Guess Who’s Coming to…..Beerchase!!

Posted on May 15, 2025 by 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 so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1)

At the end of April, we were delighted to have two separate house guests. Archie, our three-year old grand-pup, visited for ten days from Seattle while his family was on a Hawaiian vacation.

And my old consultant friend with whom I worked at the Schwabe law firm before I retired in 2011 – “West Coast” Dave Hicks – flew in from an east-coast business trip for two days before he returned home to Ventura, Ca.

In the early days of my Beerchasing hobby and over the next five years, Dave was a frequent companion as you can see from the photos below at the Double Barrel, Reel-Em Inn, the Horse Brass Pub, the Richmond Bar, Crackerjacks, Belmont Station and the Ranger Station.

Dave has used his Princeton and University of San Diego Law School education well and is now Chief of Staff at Garnett Capital Advisors – a financial services firm specializing in managing loan portfolio sales for credit-granting institutions.

He is also known to use his experience as a Princeton Nassoon – the university’s oldest acapella group – with his identical-twin brother, to entertain at parties although he refrained from doing this at the dive bars we visited.

We usually toasted one of my first and most memorable Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter, the late Dr. Harry Frankfurt – Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Princeton and author of the wonderful essay “On Bullshit.” (#2 – #4)

The Princeton Nassoons in 2008

Some Trepidation…?

Archie had visited and stayed overnight with us in the past, but it was always with his family – Mom and Dad and two young daughters.

Question No. 1: “How would he react to staying with us for ten days?”

Question No. 2: “How would he react to our male out-of-town visitor for a day and one-half? Did he have an aversion to the Ivy League?”

Well, our concerns were short-lived. Archie immediately went over to Dave sitting on the couch and curled up next to him and rolled over to have his stomach rubbed. Dave is a walker and the next day, he and I took Archie on a long walk on which Dave was the main leash holder. And the pup was a prince for his entire stay with us.

Trepidation unwarranted!

Beerchasing

Dave and I had an ambitious agenda. On the Friday afternoon, we drove the twenty-four miles to the Mount Angel Abbey to have some beers at the Benedictine Brewery and St Michael Taproom and say “hello” to Fr. Martin, the Manager and Head Brewer.

Fr. Martin stopped his work to say hello

No brewery will ever surpass my affection for this enterprise on the grounds of the Abbey in Mount Angel Oregon – one of just three owned and operated by Benedictine monks in the US.

Those who follow this blog, may recall that I was involved in the planning and development of the Brewery starting in 2016 until it opened in late 2018 including the amazing event in 2017, when over 125 monks, priests, seminarians and volunteers and members of the Mount Angel community, gathered for an “old-fashioned barn rising.”

As shown in the videos in this post, we started with a cement slab that cloudy morning and by the end of the day, had a framed structure for the brewery and taproom. https://thebeerchaser.com/2017/11/21/the-benedictine-brewery-beam-me-up/ (#5 – #11)

Dave and I had a great sampler of six beers and toured the beautiful Abbey Hilltop including a visit to the famous Alvar Aalto Library before returning to our home in West Linn. (#12 – #13)

Dave had invited Janet and me to dinner the next evening at the Bellpine Restuarant at the top of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Portland. While Janet spent her Saturday afternoon on a variety of activities, Dave and I drove into Portland for beers at two of my favorite downtown dive bars.

The Yamhill Pub – as I stated in the title of my 2015 blog post https://thebeerchaser.com/2015/05/14/the-yamhill-pub-a-dive-bar-with-character-or-grunge/ the aura of this hole-in-the-wall was best described in the now defunct Portland Barfly Website (another COVID victim…)

“A genuine dive-bar lurking midst the downtown shopping arcade, the Yamhill Pub maintains an unreconstructed seediness through blaring juke, food…(and, for that matter, toilets) best avoided, actively-encouraged graffiti upon the smoke-stained walls, pennies-a-serving pitchers, and a fiercely-protective cadre of underemployed regulars (seniors, rockers, bike messengers) willing to throw themselves in front of Hummers to prevent the forces of gentrification. Intimidating for the first-time visitor, but that’s sort of the point.”

This was my fourth visit to the Yamhill, and I was happy to see that it was still in business. As one regular commented to me in 2015, “Mark my words, this place will be gone in five years and that will be a tragedy.”

Willamette Week reported in November 2020, that Kevin Hill, the owner, launched a $15,000 GoFundMe campaign to raise $15,000 to save the bar – evidently it worked.

But grunge is still the watchword – from the graffiti-infested walls, the bathrooms and even the entrance sign in which the name has become essentially illegible. Look at the difference in the sign over the front door between 2015 and last month!

But as stated in its own Wikipedia page and as affirmed by, Neal, our friendly bartender, the Yamhill Pub, founded in 1939, still retains its legacy for draft PBR. “The bar has been recognized as the top Pabst Blue Ribbon seller in Oregon.”

Not only that, but at one time in the ’90’s they were #5 in North America!! Before I could scoff, he pointed out this PBR sign (see below) from 2012 – Number 18 in North America in PBR sales.

