June 9 - 16, 2008This was probably one of the best vacations I've ever taken. Just me, myself and I. Nobody else in my family would put-up with a trip like this. Twenty-three breweries, forty-one miles of walking and over 700 photographs. For these destinations and for me, Amtrak was the way to go. It was so nice not having to worry about driving around. But, I would have loved to have had my bike. Unfortunately there's no baggage check at our Chico Amtrak stop. Plus you have to box your bike, which means taking it apart a bit, and then you have to come up with a box for it on the trip home. Maybe I'll look into a bike rental next time. Portland is huge on bicycles!
Monday, June 9, 2008 - The north bound Amtrak Coast Starlight comes through Chico around 2:30 AM. I joined the sleeping passengers and was soon lulled to dreamland by the gentle rocking of the car and the sound of the tracks. The next thing I knew, it was 6:30 and the sun was just coming up on Mt. Shasta.
At about 8:30 we pulled into Klamath Falls, Oregon. My first stop, to visit Mia & Pia's and Klamath Basin brewpubs. I walked the short distance to downtown and had breakfast at Swan Bakery & Bistro, with my selection heavy on the bakery part ;~} I chose a hotel out 3 1/2 miles to the west end of town, because that's were Mia&Pia's is located - Big mistake! After a one and a half hour 'death march', I made it to the hotel. I exaggerate on the 'death' part, but later I found out I could have stayed in a hotel right next to Great Basin, at the same price.
After a shower I hit the road again, this time without my pack. It's another one and a third miles to M&P's - but well worth the walk. This is kind of a funky place, that is really just a pizza joint with a great bar. They brew their beer down the road at their dairy farm.
They had 12 on tap. Along with an excellent pizza, I had samplers of: Rod's Rodeo Red 4.7%, White Pelican Porter 4.2%, Spencer Creek Amber Ale 5.5% (Willamette, Northern Brewer & Cascade hops), Otto Mulligan's Irish Stout 4.8% Guinness style features six row barley from their family farm, Emmett & Anna's Pivo (Czech Style Pilsner) 4.4%, Blast Off Barley Wine 10.5% Introduced New Year's Eve 1999, a salute to the year 2000.
This was a great way to start a vacation! Here's a list of all of their beers...
It was time to head back downtown, but this time I called a taxi!
The Klamath Basin Brewpub, AKA 'The Creamery', is in a building built in 1935 that use to be a creamery. They left the outside of the building, pretty much the way it was, except for adding a very nice patio area.
They fixed up the pub area like the inside of a cabin. You can see the brew tanks in the background. The bar is to the right.
I had a sampler set of ten (this is definitely turning out to be a good day!). My favorite was their IPA and Drop Dead Red. Later in the evening I had a nice hamburger & fries - something I never get to partake in. And speaking of healthy habits, at the end of my stay there, I walked out to the patio and enjoyed one of my cheap $2 ceeeeegars. I ended up getting a chance to talk to the owner, Lonnie Clement - Very interesting guy. This was definitely a top-notch brewpub!
Here's a list of their beers.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Got a taxi to downtown, had some coffee and a roll - once again, at the Swan Bakery, walked the few blocks and caught the train (1.5 hrs - Beautiful farmland, river, a lake and great clouds) to Chemult. Another 1.5 hrs on the shuttle van, to Bend. Got to my Hotel 6 at 12:15 and promptly took the 1/2 hr walk to downtown. Lunch at the closest brewpub - McMenamins Old St. Francis School - 1/2 pt Terminator Stout (which I've always really liked), great pizza, and a 1/2 pt of so so IPA. I guess I was expecting a little more of a historical school building (like their Kennedy School), but I still thoroughly enjoyed my visit
These folks always have a funky brewery - I love it!
Now on to the main attraction, the original Deschutes Brewpub.
1/2 pt cask Caribbean Stout (interesting!) and 1/2 pt of their Inversion IPA, which was OK until I had a sample of the Down & Dirty IPA - outstanding (unfortunately it was at it's end and when I came back next time they were out).
