The Comfort of Beer

As a long-time beer geek, seeking out beer wherever I'm at it is a given, hopefully a given that isn't too irritating (or an off-base indication that I need to visit the AA folks) to family and friends who haven't gone down the beer rabbit hole themselves. It's a delight to find new beer or in certain locals be reunited with old favorites that don't make it to Portland. It's also a comfort, not just the comfortable escape the ABVs provide but also the comfort of pursuing a familiar hobby.

Case in point is a recent visit back to the Midwest due to a family medical emergency, which for now is out of the crisis category and into the wait and see category. Towards the end of the second day spent mostly in a hospital room I was able to meet up with one of my dearest friends, first at a dive bar just down the street from the hospital and then we continued our visit over dinner at a place she specifically chose because of their tap list. While she's primarily a macro drinker she's a ready student eager to explore, up for tasting anything and she knows a good tap list when she sees it.

Jameson's Public House was the destination and with one look their tap handles I was blown away. There were five Deschutes taps, but not the usual suspects of Black Butte and Mirror Pond, oh no, there was The Stoic, Fresh Squeezed, Armory XPA (on nitro), Pinedrops IPA and Red Chair. In addition there was Rubaeus from Founders and Abrasive from Surly. I was quite serious when I said I'd happily spend the night there.

Rubaeus, made with raspberries, has been a beer I've been eager to try for years, since we visited Founder's on a beercation, in fact. Although they were out of it when we were there I picked up a t-shirt and every time I've worn it I've wondered when I would be able to try it. It was as delicious as I had hoped and was a unanimous hit with my friend, my brother and even my non-beer drinking mom.

I would have greatly enjoyed another Rubaeus but I couldn't resist the pull of Abrasive. It's a big beer so I tried getting a half pour, common in Portland. It turned out not to be an option so I happily enjoyed sip after sip of the full goblet at our patio table as the sun slowly set and the music from down the street filled the evening.