Beer Chaser Miscellany V and The Davis Street Tavern

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Thebeerchaser

An Evening at the Davis Street Tavern

Thebeerchaser offers these tidbits and a quick commentary on the Davis Street Tavern – more of a restaurant than a pub, but worth a cursory review based on our visit. However, first a few miscellaneous Beerchaser items:

This Beer Really Hops

Thebeerchaser’s youngest daughter, when she was in grade school, had a wonderful frog collection – ceramic amphibians, posters, stuffed frogs like teddy bears, etc. Each time I had a business trip, I would seek out and bring home an addition to that collection, which grew to be almost 100 in number.

The remnants of a once great amphibian collection…..

Frog Poster from Collection

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As her aggregation grew larger, it became more challenging to find suitable new toady trinkets. While at a conference in either St. Louis or Chicago, I was therefore quite proud of myself to find a unique amphibian addition – Bad Frog Beer! A pub I discovered, featured this product which had interesting roots in Michigan.

I consumed an excellent light-colored amber beer and decided that the empty bottle with the amazing Bad Frog logo would be a unique supplement to the group of polliwogs in my daughter’s room. The bottle survived a suitcase ride home and my daughter liked it. Thebeerchaser’s spouse, however, had better judgment – and you will probably understand and support why she did not accept my assertion that our young collector did not yet understand the underlying message conveyed by this rebel frog.

From the Bad Frog Brewery –

The Bad Frog story is quite interesting and you should visit this link to their website to see their story and perhaps even purchase a sweatshirt.

Jim Wauldron, the founder, was not a brewer, but a graphic artist and t-shirt designer, who created the image and merchandise – but no beer – much to the consternation of people throughout the country who wanted both the t-shirt and the non-existent beer. According to their website:

“Well we did learn about beer and started brewing in October 1995. Then the whole thing went BESERK! We’ve expanded to 25 states and overseas. We were BANNED in 8 states. The banning of the Beer and the non-stop legal battles with each State prevented the expansion of the Beer, but BAD FROG fans all over the world still wanted the BAD FROG merchandise. We’ve been featured on CNN, CBS, NBC, FOX, and ABC. BAD FROG was even featured in PLAYBOY Magazine TWICE.”

The legal challenges resulted because of the frog’s none-too-subtle extension of what is presumed to be its middle finger. Liquor boards in multiple states banned the beer. Eventually the US Second Court of Appeals overturned the New York State Liquor Authority‘s ban on selling Bad Frog Beer in an interesting and extremely entertaining First Amendment case Bad Frog Brewery, Inc. v. New York State Liquor Authority 134 F.3d 87 (1998).

Lawyers would love the language from the court opinion which has some great footnotes and includes,“…..(The logo) is patently offensive’ and presumably a suggestion to have intercourse with oneself.”

And a February Oriented Bar Joke……

Thomas Edison (born on February 11, 1847) walks into a bar. The bartender says, “I’ll serve you, but don’t get any ideas.”

: The Ultimate Idea Man – Born in February

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The Davis Street Tavern

Happy Hour at the Davis Street Tavern with Janet Williams and Kate and David Dickson

Several months ago, Thebeerchaser and spouse, Janet, were joined by our good friends, David and Kate Dickson, for a happy-hour repast at the Davis Street Tavern. Dr. Kate is one of the most knowledgeable authorities on secondary education in Oregon, or for that matter in the US. David, the retired VP of Development for Marylhurst University, is a Stanford University grad and earned his graduate degree at the U of O.

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He is one of the brightest and wittiest minds you can find – for example on backpacking trips he sings country-western tunes such as “She was only a bootlegger, but he loved her still…..”

This statement on his mental acuity begs the question, “Just how bright is he?” Well, let’s use this example of dialogue from David’s sophomore linguistics class in Palo Alto:

Professor: “In English, a double negative forms a positive. In some languages though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.”

David: “Yeah. Right…..”

Our last Beerchaser Tour adventure with the Dicksons was at the delightful Muddy Rudder Public House in Sellwood. (see review in this blog in April 2012)

The guidelines for Beerchaser’s Tour of Portland Bars and Tavern disdain taverns which are primarily restaurants and this establishment comes close. An abbreviated review, however, is warranted since it does have a great Happy Hour (Mon. – Fri. – 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday – 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.) There is also a nice late night menu from 9:00 until midnight.

