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: Ancestry Brewing, Portland, OR

Review: Ancestry Brewing, Portland, OR In late April 2017 we visited Ancestry Brewing’s Sellwood (SE Portland) neighborhood location. We had been to the SW Portland location a few months prior and were exicted that there was a closer in location. They provide the same lineup of beers at this location, but no production on site. It’s just a taproom and restaurant in a newer commercial building in the Sellwood neighborhood. You may have to walk a bit if you go during peek hours as there is only on-street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. There is a dining room (kid friendly), to-go fridge (off sale), and small bar you can sit at next to the open kitchen. Their menu ranges from sandwiches, seafood, burgers to salads, pretty traditional fare without breaking the bank. They do offer up a full lineup of beers, we decided to go with the all of their tasters which came in a few rounds. The server was super friendly and chatted with us about each set of tasters that she brought. They do have a couple of large TV’s that they have sports on most of the time, so if you’re wanting to watch some soccer, baseball, …

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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: Great Notion Brewing, Portland, OR

Review: Great Notion Brewing, Portland, OR One of the great new additions to the Portland brewing scene in 2016 is Great Notion Brewing. I have been able to visit them a few times since they opened and most recently on Feb. 7th, 2017 with a few of my beer loving friends for happy hour. Great Notion is known for pushing the flavor boundaries of barrel aged and unfiltered beers, most notibly their fruit and sour beers. The one warning I have to give about this great brewery, is that they are an all ages restaurant, so unless you can handle being around a lot of kids, you might want to try and visit them during later hours. The brewery is located in the former “Mash Tun Brewing” location on NE 22nd, just south of NE Alberta St. next to Pine St. Biscuits. They are in the heart of the Alberta Arts District and have a lot of local customers but their parking is limited to on-street so you may have to walk a little bit to get there if it’s during regular dining hours. The front of the business is pretty non-descript with a sign above their front door and …

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Review: Victor-23 Brewing, Vancouver, WA

Review: Victor-23 Brewing, Vancouver, WA One of the newest breweries in Vancouver, Victor-23 Brewing opened back in September 2016 and is going strong today. Their name is based on the historical figure D.B. Cooper, who hijacked a commercial flight out of Portland and jumped from it over the Cascades with $200,000 in randsom money, never to be seen again. They use the airline and parachute theme with their branding and decor at the brewery location with some great artwork, and the name Victor-23 was the call-sign of that infamous flight. It works pretty well in creating a unique environment to enjoy their local brews. As shown, you can see a pretty good sized brewing system in place and they’ve started barrel aging some of their beers recently. They are also doing some custom blends with smaller batches to experiement with the product. You have to ask for them at the bar, they are not on the beer list. One of the great things about them, is that they are located less than 2 minutes away from my job, so I’m able to stop by on a Friday for drinks with my friends without much hassle. I was lucky to visit …

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