Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos (especially the family photos at the end) and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post – #1.)

In this time of turmoil – not only in the US, but throughout the world – we have to work to gain perspective at times and reflect on our many blessings.  One of my blessings is my wife, Janet – we had our 45th anniversary on March 29th.  

Janet and I met in early 1979 at an evening Oregon City Planning Commission meeting when I was Chair of the Commission and she was a newly-hired Planning Department staffer.  We started dating and got engaged at the Top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco in September.  

Shortly after getting married, we even decided to attend graduate school together – my last two classes and her first two – Data Analysis for the Masters in Public Administration program at Portland State University.

It was in the early days of PCs so we had to drive in to Portland and wait with other students (sometime for 45 – 60 minutes) to have our punch cards run on the mainframe to produce a printout which we analyzed.

It was our first negotiation of the marriage – the winner would clean our bathrooms and the loser would go down and stand in line at Shattuck Hall….

I’m always thankful for the courage Duane (FDW) and Frannie (my parents) had in 1961. After visiting Oregon on a vacation the summer before, they decided we would move to Oregon with four kids – ages 8 to 14 – and without FDW having a job – to have a better life than in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Whenever I drive up the Columbia Gorge past Multnomah Falls and see majestic Mount Hood, I think of the sacrifices they made to make that move as well as remember the first time my family viewed those sights driving west on Interstate 84 to Portland when I was twelve.

So, on our anniversary, Janet and I decided to take a trip up the Gorge to the picturesque burg of Hood River – population of about 9,000 right on the banks of the Columbia River and with grand views of Mt. Hood in the background. Of course, on the way, there was a short stop for a beer and a tasty order of sweet potato fries at Thunder Island Brewing in Cascade Locks.

 Thunder Island Brewing Co.

We’ d been to Thunder Island several years ago, when it was in a rather ramshackle structure with a few picnic tables adjacent to the parking lot and the offerings were sparse.  Oh, has that changed, although unfortunately, their website doesn’t really relate the history except through several news articles in The Oregonian and Brew Public in 2021 – 2. 

The owners’ account is almost always more meaningful and personal – especially when it’s the journey of former homebrewers who followed their dream such as Thunder Island’s husband and wife ownership team of Dave and Caroline Lipps Park.

That said, the 2021 Oregonian article by former Beer Writer, Andre Meunier – updated in 2023 – does a superb job of relating the 2013 origin, the relocation and their current operations. 

Similarly, the September 2020 Columbia Gorge News story by its Editor and my friend, Kirby Neuman-Rhea provides great perspective:

“Owners Dave and Caroline Lipp embarked on a new building project and started a family all within the same year, operating their popular riverside brewery and pub under COVID-19 conditions as they prepared in late August to move from the original riverfront location 100 yards up to 601 N.W. WaNaPa Ave.”

The Lipps had to deal with high winds and the wildfires that swept the Gorge and caused the closure of all establishments relying on outdoor seating.  But the new facility is very impressive – two stories with multiple bars, several dining areas and an expansive patio. (Right after the relocation, the patio was the only area open but was well received.)

Thunder Island takes its beer seriously as documented in Andre Meunier’s aforementioned article:

“Of all the changes, the most important might be the hiring of head brewer Jen House in February of 2021. Formerly of heralded Russian River Brewing, the California maker of popular Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder beers, House most recently brewed at Hood River’s Double Mountain Brewery.

She also holds a master’s degree from University of California at Davis fermentation program, and she has brought that expertise to Cascade Locks, along with consistent quality to Thunder Island’s beers.”  (#2 – #3)

How’s that for a resume!

I’m sure the Brewery has won multiple beer awards, but again, their website surprisingly doesn’t mention these.  I did find this after a search on the web – from 2022:

“We are thrilled to announce that we took home our first Oregon Beer Award with a bronze medal for our Mrs. Pierce’s Porter. We’re honored to be amongst so many amazing breweries and medal winners. Shout out to Jen for brewing such stellar beers.”

Our server, Helmit, was great and we tasted several beers and decided to go with a sampler with these four:

(YaYa Juicy IPA, Hatchery Hazy IPA, 140 IPA and Vertical Limit Amber Ale) 

All were good, but the YaYa – their flagship – was our favorite.  Thunder Island also has a great pub menu.  We ate a shared order of delicious sweet potato waffle fries for $9 and we took a good part of it to go.

On to Hood River

We’ve made a number of trips to Hood River previously and always enjoy the quaint, but bustling, downtown area with great shops, two breweries (Pfriem and Ferment) and especially the walk along the Columbia River. It is outstanding – especially on a warm sunny day when the forecast had been cold and cloudy.  (#4)

We love both of these breweries, but with time constraints, chose Ferment on this trip. It’s a multi-storied building with a large deck on the second-floor sporting plenty of tables.  The expansive open area with a nice lawn in back of the brewery, also with picnic tables, provides additional space including an area for dogs (and kids) to roam, play frisbee, etc.