Dave and I chatted with Neal about Portland bars and watched the The Other Guys – a “buddy-action-comedy” movie with Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell and Michael Keaton which was streaming on the of the two small screen TVs hanging at the corners of the bar. (It seemed appropriate given the setting.)

Kelly’s Olympian – We walked around Portland some more – noting how the City was coming back from the depths but still had a way to go – and I suggested we drop into another favorite dive. Kelly’s Olympian, which evolved even before the Yamill (in 1902 – the third oldest Portland bar in continuing operation) has class and a great theme as you will see from the pictures below and this description from their website:

“The crowning glory is the collection of a dozen vintage motorcycles hanging from the ceiling and about, each restored to perfection. One of the owners is a motorcycle enthusiast and finally found a home for his impressive motorcycle collection.

Complementing the motorcycles are other motorcycle accessories, combined with museum quality neon signs, antique gas pumps and historic photos of Portland and motorcycles.”

If you enjoy history, read the full account in my 2015 blog post. Even the name chronicles the legacy:

“The name was derived from the name of one of the original owners, ‘Kelly’, and the Olympia Brewing Company, which was involved in the inaugural opening so that it could sell its product, Olympia Beer. It was originally called ‘The Olympian Saloon’. The name ‘Kelly’s’ was added a few years later…..”

And part of the bar’s historic identity goes back even further. The sections of downtown Portland – mostly in Old Town Chinatown – were known for their “Shanghai Tunnels.” According to Wikipedia, this is really a misnomer, and an urban legend:

“They connected the basements of many hotels and taverns to the waterfront of the Willamette River. They were built to move goods from the ships docked on the Willamette to the basement storage areas, allowing businesses to avoid streetcar and train traffic on the streets when delivering their goods.”

I had seen some of these on a tour by Adam Milne, owner of Old Town Pizza and Brewing, below his establishment in Old Town (right three photos below), but behind the Kelly’s Olympian Bar is a stairway down to the basement (photo on the left).

In my 2015 first visit to the bar, Lucia, the Manager, verified that servers still descend the stairs through the trapdoor behind the bar to get ice and that’s where their kegs are also stored.

We left after Dave refused to believe my story that the 1912 Princeton Student Body President visiting Portland one summer, got drunk at Kelly’s and was last seen being shuttled to a Chinese freighter.

Bellpine at the Top of the Ritz Carlton – We headed to West Linn to pick up Janet and get into our fancier duds and then drove back into Portland where notwithstanding our offer to dine on pub food at a brewery, Dave treated us to a wonderful six-course dinner (plus dessert) at the Bellpine on the 35th floor of the Ritz.

“Led by acclaimed Executive Chef Pedro Almeida, the culinary journey features ingredients indigenous to the region and is accentuated with world-class wine selections and unique spirits crafted by the region’s master distillers.”

Although the opulent bar was sparsely occupied on a Saturday night, the restaurant was hopping and it was a wonderful meal (yes, I drank wine instead of a PBR) and a fitting farewell to Dave who flew out the next morning to his Ventura, Ca. home. (#14 – #16)

Final Note

I chuckled on the way back home about having a bit of culture shock based on our three establishments that day ending with Bellpine after Kelly’s Olympian and beginning at the Yamhill Pub. Perhaps it was tantamount to a high-rise outhouse…..

And unfortunately, the 2019 timing of the development of the Ritz, by noted Portland developer, Walt Bowen, was disastrous. A fascinating March 2025 Willamette Week article charts the history:

“After two huge wins, he was ready to gamble again. A new project, called Block 216, would be his most ambitious ever. It would have five floors of prime office space, a Ritz-Carlton hotel, and 132 Ritz-Carlton condominiums…

That may be the most ill-timed guarantee in the history of Portland real estate. A year later, the world locked down because of COVID-19. Hotels emptied. People fled urban condos for ranch houses in the suburbs…

It appears Bowen’s dream tower will instead be a 460-foot tombstone for his career. As first reported by WW on March 5, the construction lender for Block 216 said in an earnings report that ‘ownership and serial asset disposition on the components would be the best net present value outcome for the loan.’

Translation: take the keys and sell the building in pieces.” (#17)

Well at least Kelly’s and the Yamhill will still be serving good cheap beer!

External Photo Attribution

#1. Garnet Capital Website (https://www.garnetcapital.com/aboutus/management#1)

#2. Wikimedia Commons (File:2008NassoonsHolzhaus.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Lhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en – Attribution: Nassoons at English Wikipedia – 5 July 2008.

#3. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:On Bullshit cover.jpeg – Wikimedia Commons) This image of simple geometry is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain, because it consists entirely of information that is common property and contains no original authorship. Author: Dr. Harry Frankfurst, Princeton University Press – 2008.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (File:Harry Frankfurt at 2017 ACLS Annual Meeting.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN30Qk9j0bKuWF2ulC9CtVQ – 29 October 2018.

#5 – #11. Benedictine Brewery Website (https://www.benedictinebrewery.com/home-1).

