The original version of this post sent to all followers of the blog a few hours ago had a glitch and was mostly clipped or cut with essentially no narrative and very few of the images included.
If you missed the full version of my latest post via email, here’s the complete story:
https://thebeerchaser.com/2025/10/29/thebeerchaser-reflects-and-recollects/
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Cheers.
Don Williams AKA Thebeerchaser
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post) (#1 – #2)
I decided to start this post which will cover a variety of topics with the pictures above provided from the “trenches” – we’re supposed to be a battleground…These were taken at the Japanese Garden by my friend, retired lawyer, Doug Blomgren, and are emblematic of the Portland, Oregon that its residents know and love. (#3)
Photo courtesy of Linda Lehmann
In the photo above, you can see the edge of the Central Business District on the left. We acknowledge some real problems including homelessness, some bad actors who engaged in past unacceptable protests and a downtown which needs rejuvenation since the pandemic.
But we don’t need the National Guard as part of the solution, so let’s move on…. before the rainy season dampens our enthusiasm for seven months.
For Those Interested in People Dedicated to the Rule-of-Law (#4)
I often tell stories or give you anecdotes from my thirty-five + years of working with lawyers – six years as the Business Manager at the Oregon State Bar and then twenty-five years at the Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt firm – first as Business Manager and the last twelve as the Chief Operating Officer.
Bob Elfers, my former boss at both the Bar and Schwabe until he retired – a wonderful mentor who was a lawyer himself – once suggested that I get counseling because I loved working around lawyers.
Schwabe, as a firm, had a wonderful organizational sense of humor. I would suggest that a droll outlook is one of the factors conducive to dealing with stress and succeeding in the legal profession.
I’ve related a number of examples in prior Beerchaser posts including:
https://thebeerchaser.com/2020/08/31/beerchasers-of-the-quarter-lawyers-part-1/ and
https://thebeerchaser.com/2023/01/02/de-files-de-files-part-ii/
I shy away from stereotypes – lawyers are often the victims of negative portrayals – but with few exceptions, the attorneys with whom I worked and associated otherwise, were admirable professionals dedicated to the Rule of Law and advocating for their clients.
In order to earn a law degree, pass the bar and champion a position, one has to have determination and pride and I believe that these are factors in what one could label “the lawyer mentality.”
A Great Example
One of the younger lawyers at Schwabe a number of years ago was a devoted runner and a colleague asked the origins of this avocation. According to one of his friends, this young counselor who was an excellent lawyer, was in high school when the first Presidential Fitness Test was given to all students:
“The Presidential Fitness Test was a national physical fitness testing program conducted in United States public middle and high schools from the late 1950s until 2013, when it was replaced with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program…
The test was initially introduced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 and has since evolved over the decades, with recent versions typically consisting of at least five exercises.
The original test consisted of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, a standing broad jump, a shuttle run, a 50-yard dash, and a softball throw for distance.” (emphasis added) (Fitness-and-health.com) (#5)
Well, our young future lawyer did the softball throw and totally messed it up – so badly that his classmates laughed at him. He was totally humiliated and went home stewing.
The next day filled with determination, he returned to school and in a track meet set a school record in the 440-yard dash. He went on to become a star cross-country athlete at Dartmouth.
Last time I heard – and it has about forty years since he left Oregon – this soft-spoken and very intelligent guy – was a very successful attorney in Portland, Maine practicing insurance, labor and employment, workers’ compensation and four other areas of law. I assume he still runs each day. (#6 – #7)
“On July 31, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reestablishing the Presidential Fitness Test, calling it ‘an important step in our mission to make America healthy again.’” (Axios.com)
I will be very interested to see if the staff and residents of the White House set an example by installing and using a climbing rope in the new Presidential Ballroom……
And Speaking of Sports
I’ve always thought of the term “equinox” in the twice-per-year solar context. According to Merriam Webster:
“Equinox descends from aequus, the Latin word for ‘equal’ or ‘even,’ and nox, the La word for ‘night’—a fitting history for a word that describes days of the year when the daytime and nighttime are equal in length.” (#8)
Well, I was happy and surprised to discover that yesterday (October 27th) was the “Sports Equinox.” Artificial intelligence states the origin cannot be attributed to one individual.
Based on my own experience, however, I have a strong feeling that a group of regulars at the historic Antlers Saloon in Wisdom, Montana came up with this descriptive term years ago over several pitchers of Budweiser on a cold October day.