Opened in 2008, it is still almost pristine and has very nice dark wood interior – “It handsomely preserves a piece of Portland’s past, with sandblasted beams and pillars, original brick interior walls and acres of polished wood for a splendidly burnished effect.” (The Oregonian – April 2009)

The bulk of the space is occupied by the restaurant in what Portland Magazine described as a “roomy pub atmosphere.” The Bar is located by the front entrance. It reminded me of Interurban on N. Mississippi Ave. – a nice place, but none of the character of a good neighborhood or dive bar. One doesn’t patronize based on the ambiance.

This description from Portland Barfly in 2009 is an apt description: “Don’t let the name fool you. This isn’t a tavern, but an upscale (fairly expensive) restaurant……The dining area is much bigger than it appears from street level with a front bar/dining area, a huge dining area in the back, and an upstairs. The atmosphere is cozy with dim lighting and the décor is rather rustic with the original brick walls and timber beams left over from when the building was constructed.”

Another nice touch as stated in their website: “We proudly show artwork generously provided by Butters Gallery,” as evidenced by the following work displayed in the bar when we were there.

Davis Street Tavern 500 NW Davis Street

Portland Weather During the Winter Months

Yes, it gets frustrating living in The Rose City when daily cloudy skies and rain are the standard for the Northwest between October and April. This old gem in Thebeerchaser’s newspaper files – it’s old enough that Phil Stanford was still writing a column in The Portland Tribune (2001-08) – summarizes it well.

“A guy gets off a plane at PDX and its raining…..He checks into his hotel and next morning it’s still raining……Next day, same thing. And the next……A week later, he’s waiting for a cab to take him back to the airport and, would you believe it, it’s still raining……He spots a paperboy in the lobby. ‘Kid,’ he says, ‘Doesn’t it ever stop raining around here?’ ……’How should I know,’ says the kid, ‘I’m only 12.'”

The Rain Cycle – That means over and over and over…….

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Now Get That Snack After Reading This Closing Note……..

In the November General Election, voters in Washington approved the sale of marijuana subject to State regulations. Washington also privatized the sale of liquor, which has had an unintended consequence – the price has risen causing many people to flock to Jantzen Beach just over the Oregon border to buy their hooch. This prompted one letter-to-the-editor which summarized the situation very succinctly:

“With the Washington marijuana initiative passing and the Oregon one failing, and the increase in Washington residents traveling to Oregon to buy cheaper liquor, building a new Bridge over the Columbia River is now an imperative.”

The Columbia River Crossing —- Now and Imperative!!

Happy New Year 2013 – Beerchaser Miscellany IV

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Thebeerchaser

Excellent Draft Beers at the Wet Monkey Café in Astoria

Excellent Draft Beers at Astoria Brewing Company’s Wet Dog Café in Astoria

As we commence 2013, those of you who are intellectually challenged (or bored) may be asking, “What did Thebeerchaser accomplish in 2012, in the second year of his Tour of Portland Bars, Pubs and Taverns? Is said Tour still alive and healthy?”

Although a biased commentator, my answer to the latter question is “Yes!” based on the data shown below, which includes twenty-two watering-holes last year and eight public houses during five months in 2011.

Establishments Visited in 2012 *1

Neighborhood Bars – County Cork, Muddy Rudder Public House, Hawthorne Hideaway, Laurelthirst Pub

Dive Bars – Ship Tavern, Bar of the Gods, Dixie Tavern

Historic or Classic Bars – Claudia’s, White Eagle Saloon, Lutz Tavern, Cheerful Tortoise, Mock Crest Tavern

Bars that Defy Classification – 1856, Gold Dust Meridian, Bottles, Interurban, Ash Street Saloon

Brew Pubs – Migration Brewery Pub

Bars Outside of Portland – Embers Brew House (Joseph), Desdemona and Wet Monkey Café (Astoria), PourHouse (Port Townsend, WA)

*1 The Davis Street Tavern was visited but the review will be posted in 2013.

Former Portland Mayor Bud Clark, Attorney Jim Westwood and Oregonian Columnist John Terry at the Goose Hollow Inn

During my career in legal management, I analyzed many statistics and trends. Figuratively regressing, I would suggest that visiting and reviewing a bar every 16.6 days (15.9 if one counts the Davis Street Tavern) in 2012 was a reasonably ambitious schedule and compares favorably with the partial 2011 year (starting in mid-August) in which the average days between visits was 17.1 – and no visits were made to bars outside Portland.