#12 – #13. Mount Angel Abbey Website (https://www.mountangelabbey.org/).

#14 – #17. Wikimedia Commons (File:Portland, Oregon, May 2024 – 54.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Another Believer – 19 May 2024. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Another_Believer).

Summer Simmers – Part II

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

Sun_(Sol)

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)

During the summer months, I’ve decided to address some random items – some having to do with bars and breweries and some captured while sipping a gin martini at the beach (up with olives). As in the first post in this series, I’ll end with three jokes from my files.

Bullshit Will Never be the Same!

It’s psychologically challenging when one knows that a sad event is on the horizon, but the timing is unknown – kind of an ominous foreshadowing, if you will. Now perhaps that’s an exaggeration in this case, but I was saddened when I received an e-mail from former Beerchasing Regular, “West Coast Dave Hicks.”

I say former, because after I retired and he moved for a time to the East Coast, our forays to such great bars as Crackerjacks Pub, the Double Barrel Tavern, the Ranger Station, Sloan’s Tavern and the Richmond Bar were relegated to just memories of great beer and great chats.

Dave sent me the obituary of Princeton Emeritus Professor Dr. Harry Frankfurt, author of the wonderful seventy-four page 1986 essay/book On Bullshit. The good professor died on July 16th at ninety-four. (#2)

When I started this blog in late 2011, I decided that besides reviewing bars and breweries, I would feature an interesting individual or group each quarter. My Beerchasers-of-the-Quarter might not have anything to do with beer or bars, but in my opinion they’ve made a meaningful contribution to society and their story should be told.

In almost every case, I’ve known the individual or group and they’ve ranged from athletes, authors, media personalities, military heroes and even academicians (including my graduate school professor in Public Finance).

One of the few I did not know, but felt compelled to “honor” in 2012 after reading his brilliant essay, was Dr. Frankfurt. As a lark, I looked up his contact info at Princeton and sent him an e-mail describing Thebeerchaser blog and his designation as B-O-Q.

I thought it would get caught in Princeton’s spam filter or that a person with this distinguished Ph.D.’s schedule would just ignore it..

So I was surprised and thrilled to receive the e-mail below several days later. His cryptic reference in the last sentence also indicated that he read my very long blog post in its entirety.

Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 7:36 AM
To: Williams, Donald
Subject: RE: Hello Dr. Frankfurt

Dear Mr. Williams,

First of all, thank you for the honor of naming me the January 12, 2012 Beerchaser of the Quarter.

I have looked at the blog in which you announced my receipt of this distinction, and I was impressed by its wit, its charm, and its erudition. Also, I enjoyed the pictures.

I intend to follow your blog regularly. I am especially interested in keeping up with the debate over whether to remove the letter M from the alphabet. I believe that, with regard to this issue, my mind is still completely open.

Anyhow, thanks very much for writing.

Sincerely, Harry Frankfurt

In 2020 with the prevalence of lies and BS (he makes a distinction) I felt compelled to republish the original post and add some updated commentary: https://thebeerchaser.com/2020/03/12/bs-revisited-if-only-i-had-known-in-2012/ ( #3-#4)

*+* BULLSHIT rubber stamp on the desk of a Street Photographer

I will mourn the passing of Harry Frankfurt, in part, because he won’t be around to comment on the 2024 Presidential Elections.

And as we listen to the forthcoming debates and interviews we can’t say the Professor did not warn us:

“The realms of advertising and of public relations, and the nowadays closely related realm of politics, are replete with instances of bullshit so unmitigated that they can serve among the most indisputable and classic paradigms of the concept.”

As an admonition when a candidate steps over the line, perhaps the moderator of each debate should whip out the poster below: (#5)

Farewell to Another Icon

The world was saddened with the death of Tony Bennett last week at the age of 96. He won twenty Grammy Awards and sold over fifty million records during his career.

The crooner captivated audiences for seven decades with his wonderful tunes and his charismatic personality, philosophy of life and support of humanitarian causes. He was a model for all generations.

Anthony Dominick Benedetto, like Thebeerchaser, was born in Long Island, New York. He struggled with significant personal issues during his life, but overcame them and continued to be a “masterful stylist of American musical standards.”

“(He had) an easy, courtly manner and an uncommonly rich and durable tenor that made him a master of caressing a ballad or brightening an up-tempo number.” (APNews.com)

And who has not whistled or hummed, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in the shower….? (#6)

Tony Bennett and wife, Susan

I wrote about him in a 2020 blog post – one not about entertainers but lawyers. My post was intended to make some observations about my almost forty years working with attorneys.

The opportunity to interact with these professionals during my entire career almost all of whom were ethical, smart, dedicated advocates with amazing work ethics and elevated senses of humor was a real benefit.

I tried to identify some general traits of lawyers that kept me on my toes in communicating. The last one I mentioned and the relevance to the preceding narrative is described below in this excerpt from the August 2020 post of Thebeerchaser:

Need to Have the LAST Word

Over my forty years working with lawyers, I learned that one way to garner their respect was to respond emphatically and with confidence in any (or every) kind of debate whether it was in conversation or electronically.

