Monday, October 24, 2011

Pubs Getting in on Brewing and Where to Find Brew Dog


Here is a little tidbit from the Willy Week: Kells has applied to open Kells Brew Pub in Nob Hill and Old Town Pizza have applied to start brewing at their Vanport location.

This is interesting to me as most brewpubs start as a brewery pub combo or start as a brewery and then add the pub.  I wonder if the whole brewpub idea is becoming so ubiquitous that pubs are beginning to find it a necessary selling point?  It is one thing to be an avid brewer and figure out a business to support your hobby-turned-profession but quite another to be a successful pub and decide that you need to add on-site brewing.   Thoughts?

On another note altogether.  After my soccer game last night in Oregon City a few of us stopped in for a quick drink at the wonderful Highland Stillhouse.  I had already been eagerly anticipating a draft Bellhaven Twisted Thistle so that is what I got, but the beer selection was fantastic - everything from Ninkasi's fresh hop beer to a great cask offering (which escapes me at the moment).  But what really caught my eye was an extensive list of Brew Dog beers.  I suspect, though I didn't ask, that these are from the bottle.  And they don't come cheap: a glass of Brew Dog will set you back $12!  Still, if you want to see if all the fuss is due to genius at self-promotion or to great beer, here is your chance.  You can even enjoy you Brew Dog with haggis balls!  Yum. 

If you are a little more budget conscious, I do recommend the Bellhaven. 

3 comments:

The Oriole Way said...

If you're a fan of scotch and barrel aged beers, I highly recommend the Brew Dog Paradox series. They take their stout and age it in different scotch barrels; incredible how different the beer tastes out of each.

Jeff Alworth said...

I don't think there's any advantage to brewing--especially in Portland. Whatever value the idea of beer brewed onsite might once have had is now gone. Portlanders have such a surfeit of good beer to choose from, they don't need every pub making their own beer (especially another middling amber or IPA).

Kell's could offer a wider selection and call it good.

As for the Stillhouse, it's hard to pass up the malt. That's the one place I go and skip the beer.

Patrick Emerson said...

Jeff,

So why brew if you are Kells or Old Town?