(I’d like to go back and confirm this with bartender, Bernie and the bar mascot, Fritz, who I met on my 2019 road trip through Idaho and Montana.)
According to USA Today:
“It’s the 2025 Sports Equinox. Similar to a solar equinox, when the sun lines up perfectly with the Earth’s equator to signal the change of seasons, the sports seasons from the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL all align. For the only time this year, all those major professional sports leagues have games scheduled on the same day.”
“(October 27th was) the 30th sports equinox. Enjoy the opportunity because there was a 16-year period from 1985-2001 where sports fans went without one.There was just one sports equinox from 1986 to 2009, taking place in 2001 after the MLB season was paused because of 9/1.” (Professionalfootballnetwork.com)
My son-in-law, Ryan, made a compelling, but losing case that Major League Soccer should be added. I don’t know when the next Sports Equinox will take place, but why not have similar celebrations for beer, ice cream and fast food…(#9 – #11)
When “Choking” is Really Unacceptable
Now to finish on my sports theme, I was happy during the last NBA season to see PJ Carlesimo play a major role in the broadcasts during the season and in the finals. After his coaching career, he’s worked for TNT, Westwood One, Fox Sports, the Pac-12 Network, NBC, Comcast Sportsnet and is a lead NBA radio analyst for ESPN. (#12)
A Survivor
PJ is a survivor, and his coaching career spanned almost forty years. He’s probably been hired and fired by more teams than any other NBA coach besides Doc Rivers. We knew this amiable personality in Portland when he coached the Trailblazers for three years (1994-1997). Although he made the playoffs each one, he couldn’t escape the first round, was fired and then became head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
We greeted him in Portland again at my former law firm in January 1998 during an arbitration over the termination and suspension of NBA All-Star Latrell Sprewell over what is known as the “choking incident.” (#14)
“On December 1, 1997, Sprewell attacked head coach P. J. Carlesimo during a Warriors practice in Oakland. When Carlesimo yelled at him to make crisper passes (specifically asking him to ‘put a little mustard’ on a pass), Sprewell responded that he was not in the mood for criticism and told the coach to keep his distance.
When Carlesimo approached, Sprewell threatened to kill him and dragged him backward by his throat, choking him for 7 to 10 seconds before his teammates and assistant coaches pulled him off Carlesimo. Sprewell returned about 20 minutes later after showering and changing and again accosted Carlesimo. He landed a glancing blow at Carlesimo’s right cheek before being dragged away again by the assistant coaches.” (Wikipedia)
In the first step of legal proceedings that went on for years, Sprewell took his case to arbitration. The NBA and Players’ Association knew with the witnesses testifying, it made economic and scheduling sense to break the arbitration into West Coast and East Coast hearings. Since PJ and some Golden State coaches and players who were testifying, were in the midst of the 1997-8 season, it had to be scheduled around the NBA games.
As a result of a contact by Mike Fennel, a former Schwabe lawyer who became General Counsel for the Trailblazers, the NBA contacted the Blazers about a site for the Portland hearing – one with multiple large conference rooms, comfortable waiting areas, business equipment such as computers, faxes, etc.
Most importantly, they wanted secure facilities to prevent media and interested fans from interfering or disrupting the proceedings. For example, during the hearing, the NBA had security guys stationed on the roofs of surrounding buildings to keep photographers from shooting the proceedings!) Schwabe, located on five floors in a thirty-three floor high-rise fit the bill and was named as the site of the hearing.
19th Floor Conference Center – one of three floors used during the arbitration
Golden State had a game with the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday, January 29th and with Seattle on Thursday the 31st (they beat the Blazers and lost to the Sonics!) so their appearances could be worked into that window.
The Portland hearing went on for four days and we had scads of print and media reporters in our lobby trying to intercept witnesses going up to the hearing. We were clever and the NBA players and coaches surreptitiously rode up the freight elevators from the basement parking lot to the 19th floor thereby avoiding the press.
The security arrangements, negotiations over facilities and billing made it one of the most interesting experiences during my twenty-five years at the firm.
I devoted three blog posts to this story and the link to the third is below. And if you want the scoop on some of the fascinating human interest aspects such as PJ’s favorite restaurant – an Italian restaurant in West Linn where I lived – check them out.
https://thebeerchaser.com/2022/03/21/yoking-the-choke-part-iii/
Cheers
External Photo Attribution
#1 – #2. Courtesy of Doug Blomgren. October 27, 2025.
#3. Courtesy of Linda Lehman. October 28, 2025.