I learned, however, that even if I prevailed in substance, I should expect, and to some extent, encourage the lawyer to have the last word. It was a good method to save further time deliberating and allow a win–win result.

My favorite example of the lawyer insisting on the last word, occurred with one of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt’s very good lawyers from our Vancouver Office who was on a sabbatical in Italy with his wife.

This counselor was very active in professional and civic activities and served on the Washington State Bar Board of Governors.

They were walking up to the entrance of an exclusive restaurant in Rome and out comes a group of several people led by a distinguished looking gentleman in an impeccably-tailored suit.

Obviously, I wasn’t a witness, but I was told that the conversation went essentially like this as the lawyer and his wife approached the group and he addressed the guy in the lead:

Lawyer: Hi. I know I’ve seen you before. Are you from the Pacific Northwest?

Stranger: No.

Lawyer: Wow! I know I’ve seen you before… Are you involved with the Vancouver, Washington Chamber of Commerce?

Stranger: No.

Lawyer: This is just puzzling to me because I’m positive I’ve seen you before. Did you have any dealings with the Washington State Bar Association?

Stranger: No……. I’m Tony Bennett

Lawyer: Oh my God. You’re right!! (emphasis added) (#7–#8)

(And “I didn’t leave my heart in Vancouver, Washington!”)

In Closing…

I mentioned in my most recent blog post Summer Simmers – Part 1, that since we will be moving later this year, I’ve been mandated by my wife, Janet, to go through the stacks of files scattered at various places in our house including my office and the garage.

In my diligent efforts to help Oregon’s recycling efforts, I’ve found that I’m most inclined to keep files entitled “Bar Jokes,” “Lawyer Jokes” and “Quotations.”

So, unless I hear vehement objections from Beerchaser followers, I will periodically continue to include an example from each of these categories:

Lawyer Joke

A trial lawyer known for his aggressive personality sat in his car in the immense courthouse parking lot during a lunch recess. He saw an old guy who obviously could not remember where he parked. So every time the guy held the remote in the air, the lawyer honked his horn.

Bar Joke

A skeleton walks into a bar and the bartender says, “What’ll it be?” The skeleton replies, “I’ll have a beer and a mop.” (#9-#10)

(Next time, why don’t you try a dry martini?)

Quotation

“When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather – not terrified like all the passengers in his car.” (Anonymous)

Cheers!

External Photo Attribution

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Sun (Sol).gif – Wikimedia Commons) This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. Author: NASA – 22 April 2008.

#2. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harry_Frankfurt_at_2017_ACLS_Annual_Meeting.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author:
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) – 29 October 2018.

#3. Princeton University (https://philosophy.princeton.edu/people/harry-frankfurt)

#4. Wikimedia Commons (File:BULLSHIT rubber stamp on the desk of a Street Photographer.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Lupus in Saxonia 25 March 2022.

#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:Bullshit.svg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: This W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape by Anynobody, composing work: Mabdul . Source: Own work using Bsahead.svg: and No sign.svg: 7 November 2011.

#6. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tony_Bennett_and_Susan_Crow.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Jeremiah Garcia 9 February 2008.

#7. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tony_Bennett_in_2003.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Tom Beetz – 11 July 2003.

#8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SF_From_Marin_Highlands3.jpg) This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Paul.h at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.)

#9. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human-Skeleton.jpg) The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Author: Skimsta – March 2010.

#10. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mop.svg) I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. Author:
Mop.png: AwOc – 25 March 2010.

Beer and Technology Conflate at Binary Brewing

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Thebeerchaser

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

The last brewery I visited in 2022 was suggested by my friend and colleague on the Abbey Foundation of Oregon Board (AFO). John Meek is the Immediate Past President of that Board and there were a couple of reasons I thought this was a good option.

First, the current President of the AFO, John Limb – who just retired after serving as the long-time publisher of the Oregon Catholic Press – and I had a great experience at the Chuckanut Brewery late in the fourth quarter. It provided momentum….

And since I’ve focused on breweries and bars on Portland’s east side and Binary is in the heart of Beaverton on Portland’s west side, this would be an opportunity to take what is purported to be newspaper editor and publisher, Horace Greeley’s advice – albeit on a micro level and as an old guy – “Go West….” (#2)

“Go West, Young Man” – but make it farther than Beaverton!!

Third, and I will tell you more about him below, but John Meek is an extremely bright guy – elected to Phi Beta Kappa and a magna cum laud grad in Computer Science from Washington State University. He’s had an outstanding career in the technology sector and, more importantly, likes good beer.

When I go Beerchasing, I try to focus on people smarter than I am. John is a good example…..!

I didn’t know if John was attracted to Binary because of his career – or the beer – or possibly both. Binary is defined as “relating to, composed of, or involving two things.”

The co-owners of Binary Brewing, Josh Johnson and Roger Wood changed the name and rebranded Uptown Brewing – a beer bar, bottle-shop, and homebrew supply shop – and started brewing in 2018.

