Portland, Part 1

The end of July 2009 found Sarah and I traveling to Portland,OR for a wedding.  I was quite excited about visiting this mecca of craft beer.  My only previous visit had been a few years previous for another wedding.  This trip we decided to extend so we could explore the city, enjoy great beers, and visit some friends.  Sarah had left the weekend previous to visit her sister and niece in Washington, while I had stayed in San Diego.  Portland was in the midst of all-time record highs while we were visiting.  It was hot, Las Vegas hot.  The first night, after joining Sarah, Jen, and Emery for dinner, we finally started with the beer.  The first brewery Sarah and I visited was The Ram Restaurant and Brewery (http://www.theram.com/index.shtml), a short drive from our hotel in Clackamas.

Sarah in front of the Ram.

We started off with a sampler, before ending with some appetizers and pints.

The sampler.  I liked the ram's horn shape.

Here's a list of the beers we tried:
          Big Horn Blonde--This blonde ale is light in color and pleases with a mild, sweet and slightly malty flavor.  ABV unknown
          Big Horn Hefeweizen--An unfiltered, authentic, German-style wheat beer utilizes a special German yeast strain to give this beer its characteristic cloudiness and banana-clove flavors.  ABV unknown
          Big Red IPA--An American-style IPA, the Big Red combines distinctive and assertive citrus flavor and aroma of Amarillo hops with a crisp, pleasantly bitter finish.  ABV unknown
          Buttface Amber--An American-style featuring malty caramel flavors and a smooth, slightly sweet finish.  ABV unknown 
          Total Disorder Porter--Rich and smooth, this award-winning brown porter features the flavor of chocolate and caramel.  ABV unknown
          71 Pale Ale--A distinctly drinkable Pale Ale brewed with a touch of rye and a blend of 5 hops.  Deep copper in color with a subtle spicy rye character and an enjoyable hoppy flavor.  ABV unknown
          Barefoot Wit--This unfiltered Belgian wheat beer is fruity, complex and easy drinking.  Malt flavors intermingle with underlying citrusy herb and spice notes.  ABV unknown
          Lucky's Irish Red--Irish Red Ale.  ABV unknown
          Nitro Porter--Total Disorder Porter on Nitro.


Following the sampler, Sarah had a pint of the Nitro Porter and I enjoyed the Big Red IPA, before calling it a night.