#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Balanced scale of Justice (blue).svg – Wikimedia Commons) This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Author: User:Perhelion, color edited by User:Deu – 12 March 2015
#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:Reáltanoda utca, Eötvös József Gimnázium. Fortepan 14630.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Foto: Fortepan / MHSZ – 1969.
#6 – #7. ChatGPT – (https://chatgpt.com/c/690143e3-ef40-832c-911e-2e2326cc66c6).
#8. Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Earth-lighting-equinox_af.png) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. (no additional attribution info available.)
#9. Wikimedia Commons (File:Brooklyn Nets vs Portland Trail Blazers.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author:
squirrel83 – 18 November 2013.
#10. Wikimedia Commons (File:Washington Football Team vs Green Bay Packers, 2021.jpg – Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: All-Pro Reels – 24 October 2021.
# 11. Wikimedia Commons (File:2024-10-14 Harbin Ice Hockey Arena Shanghai Cooperation Organization Ice Hockey Match 2.png – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BwtGX0PmPU) – 11 February 2025.
#12. Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/P._J._Carlesimo_2015_cropped.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: MavsFan28 – 26 September 2015.
#13. Latrell Sprewell Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/123246144405531/photos/pb.100042176306027.-2207520000../1131335593596576/?type=3).
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.(External photo attribution at the end of the post)
The above photo shows what one sees walking in the front door of Jerry’s Tavern and gives a good idea of what to expect inside. Those who haven’t experienced this great dive bar in the Northwest Industrial District of Portland, might wonder how a bar that’s been opened for only about eighteen months became “World Famous.”
But those who know owner Jared “Jerry” Benedetto and his wife, Lauren, and followed him when he opened Jerry’s Pizza (as a hobby) and talked about his future dream would not be surprised. Besides, the description on the door about global notability doesn’t mention a timeline. (#1)
Jerry – a guy who pursues his dreams
One of my good friends who follows Thebeerchaser wondered about my tendency to write about a lot of stuff besides just bars and breweries. He asked if I had toned down my quest to visit new watering holes.
I pointed out my recent post about my newest discovery – Top of the Hill Tavern and my list of favorite dives in that post and assured him that my journey would continue. I then responded that after writing boring memos on legal management for 40+ years, the opportunity to address a broad spectrum of topics was compelling.
As an aside, my brother-in-law, Dave Booher, who has been a frequent Beerchasing companion, just sent me an article entitled, “The Best Dive in Every State.” Having been to about 435 watering holes in the last fourteen years including about 200 throughout the US, I devoured the piece with enthusiasm.
I then sheepishly told him that I’d only been to one on the list – Portland’s Reel M Inn Tavern – a unique spot known primarily for its roasted chicken and jo jo’s, but not for its dive bar trappings. (I then asked Dave if was ready for a road trip….)
Why Jerry’s?
Well, let’s start with just the ambiance of this small (approximately 750 square feet) space, which is filled with Green Bay Packer (Jerry), Chicago Bears (Lauren), Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Blackhawk, Milwaukee Brewer and Wisconsin Badger (where Lauren got both her BA and MBA) pennants and gear. And it’s not store-bought stuff – most of it is from Jerry’s personal collection.
You’ll see photos of regulars, old beer signs (especially Hamm’s and Miller), an iced bucket of Miller High Life in bottles, untapped kegs sitting on a table and multiple TVs with games (generally not being watched except for Packer and Bear contests), Christmas lights which stay up all year and ……well, you get the picture. (#2 – #3)
In fact, Jerry’s brought back memories of one of my top-five dives in Portland I visited in 2012 – the Ship Tavern. (The Ship is about the same size, a Chicago Bears and Cubs bar, has sawdust on the floor and the front exterior is unforgettable.)
I learned about Jerry’s from my son-in-law, Ryan Keene and his dad, Ron, who both have offices nearby. Since the last time the three of us had Beerchased was in 2017 at the Labrewatory, we were long past due. (This creative enterprise was one of the casualties of the pandemic and closed permanently in 2020.)
We decided to meet for lunch which allows me to talk about another great feature of the bar – the food – a limited menu because of the small kitchen, but we loved it and it gets great reviews.
The prices are also surprisingly low – where can you get a cheeseburger for only $8, a hot dog with grilled onions for $5 or three tacos for $10? The sides are also dive bargains – chips ($1), fries ($2), chili ($3) or cheese curds ($4).