Their motto is “Good beer is like software – in the end it’s Binary.”

“The Portland area has a long history of beer and technology. Our team brings together experience in both so we chose a name that reflects those two roots. Our goal is to bring start-up excitement back to the craft beer market – developing new beers and revitalizing classic styles for modern tastes.”

Binary had been operating and brewing with a seven-barrel system out of a very small facility located outside the Beaverton city limits.

In July, 2022, after totally refurbishing what used to be the Beaverton Bakery – located in a 135-year old building – on Broadway in the heart of town, they upgraded to a ten-barrel system and enough fermentation vessels to more than quadruple former production. (Oregon Beer News) #3

The result was a compact, but well designed and attractive taproom and brewery in the back with an impressively large picture window showing the brewing hardware:

“The one element that remains as a tribute to the old bakery is a portion of the 1930s era floor near the main entrance—blue-and-gray hand-painted cement that resembles a charming patchwork quilt.” https://www.wweek.com/bars/beer/2022/07/19/binary-brewing-opens-its-pub-and-production-facility-in-beaverton-this-week/

Binary’s plan was ambitious and their new digs allowed them to can and distribute. And the taproom is upscale and mod – unusual for the genre:

“A plant lined skylight adds warmth to the white, black and cold metal blue tones of the taproom with the punch of bright plants to liven up the computer circuitry themed space….

The open windows to the brewing operations are framed with the coolest customized aspect of the taproom, the draft towers that emulate the circuit board art of the Binary logo.” https://newschoolbeer.com/home/2022/7/binary-brewing-opens-in-beaverton

There’s also a separate room with a large community table, a few additional small tables and two old-fashioned pinball machines – a nice touch. A hall leads out to a patio, which is very nice although the picture on their website doesn’t adequately convey it.

The Beer

According to Andre Meunier in his 12/11/19 article in Oregon Live: “(Head Brewer Roger Wood, makes) mostly English and German styles, including pales ales, stouts, a Kolsch and a helles, plus IPAs of course, including hazies”

“One of my favorite parts about Roger’s brewing is … balance is one of our specialties,” (Co-owner) Johnson says. ‘We call it the bitter loop, and it’s that we always want that beer to finish a little bit dry and a little bit bitter — dries out the mouth, and what it does is it makes you want to drink more. Another sip, another pint.'”

Photo Nov 15 2022, 3 36 03 PM (2)

Surprisingly, Binary’s website is not that informative. There is nothing about its history (I got what I could from multiple news and internet articles) which is unfortunate because they have a good story to tell.

And unlike most breweries, there is no description of their beer along with the picture of label. Fortunately, our server, Angela, was very helpful and knowledgeable about the nuances of the beer.

While they have a food menu with prices for their Megabits operation (described below), they don’t have prices for their beer in the taproom – perhaps as noted in a few reviews, that’s because they are a bit pricey – pints are $7 and a flight of five four-ounce pours is $12.

There were twelve beers on tap and at John’s suggestion – which was a good one – we went for two flights to get a better idea of the variety and what we liked. So we got to taste ten of the twelve beers on tap.

IMG_7603 (2)

The favorites were Mech 47 – a hazy IPA @ 6.2ABV, Virtual Redality @5.7 and which compared favorably to the red ales which I usually order on brewery visits and the Arrakis – a spiced ale @6.3. The Pinball Pils @5.2 also was a hit. (Since they didn’t have descriptions on the Binary website, I’ve provided the links to Untapd for its reviews.)

To my recollection, we thought that all of the beers rated favorably for our personal tastes.

One reason, I’m disappointed at the lack of description of their beers is that they do a wonderful and creative job with their labels. I’ve shown three of the four mentioned above which were on the website although Arrakis wasn’t shown.

You can see that they also put a lot of creativity into the names of their brews, most of which have clever names related to technology. For example, I loved the “Wheatadore 64” as it brought back old memories!

So why not just give a brief description of each one to help the consumer?! (#4-6)

The Companionship

One of the most valued aspects of my idiosyncratic hobby, is the company I keep when I go Beerchasing. There are some “regulars” who’ve gone on multiple trips such as retired lawyer, Jim Westwood, members of the Faust Clan (Jack, Amy and Charlie) and former colleagues from the Schwabe firm.

The photos below are from Beerchasing at the former Burnside Brewing, Mad Sons’ Pub, Crackerjack’s Pub and The Independent Sports Bar – the first three are gone but not forgotten….a comment on the pandemic’s effect on small hospitality businesses.

While John and I had been to Cooper Mountain Ale Works in Tigard over a year ago, we mostly talked about Mount Angel Abbey issues and I didn’t get to hear much of John’s background. So as we were going through our flights I asked him (and since he is a humble guy) supplemented that with info from Linked-in.

John, since his graduation from college in 1978, has been involved in executive management of tech companies. And his impressive list of positions started the year he graduated with his first job at Timberline Systems.