A Question of Priorities

The Embers Brew House and Pub in Joseph, Oregon added venues outside Portland

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Keeping in mind my former co-managing partner’s favorite quote: “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts – for support rather than for illumination,” further analysis reveals other critical relationships and possible development of an esoteric null hypothesis.

For example, the Historic Bar class representing 26% of the bars was the most frequent type visited followed by Neighborhood Bars and Pubs Outside Portland in second place with 17% and Brew Pubs with only 4% of the visits last year. It’s very interesting to note that the average visits for each category is 16.5% with a standard deviation of 7.6%. Clearly, Brew Pubs need closer scrutiny in the coming year if the deviation from the mean is to be diminished!

: The White Eagle – Historic on the Exterior and the Interior –

To impress my son-in-law who is an engineer, I tried to work in the radius of gyration function into these statistics without success. But let’s momentarily digress to help educate readers on the benefits of beer-related topics and how they relate to the scientific method………..

Boyle’s Law, for example, may be encountered in beer production given that breweries are closed systems with constant temperatures and its worth toasting (with your favorite microbrew) the inverse relationship of pressure and volume in the given mass of confined gas within the vats as fermentation occurs……..

Critical advances in chemistry by Robert Boyle with alcohol experiments….

Another pioneer in chemistry influenced by my favorite brew was Joseph Priestley, an 18th century English clergyman, philosopher and chemist, whose house was next to a brewery. He began to experiment with the gas given off by fermenting beer and discovered a method of impregnating water with the carbon dioxide by placing a bowl of water above a vat of fermenting beer – thus inventing soda water.

Joseph Priestly used this equipment in experiments with beer in the late 18th century.

2012 Beerchasers

We also named a number of individuals or groups as Beerchasers-of-the-Month or Quarter. They included:

Musician and consultant Forrest Green, Coach Mike Riley and the OSU Football Team, Former OSU and NFL football star, Craig “Dude” Hanneman for his Mt. Everest climb in May, the Crew of the USS Constitution.

Also Portland State Professor of Economics, Dr. John Walker, Oregonian history columnist, John Terry and Princeton Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and author of the brilliant book, On Bullshit, Dr. Harry Frankfurt.

If you read one book in 2013, make it Dr. Harry Frankfurt’s “On Bullshit.”

2011 Establishments Visited

Between August 2011 and the end of the year, we visited eight establishments which were a superb commencement of Thebeerchaser Tour of Portland Bars including:

Getting the Boot from Emily the Bartender at Prost in 2011

Neighborhood Bars – Gladstone Street Tavern and Brooklyn Park Pub

Dive Bars – Joe’s Cellar and Yukon Tavern

Historic or Classic Bars – Buffalo Gap Saloon

Bars that Defy Classification – Prost

Brew Pubs – Amnesia Brewery Pub, Coalition Brew Pub

The Yukon Tavern – one of the proverbial Dive Bars visited in the first year of The Tour

2011 Beerchasers

Those honored with this designation last year included:

Crime Novelist James Crumley, retired chemical engineer Harold Schlumberg and four bartenders of the initial bars visited as follows:

Emily – Prost

Dave – The Twilight Room

Natasha – Gladstone Street Tavern

Natasha - A Great Bartender from the Gladstone Stree Tavern

Natasha – A Great Bartender from the Gladstone Street Tavern

Phoebe – The Brooklyn Park Pub

Please continue to give me suggestions on both public houses worthy of a Beerchaser visit and candidates for Beerchaser-of-the-Month.

And if you are really curious and lack meaningful life activity, the radius of gyration is defined as “the name of several related measures of the size of an object, a surface, or an ensemble of points. It is calculated as the root mean square distance of the objects’ parts from either its center of gravity or a given axis.” An explanation and the formulae can be found at the above link in Wikipedia or any good engineering textbook!

Thanks to the 40 “followers” on this blog and we are encouraged with the increasing number of visitors that averaged about 800 per month in the second half of 2012.

Happy New Year!

So many establishments and so little time!!

Beerchaser Miscellany III

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Thebeerchaser

It’s Time for Pumpkin Ale….!