Ron and I had an outstanding meatloaf sandwich for only $10. Ryan dug in on the wings (6 for $11) and we shared their cheese curds with ranch dressing – a Midwestern tradition. (#4)
I’d never seen a meatloaf sandwich in a dive bar, but given Jerry’s Midwest focus, I assumed the inclusion of meatloaf in the menu was because some guy in Racine, Wisconsin created it in the 19th century.
But, in an effort to enlighten you, here’s what I discovered:
“The concept of meatloaf dates back to ancient times, with evidence of similar dishes found in various cultures around the world. One of the earliest recorded recipes for a meatloaf-like dish comes from ancient Rome, where a dish called ‘patina’ was served. Patina was a mixture of ground meat, vegetables, and spices, baked in a pie crust.” (Tastefood.com)
The Drinks
I had a sample of the Stevens Point Lager – a great midwestern beer and they have a reasonable tap list, but the flagship beer at Jerry’s is my favorite – Miller High Life in a bottle – the Champagne of Bottled Beer – born in Milwaukee in 1903 and flavored with Pacific Northwest hops. (See this article from Vinepair.com for the interesting story on the slogan.)
According to the personable Bar Manager, Ranessa Williamson-Callen – a Wisconsin native – they went through forty cases during the previous weekend.
Most dive bar aficionados would not hit their favorite establishment for a cocktail, but that’s again where Jerry’s breaks the mold. You can get a quality margarita, old fashioned, seven & seven, white Russian or Tom Collins.
What will bring me back, however, is the chance to have one of Ranessa’s Bloody Mary’s – also to meet Jerry in person. I’m relying on a Spring 2025 article in Portland Monthly Magazine (I would suggest this quality magazine has probably not written up a dive bar previously.)
“But the can’t-miss star here is Williamson-Callen’s impressive Bloody Mary: a 20-ingredient mix, lager back, and a skewer of summer sausage, Muenster, pickled onions, olives, and a whole pepperoncini. It’s the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever personally consumed in Portland, full stop, and an emblem of the perfected-classics ethos that guides Jerry’s Tavern.” (#5)
Fully loaded – best in Portland
Now besides beer and great cocktails, those looking for a mellow option can choose from several Jello-shots ($2) including strawberry, lemon or Malort.- a Chicago favorite. And Ranessa, spent most of the time during our lunch working on preparing pudding shots ($5) (pumpkin spice) from scratch for the rest of October.
She has a delightful personality and we chatted while she worked on making the pudding. (Fortunately, the television you see below with Stephen A. Smith pontificating was muted.) (#6)
The Other Stuff
Jerry’s has a great “juke box” with mostly country-western tunes on the “most played” list although it included numbers by Creed, 3 Doors Down and Sean Kingston (who will have time to write more songs while serving his three-year prison sentence). Surprisingly there were no selections by Meat Loaf.
There is an expansive patio immediately adjacent which also sees a lot of Miller downed on good weather days.
In short, Jerry’s Tavern is a wonderful dive bar and I will definitely return to meet Jerry and Lauren personally as well as downing one of Ranessa’s Bloody Mary’s. The following two reviews (and they are almost all positive) may help convince you that Jerry’s will, in fact, become “World Famous.”
“Jerry’s isn’t just a bar. It’s a cathedral of character…The man himself, Jerry, is behind the bar, slinging drinks like he was born for this. He’s part bartender, part therapist, part shaman. He could be my dad if he wanted to, but this morning he feels like my brother–the kind who’d bail you out of jail without asking questions.” (Yelp 12/1/24)
“This place looks like it’s been plucked directly from the Midwest and dropped in Portland’s NW Industrial area. It also looks like it’s been here for years, not days. It feels cozy and familiar without trying too hard. I have been following Jerry’s journey for the past few years.” (Restaurant Guru – 2024) (#7)
Jerry’s dream was to not just to open a bar:
“…but a community space in the tradition of a great Midwestern bar. Or, as Benedetto puts it, ‘a place to gather when times are good, when times are bad, or any time for that matter.’ ” (Oregon Live) (Photo courtesy of Michael Novak/Portland Monthly magazine.)
He’s a dreamer.
So far, so good, Jerry and Lauren!
Cheers
External Photo Attribution
#1. Linked in logo – (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-jerry-benedetto-5a69a4180/).
#2. Yelp Reviews (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jerry-s-tavern-portland?select=snWOH0M6WDbb9sp0dsHFhg) miller lite
#3. Yelp Reviews (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jerry-s-tavern-portland?select=Ngyf0LVcTCzgPXlREDj8hg).