And the interior is spacious and classy with great views of the River and exposed brewing equipment. We just had time to split a beer and chose the Nelson IPA which rivaled the Thunder Island IPA. (# 5 – #6)

We had ninety minutes before our dinner reservations, so we parked a few blocks from Celilo Restuarant and strolled through downtown Hood River – a bunch of small shops – cycling, windsurfing, outdoor gear, galleries and a classic bookstore. (Janet persuaded me – with some effort – to avoid the temptation to hit the Oak Street Pub based on the Yelp review):

“While walking around Hood River I was looking for a local beer and something to snack on. I stumbled upon this place and decided to drop in. I was surprised to see they had fried Cheese Curds on the menu which was awesome! I was torn between those curds and the nachos.

I went with the curds because, when will I find curds again.The curds were just perfect. The beer selection could’ve been a bit more diverse but it was ok. Support local!”

Janet didn’t accept my contention that dining on cheese curds would significantly reduce our dinner expense. While she looked at some boutiques, I spent almost thirty minutes browsing in the Waucoma Book Store – also on Oak Street – and a very pleasurable experience. 

And I was glad, although not surprised, when viewing the Staff Recommendations section to see nine of the ten novels (all of which I’ve devoured) written by my Beerchasing friend, author Warren Easley – the most recent Beerchasing Notable. (Only Matters of Doubt was missing – the first in the Cal Claxton series and a great read.)  (#7 – #10)

Dinner

As we were waiting for Celilo to open at 5:00, I was preparing to get a photo of Janet in front of the restaurant and then a nice couple offered to take our picture.  The manager was just opening the door and heard me say that it was our 45th anniversary.

And what a classy establishment – sparkling interior, great bar, friendly and knowledgeable servers and outstanding food based on our one visit. Janet wasn’t extremely hungry and wanted the salmon burger and I gave her a few bites of my New York Strip Steak – perfectly cooked medium rare with “Rosemary and garlic roasted red potatoes, Oak Rose kale, radish and blue cheese salad, horseradish cream, red wine sauce.”

My yearning for cheese curds was quickly forgotten and we took enough home for dinner the next night (we supplemented with our remaining waffle fries from Thunder Island). (#11 – #13)

And as I suspected, the establishment, opened in 1995, is locally owned and operated – the chef and managing partner, is Ben Stenn (photo above) and they have a great philosophy:

“…..the foundation of Celilo Restaurant when it opened in 2005 (is) Ben’s philosophy, ‘Know the source, Know your people, Know your food.’”

We waited to order our drinks until after the server took our menu choices and I was ready to order a dry gin martini (up with olives) when the bar manager appeared with two flutes of champagne and said, “Happy Anniversary.”  Our experience at Celilo was a superb way to end a wonderful trip.

And to Close on the Thankful Theme….

On March 29, 1980, Janet and I were married in the Oregon City First Presbyterian Church.  It’s been a whirlwind forty-five years and I thank God every day for Janet who has been a wonderful wife, mom to our two daughters and grandmother to our four wonderful granddaughters.  And she’s also a wonderful Beerchasing companion (except to dive bars!)

Blessings and Cheers

Internal Photo Attribution

#1.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons File:Cape Horn, Columbia River Gorge NSA.jpg – Wikimedia Commons.  This image is a work of the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.  Author:
Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region – 9 September 1992.

#2, Wikimedia Commons (File:Panorama of Columbia River Shore – Hood River – Oregon – USA.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)  Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  Author:  Adam Jone Ph.D. – 29 September 2012.

#3.  Thunder Island Brewing Facebook Page.(https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1935141349959870&set=a.260315430775812).

#4. Thunder Island Brewing Facebook Page.   (https://www.facebook.com/ThunderIslandBrewing/posts/%EF%B8%8Fhead-brewer-jen-house-says-come-grab-a-pint-of-brave-noise-pale-ale-this-4-abv-/2203374693136533/).

#5. Ferment Brewing Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1212973380836468&set=pb.100063714512945.-2207520000&type=3).

#6.  Ferment Brewing Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1078275794306228&set=pb.100063714512945.-2207520000&type=3).

#7.  Waucoma Bookstore Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1059900462830808&set=pb.100064325935808.-2207520000&type=3).

#8.  Waucoma Bookstore Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/HoodRiverChamber/photos/t.100064325935808/1372035909517338/?type=3).

#9 – #10. Warren Easley Website ((https://www.warreneasley.com/).

#11 – #13. Celilo Restaurant Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=490672409735957&set=a.490672376402627).