After a long and torturous drive home from the coast Sunday afternoon (if you must know, I detest driving...) I arrived home to an empty kitchen. The fridge held the requisite string cheese and some chips made it back from the beach, but not even the presence of a full beer fridge was enticing. Luckily, the husband had a great plan. "Get in the truck. We're going to Produce Row Cafe. They have falafel there for you... and good beer."He was right. They do, indeed, have falafel, in a gyro sandwich wrap... and their hummus platter and mac n cheese are pretty tasty too. But the beer! They have a great selection of interesting beers, and when we asked nicely, the bar offered a half flight of four seven ounce tastes instead of the flight of eight offered on the menu. (Holy cats! I do love me some beer, but really? Fifty six ounces? That's too much for a quick Sunday dinner.) So! I got to choose the four I thought sounded most interesting, since the husband likes to indulge my inner craft brew fancier. (And we got an extra taste of the Amber Ale... just for kicks.)
Boont Amber Ale: Anderson Valley Brewing Company : 5.8% ABV - nice standard. Golden tones, bright and carbonated, delicious and a little tart from some citrusy/grassy tones. I liked this one very much, and would like it with a salmon Caesar salad.
Four Farmhouse Wheat: Upright Brewing : 4.5% ABV - I got a lot of traditional Belgian flavors out of this - spicy top notes, lovely unfiltered wheat with a good malty pull.
Helles Lager: Caldera Brewing : 5.6% ABV - this was the surprise favorite of the evening! I'm not much of a lager fan, but I'm a perpetual optimist - so I like to think that it's more because I haven't had a great lager yet that I *think* I don't like them. This is ultimately a lovely beer, some rounded grape tones at the front, evenly balanced, great golden tones. I would stock this in the fridge. (That's HIGH praise.) This was delicious with the herbed mac n cheese.
Crosstown Pale Ale: Hopworks Urban Brewery : 5.3% ABV - this beer had a great nose, lovely balance, very nice carbonation and lacing. Fantastic iris top notes, solid hoppy floral through and through. A great beer. Paired really well with my falafel.
Hercules Double IPA: Great Divide Brewing Company : 10% ABV - I loved the flavor profile in this beer, but I was sad that the carbonation made this drink more like a barleywine than an IPA. The lack of brightness from carbonation let the super hoppy flavors set too much like syrup. I was sad about this, because I really wanted it to shine.
Overall, a successful foray into a wonderful little spot to have a great beer and some tasty food. Some innovative ideas on the menu for the beer & whiskey pairs, and some beer cocktails (I want to try the Bourbon Ginger cocktail, with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Fentiman’s Ginger Beer, bitters, and fresh ginger... mmmm). I was also really pleasantly surprised at how relatively inexpensive this dinner ended up being - $65 total w tip for the half flight, a steak sandwich, hummus platter, falafel sandwich, honey sandwich (for the kiddo), a pop, AND an extra falafel sandwich to go for husband's lunch the next day. I hadn't been in several years, and the renovations since I'd been last are really nice. Spacious patio with plenty of seating and shade, great back booth room, and some nice large tables for big parties. We'll definitely head back... maybe we'll see you there!** originally posted by me July 21st on Portland Rules **
