Visiting Portland - Winter 2017/18 update

I’ve heard Love, lost at sea by Buoy is pretty good.

 

Had it last night, very solid.

 

There ya go! I'd actually never heard of your store, but if I'm over on the west side sometime soon I'll drop in.

 

Got Barleywines:
Buoy BA Love Lost at Sea
Gigantic Massive
Gigantic BA Massive
Ex Novo Never More
McMenamins 2017 Longest Night of the Year

And quite a few different bourbons and whiskeys from distilleries in Portland and on the coast.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

Where did you find the Buoy? I’ll be in Portland this weekend and would love to snag a bottle if they are available.

 

there's cases of it near the register at Belmont Station. Beermongers also has it.

 

I know this isn’t Portland, but not sure where else (besides starting a new thread) to post. I got a rental by Nike World headquarter’s in Beaverton next week. Curious if there are any decent bottle shops nearby or if my best bet is Fred Meyer’s (or better yet stock up at Belmont Station on my way).

 

Go to Johns Marketplace.

 

Seconded.

 

Here are a couple good options in the Beaverton area. I wouldn't call them replacements for John's Marketplace, but they're a lot closer to where you're staying.

The Craft Pour House on Walker at 158th is about a block from the NW corner of the Nike HQ. Not good for bottles, but they have solid options on tap and they do crowlers.

New Seasons Market - Cedar Hills tends to have good bottles and at least one good option on tap, and they're not too far from Nike's campus.

A couple blocks from New Seasons is the Westgate Bourbon Bar & Taproom. They have a large bottle shop there. Could be worth a look. As for the taproom, the food is good and they have many taps with reliably good options.

A bit further west, Orenco Taphouse has great taps and good bottles, and they fill crowlers. It's just a couple blocks from the MAX (light rail) stop at Orenco Station. Very easy to get to from Beaverton.

Fun fact about Orenco Taphouse: Free beer! (Which means I'll buy you a beer if you want to meet a fellow BA for a pint while you're in the area next week.)

 

That’s the best kind of beer! It is a family trip (spring break, yay), so getting away from the family could be tough, but you never know
I appreciate the offer and suggestions.

John’s is amazing (except it feels like I am cheating on my first love Belmont), but still a little bit away. One thing my wife loves is when I drag her and our two boys all over for beer runs (not). The new seasons in particular is a lot more practical (5 min drive).

 

Thirded

 

Many times. It is only about a mile from stately Vurt Manor.

They are a little hit-and-miss. The beer section is about the same size as New Seasons at Cedar Hills, but the selection is weaker. Still, you can often find overlooked gems there.

Also: There's a New Seasons on Cornell out near Orenco Taphouse. Not worth a trip by itself, but another option for overlooked gems for people already in the area.

Speaking of the Orenco Taphouse, there's a good chance I'll be over there tonight, helping deplete their supply of the delicious Sticky Hands Tropical Slam.

 

Tap takeovers @worldfoodspdx on First Thursdays are worth looking into... This month is Fort George (Beta 16.4 anyone?)

 

This may be a question only beer bar managers/staff can answer, but for vintage kegs like these, is this likely the first time they’ve been tapped or do bars put them on and pull them off over the years?

I wish some of the Bend establishments would recognize the allure of putting on a 3+ year old beer (and the accompanying price premium they’re worth), but nobody outside of Deschutes seems interested in investing in verticals or vintage draft offerings. I get that it means tying up cash flow, storage considerations, etc. but if Seattle/Portland bars can manage it...

 

I've seen it done both ways around here. One of the big reasons is likely storage. Most bars/restaurants don't have an excess of storage to hold multiple kegs for years. Unless they have a good relationship with a distributor, or are willing to rent space in a cold storage facility, it's likely too much of a PITA for most places to bother with.

 

More interesting (to me at least) is that Chuckanut Pilsner is on tap. Is that a permanent thing now? It's on in a few other places as well.