The “About” tab of this blog states that the Tour of Portland Pubs and Bars by Thebeerchaser, will essentially be that — reviews of Portland establishments which are so numerous that the goal of visiting all sometimes seems insurmountable.  However, this general guideline can be waived if there are “compelling circumstances.”

A several day visit to Olympic National Park in Washington (a wonderful treasure in our own “backyard”) was followed by a one-night stay in Port Townsend, WA and resulted in a “compelling circumstance.”

We had picked up a brochure entitled, “Olympic Culinary Loop Adventure Map“ with a listing entitled Pourhouse stating, “Explore craft beer! Twelve rotating taps and 200 different bottled beers for here or to go…..beer garden on the beach with outdoor games.”  The name of this bar brought to mind prior history lessons regarding Depression Work Farms or scenes of Poor Houses and evoked memories of two quotes from the era:

“Uncle claims that if he files his income tax wrong he’ll go to jail, and if he files it right he’ll go to the poorhouse.” 

And of course, Will Rogers’ 1930 quote, “The United States is the only country ever to go to the poorhouse in an automobile.”

I’m inclined to think that based on some of his statements on alcohol that Rogers would approve (and possibly even visit Pourhouse if he were still around.)  To wit:  “Communism is like prohibition, it is a good idea, but it won’t work.”

or

“Prohibition is better than no alcohol at all.”

Riches Can be Found at Pourhouse

On a Thursday night after a superb dinner at Port Townsend’s Silverwater Cafe, Thebeerchaser and spouse decided to check it out, although the innocuous entrance made us wonder if it would  have the same ambiance as our motel — None!

What a pleasant surprise.  Pourhouse – just opened in February 2012 – was hopping.  Yerda (pronounced Gerda) the bartender, was extremely friendly and helpful.  She explained their twelve rotating taps of craft beer and we had two superb glasses:

• Port Townsend Brewery Reel Amber Ale
• American Brewing (Port Edmonds WA) Afternoon Delight

They do not serve food yet but patrons can bring their own or they have take-out menus from local restaurants.  Although there was no band that night, they often have live music, which drew favorable comments in the reviews.

And the claim about 200 bottled beers was no exaggeration as shown by the photo below:

But what made Pourhouse distinctive was the crowd.  Three cyclists were drinking at the bar and immediately started chatting with us.

The beer garden right on the water and with a nice view of the Olympics was hopping and included tourists and locals (a lot with their dogs) socializing, eating and drinking good beer.

And the reviews were unanimous in their praise: