We took a fantastic drive up the Gorge last Sunday to Double Mountain - delicious food, great beer, sweet setting... The drive up is gorgeous, and you can make it a day trip, extending your stops at Multnomah Falls, Crown Point, the Stonehenge Memorial & Maryhill Museum. I love quaint little Hood River, so I was especially excited about visiting to see all the changes. I haven't been up there for years, despite the easy access from Portland, and the mere 45 minute drive! Once in Hood River, I really like the way that Double Mountain is set into the hill - it feels like a cozy hometown spot to grab a solid beer and some tasty pizza. Kid friendly (and with food that the small people actually eat), we grabbed lunch and a tasting tray with each of the 8 beers on tap at Double Mountain.The primary standout here for me was the Double Mountain Vaporizer - described as featuring nothing but Challenger hops from the Yakima Valley with a house Pilsner malt, this light and lovely beer is delicious. Warm notes of iris run with the gentle effervescence of the brew (what?! it's nicely carbonated! The floral notes read like iris to me!) and this is the one that I would have chosen for a full pint if we'd had the time or the luxury of being slightly tipsy for an hour or so. Alas, the 6% ABV will have to wait until my next visit, and one where I'm not driving three children to Stonehenge Memorial.
Also of note on the tasting tray, the Double Mountain Kolsch. Now, this is a beer style that I have seen coming up in the ranks of availability here in Portland as of late. While not as flavorful as the Apricot Kolsch from Captured by Porches, the Double Mountain Kolsch is a fun example of using general guidelines in beer styling and then tweaking the classic to come up with a twist. True to Kolsch styling, this is a pale beer, with a higher ABV (5.2%) and relatively subtle flavoring of malt. While the Double Mountain Kolsch has a wonderful carbonation, light lacing, and a bright nose, it differs from the style guidelines, however, as it is unfiltered, and has been imbued with more hops than a traditional Kolsch. I described this during tasting as "like drinking soft cats," which apparently made someone laugh and shoot beer out their nose. But this is a prime example of describing beer flavors using non-traditional methods. It works for me, and perhaps you'd know what I meant if you tried the Kolsch.
Lastly, the Double Mountain No. 1 Shandy - while some report that a Shandy is traditionally described as beer mixed with lemonade, others say that it can be any combination of beer with another non-alcoholic drink, such as soda, lemonade, ginger beer or ginger ale. It can also be mixed with cider, which is how the Double Mountain Shandy is created. Using hard cider made from local apples, the Shandy is blended with the Pilsner and creates a light, well carbonated, fresh summer drink. The Pilsner and cider balance nicely, bringing faint tart notes to the Pilsner's neutral base. I really liked the innovative taste of this, and it would have been perfect if paired with a more acidic food, like a tomato pizza.
To get to Double Mountain from Portland, head East on Interstate 84 towards the Dalles, using exit 63 towards Hood River's City Center. The exit drops you right, onto 2nd Street, where you go a block to Cascade Street. Turn right onto Cascade, head two blocks to 4th, and find parking. Double Mountain is located a couple blocks away from Full Sail, down the hill from Big Horse, and across Bridge of the Gods (into Stevenson, Washington) from Walking Man. It was advised to me by locals that if you're going to make it a crawl, be careful at Walking Man because of their whopping ABV beers (moderation is key!) and that if you do the trio in Hood River, start at Big Horse and work your way DOWN the hill. Not up. Unless you're a masochist, in which case, by all means, walk up hill. Above all else; have fun and taste something new!** originally posted by me July 14th on Portland Rules! **