: When the Suds are on the Pumpkin and……

Ben Franklin once said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy,” however, seeing ads for such malty concoctions as Chili Ale and Coffee Beer, make Thebeerchaser yearn for the good old days when Blitz, Rainer, Schlitz, Oly and PBR were the standard. That said, I was intrigued by the idea of Pumpkin Ale and decided it would not only be worth tasting, but could also decorate our porch during Halloween and into Thanksgiving.

I checked my favorite pub for esoteric brews – “Bottles” – on NE Fremont (see thebeerchaser review in July 2012) and the bartender said they had eight types. (I might add that a new wine and beer bottle shop “1856” opened only two months ago on North East Prescott Street and rivals the selection available at Bottles. It’s worth checking out.) I chose the four pumpkin ale options from Bottles as shown below:

Wasatch Brewery – Salt Lake City – “Pumpkin Seasonal” (brewed with natural pumpkin and spices)

Unita Brewing Co. – Salt Lake City Utah – “Harvest Punk’N Ale”(brewed with pumpkin and spices)

Elysian Brewing Company – Seattle Washington – “Blight Pumpkin Ale” (brewed with pumpkin and cinnamon)

Midnight Sun Brewery – Anchorage Alaska – “Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter” (brewed with pumpkin, cocoa nuts, cinnamon and cloves and nutmeg) See photo below:

: Midnight Sun’s Pumpkin – Like Drinking Licorice Cough Syrup…….

My favorite was the seasonal from Wasatch although all were good to me except the Midnight Sun “Chocolate Pumpkin Porter.” Elysian Brewery has a bunch of other pumpkin ale options too.

But a Willamette Week review of their – “Dark o’ the Moon Stout,” drew this criticism and essentially echoed my opinion of the Midnight Sun Brewery pumpkin brew, “…is far too thick and meaty for whatever decorative baby gourds found their way into the mash. Deeply roasty with chocolate and a little bitterness, it’s a great beer for a chilly night, but three tasters agreed that pumpkin flesh and seeds don’t come through at all.”

Finally, if you want some additional information on pumpkin and fall seasonal ales, you can check out the October 31st Willamette Week article “Fall’in for Brew” with this link. It rates ten local ales with most of them not really cutting it in the taste category.

Fluoridation in Portland??

While most people agree that the Portland City Council totally blundered in the process, they voted unanimously in September to add flouride to Portland water by mid-2014. Of course, one concern is by some opponents who “bristle” at the potential impact on Portland’s micro-brewing industry.

Fluorite Crystals – A Taste Test to Determine the Impact on Portland Microbrews??

It was reported that Portland’s Upright Brewing strongly supports the move based on the premise, “Good teeth are more important than Beer.” Other brewery owners, however, are not so sure. It does set up what could be an intriguing blind taste-test in the future.

And speaking of blind taste tests, check out Willamette Week’s “President of Beers” contest (not a taste-test between President O’Bama and Mitt Romney…….), in which the weekly paper, “….Bootlegged Beer from All 50 States for the Ultimate American Taste-off.” The October 5^th edition of the paper chronicles the process in which Beaverbear Barleywine from North Dakota was the ultimate winner. Oregon had only one brew in the top 50 – Deschutes Black Butte Porter (#7).

Elections and the Weather

Well, the wonderful dry fall we had is now gone and besides bad weather, we have been inundated with endless campaign ads bringing to mind the quote from Alexander Pope on what may be the most pragmatic attitude for election results:

Cynical or Pragmatic?

“Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”

And although I will admit to a bundle of references to Willamette Week in this post, this quote from the cynically humorous “Dr. Know” in his column comparing the weather between the United Kingdom and the United States, is a good quote and perhaps the underlying rationale for a blog focused on a tour of bars, pubs and taverns:

“The weather is never so bad that you can’t make it to the pub, but never so good that you can do anything else. This leads to a city and/or nation of sad, damp, doughy people drinking to kill their pain……”

Pioneer Pete and Political Correctness The efforts in both Oregon and Washington to end Native American mascots, nicknames and logos reminds me of how political correctness can go too far. Washington is taking a more moderate approach and passed a resolution urging high schools to replace the mascots, while the Oregon Board of Education passed a ban in May. Eight targeted (so to speak) schools have five years to comply, although I think that term connotes violence and aggression…

It brought to mind the graduation gift my Class of 1966 at Oregon City High School presented to the school for the Pioneer Gym – a massive poster of our mascot, Pioneer Pete – a rugged type shown below:

Even though he carries weapons, he is still smiling….

