The Best Things We Drank: July 3 - 16

Nope, we didn't make a mistake on the date range in the title and you didn't read it wrong. This is a special, we-got-really-busy-moving-into-a-new-house double edition of Best Things. We only moved about a mile away from our previous house but whether one is moving a mile or a few thousand miles away the drill is the same and it keeps one really, really busy. So while we were still enjoying the hop juice, our writing about it got pushed to the back burner.

Fire on the Mountain Shocks of Sheba - The day we took possession of the new house we took our new house keys out to our favorite restaurant in town, Fire on the Mountain (Burnside), and celebrated the only way we know how - beer, wings and fries! This was one of the first beers Fire on the Mountain made when they started brewing and if we recall correctly, it has evolved with the current recipe now quite readily holding its own in the land of PacNW IPAs.

Culmination Obscured By Clouds - After a busy week and finally feeling more settled than not into the new place we headed out for a relaxing end to the week with beers and dinner at Culmination. Part of the current hazy IPA trend that we're fans of, this beer was citrusy and bright but also smooth. If you're a hazy IPA fan as well, make sure to try this before it's gone.

With only two beers living up to Best Things standards last week we wanted to reward you for your patience with our lapse so here's a rewind to the previous week, July 3 - 9, before we kicked into high gear on the moving front.

North Coast Passionfruit-Peach Berliner Weisse - This is the second Berliner Weisse that we've had from North Coast and while we were skeptical with the first one from a brewery that we tend to associate with stouts, we were excited to see another arrive on the shelf. This beer, with its peach Scratch 'n Sniff aroma and mildly tart but full-of-fruit flavor, solidifies their Berliner Weisse chops with us and has us looking forward to the next one.

Coalition Herbs of A Feather - The second beer in their Two Flowers Series of beers that are infused with CBD, it's lemony and super yummy. The basil is subdued and fills a supporting, complimentary role in this summery, lightly sour beer. Consume out of doors on a sunny day for maximum enjoyment.

We're big fans of Ruse Brewing, both the beers Shaun is making and Shaun himself. We're also super excited for and about the opening of their own space in SE PDX near the Max Orange Line later this year. Two of their beers conclude this week's list, one we'd had before and one that is new to us.

Papyrus Iris - Another hazy IPA that hits the mark, our friend Warren nailed it with his description that this is a lighter, fruiter version of the current, ever-so-delicious version of Fort George's 3-Way.

Multibeast - We tried this beer for the first time over a year ago and loved its burgundy barrel-aged farmhouse, conditioned with Brett flavor from the get-go. Subsequent drinking of it has continued to confirm that they've got a solid winner in this beer.

We hope you're enjoying the summer, now at an approximate midway point, along with plenty of delicious beer. Cheers to our friends, near and far!