Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom, one of the best in town despite it tender young age of four, now has a sister location on NE Alberta Street and we had the distinct pleasure of getting an early look at it last night.
Similar in size and overall feel to the original space, Imperial North (at least that's what you'll check into on Untappd), manages to feel like a sibling instead of a twin. Occupying a center space instead of a corner one, wood plays a prominent role from a double set of beams in the high ceilings to the bar stools, chairs, booths and tables (some of which were made from barrel tops acquired from Ruse Brewing) to the floor. Slate black walls on the bar side of the space, under which rests a gorgeous copper bar top, sit in contrast to the opposite walls that feature large mirrors and a work-in-progress mural (Sasquatch has already found his way there). The large storefront window looks back toward the brick wall that was opened up and behind which the shelves and coolers filled with bottles are found.
With nearly 30 taps, including two nitro taps and a cask engine, that's double the beer and cider availability of the SE Division location so be prepared for an even tougher decision on what to order. We were so enamored with the opening tap list we have to admit that we didn't get around to perusing the bottle selection (but we trust it's as good).
For those who've made a habit of combining a visit to Imperial on Division with a stop at Bollywood Theater or Salt & Straw, you're in luck! Both have locations just across the street, in addition to a Bunk Sandwiches, and a multitude of other options are available within a short meander. As with the Division location, you're welcome to bring food in and will find the restrooms through the back of the shop in a shared space.
The harshest criticism we have to offer is that it can get a bit loud but if it hasn't bothered you at the original location, it won't bother you here. Huge congrats to Alex and Shawn for all the hard work that has gone into getting the space open in such a short time. It is a beautiful space that will surely be filled with many happy beer lovers, especially those who now have an Imperial closer to them.
2006 NE Alberta St
Open daily at 12pm
Four of the best things we drank this week come from a PDX Beer Week event that we hadn't even planned to attend. Big thanks to Larry and Kate for inviting us to join them at Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom's 4th Annual Weird Beer Bonanza!
54º 40' Vita-Beer Shandy - Who remembers Sunny-D? Yes, you can still buy it but for those of similar age to us you may remember when it came on the market. Around our house that was considered a treat so there are good memories linked to it. This beer brought back those memories right from the start with its aroma. The flavor continued to take us down memory lane, although it is lighter and less sweet than the juice drink. And while its 4.8% is a sessionable ABV it drinks like there's no alcohol in it at all and we suspect it would make great beermosa.
Baerlic Fancy Umbrella Drink - In addition to making an appearance at Imperial, this was also Baerlic's entry for the Portland Fruit Beer Festival and available in their taproom starting last weekend. With a great guava aroma and nice tartness (although minimal/no salt) it certainly lives up to its tagline: "Toes in the water, ass in the sand, a smile on your face and a Fancy Umbrella Drink in your hand."
Trinity Sour Cherry Threads - Tied with the Wolf Tree entry for highest ABV of the fest at 12% and similar in the use of cherries, this one hit much higher notes for us. Both have tons of cherry on the nose, but where that one goes down the Belgian road, this oak barrel aged lactic beer displays the lovely horse blanket funk that we love along with cherries. It was most certainly worth the additional tasting ticket!
Nectar Creek Raspberry Chocolate Mole Mead - This mead definitely lives up to its "weird" billing when one considers the gorgeous, rich berry color that the eyes behold but the disconnect as one takes in the aroma of mole. But it works. It's super fun and tasty, with the smoke and spice from the ancho and chipotle peppers being balanced by the chocolate, raspberries and wildflower honey. Being the other two ticket offering at the event, it, too was worthy.
As our time at Imperial wound down Larry and Kate mentioned that they would be heading over to The Commons as they had heard that Biere Royale was on tap. A beer we enjoyed multiple times in 2013, we were just as pleased with it now as we were back then. And the color...can't get enough of its beauty!
The remaining three to make this week's list all came our visits to The BeerMongers, shared by and with our frequent drinking buddy, Chris.
Alesong Touch of Brett: Mosaic - A dry, French-style Saison, the Brett it was fermented with is just slightly more prevelant than the Mosaic hops that provide ripe pineapple, mango and grapefruit flavors. Both components are favorites and this one masterfully blends the two.
