best burgers in PDX.
thanks for the info, Drew. it's good to know that the downsized bottle shop stock isn't indicative of a drop in quality or the place turning in a new beer-less direction. also, will you guys be hosting Zwanze Day again this year?
Not living in the city doesn't invalidate my experience. I'm in Portland twice a month at least and beer shop / drink out whenever I am. Not to say I'm the most knowledgeable about the scene but by no means am I tossing out wild and unsubstantiated speculation. We shouldn't be wary of expressing critical feedback (too negative! someone's feelings might get hurt!) or dismiss people when they do since interesting conversations often come from it ... including this one. I didn't intend to slam H&V; I was curious what the story was and now we've got it. The pivot in business for H&V makes a lot of sense - appreciate the really thorough explanation from Drew. Now I know to keep my eye on the tap list and check for events. Cheers!
I'll always make it a priority to go when I'm in PDX. The Block 15 takeover was absurd and the burger compares with some of the best that I've had here in TX (and there are very few burgers out there IMO that even approach the level that we have available locally). Thanks for that response Drew, appreciate all the clarity.