A short walk of a block or two and I was at the Bend Brewpub. I was really looking forward to this place, as they had just won Small Brewpub of the Year, at the World Beer Cup in San Diego, and along with that Tonya Cornett, Small Brewpub beermaster of the year. And to top it all off, it was Tuesday - $2.25/pt night!!!! Life is good! And the beer was great (as was the food).
Irish Stout on nitro, Elk Lake IPA, Brooks Street Brown and veggie egg rolls. Needless to say, at those prices, the place was rock'n! Fortunately I'd got in earlier enough to for a good spot at the bar.
And this is literally just out the back door. Mirror Pond, the Deschutes River, named after the Pale Ale of the Deschutes Brewery – Or maybe it was the other way around!
Perfect time of the day for photography
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - First thing in the afternoon I took a beautiful 20 minute walk (across the Deschutes River, snow capped mountains and interesting neighborhoods) out of downtown, to the Deschutes Brewery.
Tour time - 1:00 Erin was our tour guide. I say "our", but it was just me. There was also a "tour guide trainee" lady, that joined us. Needles to say, I got a very informal, thorough introduction to the brewery operation.
Of all the brewery tours I’ve been on, this was the first that offered you beer, not only before and after, but DURING the tour.
One of the brewers answering our questions.
They'd just switched the line over, to bottle 22 ouncers
At the end of the tour, they have the original art work for their special holiday labels. [info on beer sampled]
Walked a little further out of town, to the Cascade Lakes Brewery Lodge. Their brewery is in Redmond, the next town up the road from Bend.
Had their sampler set of seven and all of their beers were very nice. I’d heard of these “Sliders”, but never even seen them before. Kolby beef , and they were delicious! This and the generous sampler set, all for $16.50 – Not bad, for what I consider a “high-end town” - All that and free WiFi!
Took a different route on my walk back to downtown. Bend is an extremely cool little town.
Later in the afternoon I stopped in at the Silver Moon Brewpub.
This place has more the feeling of just being a bar, but their beer was excellent - especially the IPA!
Out back, I got a peek at the brewery, and talked to the owners, who were hand labeling some of their 22 oz bottles.
Thursday, June 12, 2008 - Caught the shuttle van back to Chemult and then Amtraked it (the train was only two hours late) up to Portland. What a classic, beautiful station - on the Willamette River, with the Broadway Bridge (that I needed to walk across, to get to my hotel) right next to the station parking lot.
An easy walk over the bridge - although, many times, I was nearly mowed over by bicycle commuters, head'n home - Naturally, I was taking photographs and not paying attention to the folks on their bikes! Got to McMenamins White Eagle, just as the first act was warm'n up. This place is my idea of a perfect hotel. You check in at the saloon downstairs, and the handful of small rooms are all upstairs. This 1905 hotel is thoroughly authentic, including having the bathroom - down the hall. A small, immaculate room, with - of course- the wonderful McMenamins art on the wall - a bed, a chair, and a sink in the corner. This a "music destination", and they have a band going every night of the week. Music to sooth you to sleep (or rock you to sleep!). And all of this for only 45 bucks a night!
The other very cool thing about this hotel location - Widmer's is just across the street! You walk out of the hotel and that wonderful brewing smell just hits you.
This is their brand new brewery.
The original brewery and the pub, is across the other street.
Having a world class brewery (I don't like Hefeweizen, but their other beers are excellent) within a few hundred feet of your hotel room, is my kind of location!
Had 1/2 pt of Nitro Irish Stout and Broken Halo IPA - both were excellent.
After a very good dinner of brawts, I stopped in at my hotel "saloon", where the bar-keep was making one of those exotic flaming drinks
And outside the door from the bar and the music stage, is an extremely nice patio area.
Where I enjoyed on of my famous $2 Cigars and a 1/2 pt of Terminator Stout. I could get used to this kind of vacation!
