Date Day :: DIY Pub Crawl

This month's date brought to you by...BEER! It's HubbaBubba's favorite thing, and since it is his birthday month he got to choose our outing. Which meant it needed to be scheduled around college football game times. Nice.

We've always wanted to do a pub crawl of brewery tour...but timing never jives for us. And the cost. Some of them want a hundred bucks just to walk you around...you still have to pay for beer! After much Googling, we found a map that navigates local breweries using the Portland Street Car. We're serious about our beer in these parts!!

Our first stop...was for me. Cupcake Jones = YUM! If you have to pick just one, get the red velvet. But with the minis, why stop at one?

After a short hop on the streetcar, it was off to Rogue Public House. We love Rogue. We even named our dog Rogue. Though, if you ask, we'll tell you we got it from the river. Our next dog will probably be names Dechutes. Again, friends will think it's the brewery, I'll tell the PTA moms it's the river. That's how we roll.


The selection is amazing at Rogue. Toasted hazelnut, double chocolate, Irish cream, honey orange....those aren't desserts, they're beer! We were event tempted to try the Bleu Balls on the menu for a laugh. HubbaBubba wants me to make them at home.

He prefers the stronger, hoppy beers. Brutal, Triple Jump, Dead Guy, and a chipotle flavored beer were his suggestions. Soon, they'll be offering a Voodoo Doughnut inspired bacon Maple...not sure about that one. Good thing they have tasting trays!

Next stop -- Bridgeport. They did a Summer Squeeze beer that I really like. It has a lemony yuzu thing going on. The man is all about the Hops Czar.


We like Bridgeport because you can bring the kids if you want. They're not the kind of place that caters to families, but they don't eschew them either. Ours love the fat pretzels, and the kids menu has real pizza (not frozen) and natural hot dogs. Their salads and sandwiches are great too.

 We took the streetcar back towards Burnside to find Tugboat Brewery, but it was closed. As was Bailey's Taproom. After that disappointment, we opted for a sure thing -- Henry's.

In the building of the famed Henry Weinhard's Brewery now sits Henry's Tavern. A modern industrial vibe pulls together the bar, restaurant and upstairs billiard room. The Happy Hour menu is fun (gorgonzola waffle fries anyone?), the dinner choices are surprisngly varied, and there are over a hundred beers on tap! Sea Dog's Blueberry Ale smells like a muffin and the Apricot Cream is delicious. To me. Hubba was on the opposite side of the menu with Amnesia's Desolation and Ninkasi Tricerahops.

He's already planning our next DIY beer tour...