Awakened to a beautiful, sunny day on the coast with the expectation of adventure in Portland. The drive into the city was pleasant, with Mt. Hood visible in its glory from many miles before reaching Portland. I had booked a cheap room on the northeast side of town, near the airport, since my window repair appointment would be very close by.
Once settled in, I hooked up with the Beer Goddess. A former coworker who has moved on to full time beer journalism, living in the center of the craft beer universe, she had promised to introduce me to some local establishments and brews.
First stop was the Horse Brass Pub, where Lisa was interviewing the owner. It's blurry already what I tasted there, although I do remember a late lunch of halibut and chips. Then on to the Green Dragon, a neighborhood joint I had first visited at Lisa's suggestion back in early September, making my acquaintance with the Duchesse. The Green Dragon has recently been taken over (or saved, depending on your perspective) by the Rogue Brewery. There is a lot of controversy over this, and a lot of people nervous over whether the place will lose its character. I sure hope not.
Once again, my memory blurs as to what I drank, but it was all delicious. Perhaps the best part was sitting with Lisa and watching a parade of people stop to say hi to her. Seems like she knows everyone in the Portland beer scene, and I met a bunch of them thanks to her introductions.
We finished up the evening with a visit to Belmont Station. Besides the pub, they are a bottle shop with an enormous selection of craft beers from around the country and the world. More than 1000, I believe. Check out a current list of what they carry here. I'm pretty sure I finished the night off with a glass of Santa's Little Helper on tap, but I wouldn't swear to it under oath. Barely managed to crawl home to my room to try to sleep it off.
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