#4. #Wikimedia Commons (File:Meatloaf on white plate.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Author: Roundhere44 – 7 March 2016.
#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bloody_Mary_2.jpg) L licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: goblinbox https://www.flickr.com/people/25977089@N00) – 15 March 2014.
#6. Yelp Reviews ((https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jerry-s-tavern-portland?select=h_PosqSFpag7lxZ7-JANZQ).
#7. Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10105147031135361&set=pb.22016580.-2207520000&type=3).
#8. Portland Monthly (https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2025/01/jerrys-tavern-restaurant-bar-review). Courtesy of Michael Novak/Portland Monthly magazine.
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened.(External photo attribution at the end of the post) (#1)
Fall is my favorite season. The crisp air and sunny days in Oregon before we have six months of daily rainfall make it a great place to live. Tailgating at football games is a hallowed tradition and the leaves fall at the same rapid pace as Bill Belichick’s college coaching career at the University of North Carolina, althugh the leaves have better interpersonal skills.(#2 – #3)
College football is now not one of Thebeerchaser’s favored topics – a sentiment reinforced today when the Oregon State Beavers lost to the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest and moved “forward” with a no-win and seven-loss season. Second-year Head Coach Trent Bray was fired the next day.
This cannot be pinned entirely on Coach Bray although he hasn’t done a good job solidifying his position by decisions and media interviews. The disintegration of the former PAC12, the transfer portal and NIL have essentially left OSU in a no-win position — literally.
For example, see below just a few recent headlines greeting Beaver fans in The Oregonian:
You get the gist…..
Not to belabor, but the first two paragraph of the third headlined article reads: (Oregon Live)
“What does rock bottom look like? It can’t look much worse than a cloudy October day in Reser Stadium where Oregon State fans booed, then bailed on the Beavers in a 39-14 loss to Wake Forest.
The Beavers (0-7) withered in every crucial moment and some players appeared to have given up on this OSU coaching staff under head coach Trent Bray.”
Although you might accuse me of living in the past, it’s especially painful since I was there during the Giant Killer era. The memorable highlight was in 1967 when the Beavs beat the OJ Simpson led #1-ranked USC Trojans 3 to 0 following an earlier season win over #2 Purdue and tied then #2 rated UCLA. Coach Dee Andros celebrates the USC win with his players in the photo below. (#4)
Tough to Watch but Fodder for my Introduction
Now my wife and I laugh because she is an Oregon Duck and our older daughter graduated from the University of Washington and married a third-generation, Husky. We love our respective alma maters because of the great educations we received, but football has been a fun topic of banter for years.
I currently serve as Vice President of the Abbey Foundation of Oregon and my responsibilities included helping to organize our recent Board retreat including introducing all of the speakers during that day and one-half gathering at the beautiful Mount Angel Abbey Hilltop. (#5)
One of the speakers was the President Rector of the Seminary, which is now doing very well after downturns and hardship during the pandemic. The backgrounds of Fr. Jeff Eirvin and his predecessor, Monsignor Joseph Betschart – both OSU grads – gave me a perfect opportunity to tap into the current football season in my intro. (see the excerpt below)
“After reflecting on the opening three weeks of the college football season, my wonderful wife of 45 years – by the way, she’s an Oregon Duck – exclaimed:
‘Don, it must be tough for you and other Beavers to watch OSU football this year.’
I responded:
‘Well Janet, while we won’t match U of O Football results in the near future – or ever – our mission at OSU is to continue to build an academic program our football team can be proud of.”
Today’s speaker is an example, and I pointed out to Janet that the last two President Rectors of the Seminary have both been Beavers. Msgr. Betschart, who served in that role for twelve years, graduated from OSU with degrees in nuclear engineering and general science and served five years in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program.
Fr. Jeff Eirvin received a BFA from Oregon State and worked in the field of advertising as a graphic designer prior to entering Mount Angel Seminary in 2005. After completing two years at Mount Angel, he completed his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in Rome.” (#6 – #7)
There’s Nothing Artificial About This Guy – the Newest Beerchaser Notable
Moving from football to more intellectual and weighty topics, let’s for a bit, cover artificial intelligence. Some synonyms for “artificial” include “pseudo,” “fake” and “phony” but reading just a few of the articles on this phenomenon would not incline you to use one of these labels to describe this technology.