Friday, June 13, 2008 - It may have been Friday the 13th, but it was my lucky day! I was ready to hot foot it to most all of the brewpubs in Portland's NE quadrant. And to top it off, I had the Horse Brass Pub (as my furthest destination), to look forward to at the end of the day
Some of the interesting architecture I passed on the way....
My first stop. The Broadway Grill and Brewery, actually get their beer from their Old Market Pub and Brewery location (never did make it there).
A 1/2 pt of their British Bombay IPA, was the way to start the day.
From there a nice long and interesting walk East up Broadway, and I was at the original Laurelwood Pizza & Brewing Company (two of my favorite things). Unfortunately it wasn't quite lunch time, and I figured I could get my pizza at the next stop, their newer brewpub location. But alas, they don't DO pizza there! ;~{ But we'll get on with that in bit....
Having done a tiny little bit of copper tubing work, on my homebrew system, I really appreciated their tap handles. And I really appreciated their beer.
I'd been on their email newsletter list for years, and I was really looking forward to this stop. And I was not disappointed! I enjoyed a 1/2 pt of their cask Piston Pale Ale (I always go for the cask conditioned ale, if a pub has one on) and Le Rouge Red - both delicious!
I love it when the brewhouse is just a few feet from where you are drinking the beer.
From here, I walked north-east, up Sandy to the second Laurelwood Brewpub location.
As I said they may not have had the pizza I was looking forward to, but ahhhh, the beer! They had a fantastic Workhorse IPA, which I thoroughly enjoyed with a BLT sandwich (which I hadn't had in years) and a Tree Hugger Porter - All excellent
The brewery is right on the other side of the bar.
After a beauty of a walk, north, through some classic '30s and '40s neighborhoods....
...I arrived at the Alameda Brewpub.
Here, I followed my typical first time visit - a sampler of them all!
The El Torero Organic IPA and the Nitro Irvington Porter were my favorites - Excellent beers
They were playing neat music and the brewery was only 10' away - My kind of place
It was about 4:30 by now and I was off, heading back south on different streets, through more classic pristine old neighborhoods.... to the Belmont Station.
I was hope'n my "Internet Buddy"
Teri Fahrendorf would be working that evening, but no such luck, turned out she was attending here parents 50th wedding anniverary, back in the mind-west - so I was out of luck on that one.
They have recently added a pub and grill, to the store. They typically have five on a rotating tap, and they tease you with weekly email updates, which include their tastings from breweries far and near.
I had 1/2 pints of Erie Misery Bay IPA (from PA, 6.5% ABV), Elysian Avatarv Jasmine IPA (dried jasmine flowers, 5.6% ABV). Very interesting!
Walk through the door from the pub and into the store....
At the Belmont Station store, I was bad and got a cigar, which I enjoyed later that evening at the...
I had wanted to visit the Horse Brass Pub, for years - and I had finally arrived! This place is as classic as I'd imagined.
Even had the owner, Don Younger sitting a few stools down from me. I enjoyed a pint of Hopworks Urban Brewery's (I visited on Sunday) Cask Conditioned Organic Red (5.7 ABV, 55 IBU). I had to have the Fish & Chips ;~} and with that a 1/2 pt of Ninkasi's (Eugene, OR) Cask Tricerhops Double IPA (8.8% ABC, 100+ IBU!). All excellent!
I caught a taxi back to the White Eagle.
Saturday, June 14, 2008 - This was my day to explore the Pearl District (NW quadrant) of Portland. This is the upscale part of downtown.
Walked south, back over the Broadway Bridge, with a view of the Fremont Bridge...
Breakfast at Bridgeport Brewery. They have a wonderful bakery integrated right into the restaurant and tap room. I ate out on their patio, which use to be the loading dock, back when they manufactured hemp rope in this old classic 1886 building.
A view of the taproom, from upstairs.
Walking further into the District, I came to the Rogue Ales Distillery and Public House.
It was a tad bit early for any of their great ales, so I just took some pictures...
I also walked past the new Deschutes Brewpub and the small little Tugboat Brewpub, but these were places I'd hit a little later in the day.
