Stickmen Brewery & Skewery

Tuesday night we checked out the interestingly named, relatively new brewery in Lake Oswego, Stickmen Brewery & Skewery. With so many great places much closer to home I have to congratulate us on making it there while they can still be called new.

We were tipped off that parking in the area would be difficult so we parked a couple of blocks north and walked down State Street/Hwy 43. Our plan turned out to be a good one as the low building next to Lake Twin Theater had only a small sign to identify it. We could have easily driven by multiple times before we had actually found it. Inside we found our friend had arrived a few minutes before us and secured a table in a large alcove of the bar.

The first order of business was of course to order a beer. Of the 13 taps they unfortunately only had one house-brewed beer, Saison, which Mag took one for the team and ordered. He declared it very Saison-y, which I agreed with, meaning that it was most certainly not something I liked. For Saison fans, it might be just the thing. The rest of the taps offered a thoughtful selection of styles from primarily Oregon breweries.

Flat bread piled high with toppings.

With "skewery" as part of their name we knew our food order would have to include some of their skewers. The handful of skewers we ordered were hit and miss but both the fries and flat bread were clear, delicious winners. While their menu is mostly skewers and small plate items they also offer an assortment of salads, sandwiches, burgers and entrees.

Being in Lake Oswego it is unlikely Stickmen will become a regular haunt but I'd like to go back when they have a more of their beers available. If that isn't until summer, well then, perhaps I'll be able to find myself a seat on their patio. It snugs up to the lake and will likely be quite popular in the summer. If you're in the area stop in, have a beer, the flat bread and decide for yourself.

No Beer or Only Beer?

This time of year there's a lot of talk losing weight. For those of us that enjoy beer the fact is that beer does indeed contain calories, as much as we'd like the opposite to be true. That means one way or another we have to find a way to combat those delicious calories.

Going on a beer fast, for a week or two or maybe even a month is something some of my beer friends do on an annual basis. As I understand it, a beer fast isn't entirely a weight loss strategy. It also has to do with a kind of recalibrating of the body and the taste buds. Certainly the lack of liquid calories adds up and for those on multi-week beer fasts I suspect a few pounds do slip off in the process.

I'm neither advocating nor dismissing a beer fast. I understand the theory behind it and applaud anyone who can achieve their goals. At present a beer fast is not in my future; I'll take others' words for the fact that it works for them.

Going to the polar opposite of a beer fast, you may remember hearing the story two years ago about Jay Wilson of Iowa who went on a 46-day fast during which time he consumed only his own Illuminator Doppelbock. For those interested in the full story, check out his blog or grab his book, Diary of a Part-Time Monk. The quick and dirty story is that he had a great employer who was on board with the project, he did the liquid fast under medical supervision and due to his lack of solid calories, lost quite a bit of weight.

I can't say I'm interested in trying either a beer fast or a beer only diet but if I had to choose I might lean slightly toward the latter. How about you? Have you done either? If you had to do one, which one would you choose?

Welcome to 2013

Turning the corner to a new year means resolutions for many people. Not me. I've never been one to make them probably because I know that they would be short lived and then I'd just end up being disappointed in myself. That's not to say that I don't set goals but they're not of the "this year" variety. Plus, coming up with meaningful resolutions that one has a chance of carrying out is a tall order after a long night of revelry.

That being said, one of the beer related things I'd like to accomplish this year (see, no use of the word "resolution") is to provide you, my lovely readers, with content on a more regular basis. We started the blog back in 2007 with the idea of amusing ourselves and a handful of our friends. That year, or rather that half year, since we stared in May, we churned out 37 posts. We hit a peak in 2008 and kept a pretty steady run through 2009.

2010 was a big year but not in terms of beer and that was reflected by a huge decrease in posts. We sold our house in Minnesota, waved goodbye to our friends and moved halfway across the country to set up shop in Portland. The next year posts dropped off even further and I assumed the writing reins. Sometime last year I decided it was time to work on posting more often and although I haven't yet gotten to 2008 - 2009 posting frequency, it's been a damn sight more often than 2010.

More doesn't mean better but hopefully it won't mean worse. I appreciate your reading of my musings, the comments you leave and in return maybe I provide some interesting or useful content from time to time. So here's to a great 2013 for all of us!