If one uses a common search engine to inquire, “Is AI a trend?” 6,050,000 potential hits will appear. I haven’t used ChatGPT or any other AI model to help me write; however, a few of my recent blog posts have AI generated images (check the one with the football above). Long term, I’ll admit to more trepidation than optimism on this concept.
That’s why I’m glad that I know an incredibly talented young man named Kevin Frazier. We met in 2022 when he was in his third year at UC Berkley Law and edited a politically oriented on-line newsletter. He can now list on his incredible resume, the designation of “Beerchaser Notable.”
He asked me to submit a few articles recommending the perfect bar or brewery for each of the major Oregon Gubernatorial candidates to hypothetically chat with constituents to discern what was on their minds. I republished them in my blog. (#8) https://thebeerchaser.com/2022/04/29/beer-and-politics-part-1/
A Bright Future
Kevin graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oregon in 2015. He then earned his M.P.A. at the Harvard Kennedy School and subsequently received his JD at Berkley Law where he was Order of the Coif and passed the California Bar in 2022.
The title of this blog post is about aspirations and I had aspired to recruit Kevin to Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, my former law firm, but after a six-month fellowship at the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, he received a prestigious one-year clerkship for the Montana Supreme Court.
Now, I received my M.P.A. at Portland State rather than Harvard, but I still had some great conversations with Kevin (he used a less erudite vocabulary) and that’s when I realized that rather than billing clients $500+ an hour, he should use his education to better serve humanity.
He is a true “policy wonk” in the most positive sense of the term. (#9 – #10)
I was therefore very pleased when he accepted a teaching position at the St. Thomas University Benjamin Crump School of Law in Miami, Florida, which welcomed him with an article entitled, “Incoming STU Law Professor Kevin Frazier Selected for Auschwitz Professional Ethics Fellowship Program.”
Concurrently, he was working as a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Law and AI and they persuaded him to leave teaching to join them in a full-time position. It’s an independent think tank that researches and advises on the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
I haven’t figured out (and Kevin’s partner probably hasn’t either) how he has enough time to also serve as a fellow for the Lawfare Institue:
“(The) mission is to produce scientific content on lawfare and the analysis of emblematic cases of the phenomenon. Lawfare is the misuse and abuse of law for political and military ends. It is the injunction of the words law and warfare for it is a legal war.”
Kevin Can Enlighten You Too!
Kevin authors a Substack publication entitled Appleseed AI. It offers essays, videos, and community chats about how to spread AI literacy and make the ingredients for AI innovation more generally available. This is a neglected topic that warrants far more attention. (#11)
An edifying publication
Subscribing to it has given me an education, of sorts, on AI – most notably the policy issues surrounding its implementation and future development. Kevin is an optimist and while I think, at times, he may be just a bit naive about society’s cooperative ability to harness and control this technology, I will leave you with why he has become a sought-after expert.
In his 9/22 article entitled “Mr. Frazier Goes to Washington,” he relates his testimony and that of three other experts before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet. (#12)
I’m biased because of my high regard for him, but the full testimony is shown in a video and I think the Subcommittee directed most of the questions to him. Unlike the disgraceful appearance of Attorney General, Pam Bondi last week before a very partisan Senate Judiciary Committee, this hearing was very bipartisan and informative – in large part because of the cogent expert testimony.
I urge you to check it out and subscribe to Kevin’s publication.
And on a Final Note….
Happy Halloween and be kind to Trick-or-Treaters. In Portland, however, we will unfortunately be cautious about answering the door for a masked person — unless we have our passports handy…(#13)
External Photo Attribution
#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Acer saccharum Equinox Mountain Vermont.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Famartin – 17 October 2020.
#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:Bill Belichick 2019.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author:
AlexanderJonesi – 6 October 2019.
#3. ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com/c/68ec46d1-bcf8-8328-b304-bf43c5b37d93).
#4. Oregon State Athletic Dept. (https://osubeavers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/dee-andros/43).
#5. Mount Angel Abbey (https://www.mountangelabbey.org/).
#6. Facebook Fr. Jeff Eirvin (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1876536385944106&set=a.1448964055368010).
#7. Mount Angel Abbey ((https://www.mountangelabbey.org/wp-content/uploads/MAL-Summer-2024.pdf).
#8. The Federalist Society (https://fedsoc.org/bio/kevin-frazier).
#9. Linked in – Kevin Frazier ((5) Kevin Frazier | LinkedIn).
#10. Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=kevin%20frazier%20attorney).
#11. (https://appleseedai.substack.com/).