Modern Times Monsters' Park Aged in Bourbon Barrels (Mexican Hot Chocolate 2017) - Modern Times has been a frequent flyer on our list and this 14.6% barrel-aged imperial stout is simply fabulous, especially after it sits for an hour and the full flavor profile - cinnamon, cocoa nibs, chilies and vanilla - blooms.
Fremont The Rusty Nail - Fremont makes good beers but where they really shine are with their aged, high ABV beers. This one begins with an oatmeal stout base, brewer's licorice, smoked barley and pale malt aged on cinnamon bark. That beer, called The First Nail, begins its second life after spending 15 months in 12-year old bourbon barrels, the result of which is an amazing dark, sour and smooth creation whose 13.2% is an afterthought.
PDX Beer Week continues through Sunday, offering plenty of options for great, unique beers and events. And even if one isn't attending "something special" there always seems to be special things waiting on the shelves and taps of our favorite places. Here's hoping you're finding some gems!
The older I get the less I'm interested in receiving stuff as gifts, preferring instead to receive experiences. Don't get me wrong, I'll never look a beer-toting gift horse in the mouth and in fact, in my mind "experiences" include edible gifts.
For those of you that are behind the eight ball in buying a gift for the craft beer person in your life or you need to send some suggestions to the panicked relative that calls mere days in advance here's a short list of experiences that have the added bonus of being available for online purchase with online delivery.
Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom
Imperial is one of the best combo bottle shop/taprooms in town and by purchasing a gift card from them you're giving the gift of beer without the worry that the bottles picked out are going to be up the recipient's liking or figuring out how to get those bottles to them since as we all know, it's illegal to ship beer.
Portland Craft Beer Festival
The folks behind the festival, which debuted this year and takes place July 1 - 3, 2016 at The Fields Neighborhood Park, are on the ball and have made sure that you can purchase festival tickets as holiday gifts. To sweeten the pot a $25 ticket includes mug and 15 beer tickets (for the same price at the door it's only 10 tickets).
Brewvana Brewery Tours
Brewvana offers multiple tours weekly, as well as specialty tours (like the January 8th Join the Dark Side tour that includes dark beers, chocolate and coffee) and gift certificates can be purchased in multiple amounts, redeemable for any tour or even merchandise.
This week I was thrilled to hop on one of the newly wrapped, beautiful Brewvana buses for a three-course beer pairing dinner. Having done all of the planning for the tour it was extra special that I was able to enjoy, quite literally, the fruits of my labor.
The first stop was Beer on SE Stark for what in the early stages of planning was simply soup and two beers. Even after learning what the soup was going to be prior to the tour it in no way prepared me for the deliciousness that would be presented. Our first beer of the night was a crowd pleaser: Pints Brewing Amerikaner In Berliner Weiss. Low in alcohol, lightly tart and loaded with flavor it's one of my favorite beers Alan has made. Up next was the soup, a generous bowl of pastrami and cabbage soup with light rye bread, and Double Mountain Black Perle Double Stout. The 9.5% ABV beer was a great match for the full flavored soup and I would have been quite content to halt the night right there, ordering additional soup and stout. Alas, once our bowls and glasses were drained we hopped back on the bus.
A short jaunt across the river took us to Sasquatch Brewing in Hillsdale. Upon arriving we were led back to a table laid out for us, complete with personalized menus. Shortly thereafter plates of our entrée, crispy pork belly atop Bertha brown risotto with braising greens accompanied by a pickled spaghetti squash fritter and celeriac cream, were brought out. I was sold at pork belly and enjoyed every morsel of it but what really blew me away was the fritter. I mean have you ever heard of pickled spaghetti squash? And on top of that made into a fritter? It was beyond delicious. Paired with the amazing food was their Celilo Cascadian Dark Ale. I love CDAs and this was a great compliment to the rich, full bodied meal. With two incredible courses down, we headed out for stop #3 - dessert.
Imperial Bottle Shop was our destination where owners Shawn and Alex had paired Lauretta Jean's blackberry-raspberry mini pies with two beers and a cider. To top that all off, there was also a serving of Salt & Straw's olive oil ice cream. Both the Block 15 Figgy Pudding and the cider were great with the pie and the Fort George Coffee Girl Imperial Stout was magical with the ice cream. The final course rounded out a very delicious and enjoyable night.