Very cool downtown!
Interesting fish restaurant...
And great murals on the sides of buildings...
It was lunch time when I reached the McMenamins' Ringlers Pub @ their Crystal Ballroom
A typically untypical McMenamins' pub - Always a pleasant surprise! Had a 1/2 pt of their Terminator Stout & Veggie Pizza.
Then the bar tender was nice enough to take me up stairs to the brewery...
Tough place to work, but somebody has to do it...
Next stop was back to the brand new Deschutes Brewpub, this time to sample some of their goods.
I had a 1/2 pt of their Cask Black Butte Porter & a Nitro Double Chocolate Irish Extra Stout! (Chocolate w/ Sterling & EKG hops. 43 IBU, 6.1%). Both delicious.
But, for me, the place was just too crowded.
This classic German made brewhouse, previously had a life at a Raleigh, North Carolina brewery.
And the famous view, up the skylight of the men's bathroom, to the bottom of the grain silo, on the roof.
From a place that was overflowing with people, to the Tugboat Brewpub, where I was the only customer! They don't open until 5:00, and that's when I got there
This is the neatest little place, I really loved it! Linsel, the bartender, was a real character and extremely entertaining and knowledgeable about Portland.
I thoroughly enjoyed a 1/2 pt of their Cask Crimson & a Coffee Brown
My kind of place! ;~}
A shot of part of the brewing "equipment" - Genuine Rubermaid!
Tugboat is more on an alley then really a street, and just out the door, is Bailey's Taproom. I didn't go in, but just took this picture with the clever "Open" sign. If you look under the sign, kind of disguised with the reflection of the car, is a row of 20 tap handles.
Nice walk back to the hotel. Here's a view of Mt. Hood, through the Broadway Bridge.
After about a 5 minute break at the hotel, I was ready for more, so I walked directly north about 10 blocks, to the Amnesia Brewpub. Well it turned out to not be a typical Saturday evening at the brewery, but it sure was a great one!
They were holding the Cirque Du Cycling, a Mississippi Avenue Bike Festival. There were zilions of people and I think they all rode their bikes!
This shot gives you an idea of what kind of an interesting neighborhood this brewpub is in.
Throughout the evening, I had a pint of their Copacetic IPA, and a Slow Train Porter. Great beer!
The place was really rock'n!
Sunday, June 15, 2008 - Today it was the southeast quadrant of the city. It was a nice Sunday morning walk of about three miles to the first brewery, and there was great city scenery along the way.
Oregon Convention Center....
An interesting bike shop....
And at 11:45am, I'm the 1st customer of the day at the new Green Dragon. Spoke to Andrew, who was a wealth of "brewpub information". Andrew has a great history in the business. He helped start up the brewery end for the McMennamins, in Portland (their's was the very 1st brewpub in Portland - A city that now has more breweries then any other in the world). Andrew said they had so much trouble dialing-in their first batches, they literally were giving away their beer, to get folks to sample it. Later he worked as the restaurant/tap room manager, for what was then Portland Brewing (before Pyramid bought them out. And of course now Magic Hat has purchased Pyramid).
Andrew explained that Green Dragon had recently opened and started with a small brew system that didn't work out for them. They have a little larger unit on it's way, and he said they expect to be brewing in July.
In the mean time, they have some excellent guest taps. I spotted one of my favorites, Bear Republic's (Healdsburg, CA) Red Rocket, and settled down with a half pint of that. Andrew also gave me samples of Ninkasi Breweries (Eugene, Oregon) Wit & Lager. In, what I thought was a very nice touch, he wouldn't accept any money for the beer - just a warm and sincere "Happy Father's Day".
Andrew also gave me a nice tour of the place. As you can see, these folks are serious about brewing. Looks like they may have a bunch of barrel-aged delights in mind.
And plenty of production.
Andrew offered a sample of their "spirits", but I thought I better stick to the other kind of "spirits" (at church) on a Sunday morning! Here's their distillery.
