Too Comfortable?

A couple weeks ago I told you how I realized that I was starting to take some beers here for granted. Now it’s time to confess that I might be getting too comfortable as well. Possibly even lazy. Let me explain a bit so you don’t think that I’ve stopped showering and found a service to deliver beer to my door.

With no plans yesterday afternoon or evening and a plethora of things going on for Portland’s Zwicklmania, we pondered our plentiful options. The night before we had been to one of our favorite places, Coalition, and there were things going on I was interested in at Green Dragon and Cascade Barrel House. In the end, though, we decided with it being a Saturday we should take the opportunity to travel a little farther afield.

Our destination was Breakside Brewing. We had been to once before, when the McG’s were in town. That first trip was a little disappointing because they had just opened and due to permit and equipment issues, they only had one of their own beers on tap (a Wit). The place itself was nice but we only stayed long enough for a couple of beers. Had we not just come from lunch at Saraveza we might well have tried some of the interesting looking items on the food menu.

Last night however, they not only had a full line up of their beers on tap, but also had their Belgian Royal Brown going through the Randall with vanilla and dried cherries. The place was packed when we got there but luckily there were two seats at the bar, our preferred place to sit. Although I dislike Belgians in general, I had enjoyed a Belgian Brown from Green Flash a few weeks ago and the pull of the randallizing was too strong to resist. I wish I could say I was sold, but no. It was good to try but one tulip glass was more than enough.

With my curiosity satiated, it was time to move to more familiar ground – the land of hops. For the next round Mag picked the IPA so I went for the Hoppy Amber. Both were very good beers and I waivered through the next few rounds which I preferred. The Hoppy Amber had a good hop stank to it and lingered on my tongue. In contrast, the IPA was a brighter, more citrusy beer that finished very clean. Being only 8 IBUs apart from one another they both made this hophead very happy.

Of course the beer was the focus and the impetus for the visit, but I can’t wrap this up without a quick food note. If you have any room in your belly for some food when you visit I can’t recommend highly enough their Rogue Smokey Blue Waffle Fries.

So you might wonder, what was this talk of laziness? Living in SE Portland, with the aforementioned places, and many other great options, it’s easy, especially during the week when traffic is a consideration, to go to some place close. So on the weekend, when there are less time constraints and less traffic, I need to remember that I’ll be well rewarded by going just a few more miles down the road.