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Travel Eats

Travel Eats: Portland beer, wine, and cocktails

This is part of a series of posts about my vacation to Portland, Oregon, in late February 2013.

Cascade's Oblique B/W Coffee Stout, brewed with Oblique Coffee Roasters' Landauer blend
Cascade’s Oblique B/W Coffee Stout, brewed with Oblique Coffee Roasters’ Landauer blend

Consider this my official round-up of PDX libations. Before going any further, I have to tell you about the beer above, which was one of the very best, most memorable beers I’ve ever had. It was a special collaboration between Cascade Brewing and Oblique Coffee Roasters that we tried on our last night in Portland, and I loved it so much that it took several minutes for our waitress to finally convince me that taking a growler on the plane wasn’t the best idea (I settled for a bottle of Blueberry, my second favorite). It has the blonde color of a lager, but the body of a stout and the most intense, in-your-face coffee flavor that I’ve ever tasted in a beer. Addictive. Still wish I could have smuggled some back to Chicago…

We did tasting flights at three breweries (Widmer Brothers, Deschutes, and Cascade), and I was impressed by the variety and character of all three. Widmer Brothers is known for their Hefeweizen, and I also was taken by their Oatmeal Stout; at Deschutes, I liked the Black Butte Porter and Chainbreaker White IPA best, and fortunately those two are available here in Chicago. Wine-wise, we visited the SE Wine Collective to sample from four local wine producers who share the space. Oregon is known for its Pinot Noir, which I don’t drink often, so it was fun to explore new territory and settle on the 2010 Division “Un” to take home. Portland offered fantastic fruit-based cocktails as well, including an ultra-fresh, basil-enhanced pineapple mojito at Andina, and my first experience with pungent drinking vinegar in the apple gin rickey at Pok Pok.

Widmer Brothers Brewing flight: Hefeweizen, X-468, Raspberry Russian, Drop Top, X-291, and Oatmeal Stout
Widmer Brothers Brewing flight: Hefeweizen, X-468, Raspberry Russian, Drop Top, X-291, and Oatmeal Stout
Deschutes Brewery flight: Chainbreaker, Black Butte, DB Hefeweizen, Bomb Squad, Old Pilgrim, and Pondhopper
Deschutes Brewery flight: Chainbreaker, Black Butte, DB Hefeweizen, Bomb Squad, Old Pilgrim, and Pondhopper
Cascade Brewing Barrel House flight: Apricot, Noyaux, Blueberry, Raspberry, Bourbonic Plague, and more (not all pictured)
Cascade Brewing Barrel House flight: Apricot, Noyaux, Blueberry, Raspberry, Bourbonic Plague, and more (not all pictured)
Ready for a five-wine tasting at SE Wine Collective
Ready for a five-wine tasting at SE Wine Collective
"Ricardo" (tequila, orange liqueur, ginger puree, pear puree, lime, cider reduction), H5O Bistro inside our hotel
“Ricardo” (tequila, orange liqueur, ginger puree, pear puree, lime, cider reduction), H5O Bistro inside Hotel Fifty, where we stayed
Apple gin rickey (Som apple drinking vinegar, gin, lemon, and soda)
Apple gin rickey (Som apple drinking vinegar, gin, lemon, and soda), Pok Pok
Vela d’Oro (Flor de Caña 4 yr. rum, orange juice reduction, Galliano cream)
Vela d’Oro (Coffee, Flor de Caña 4 yr. rum, orange juice reduction, Galliano cream), Grüner
Pineapple mojito
Pineapple mojito (pineapple amber rum shaken with fresh crushed pineapple, lime juice, basil and cane sugar), Andina

The details: Widmer Brothers Brewery & Gasthaus Pub, 929 N Russell St.; Deschutes Brewery, 210 NW 11th Ave.; Cascade Brewing Barrel House;, 939 SE Belmont St.; SE Wine Collective, 2425 SE 35th Pl.; H50, 50 SW Morrison St.; Pok Pok, 3226 SE Division St.; Grüner, 527 SW 12th Ave.; Andina, 1314 NW Gilsan St.