Beer Around Town

A gathering was had this week. Place… check, time… check, beer… check, Portland’s beer culture at its finest. It never ceases to amaze me the camaraderie, enthusiasm, and generosity that craft beer brings out in people. Friends, strangers, locals, non-locals, all just people that really dig good beer all meeting up for a few hours to share some good brews and stories. Sure, probably not all that different then what wine geeks do, and probably from an outsider’s perspective looks distinctly familiar to some kids gathering in their parent’s basement to play Dungeons and Dragons or something, but to me it’s beer, so it’s fricken sweet.

Henry’s 12th Street Tavern was kind enough to host our group, setting aside 4 tables for us. Tammy, the beer manager there chatted with us a bit about the beers available and what exciting  beers were on the horizon (Pliney the Younger and Consecration anyone?, yah, soon to be had there before the month is out). I think Tammy went out of her way to find the best waiter in all of Portland, cause the service was unbelievably fast, can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it in the local pubs. The generosity didn’t stop there, we were also joined by Ben Love of Hopworks who joined us for this gathering and brought along a trifecta of Hopwork’s brew including Survival Stout, Abominable, and one other, Pilsner I think.

With around 20 local beer enthusiasts in attendance the turnout was much greater then I expected. It was great to put a name to some of the faces that you see at the beer events in town. People’s cellared brews were shared and a special magnum of 1995 Chimay Grande Reserve made an appearance. 14 years in the cellar truly transformed this beer. High ester pumping carbonation subsided into a soft and comfortingly smooth palate, honey and caramel sweeten as soft clove remains still linger on in the finish, although at fraction of what once was with the spices. Oxidation was minimal, actually seeming to compliment the beer, giving an almost earthy and woody quality to it. Quite enjoyable indeed.

Other excellent beers in attendance were: Flat Earth Black Helicopter, Midnight Sun Viking, Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad, Flossmoor Collaborative Evil, The Bruery Saison Rue, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Ommegang Biere de Mars, New Glarus Raspberry Tart, and East End Smokestack Heritage Porter. (thanks to Brian for the list, I probably would have forgot all the names.)

So often people talk about Portland as a beer city, focusing solely on the beers that are produced here. Sure we have some fricken fantastic beer and an awesome amount of breweries, but often overlooked is the people that really make this place special. The 20 in attendance the other night are just a small fraction of what really makes Portland “Beervana”.  It’s the people you see in the grocery store discussing their favorite of a given style, the random stranger who overhears your conversation about a upcoming beer release and chimes in, the beer manager or brewer sharing their enthusiasm with their patrons. Portland is like no other city in that regards.