#12. Appleseed A1(https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#search/appleseed/FMfcgzQcpnVJtwBJKfpKPgTpdprgMVbZ).
#13. (https://chatgpt.com/c/68ec46d1-bcf8-8328-b304-bf43c5b37d93)
Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post)
Those of you who follow this blog know that I write about both bars and breweries. Having posted reviews of 400+ since I started this retirement hobby fourteen years ago, my favorite genre is dive bars.
That said, while my wonderful wife loves breweries, dive bars are not on her dance card. (I might add, her definition of a dive bar and mine are quite different.) One notable exception was on a 2016 road trip in California to Yosemite National Park where we spent one night in Sacramento and I persuaded her to raise a mug in the world’s most literal dive bar.
While at the bar, I asked bartender, Jason, how the title of the bar was derived. He immediately responded, “Take a glance upward. You see that 7,800 gallon aquarium? (To put in perspective, that would be about 503 kegs of beers.) A few nights each week, we also have “mermaids” swimming in that tank. Now do you understand how we got our name.?”
A Recently Discovered Portland Dive , But First….
Before I tell you about the Top of the Hill Tavern, my newest dive on Portland’s east side, it may be worth reminiscing (at least for me) about some of my Oregon favorites. Our travel has taken us to bars and breweries throughout the US and even a few in Europe, but it seems the best are close to Portland. (By the way, it’s a wonderful place to live….)
https://thebeerchaser.com/2024/02/02/dont-jump-when-you-can-dive/
In Portland dives, the PBR, Hamms and Budweiser flow like a mountain stream cascading down the slopes of Mount Hood in early spring. (#1)
Sky Blue Waters
The photos shown below are my five favorites – The Ship (2012), the Mock Crest Tavern (2012), Gil’s Speakeasy (2017), The Standard (2018) and Yur’s Bar and Grill (2020).
Yet, I can’t forget the Oregon Coast where at these five watering holes, the frothy head in your mug is like a wave at its foamy crest just before crashing onto the pristine white sand before receding for another cycle. (#2)
Thats when on a 2014 Road trip with two friends (Dave Booher and Steve Larson), we hit twelve bars on the coast in 2.5 days with these four making the all-star list in addition to the Desdemona Club (The Dirty D) in Astoria in 2012.
The Sportsman Pub and Grub (Pacific City), the Old Oregon Tavern (Lincoln City), Mad Dog Country Tavern (Newport) and the Tide Pool Inn (Depoe Bay) garnered the other four top spots. (#3)
I had driven by the Top of the Hill numerous times – an inconspicuous building with a large parking lot, but no other businesses or homes around. My intent last March was to visit it with my long-term Beerchasing friend, Hillary Barbour.
But I messed that one up and told her to meet me at the Hi-Top Tavern which is only 3.6 miles away or a nine-minute drive from Top of the Hill. We enjoyed the Hi-Top, but it was a classy neighborhood bar and definitely not a dive. So, we resolved, the next time we Beerchased to dive at the Top of the Hill. (And it was worth it.)
I’m a fast learner, so I cautioned Hillary that we were going to the Top of the Hill in NE Portland – not the bar with the same name in Kaimuki, Hawaii or Babe’s Boys Tavern at the Top of the Hill in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Similarly, we were not going to raise a mug at Top of the Hill Bar in Cork, Ireland or at North Carolina’s first microbrewery, the Top of the Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Chapel Hill (which even has its own Wikipedia page.)
And just to rub it in, Hillary admonished me not to show up at Top O’Th’ Hill – a family-owned American bar in Bridgewater, New Jersey, even though they have an outstanding butternut squash soup.
But as you can see below, we did meet on a Saturday afternoon at the right watering hole and joined a few regulars in relishing the “ambiance.”
I’ve known Hillary since shortly after her graduation from Reed College in Portland, when she was a Research Intern for the City Club of Portland and I was on the Research Board. She has had an impressive career including almost twenty years working on the staff of recently retired US Representative, Earl Blumenauer. (#4)
Effectively served Oregon for thirty years.
Subsequent jobs have been in marketing and strategic planning for both private and non-profit corporations. Friends call her “Hill,” so perhaps the venue that day was appropriate.
Our server, Amber, who is a long-time employee of the bar said the owner is a nice guy and they have a good group of regulars – a community. Amber was personable and welcoming.