Well, the mascot initiatives above reminded me of a 2001 story reported by The Oregonian to purportedly modify the Oregon City logo, as stated in this excerpt from the December 12, 2001 story:

” A burly guy with a coonskin cap, Pioneer Pete stands like a sentinel throughout Oregon City High School. He stares from hallway murals, the backs of varsity jackets and walls in the gymnasium and football stadium.

A musket in his grip and a knife slung off his hip, Pioneer Pete is catching some flak these days. Some students and administrators say his weapon-toting ways break rules that apply to students. He’s even been booted off the cover of a brochure advertising the search for a new superintendent.”

I’m pleased to report that the current Pioneer Pete doesn’t have a flag pole replacing his musket (the option proposed by the School Board) or a hair dryer (suggested by some pundits) and he still carries his bowie-knife. It was interesting to review the comments in response to the article including this one by a staff person from the District to clarify and perhaps resolve the issue:

“Please note that this was not about Pioneer Pete , the OCHS mascot. It was a clip art picture that was to decorate a brochure to advertise our superintendent position nationally. Our preference, with the covered wagon on the cover, was a couple of pioneers, not a mountain man with a gun.

The story in the newspaper was inaccurate. There is no conversation about changing Pete at the high school. The Oregonian reporter has certainly heard from us today about the misleading story and we have asked for her to clarify that this was not a discussion about Pete. On a slow news day, this story has taken off. We have been barraged with angry people over our decision to change a clip art picture on a brochure……….”

Correction

In my recent Beerchaser-of-the-Month post honoring – so to speak – OSU Football Coach, Mike Riley, I cited my friend, attorney, Brien Flanagan, a Notre Dame grad and one who is reveling in the Fighting Irish’s undefeated season. I stated the Brian had received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Notre Dame. I was wrong – he went to law school at Georgetown University – an impressive academic background for a good lawyer.

Two Prestigious Alma Maters

Beerchaser Miscellany II

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Thebeerchaser

One Year of Touring Taverns, Pubs and Bars and Still Going Strong

Thebeerchaser Tour – One Year Anniversary

It has been one year since Thebeerchaser’s Tour of Portland Bars commenced. During that year I have reviewed 23 bars, pubs and taverns and the original premise for taking this journey has been confirmed — each bar has had its own personality, ambiance, flaws and character. From the first stop – Brooklyn Park Pub (August 2011) to Lutz Tavern (July 2012) and even the one in Washington (Pourhouse – August, 2012) – all have been worth the visit.

As a result, I strongly disagree with the quote from a review of one of the bars I visited:

“I’m beginning to understand the formula for what constitutes a popular bar in Portland….Make it dark, create some reason for the service to suck and make PBR cheaper than soda….”

Good – But Doesn’t Make the Bar Necessarily Great

Because of the sheer number of Portland bars, my original guidelines were to visit a bar from each letter of the alphabet and then restart the cycle; however, I have thrown that practice out. I go where you suggest or where I happen to see bartenders, bar stools, PBR or microbrews sold, etc. ……The guideline of reviewing only Portland bars also fell by the wayside when I reviewed Pour House – a Port Townsend establishment. It was too good not to share and I will occasionally do future non-Portland venues.

Beerchasers-of-the-Month

During the last year, seven Beerchasers-of-the-Month (or Quarter when I get lazy) have been designated – an “honor” for which the person may or may not have a direct or indirect with beer or bars – I just wanted to tell you about them. They include:

Craig Hanneman – Former OSU and Pittsburgh Steeler Football Player and Business Executive

The Crew of the USS Constitution

PSU Economics Professor, Dr. John Walker

Retired Oregonian columnist, John Terry

Author Dr. Frankfurt – Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Princeto

Dr. Harry Frankfurt, Author of On Bullshit

Crime Novelist James Crumley *

Four Portland Bartenders

Retired Chemical Engineer, Harold Schlumberg

* Crumley, a now deceased Montana writer, had an affinity for bars and beer (and gin) and was credited by some reviewers with the best opening line of any crime novel. From his book, The Last Good Kiss:

“When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts, in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.”

