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Category: Review

Review: Vertigo Brewing, Hillsboro Oregon

VERTIGO BREWING, HILLSBORO OREGON On Saturday Feb. 21st, 2015 we went on a little trip to visit a couple of breweries in Hillsboro Oregon, which is a suburb just west of Portland. Vertigo Brewing is the second stop from that day. We’ve been to this brewery a few times before, so we’ve had some of their beers and new what to expect when we got there. The taproom is located next to the brewing location in an industrial park. There isn’t a lot of signage, so if you aren’t sure where you’re going it can be a bit confusing. The door into the taproom isn’t marked that well, so look for their signs. It is 21+ ONLY, so don’t bring your kids or your pets and eat before you come because this is JUST a taproom. Inside they have a variety of games you can play for free, just look along the wall for the tables of games and grab one to enjoy while you sip their beers. There are locally made pretzels you can buy to snack on which are available at the counter. The customers range from old to young, and locals to visitors from other countries. When …

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Review: Three Mugs Brewing, Hillsboro Oregon

THREE MUGS BREWING CO, HILLSBORO OREGON Saturday Feb. 21st 2015 we ventured out to a couple of breweries in Hillsboro, and this was the first stop. Three Mugs Brewing is a small taproom with a homegrown vibe back in an industrial complex. The location is pet friendly, and has no food but there is a local Hawaiian place that delivers if you’re really hungry, just ask the bartender. There is a Foosball table located in the back, and during our visit we enjoyed the blaring radio playing the classic rock station. Other side of the building is there brewing supply store, Brew Brothers (http://www.brewbrothers.biz/. You can enter either side of the building, there is a door that connects the two. Staff is super cool and knowledgeable and was interested in what we thought of their beers as we did the tasting. There were a number of other people coming in and out while we were there doing growler fills of both their beer, and picking from the 20+ other beers they had on tap. The only issue I might point out is that while this is a dog-friendly establishment, people just let them wander about so if you’re not a …

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Review: Breakside Brewing Co., Portland OR

BREAKSIDE BREWING CO, PORTLAND OREGON We decided to visit one of our old favorites, Breakside Brewing’s Dekum restaurant for this week’s ‘Wednesday Hoppiness Hour’ outing (18 Feb. 2015). Breakside has been setting the bar for quality independent micro-brewing in the Portland area since 2010. Their Dekum St. restaurant has one of the best brewery menus, combined with their constantly rotating list of outstanding beers keeps us coming back at least twice a month for many, many years. The restaurant space used to be an old car repair shop with both outside table and inside seating with long a bar area. When the weather permits, they open the large garage doors and the outside space is pet friendly. Be warned that due to the somewhat limited amount of seating, that the restaurant does fill up quickly during dinner hours, and there always tends to be families with kids around. We normally sit by the bar and watch sports on one of their two large flat screen TV’s when we go on the weekends. This time around, we were able to sit at one of the large round tables in the main floor area. The servers are usually attentive and provide quick …

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Review: Ex Novo Brewing Co., Portland OR.

EX NOVO BREWING CO, PORTLAND OREGON We visited Ex Novo on a recent ‘Wednesday Hoppiness Hour’ trip here in Portland (4 Feb. 2015). This is a non-profit brewery. For those that aren’t sure what that means, they donate 100% of the net profits to “organizations that are working to affect positive social change both in Portland and around the world.” This is not the only bar/restaurant in Portland that has this model. It prevents them from being bought out by a larger company (InBev) while producing a top quality product. They do pay their staff and owners a decent living wage, don’t mistake that for a second, just the rest of the $$ after they pay their bills and wages go towards a number of organizations that deserve support. The brewery location is close-in North Portland across the street from a neighborhood park (with baseball and soccer fields). The on-street parking is a little bit limited and you may have to walk a little bit if you go during peek hours. The inside of the brewery mixes raw-wood and cool art with an upstairs seating area, bar seating and small dining area on the main floor. The production tanks are …

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Review: Baerlic Brewing, Portland Oregon

BAERLIC BREWING, PORTLAND OREGON Baerlic Brewing in SE Portland was the fourth and final brewery we visited on Saturday, January 24th 2015. We had not been back to Baerlic since it opened and they have refined their recipes considerably since then. This was a great surprise. In the interim, we have been able to try their beers at a few festivals recently which was partly reason to revisit their location and provide you with this review. The brewery is located in the Ladd’s Edition neighborhood next to a large sports bar called Blitz on SE 11th. It should be pointed out that the brewery doesn’t have a kitchen, so no food available to order other than table snacks and they ‘highly’ recommend that you purchase something from one of the multitude of nearby restaurants and bring your own food in. There is also some great outdoor seating that is used year round. The inside seating area and bar area are bright, open, spacey, and have lots of seating available. Behind the bar they have a large board with the available beers on draft (see pictures) and they do have taster trays available to order as well as pints, growler fills, …

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Review: Pints Brewing Company, Portland Oregon

PINTS BREWING COMPANY, PORTLAND OREGON Pints in downtown Portland Oregon was the third of four breweries we visited on Saturday, January 24th 2015. This is a really cool place that’s been around for a number of years and with a good grasp on their beer production. The breweries location in Old Town is both a blessing for those that take mass transit (as it’s on the Max line) and painful for those that drive, as there is only limited metered on-street parking nearby. You can see from the pictures posted that they have two doorways to enter through at the front with a few signs and tables to sit on the sidewalk. They do allow you to take glass pints outside, so if you are willing to risk it, then you can take your pint outside and sip it under the sun, or in the case of those sitting outside when we visited, the fog. From the street, this looks like a coffee house, as the initial room you enter into is somewhat small with limited seating and a few TV’s that they show sports or whatever you ask them to turn on (Sci or History channel, etc.). We had …

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