Portland, Part 3

Our third day in Portland was unfortunately our last day to try some beers before we became busy with wedding events.  Following some wedding set-up in the morning, we picked up Sarah's mother, Karen, at the airport, before heading back downtown to continue our beer adventure.  Our first stop consisted of lunch and some beers at the Rogue Distillery and Public House (http://www.rogue.com/index.php).

While enjoying an absolutely delicious Rogue Dip sandwich, served on fantastic Hazelnut Ale bread, we sampled the following beers:
         Brutal IPA--An Imperial bitter with exotic traditional floor malts, citrusy, hoppy flavor, stupendous hop aroma.  Brutal combines Oregon hops with English malts.  6%
         Dead Guy Ale--A German-style Maibock, deep honey in color with a malty aroma, rich hearty flavor, and a well-balanced finish.  6.6%
         Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red--Reddish copper in color, a roasty malt flavor with a hoppy sprucy finish.  5.2%

         Mocha Porter--Ruddy brown in color, a bittersweet balance of malt and hops with a light cream finish.  5.1%

My samples

Following our lunch, we explored the Rogue Garage Sale, where they were having fantastic sales on merchandise.  I ended up with a Dead Guy Ale hoodie and t-shirt, while Sarah got a sweatshirt.  After our shopping, we headed over to Widmer Brothers Brewing Company (http://www.widmer.com/default.aspx), where we toured the facility and sampled some of their brews.

Sarah and I at Widmer Brothers

By the restaurant at the Brewery

The brewing kettles

The fermentation tanks

Due to the excessive heat, in the 100s again, the tour was cut short, which was OK with us.  We watched a video about the company and then sampled four Widmer brews before taking a quick stroll through the facility and receiving our pint glasses and key chains.  The beers we sampled were:
         Widmer Hefeweizen--The flagship beer, America's original Hefeweizen.  A golden unfiltered wheat beer that is truly cloudy and clearly superb.  4.9%
         Broken Halo IPA--This beer is produced in the spirit of traditional IPA products shipped from the UK to India in the late 1800s.  The almost excessive amounts of Cascade and Columbus hops used in Broken Halo give it notable citrus and grapefruit aromas and flavors.  The beer bitterness measures high but tastes smooth due to the full-bodied, Caramel malt sweetness.  The finish is juicy, clean, and short lived.  6.0%
        Drop Top Amber Ale--A rich, flavorful Amber that's smooth and easy to drink.  This beer is fermented with by an American Ale yeast to produce beer with a clean flavor and fruity aroma.  The velvet texture is from using Honey malt and a touch of milk sugar.  5.0%
         Drifter Pale Ale--This beer has a unique citrus character, smooth drinkability, and distinctive hop character.  Brewed with generous amounts of Summit hops, a variety known for their intense citrus flavors and aromas, Drifter has a taste unique to the Pale Ale category.  True to style, the bittering hops are perceptible enough to give the beer a crisp, clean, quenching finish, yet also soft enough to keep the beer smooth and balanced.  5.7%  

The brewery

Honoring America's original Hefeweizen

Great sign

Following our visit to Widmer Brothers, the rest of our time in Portland was spent with wedding festivities.  All in all, we had a great time trying new beers and touring around the city.  We can't wait to visit again and visit the other breweries Portland has to offer.

Portland, Part 2

Our first full day in Portland found us seeing some tourist attractions, eating at one of my favorite fast food restaurants, and, of course, trying more beer.  Again it was day of record high temperatures.  We spent our morning visiting the International Rose Test Garden and then the Portland Japanese Garden.  Both were quite impressive in their own respects.  The Rose Garden is the one of the oldest and largest rose test gardens in the US.  Free of charge, you can't beat the views of the city and the beautiful colors of the various roses.  The Japanese Garden brought shade, glorious shade to protect us from the heat and intense sun.  Portland's Japanese Garden is one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan.  It was quite serene and tranquil.  Following the gardens, we headed for Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a delight I had not enjoyed in a couple years.  Let's just say the burger did not disappoint.

After our delicious burgers, we headed to the Pearl District and our first brewery of the day, BridgePort Brewery and Bakery (http://www.bridgeportbrew.com/).