Drinking Buddy — Fireball Roberts

After reading another of his novels – The Mexican Tree Duck – one gets a taste for Crumley’s perspective:

“I went through so much help that I actually hired a woman so drunk that she had forgotten that I had fired her the week before.”

Noted Crime Novelist

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Bar Joke Update

Occasionally, I have posted a few bar jokes from my collection. This month’s selection is timeless – so to speak….:

“The past, present and future walk into a bar —

It was really tense…..”

It’s All Relative….

Becomes “light” headed when he drinks too much!

% * @ + !

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What Distinguishes Portland Besides Its Beers and Bars?

Voodoo Donuts, of course –

Brewer’s Inspiration

and as The Week, a national magazine in its August 17th issue reported on the new Rogue Brewery Voodoo Donut Bacon Maple Ale. “This brew combines the flavors of wood-smoked malts and real maple syrup and bacon to create a ‘smoky, porky, nutty’ taste.”

Do you want pancakes or hasbrowns and eggs with that beer?

Makes Thebeerchaser wonder if he should stick to Keystone Light….!

Phoenix Sign

This sign from our visit to a bar named “The Speakeasy” in Phoenix last spring was worth sharing:

John Mansfield Update

A good friend and one of my favorite lawyers and former colleague, Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt’s, John Mansfield, accompanied me on my visit to Mock Crest Tavern last May. John is a patent lawyer and one, like many lawyers, who is extremely literal as contrasted to literate. For example, after reading the phrase in the Mock Crest menu, “Breakfast Served – Any Time,” he tried to order “French Toast from the Renaissance Era.”

John and Hanna

Since our visit, he turned 50 and had a wonderful birthday party planned by his wife, Hanna (“John Mansfield Goes to L”) – As pointed out previously, John is a Renaissance Man having majored in music at the U of O before getting his law degree Magna Cum Laude at Cornell. Highlight of the evening was John dazzling the crowd with classical (Dvorak) and then some more contemporary George Gershwin selections on the piano.

The Piano Man Will Also Prosecute Your Patent

He revealed to me another example of an attorney’s tendency to be literal causing a problem. “A lawyer walking to the courthouse is waiting at a corner for a “Walk” signal next to a German Shepherd and a teenage boy walks up. The boy asks the lawyer if his dog bites and the lawyer says “no,” so the kid leans down and pets the dog, who promptly sinks his teeth into the kid’s arm. The boy says to the lawyer, “I thought you said your dog didn’t bite.” The lawyer responds, “I did. That’s not my dog….”

Not the Lawyer’s Dog…..

I was glad that John related this tale rather than that of the lawyer he knows whose last case was Budweiser.

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Phoenix Sun – Not! And Speaking of Keystone Light….

Most basketball fans know that former Phoenix Suns guard, Steve Nash, was traded to the Lakers recently.

I loved the story from his first trip to SmogTown. Some fans, saw him driving down the freeway.

Rates a Keystone Light Before Even Playing……

They recognized him in the back seat of his chauffeur-driven vehicle and shouted to him when they pulled up beside him – both vehicles still traveling at full speed. As the story goes, they proceeded to hand him a Key Stone Light, which he said he appreciated.

Perhaps when he has his first good game, he’ll rate a Stella.

Beerchaser Miscellany

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Thebeerchaser

Thebeerchaser’s tour of Portland pubs, taverns and bars and this blog commenced in August 2011. My education on blog software is continuing and I hope to make it easier in the future to find items on the site; however, it may be helpful until that time to recap the venues reviewed in categories during the last ten months.

The next review will be posted this week and recaps our visit to Interurban, which will be followed by a visit to the historical Mock Crest Tavern.

Neighborhood Bars

Brooklyn Park Pub
Gladstone Street Pub
Hawthorne Hideaway
Laurelthirst Public House
Muddy Rudder Public House

“Taking the Plunge…”

Dive Bars (Not a negative connotation – see post entitled “Analyzing Dive Bars – Head First” from September)

Ash Street Saloon
Dixie Tavern
Joe’s Cellar
Yukon Tavern

Brew Pubs

Amnesia Brew Pub
Coalition Brew Pub
Migration Brew Pub

Miscellaneous Bars and Pubs – In a Class of Their Own

The Buffalo Gap Saloon
Proust
The Twilight Room (Could be considered somewhat of a neighborhood pub but also a traditional “hang-out” for watering hole for University of Portland students)

Followers of the blog have asked if I have identified a favorite establishment to this point. While every visit has been positive, probably two tie as favorites for different reasons: The Laurelthirst and The Twilight Room.

