Portland, Oregon - The Pearl

It took us about a day, standing in the shadow of the new 'Pearl District' to get our bearings and fully realize the amazing metropolis of breweries we had entered. Plus, we needed time to visit with my uncles and savor the feast they had prepared, freshly slaughtered lamb (Blake was butchering the previous day's kill when we arrived at his property on Sauvie's Island). We dined on grilled lamb riblets and Bridgeport IPA, tossing our bones to the dirt and licking our fingers. I know, it sounds primal - and it was. Primal in the simplistic sense, primary - just what was necessary.

By now, Nick was deeply lured by the call of the Steelhead and could hear nothing but the clear, crisp tributaries running in the mountains. The weather was unusually perfect, crisp and bright. He shifted gears and headed back for Eugene to stake out the McKenzie River with Gramps. His love of fishing will supersede almost anything, much like Chad loves brewing.

Back in the city of Portland, after my college stories of loading up kegs at the funky old warehouse, constructed from brick and timber that is Bridgeport Brewery , it seemed appropriate that Chad should take the visit to the Portland landmark. Now, however; the brewery, while maintaining it's original construction and facade was sitting in the middle of the newly developed Pearl District, an upscale, high end, art and shopping district that had sprung up since the last time we visited for Jake's graduation, 5 years ago. I dropped off Chad in front of the original unassuming 'loading dock' and then, with my dear friend Heather, took the little boys and headed off to Powells.

An hour or so later while Heather and I were corralling Ethan and Alden in the children's section of Powells, we got the phone call from an overly ecstatic Chad. He was in heaven. He had gone on a private tour of the brewery and obtained an amazing amount of information from the brewers, even down to what they considered the best new beer being produced in the Northwest (a small organic brew house, Laurelwood ). He had sampled their beers, learned of their plans to remodel and expand and breathed the deep glorious smell of hundreds of pounds of Cascade and Willamette hops. He had practically become best friends and had even been offered employment. To continue on with Chad's overly dramatic roller coaster metaphor, he was on the rush of the ride! He noted the unique set-up of the pub, with it's long bar and emphasis on beer sampling. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a brewery, much like a winery, that sold its beer (whether by bottles or kegs) but instead of operating as a bar, just gave out samples.

Later that night we met family and friends at The Ram's Head, a McMennamin's pub on NW 23rd. Quentin and I have forever talked about The Fulton, a different McMennamin's pub from our old neighborhood in John's Landing, so I had to show Chad the true Portland establishment. The beer, while not at the same level as Bridgeport, is satisfying. Their beer is 'green' - meaning they distribute it before it is truly ready and they aren't ashamed of it. They have created an amazing empire - buying old theaters, schools, and historical buildings throughout Oregon and converting them into brew-centric taverns, restaurants, and hotels. The theaters are the greatest. You can eat and drink while watching second run or b-grade movies - Quentin and I saw StripTease at The Baghdad, and the Hammerhead was the only way we would have made it through that movie!

It is funny, everyone in Portland, even the grade school teachers (maybe I should write, 'especially the teachers') have an opinion, conscience and deep knowledge of beer, breweries, and pubs. Everywhere we went, everyone we talked too, could and did talk, 'beer.' Everything from Pilsner Urquell to Pabst's Rainier (or 'Vitamin R' as my Uncle's friend, Tom calls it) is up for dialog. And every restaurant we went too, from the Noodle Houses (NoodleHead) to the Hot Dog Stand (Good Dog, Bad Dog), had an amazing variety of well crafted, locally produced beer either on tap or in bottles. Brew is as much a part of everyday life in the Northwest as protecting the environment, rainy days, quality coffee and wild salmon.

We hit up the grocery store and stocked up on a few more Northwest beers (Deschutes Jubelale, Steelhead's Bombay Bomber IPA, etc) and headed for our cabin on the McKenzie River. Plus, we had 10 gallons of Chad's brew to test out on family and friends. Let the family reunion, commence.