So for my first weekend here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest city of Portland, Oregon, I decided to take in a little local flavor. As I am establishing contacts and people to interview I decided to play regular tourist. I started out my day grabbing breakfast at Elmer’s, a local Denny’s/Village Inn/Carrows or whatever that have in your state, breakfast place. They specialize in they gigantic German Pancake which is a great way to carb up for a day of tasting.
I took the scenic drive out to Hood River, which is a small town with a population of about 7,000 about 1 hour east of Portland. The drive itself is stunning as it takes you along the Columbia River through the Columbia George, which happens to be part of the historic Lewis and Clark trail. Along the way I recommend stopping to see the Multnomah Falls. This is a 620ft. water fall with has a 1 mile switch back trial you can hike to the top, or just go to the bridge at the bottom to gaze up it. There is also a restaurant to dine at near the base which has a spectacular view of the falls.
When I arrived in Hood River I immediately went to Full Sail brewery, makers of Full Sail and Session beers. They offer free tours daily at 1,2, & 3pm, just walk up no appointment necessary. Unfortunately when I arrived their brewing facility was closed for cleaning and maintenance. Can’t blame them as it is an extremely important process. Fortunately I did make a good contact who is setting me up with a tour by a brewer so check back for that interview. I did a partial tour and got some good info. Full Sail has a very high priority of producing great beer, being as sustainable as possible, and giving back financially. Their location in Hood River allows them to source 99% of their ingredients locally. The water coming from towering Mt. Hood, hops from the Yakima and Willamette areas, malt from across the river in Vancouver, Washington, and the yeast from their local lab. It is no wonder why Hood River has the most breweries per capita than any other city in the US (5 breweries for 7,000 people). Of course Full Sail was the 1st to be in this location. Besides their amazing beers and sustainability efforts they were given the title of craft brewery of the year 2014, which means their stuff is good. While you are their make sure you grab your free pint glass after the tour and a beer at their tasting room which has 24 of their beers on tap, including pub only brews, seasonal’s, and their Bourbon Barrel aged beer.
Now Hood River is a small town but it has a lot of character. It is on a steep hill with a small downtown area that has numerous shops, bars, and tasting rooms. I went to Cascade Cliffs’ tasting room since I had been to the winery before and fell in love with their wines. They are a small production winery out of the Washington side of the Columbia about 15 min farther down the road over by The Dalles. They specialize in Italian grape varietals. Last year when I visited the winery I had the chance to meet the owner as well as the wine maker. It was an interesting story to hear when I asked the owner how he came to make wine. He did not know anything about the wine industry and still is no wine specialist but a simple farmer. His family has been in the farming industry for years but he became intrigued by the beverage industry because of his families history of bootlegging. He grew up hearing the stories and attending illegal alcohol sales by his Father (after prohibition) and was just fascinated in it. Today he gets his satisfaction by producing legal beverage for consumers. His Barbera won 2006 wine of the year in Washington. You can not believe this is Barbera when you taste it. Jammy, bold, and fruit forward with just the right amount of RS (not sweet though) to make it a stunner for your palate.
The next day I went to the Oregon Bounty Fresh Hop Beer Tastival. When in Portland do look up if there are any local wine or beer festivals going on. This was a celebration of the end of the host picking season. Not really an educational experiences as one might think, unless you consider drinking a bunch of local brews for cheap an educational experience like I do. $15 got me a pint glass and 10 drink tickets (1 ticket = 4oz, so either 1 ticket for a taste or 4 for a full pint), plus $10 for an additional 10 tickets. It was simple and great. You stood in line for the beers you wanted to drink, got your beer and hung out along the Willamette River. What more can I say about this event. There were some local food vendors to satisfy your hunger and plenty of fresh beer to taste. Also there was a station that had all of the fresh local hops to stop and smell for the beer geeks like myself. This is just one of the great things to look forward to on a trip to Portland.