Beerchasers of the Month

This label above is a misnomer because only five of the ten months have named an “honoree” as follows:

Princeton University professor and author of On Bullshit, Dr. Harry Frankfurt
Crime novelist, James Crumley
Retired chemical engineer and drinker, Harold Schlumburg
The bartenders of the Brooklyn Park Pub, the Gladstone Street Pub, Prost and the Twilight Room

Efforts will be made to bestow that honor more frequently, however, my favorite to this point is the esteemed Dr. Frankfurt, who responded to thebeerchaser’s e-mail informing him of the distinction and he became a follower of the blog.

BS Expert – Dr. Harry Frankfurt

Beer-related Lawsuits

Having worked in a law firm for twenty-five years and at the Oregon State Bar prior to that time, I collected a lot of law-related articles and memorabilia. In reviewing old files, I came across my favorite law suit – reported in The Oregonian in 1976. It documents a $53,000 suit filed against the Mount Angel Oktoberfest in Marion County.

The plaintiff, Robert Rispler, claimed the portable toilet he entered at the annual Oktoberfest was pushed over by unruly patrons and he was “violently thrown about inside said portable toilet, became intimately mixed (emphasis supplied) with the contents thereof and sustained a fracture of his right wrist and other contusions and abrasions.”

A Lawsuit Dr. Frankfurt Might Appreciate

Unfortunately additional research on the results of this suit are beyond the resources of thebeerchaser although a quick search of the internet found two Robert Risplers – one, a 1974 graduate of Reynolds High School in Portland (he would have been too young to drink legally….) and one who is now Director of Accounting at Fannie Mae in Washington DC. Thebeerchaser avoids political commentary (at times) and will omit any direct or indirect implications related to federal agencies.

Favorite Bar Jokes

Although my archives has more lawyer jokes than bar jokes, this blog needs to return to more relevant topics in this post and will finish with a few bar jokes, which will also grace future posts:

A grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Hey, that’s really cool. We have a drink named after you. The grasshopper looks at him skeptically and says, “You have a drink named Murray?”

A piece of toast, a glass of orange juice, some hash browns and a side of eggs walk into a bar and they order four beers. The bartender says, “I’m sorry we don’t serve breakfast here.”

A physician, a nurse, a rabbi and a bulldog walk into a bar and the bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?”

Spring Training in Phoenix

Thebeerchaser and spouse were privileged to take in a few games during Spring Training in Phoenix in March. While the tour of pubs is restricted to Portland, we visited and observed a number, which generated these observations:

It seemed like every bar we passed was jammed with people especially from about 4:30 to 7:00 and not necessarily because of Happy Hours. It may be that given urban sprawl in this badly planned metropolis, that people don’t try to drive during rush hour and just hit a bar each day. Rotating designated drivers keep things legal.

It also seemed that many of the venues had multiple levels to accommodate all the patrons (see pictures below). Perhaps it was also the hot weather. It was ironic that it cost $4 for a bottle of water at the baseball games when one could get a PBR for $1.50 at the pub across the street. It brought to mind, beerchaser of the month, Jame’s Crumley’s request from his main character, C.W. Sughrue, “I want a beer as cold as my ex-wife’s heart.”

Of special interest was the Irish Pub, shown below, that also served as a saddelry.

Did you hear the one about the horse that walked into the bar? **

*Bartender says, “Hey! Why the long face?”

Christmas and Holiday Cheer from thebeerchaser

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Thebeerchaser

Since starting this blog a few months after I retired in late May this year, I have visited nine establishments on thebeerchaser’s Portland bar tour. They have included:

Classic “dive bars” such as the Yukon in Sellwood and Joe’s Cellar in NW Portland,
Traditional neighborhood pubs such as the Brooklyn Park Pub, the Gladstone Street Pub and the Twilight Room,
Brew Pubs including Coalition and Amnesia and
Some distinguished alehouses or watering holes that don’t fit a category including the Buffalo Gap Saloon and Prost