Most business and professional service people know it’s a good NW firm that develops, markets, and supports accounting and management software for construction, estimating, property management, and architect/engineering industries. (See the link for the interesting history.) (#7)

John-Meek-AR20

In 1986 the company changed its name to Timberline Software Corporation and named John the Vice-president of Research and Development. He worked at Timberline for twenty years and the next ten in senior executive positions at WellMed and WebMD.

Since 2010, he has been self-employed as the Managing Member of

And John, like many people who already have demanding schedules also is a guy with poor refusal skills – he donates a lot of time for active roles in charitable organizations.

These have included the Assistance League of Portland Advisory Council, Special Olympics-Oregon (Chair of the Board since 2014) and the Abbey Foundation of Oregon where he just completed two years as President of the Board and still serves on the Executive Committee.

He and his wife, Sharon, are world-wide travelers and sports people. The left picture is high on the Eiger in Switzerland, while below right shows John scuba diving in Cuba. (#8 – #9)

From May 7th to the 20th John and Sharon Meek and others from the Northwest will join Fr. Odo Recker, O.S.B., and Fr. Timothy Kalange, O.S.B., – two Benedictine monks from the Mount Angel Abbey on a 12-day pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine!

Since my technology skills were never significantly honed and have diminished further since retirement, I tried to impress John (having checked my 9th grade math primer before our visit).

When our tab came to $29, I casually mentioned that it was the equivalent of $11101 in the binary system. I then showed him conceptually, my work for the conversion:

Divide the number by 2.
Get the integer quotient for the next iteration.
Get the remainder for the binary digit.
Repeat the steps until the quotient is equal to 0. (#10)

If only I had Cue Math when I was in 9th grade!

He told me that I should stick to conversations comparing lagers to ales and the nuances thereof…..

Final Observations

We didn’t eat on this trip but Megabits – the in-house restaurant which has an eclectic menu. It includes a number of slider options, three “big” salads and plenty of small bites such as mac & cheese, deviled eggs and cheese curds. Prices appear to be reasonable and the ratings on individual social media and news commentary are good.

Initially, Binary was the only brew pub in downtown Beaverton, but since their opening others have proliferated. They now include Beaverton taprooms for nearby Loyal Legion, Von Ebert, Ex Novo, Great Notion and the (ever-expanding) Steeple Jack Breweries.

Binary is therefore trying to build a “community” through its Mug Club and a number of events which appear to be interesting and creative. (#11-13)

John and I will have to return to check out the patio and see how proficient we are on the Godzilla and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball machines and whether we can use artificial intelligence to help! We both thought Binary Brewing was a good experience with very drinkable beers and good ambiance. (#14)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1 Binary Brewery Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=445502577557729&set=a.402923055149015).

#2 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Horace Greeley restored – Horace Greeley – Wikipedia) This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the National Archives and Records Administration as part of a cooperation project. The National Archives and Records Administration provides images depicting American and global history which are public domain or licensed under a free license.

#3 Binary Brewery Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/binarybrewingco/photos/pb.).

#4 – #6 (https://www.binarybrewing.co/beers)

#7 Mount Angel Abbey Annual Report (https://abbeyfoundationoforegon-annualreport.org/)

#8 – #9 Courtesy of John Meek

#10 Cue Math Website (https://www.cuemath.com/numbers/29-in-binary/)

#11 – #13 Binary Brewing Website (https://www.binarybrewing.co/s/stories).

#14 Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons ((Wikimedia Commons (File:BinaryData.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author: Sérgio Valle Duarte 1999.)

A Petri Dish — Bar Culture Part I

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Thebeerchaser

Public Domain – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petri_dish_at_the_Pacific_Northwest_National_Laboratory.jpg

(Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. Since this is a long post, if you are seeing it through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos and the narrative is not clipped or shortened.)

Books, articles and watering hole patrons often talk about “Bar Culture.” But how does one define this abstract concept and how does one find it? Recently, Bridgeliner, a Portland, Oregon online newsletter edited by Cassie Ruud (I’m proud to say – an Oregon State University grad) featured two interviews with yours truly – The Beerchaser.

The link below will take you to the first interview – how the Beerchaser started and how it has changed during the pandemic. https://bridgeliner.com/%f0%9f%8d%bb-portlander-don-williams-takes-us-beer-chasing/

And the following narrative is an expanded version of the second article entitled “The Foamy Culture.” The narrative below is my response to the first question Cassie asked with a lot of photos added from bars I’ve been to over the last ten years to illustrate the elements of bar culture.

Most are from Portland watering holes and It saddens me to add that a number of bars are from some of my favorites which are no longer open. Future posts will address the other four questions on bar culture because it is a complex topic and needs a lot of photos to convey.

I’m saddened that the photos below are from a number including Club 21, Zarz, Crackerjacks, Mad Son’s, The Tanker – all permanently closed – a loss to not only their patrons but Portland’s bar culture. And those are just ones represented in some of the photos in this blog post. There are many more on the list.

Regardless of where you live, when it is again safe, get back out and support these small business people whose livelihoods have been decimated in the last eighteen months. Try Kelly’s Olympian or……….

