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Tried to post this yesterday but the forces of IE and Word Press were against me. Thanks goodness for Safari.
Anyways, yesterday’s mail came with a little surprise that evoked a spontaneous “Woo-Hoo” when I saw it. The Hair of the Dog Earth Day sale is like my personal signal spring has arrived. Time to reload the basement with Blue Dot and lie to my wife about how much I spent on a case.
For more info check out Hair of the Dog Brewing
After the first year writing the Champagne of Blogs, I began to get a notion of compiling some of our Portland beer knowledge into a guidebook we’d publish, either ourselves, or through a travel publisher such as Lonely Planet or the like. I did some research, and even got so far as beginning an outline of sorts, organizing recommended destinations by geographic location (SE, NE, day trips to include the Gorge, etc), outlining some general knowledge we’d want to impart (public transportation, Portland’s grid system), as well as a brief Portland brewing history. I envisioned something in the 100-150 page area, sized appropriately for the back pocket, with plenty of photos. And that’s about as far as we got, as childbirths and other projects slowly filled up our livers’ free time.
Thankfully, two British CAMRA members, Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham, have taken up the mantle, compiling what is easily the best collection of Portland beer knowledge I’ve ever seen, and expanding the book to include the ENTIRE WEST COAST, including sections on Alaska, and even a section on the eerie beer wasteland that is Las Vegas.
I received the Good Beer Guide to the West Coast
All the topics I envisioned are covered extremely well, even including a note about the Urban Growth Boundary, specs on the Aerial Tram, and a good overview of the McMenamin brothers burgeoning empire. The just-published book is by-and-large very up-to-date, with reviews of the just-opened Hopworks (they tried the IPA at OBF), Laurelwood’s Sandy location, the excellent Bailey’s Taproom, and many more.
To pick a few tiny, tiny nits, the Green Dragon is strangely (and sadly) absent, as is Produce Row, who I credit at at least the Horse Brass’ level in kick-starting Portland’s beer culture. Their fries are also incredible, and the large patio is most excellent in the summer. The book lists Max Tieger as brewer at Max’s Fanno Creek, which is pretty recent news. BJ’s locations are both listed as brewpubs; as you may have heard, brewing is being centralized at their new Reno location. Oddly, smoking/non-smoking designations are lacking, knowledge I typically find important depending on the crowd, and it seems strange that a British (no smoking) venture wouldn’t include it.
Some of my lesser-known favorites did make the cut however, including the always dangerous Basement Pub, and its somewhat safer and less smoky cousin, Beulahland. The Acropolis and Mary’s Club also made it in the book (who knew Mary’s had its own label, apparently called “Mary’s?”), as did Pix Patisserie and Stumptown (nod to friend of the blog Chris Tacy, who authored the Belgian-heavy beer catalog).
All in all, this is a book of incredible knowledge, and I’ve just scratched the surface in discussing the Portland aspects of the book. It will be a godsend as I travel (I’ve got an upcoming trip to Vegas), and I recommend anyone interested in West Coast beer pick this up immediately