For $7.50, we enjoyed a sample tray consisting of the following 8 beers:
          Haymaker Extra Pale Ale--A refreshing extra pale with a distinct blend of four malts and three varieties of hops creating a slightly complex, crisp and bright ale.  5.3%
          Blue Heron Pale Ale--Blue Heron Pale Ale features Williamette Valley hops and roasted barley for a flavor that is round on the palate with a crisp finish.  4.9%
          Ropewalk Amber Ale--This celebratory amber ale reflects BridePort's 20 year commitment to the fine art of craftbrewing.  Caramel malts give this ale its mellow, malty flavor.  A perfect session ale.  5.6%
          India Pale Ale--BridgePort IPA is a smooth, robust ale with assertive and fragrant hop character.  Our IPA is a product of the rare and traditional natural condition process, aging three times longer than ordinary beers in the keg, bottle, or cask from which it is poured.  5.5%
          E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter)--Our ESB is a well-balanced, British-style ale.  Imported English Kent Golding hops give this brew an assertive aroma and a full bodied, yet mellow flavor.  6.1%
          Porter--BridgePort Porter is a careful combination of malts and hops that produces a rich and roasty full-bodied flavor.  Its natural conditioning results in a smooth, dark brew.  5.3%
          Black Strap Stout--Reminiscent of Irish stouts, BridgePort Black Strap Stout combines Northwest hops with the sweetness of black molasses to yield a velvet-rich, creamy brew.  6.0%
          Hop Czar--This Emperor of IBUs is triple hopped which produces a crazy, big, aggressively bitter, yet drinkable flavor made only for those with a Royal palate.  Brewed with three different malts and four different hop varieties, Hop Czar has a deep malt background with enthusiastic citrus and floral notes paired with uber high hop bitterness.  7.5%
          BeerTown Brown--Our roasted chocolate and pale malts shake hands creating mild caramel flavors.  Brown is your new reason to love beer.  Hops are added to create the perfect balance of sweetness to hopiness.  5.2%

We also sampled Blue Heron on cask, then I enjoyed a pint of Ropewalk before heading off to our next destination.

After leaving BridgePort, we headed over to OHSU to take the tram up to the hospital.  Sarah had spent a rotation at OHSU in medical school and it was a remote possibility for future employment.  We had a fantastic view on the brief tram ride and then walked over to the pedestrian walkway, before leaving the hospital and continuing our beer journey, Full Sail at Riverplace (http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/), where they brew next door to McCormick & Schmick's Harborside Restaurant.  This small brewhouse serves as Full Sail's research and development center, and is where the Brewmaster Reserve and Brewer's Share series were concocted.  We bellied up to the bar for a sampler, consisting of the following:
         Full Sail Amber--This beer is a sweet, malty, medium-bodied ale with a spicy, floral hop finish.  It's brewed with 2-row Pale, Crystal and Chocolate malts, and hopped with Mt. Hoods and Cascades. 5.5%
         Full Sail Pale Ale--This beer has a fresh, hoppy aroma that comes from two secret Northwest hop varieties, while two-row Pale and Crystal malt give it a mild sweetness that finishes crisp and clean.  5.4%
         Full Sail IPA--Generously hopped to 60 IBUs in the classic British style.  This beer has a full, malty body, with a hint of fresh citrus.  6%
         Full Sail Stout--This stout is a cross between an Irish dry and an export stout.  This beer has a very smooth character accentuated by the use of Munich malt, which is uncommon in a stout.  Hopped with Golding hops to balance the roast malt flavors.  5.4%
         Full Sail Ambrosia Red--This medium-bodied, dry-hopped red ale was brewed with a variety of specialty malts (Crystal, Munich, Honey, and Carafa) with a pronounced hop flavor and an emphasis on the aroma from the dry Brewer's Gold hops.  4.9%
         Full Sail Ltd Pilsner--This is a crisp, new pilsner-style lager that is pale golden in color, features a spicy floral hop aroma, a malty medium body, and a smooth thirst-quenching finish.  5.6%

Cask beers at the Pilsner Room at McCormick & Schmick's

Our sampler platters

After the samplers, we'd had enough of the heat and decided to head back to the hotel, before grabbing some dinner.