My next stop, just a short walk away, was the...
This brewpub was definitely my kind of place.
I started with a 1/2 pt of their Black lab Stout, on cask!
And enjoyed a nice BLT sandwich for lunch.
I then had a 1/2 pt of Triple Threat IPA, wonderful nose, delicious ale!
Most everyone that came in, families, couples, etc, were wearing bike shoes. Portland is crazy with serious 20 something bike riders! Naturally a number of them also came with their dogs, but they stay out on the patio ;~}
They were playing the sound track from "The Last Emperor", which was a very cool addition to the whole experience.
Nice little brewery behind the bar.
Did I mention, this is a Bike Town! Now this is family transportation.
Practically around the corner, is the Roots Brewpub. Another very cool place. Nice seating on sidewalk.
Casual feeling, which I really appreciate.
I had a 1/2 pt of their Red Ale, very nice.
Here's another shot of the bar.
From there I walked about 3/4 mi east on Hawthorne Blvd, to the Grand Central Hawthorne Bakery & Cafe. I was in the mood for some good coffee. Well naturally I had to partake in some of the bakery part of the deal also!
Small world time. I was wearing my Sierra Nevada hat (so what else is new!), and the guy taking my order started asking about Chico, etc. Turns out he recently lived there and attended the same community college that Luke goes to. It also turned out that he had recently taken a school trip (Puerto Rico, or some such place) with the same instructor, Judith, that was leading Luke's trip in Italy. He said to have Luke say hi to her for him. I did that with my trusty Palm Pilot, and Luke relayed the message. Portland was very good about having free WiFi in most all coffee shops and brewpubs (and my McMenamins hotel).
From there I again went about 3/4 of a mile, this time south. My goal was the Clinton Street Brewpub, but it was closed ;~{ This is a very interesting older residential neighborhood, at the corner of SE Clinton St and SE 26th Avenue. The brewery is in the Clinton Street Theatre – Interesting setup. This is the smallest brewery in Oregon. They have six stools at their bar. Their Web site said you could grab a beer and take it in to watch the movie – Sounds good! My notes, from a year earlier, indicated they had just recently “moved-up” from a ½ bbl to a homemade 2 bbl system. Oh well, maybe next time.
And now another ¾ of a mile, this time southeast, to the new Hopworks Urban Brewpub.
But first, an example of the beautiful neighborhood I walked through. These 1930 and 40 homes are just classic, and well kept.
The Hopworks just opened the previous (2007) summer. They are located in a former heating oil building. The outside of the building is not so hot, but you can see they have done some very creative things to spruce it up.
But the inside was very innovative. Those are bike frames hanging above the bar. There was a lot of beautiful wood work, and the whole thing was done very nicely.
This is an all organic brewery. I had their sampler set of 11, which included two on cask. Their '08 World Beer Cup Gold, Organic IPA, was the best! I also enjoyed a great burger, along with all this good beer.
It was about 7pm by then, so I caught a taxi back to the hotel. A little later in the evening, and because I was going home the next day, I thought I better visit Widmer one more time. Mmmm a pint of IPA, and I won’t mention the dessert I also had.
Monday, July 16, 2008 - Walked up north, about 8 blocks to the Fremont Bakery & Cafe - MmmmGood! I then walked around up past Amnesia, in the Historical Mississippi District.
Back at the hotel, I checked-out and made my last walk across the Broadway Bridge.
I was right at the train station, but I had until 2:30, so I high tailed it the six blocks over to Bridgeport. In addition to a pint of cask conditioned IPA, a ½ pint of Stout on nitro, and a delicious meatloaf lunch, the U.S. Open Play Off was on TV. The timing worked out perfect, Tiger won, just before I had to leave. What a neat ending to a wonderful week.
Tuesday, July 17, 2008 - The train rolled into Chico at 5am. What a perfect vacation!
Old and new. The tin roof and original brick wall, blend nicely with a modern design hanging above the back of the bar. The top row of bottles are growlers from numerous other breweries.