Kelly’s Olympian in downtown Portland – a bar with great culture

What are some key elements of pub and tavern culture (particularly in Portland) you’ve observed in your years of beerchasing?

That begs the question, “What is culture?” Let’s assume it’s a set of intangible aspects of social life – in this case in an individual bar or tavern – as contrasted to a brewpub or taproom – because there are some real differences. One way I describe this is a watering hole’s “character.” It’s really no different in Portland than elsewhere.

It can include more global items such as its location and the exterior, the regulars, the personality of the bartender and staff such as Phoebe, the charismatic bartender at the Brooklyn Park Pub – the first bar I hit in 2011.

Consider the style of the furniture (tables and/or booths) and how they’re set up. Take, for example, the unique Captains’ chairs at Claudia’s Sports Pub.

But it’s also a conglomeration of more mundane factors ranging from the lighting, the art (often nicotine-stained murals) or knickknacks such as old beer cans, bottles of MD 20-20, hats and mugs, and team pictures and trophies from bar-sponsored teams,.

Don’t forget the signs/posters with trite sayings such as “The consumption of alcohol may actually cause pregnancy. ”

The music (jukebox or live-streamed or live music) is also a factor and the number and types of beer on tap and the prices.

The atmosphere is influenced by whether there are games such as pool and shuffleboard or pinball and Skee-ball Don’t forget a favorite – Big Buck Hunter. Are there TV’s and if so, how many and how big? Is video poker pervasive? Is there a smoking patio?

Do they have weekly events or gatherings and are these karaoke or Naughty Bingo Nights?

Are there animals present. Not just service animals that are required under Oregon law, but are pets (and kids) welcome in the bar and on the patio.

Are the critters alive or dead?! Consider the skilled work of taxidermists with their product hung on the walls with glassy stares? And are these mounted trophies, deer and elk or more exotic critters such as the albino goat at the New Atlas Bar in Columbus, Montana or the ferocious stuffed alligator hanging over the bar at the Blue Moon Saloon near Kalispell.

It’s important not to overlook the bathrooms or heads. Are they unisex and are there locks on the door (or doors at all)? Do the sanitary conditions (for example vomit-stained toilet seats) motivate you to drink your beer slowly so you can wait until you get home?

And where but in Whitefish, Montana, can you see a life-size image of former NBA star Kevin McHale say farewell as you exit the men’s head at the Bull Dog Saloon?

Is there food and what type (usually plentiful) and whether it’s cooked on site or prepackaged? Some of the cooks at dives and neighborhood bars are really quite accomplished at their profession.

I guess, however, it does not take a trained chef to prepare the fried ravioli – available for $5 at The Standard or the Chicken Gizards (only $2.75 when they are the special-of-the-day) at the Yukon Tavern. And oh the Burgers!!!

Are the trappings dive bar vinyl booths and card tables or more refined dark wood with fire places (often in dive bars too) with volumes of books (real not decorative).

Two more factors that are important are the bar counter and back bar. Is your beer served on a Formica stand or a dark, classy wood counter with an attractive backbar filled with a multitude of attractive liquor bottles or knickknacks which evoke stories?

The Gold Pan Saloon , an historic dive bar we visited on a road trip to Colorado that dates back to 1879, had an impressive long, rich mahogany bar in Breckenridge.

In talking to the bartender, she told us that the bar and the beautiful backbar were shipped around Cape Horn to its’ destination in Colorado during gold mining days. I couldn’t verify the story, but it would not surprise me.

You throw all these elements – abstract, tangible and then add the people and the staff together and the result is a “Community” – and each bar or tavern is its own unique community or cultural institution.

Stay tuned to Thebeerchaser.com for future posts with the remaining four questions in the Bridgeliner interview about Bar culture.

Cheers

Crackerjack’s Pub – Open the Door and There’s a Prize Inside

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Thebeerchaser

Thebeerchaser at Crackerjack’s Pub in NW Portland

One of the joys of Thebeerchaser’s Tour of Portland Bars, Taverns and Pubs, which commenced in 2011 and has resulted in review of over 60 establishments, is that it motivates one to discover hidden gems. While I have visited some classic venues such as The Goose Hollow, The Lutz, The Mockcrest Tavern, et. al., many have been neighborhood bars I never would have otherwise discovered. And some of them are the most memorable.

The Willamette Week annual "Bar Guide" - a great resource for Beerchasers.....

The Willamette Week 2014 “Bar Guide” – a great resource for Beerchasers…..

As evidence, consider one of my favorite resources, Willamette Week’s Annual Bar Guide. The just-published edition has 150 of the paper’s favorite bars (this included six strip clubs which Thebeerchaser does not review on this blog….). And only twenty-one of those visited by Beerchaser’s to this point, were in the 2014 listing. For context, remember that Portland has about 750 taverns!

Crackerjacks Pub and Eatery is a perfect example. Although it has been a gathering place at 28th and NW Thurman for fifteen years, it has never made the Willamette Week list.