Most of the Top of the Hill reviews are positive and it seems that people really like this laid-back place. People appreciate the low-key atmosphere, the pool tables and old-fashioned beer signs, the friendly staff and karaoke on Friday and Saturday. And they have a good juke box. Two reviews sum it up nicely:
“I love this neighborhood bar! It has a cozy, comfy feel. All of the bartenders have made me feel welcome. Some of them have told me the owner is great to work for and that matters to me. It’s not fancy or extravagant by any means. Just a great place to hang out and get to know your neighbors. (Yelp 2023)
and
“Just a small trashy bar, but it’s my small trashy bar. The food is mediocre at best, and the pool tables are the worst I’ve ever played on, but the experience is like living in an episode of trailer park boys. Nobody is here to impress anyone, so everyone kinda lets their guard down more than usual, it’s a great place to meet people in a very casual setting.” (Restuarant Guru.com) (#5)
And you are not going to find less expensive pub food at many other places with a cheeseburger and side for $6.50 and large basket of fries or onion rings for $5.50. A turkey sandwich with chips rings up for only $7.00 or a skad of wings for $5. Draft beers (a reasonable selection) are $5 to $6 with a buck off during Happy Hour.
Sundays are good with a rib dinner – four ribs with two good sides and bread for $18. Want chicken instead of red meat, well the barbecued chicken dinner, sides and bread is the same deal. (#6)
I mentioned that Hillary graduated from Reed College – a liberal institution with outstanding academic credentials. And the school made Portland headlines recently:
“Reed College students and alumni are grappling with the recent revelation that a campus security official provided federal investigators with personal information about a former student, ultimately resulting in his arrest. The disclosure has sparked significant backlash, particularly given the college’s reputation for inclusivity and its progressive values.
According to court records unsealed last week, FBI agents arrested Robert Jacob Hoopes, a 24-year-old Reed alumnus, on July 25. The records detail how Gary Granger, the college’s director of community safety, accessed an internal database containing personal information about students and alumni to hand over Hoopes’ name, address, and phone number. This cooperation allegedly occurred without a warrant or subpoena.” (Reed College Campus Safety Newsletter) (#7)
Granger was subsequently fired but given the misguided and unnecessary federal intervention to deploy the National Guard, Reed alums are wary that they may have been “identified.”
There have been Blackhawk helicopters flying low over Portland neighborhoods and knowing Hillary might have been in that database, we searched the sky while walking to our cars. (After all she worked many years for a Democrat….)
I have almost avoided political issues on this blog, but these times warrant a comment.
A Trump-appointed federal judge yesterday, temporarily blocked the National Guard deployment to Portland although there is no shortage of masked ICE troops at what have been largely peaceful demonstrations in the last year – basically some individual arrests by the Portland Police.
To put today’s protests into perspective, here’s what the data show:
“Arrests in 2020: 1,071. In 2025: Around 60 over the past four months.
Location in 2020: Across the city. Location in 2025: One to two blocks in South Portland.” (Oregon Live October 5)
Portland faces significant issues – most notably homelessness. The violent and lengthy protests in 2020 were deplorable and our city still bears the scars, but that is clearly not the current situation.
Leave us alone to drink our good coffee and great craft beer and we will continue to work on resolving our problems civilly and locally. (#8 – #9)
Cheers
External Photo Attribution
#1. WordPress generated AI image.
#2. Picsart.com AI (https://picsart.com/create/editor?category=miniapps&prompt=a+black+hawk+helicopter+with+an+x+over+it&projectId=68e1febafa021d2faa2b576d&app=t2i&version=1.86.2).
#3. Desdemona Club Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=275454077925770&set=pb.100063835381277.-2207520000&type=3).
#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Earl Blumenauer, official portrait, 116th Congress 2 – Earl Blumenauer – Wikipedia) This United States Congress image is in the public domain. Author: House Creative Services, Kristie Baxter – 16 October 2019.
#5. Yelp photos (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/top-of-the-hill-tavern-portland).
#6. Wanderlog.com (https://wanderlog.com/place/details/3441887/top-of-the-hill-tavern).
#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:EliotHallReedCollege.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Author: User.cacophony – 25 February 2007.
#8. Wikimedia Commons (File:Portland from Pittock Mansion October 2019 panorama 2.jpg – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: King of Hearts – 28 October 2019.
#9. Picsart.com AI (https://picsart.com/create/editor?category=miniapps&prompt=a+black+hawk+helicopter+with+an+x+over+it&projectId=68e1febafa021d2faa2b576d&app=t2i&version=1.86.2).
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