Early at Saraveza - before the masses started their post-work arrivals that evening.
I wasn't in the front door of Saraveza for two minutes before Tyler Vickers (of Tyler the Elder fame) was pouring me an imperial porter with a Whopper dropped into the head. This apparently earned me some street cred at the bar from a patron or two, but I was unable to gather if it was because I was drinking porter at 11:45am or if it was due to my immediate agreement to add candy to my beer. In either case, this is just an example of how fun this place can be. It had been about 10 months since I was last there and I felt immediate pangs of regret to live halfway across the city. Saraveza has friendliness pouring from the windows and it's a great little watering hole. I enjoyed the spicy chili that was recommended to me (not the best pairing with my beer, but it's all good) and just missed a bottle-cap-in-a-container-guessing-contest win by about 20 (225 to 243, I think and the total in Container #1 was about 270). If you're in the north part of town and rolling down Killingsworth, you are implored to stop by.
There are worse ways to start your day.
The beer was from Caldera Brewing down in Ashland - 'Mogli' Imperial Porter. The picture above is one sip in and it was an effort not to chug before getting the camera out. This was a good porter that turned into 'very good' with the chocolate backbone involved. The balance is nicely done with some light bittering from the hops moving the chocolate flavor smack in the middle between Sweetened and Unsweetened. If you see in on-tap, it won't disappoint. Just pack Whoppers ahead of time - I doubt other places are going to offer.
Step two on my Saturday trek was a visit to the new House of Sour.
Returning to Cascade is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.
For those not aware of their history, Cascade Brewing is a great example of How To Succeed In Oregon Brewing. It's no secret that there are a large number of breweries in this neck of the woods, so to rise up from the pack, carving out a niche (and then kicking ass at it) is almost mandatory. Cascade dove headlong into aging and sour ales a few years back and, seriously, bless them for it. The Gold AND Silver medals for Wood-Aged Sour (2009 GABF) turned a few heads and their popularity, both in town and outside of it, has steadily increased. My primary reason for visiting? The two beers that took those medals: Bourbonic Plague and Vlad the Imp Aler. In bottles. For sale.
The second reason was that the Barrel House is getting obscenely good reviews (at least the garbled sounds of delight seemed positive) and I definitely wanted to see if the joy was legit. Cascade's own description of their house: "Of the 7,100 sq ft, the pub takes up 2,100 sq. feet. On the aging side – not open to the public - we can house 350 wine, whisky or port barrels in the cooler, plus another 150 outside of the cooler, as well as bottles for filling and aging. The barrel room is specially designed to keep the sour beers at a proper temperature for aging, specifically the cultivation of bacteria that give these brews their distinctive tang."
Yes, the place is badass. How's the beer? Tongue-tying in uniqueness. You are simply not going to get anything remotely like this unless you're on an active Sour Seeking mission. Even then, the chances of you getting a lineup like this are between slim and HAHAHAHAHA.
My first beer there was the Bourbonic Plague. While I'd like to look all kinds of knowledgeable and worldly in my reviews, I have to be honest: it's almost too complex for someone with my skills to break down. Sure, the nose is fairly straight-forward with white wine and a sweet note or two. But the taste is like drinking Calculus out of a glass when Algebra II is all I've seen so far. Just a rush of flavors across your taste buds and you're getting everything from oak to faint hop to cinnamon in there. Sour finish (natch), but not anywhere near as oppressive as you might think. I'm just not the guy to pin down the sixty tastes that are flying around in there - it took me six sips before I finally said, " . . . oh, cinnamon!" That's one flavor, mind you. Definitely good and definitely worth a try. My purchased bottle is going into the Beer Cabinet of Perpetual Darkness for a bit, but having this now would not be a problem.
My other selection at the House was Nightfall. The description from Cascade: "Nightfall Blackberry starts as a soured blonde wheat beer aged for 12 months in oak barrels, then laid on blackberries for another six. It features intense fruitiness and a concentrated color and aroma." My glass was sent over with zero head, which was odd since the beer ended up providing good lacing. Sours are weird that way. Fruit and sour/wine in the smell - obviously with a predominant blackberry angle on things. Admittedly, I love sour fruit if it's done correctly and during my first sip of this, my eyes lit up like I was about to explode. I'm amazed that the fruit can just overpower the sourness of the ale to create a great blend like this - the margin for error has to be slim as hell. It's a testament to brewers who know the process and can get the most out of it and I have to high-five Cascade on their skill. Those who visit Cascade's new place are strongly advised to put Nightfall on their list.
Just another weekend in Portland. Hard work, this.
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