While I don’t rank the bars I review, I can say that my two visits to Crackerjacks were among the most enjoyable of any since this journey commenced.

A Cheers-type Ambiance

A small-curved bar…

—–

It has a Cheers type of ambiance and Sam, the wonderful female bartender who made us feel like we were regulars on our initial trip, kidded me about my nickname – “Dirt,” which you can see on the logo above and the caricature below.

I don’t have enough space to explain how that moniker was bestowed my freshman year at the Oregon State SAE house. Suffice to say it was when I weighed 120 pounds and spent Saturday mornings running obstacle courses in an ROTC counter-guerilla training group called “Raiders.”

When I walked in a week later on my follow-up visit, Sam yelled so every patron could hear, “Dirt Williams is back!” It reminded me of the shouts of “Norm!” at the famous TV bar in Boston when he entered Cheers.

: The birth of “Dirt”

The following reviews – the first by The Portland Mercury and the other from City Search sum it up well:

“This longtime neighborhood pub sports everything a dive-bar aficionado requires: strong drinks, cheap happy hour specials, an easy balance of hipsters and old-timers, “sports” on the big screen—when I was there, MMA was being featured instead of the Winter Olympics… priorities and all—satisfying pub grub and pizza slices, ’80s music on the jukebox…

You can either plop down alongside the curved bar, or cram your pals into any of the spacious booths that sprawl throughout the establishment. Don’t forget to drink and laugh heartily. Crackerjack’s was dropped from the heavens for exactly this.” (Steven Humphrey)”

Memorabilia to enhance the environment

Or take this review from City Search:

“Neighborhood Pub the way it should be – Man, I love this place. I love the atmosphere, the owner, the servers and the food. I always feel like I’m at home. At a home with free pool and tasty little corndogs, mind you……I don’t know a better place to get a salad in a bar. And the patio is great for an afternoon beer.”

: Free Pool….

While Thebeerchaser is certainly no gourmet, one of the best parts of this bar was the food – excellent on both visits. My good friend and Beerchaser, San Francisco consultant, Dave Hicks, (see prior reviews of The Horse Brass Pub and The Belmont Station) and I watched two simultaneous NCAA Elite 8 games on the big screens.

Dave had an excellent hamburger and I had four pieces of delicious friend chicken and French fries for only $11.50. While they have twelve beers on tap, I opted for the LLL Pilsner in a bottle and Dave had a Dead Guy Ale.

: A hamburger rivaling anything at Princeton, NJ

: Scrumptious fried chicken

Dave went to undergraduate school at Princeton (his nickname was “Lucky”) and then to law school at the University of San Diego including a semester studying law in Paris. He honed his musical talents singing bass at Princeton in the famous a capella group The Nassoons.

One of the treats during our visit was the great line-up of ’70’s tunes being played on satellite radio – the line-up ranged from Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac to Hall and Oates and the Eagles. Dave talked about his thrill of seeing them live at the LA Forum in January this year and meeting lead guitarist, Joe Walsh and his wife, Marjorie, back stage.

On my second visit, after a bowl of fantastic Portuguese bean soup, I had an amazing Southwest Chicken Salad – huge pieces of chicken and very little lettuce unlike the converse in most pubs’ version of this dish. According to Sam, they recently overhauled their menu and serve nothing that has been frozen. We asked to meet the cook and had the pleasure of greeting Jimmy, who has held the position for the last eight years.

Sam and Jimmy – Crackerjack’s ace cook.

——

About the only negative comments I could find were from a 2007 Yelp review, “..The fries are decent. The only problem is that the clientele’s average age is about 38. Kinda like ‘Cheers.’ I guess I should have picked a better fantasy.”

Okay – since a lot of this bar’s clientele are regulars and the above review was 7 years ago, logic dictates that the mean age has now risen to 45 – and I was a significant deviation from the mean! That maturity opens the door to reminisce just a bit about the original Cracker Jacks….

Still tasty, but instead of a decoder ring, a tiny decal…..

This delicious concoction of caramel popcorn and peanuts with Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo on the box were first sold at baseball games. Anyone attending a Major League game has mentioned the treat in the seventh inning stretch when singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game“. On June 16, 1993, the 100th anniversary of Cracker Jack was celebrated at Wrigley Field.

Baby Boomer’s can remember the neat “prizes” in every box such as puzzles, baseball cards or decoder rings – now they are cheap decals. And speaking of decoder rings, this raised another great memory – Captain Midnight and his decoder rings a Saturday morning TV favorite…..

: Captain Midnight and the amazing decoder ring (Thanks to Jerome Holst and TVacres.com)

But if you want a prize inside that has not diminished in value, make a visit to Crackerjacks Pub. Open the door, walk in and tell Sam and Jimmy, “Dirt and Lucky sent us!”

Crackerjacks Pub and Eatery 2788 NW Thurman

(To view the map with all the bars reviewed by Thebeerchaser, click on the “View Larger Map” link at the bottom of the map below)

Thebeerchaser

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Crackerjack’s Pub – Open the Door and There’s a Prize Inside