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Category: beer

Review: Backswing Brewing Co., Lincoln, NE

Review: Backswing Brewing Company, Lincoln, NE In early August 2017 I was back in Lincoln NE for a family funeral and I made the effort to check out some of the new breweries in town since my last visit back in 2014. Backswing was the first of four breweries in Lincoln that I found, it is located off the beaten path in SW Lincoln not far from the Homestead Expressway and W. Van Dorn intersection. You’ll find the brewery in an industrial area in the old Blue Blood Brewing production location. As with most start-up breweries, this one was based off of a group of guys that did home-brewing and decided to take the plunge into large scale production beyond their garage. The location has a large parking lot as you can see, an outdoor fenced patio, small seating area with a few tables and a small bar (21+ only), and all of the production tanks are visible through the windows inside. They don’t offer any food on site, but do have some bar snacks (which all you have to do is ask for) and the occasional food cart outside. Check out their FB or website for dates/times. They do …

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Review: Culmination Brewing, Portland, OR

Review: Culmination Brewing, Portland, OR Back in April we visited Culmination Brewing in NE Portland (just north of NE Sandy Blvd off 21st) to do a review of their location and available beers. We have been to Culimination’s brewery a few times prior to this and have had enjoyed their beers at a few bars/taprooms around town as well, so it wasn’t a ‘new’ experience but one that we were looking forward to. As you can see, the location is in an industrial buildling with a small parking lot and on-street parking available. They do offer some food on site and they also have a small outdoor patio you can sit at and enjoy the rain or sun. They do production at this location which is behind the bar area. You can poke your head around and check out the different tanks they have and the servers are always happy to provide you with any information you may want or answer questions about their location and production. The first time we visited Culmination was just after they had opened, and they didn’t have much of their own beer on draft and what they did have was questionable at best. That’s …

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Review: Ecliptic Brewing, Portland, OR

Review: Ecliptic Brewing, Portland, OR On April 6th we visited one of the more successful and somewhat newer breweries here in Portland, Ecliptic Brewing. Located at the south end of the Mississippi St. district of north Portland, Ecliptic has provided a much needed boost to the neighborhood and local brewing scene. Founded by well known and respected brewer John Harris, who happens to be the guy who came up with the recipes for Deschutes beers: Mirror Pond, Obsidian Stout, Black Butte Porter and Jubelale, John’s now creating his own award winning brews at Ecliptic. The name might be challenging to say and spell (or know what it means), it’s based on John’s love of astronomy and the term ‘ecliptic’ is defined as the earth’s yearly path around the sun. The brewery location includes both the production and bar/restaurant. It has a large parking lot (which is always full) and some limited on-street parking. If you go during peek hours, expect to walk a bit from where you park and wait in line for a table. As you can see, they do have a large outdoor patio area that doesn’t have much coverage, so if Portland’s wet weather isn’t your thing, …

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Review: Loowit Brewing Co., Vancouver WA

Review: Loowit Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA During one of our Tuesday ‘happy hour’ adventures, we started in Vancouver and found ourselves at one of the more established breweries, Loowit Brewing Company. Opened in 2012, Loowit has been producing, and more recently (past few years) bottling, and distributing a few of their beers widely across the SW Washington and NW Oregon regions (you can find them at grocery stores). Their brewery/taproom has a definate local vibe they do offer a decent line-up of house beers, which you can get to go in growlers during normal operating hours, the location is just a taproom, they don’t offer any food. As shown, they have a small seating area at the front, along with the bar seating and a back room where the brewing production takes place along with a few picnic tables, and high-tables. They usually have local sports teams on their TVs (Timbers, Sounders, Blazers, Seahawks, etc.) when games are on. Since they don’t offer any food (except some bar snacks), you are welcome to bring something in and enjoy something with their beers. They do have a mug-club and weekend specials on their beers, so it’s a good place to stop …

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Review: Trap Door Brewing, Vancouver WA

Review: Trap Door Brewing, Vancouver, WA On Friday, March 3rd, we hit one of the up-in-comming breweries in downtown Vancouver, Trap Door Brewing. Opened in 2015, Trap Door has gone through some evolution in their beer quality and they have made some improvements to their location, adding in more food carts and a refined patio space. The great part about the craft beer industry, is that there’s room for everyone. I’ve had the conversation with many beer-geek friends and while you may not have the best product, the greatest location, or the most awesome food, there’s room for you if you’re doing it right. Their location in downtown Vancouver is quickly becoming a craft beer destination with a few taprooms and other smaller microbreweries opening up tasting rooms nearby. Trap Door fits into the Vancouver brewing scene as having a line up of beers that can hold their own and are appealing to their audience that are quickly learning that craft beer is worth the trip to find. I must say that Vancouver’s scene is just starting out (compared to Portlands) and we need to give them room to grow and should allow them to improve over time. For breweries …

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Review: Trusty Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA

Review: Trusty Brewing Co., Vancouver, WA The second brewery visited on Friday, Feb. 10th in downtown Vancouver was Trusty Brewing Company. Located just down the street from Old Ivy Taproom and Brewery (prior review to this one), Trusty is in the old Dirty Hands Brewing location at the corner of Evergreen and Broadway. The brewery/restaurant has a small outdoor patio with tables out front and a few rooms with different sized tables to accomodate small and larger parties. The interior as you can see is a lot of old wood, classic and retro decor, a couple of large boards with the available beers and some food listings and a smaller bar to sit at. The food prep area is just next to the bar, so you can watch them make your food if you so prefer. This visit was the thrid time I’ve been since Dirty Hands sold. The first couple of times the beer wasn’t as good as it was this time around. My friends and I spent about an hour talking about them and the evolution of some of the other breweries downtown. I appreciate their low beer and food prices, while offering a decent variety of beers. …

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