Dying for a Drink in Portland, Part One

Literally, dying . . . or at least sometimes it can feel that way. Like this morning. After a yesterday's day of drinking in Portland, mostly for work . . . really.

The libatious resources of Portland are varied and many . . . and can be dangerous.

I began my Sunday meeting a friend at the newly-opened Deschutes Brewery & Public House located in the heart of Portland's chic and popular Pearl District. Deschutes is one of the best-known and most-loved breweries in Oregon, and yet this is their first venture into Portland from their home in Bend. And while it may seem long overdue (Portland is nicknamed Beervana because it is home to more breweries than any other city on the planet), when you walk into the new Pub it feels like it has always been there.

The space is expansive and welcoming. Occupying an entire building, the Pub is centrally located across the street from the Gerding Theater, a block away from Powell's Books, and next to any number of galleries and other restaurants and houses of libation. So, as would come as no surprise to anyone, the place was packed on its opening weekend.

The Pub brews its own beer, and brewmaster Cam O'Connor offers the classic Deschutes line-up as well as house-only specialties . . . like Armory XPA (the Armory is the building across the street, home to the Gerding Theater; XPA is "extra pale ale"). The previous week I had attended the media opening of the Pub, and O'Connor took us on a backstage tour of the brewery part of the Pub. The mash tuns and various holding tanks seemed cramped, but well organized, neat as a pin, and impressive in their promise.

Of course, this Sunday my friend and I had to have an XPA to start. Hoppy, but wonderfully balanced, it was the perfect late-spring-finally-a-warm-day drink. So good it was, we had to have another (except I opted for the classic Mirror Pond Pale Ale).

Chef Jeff Usinowicz brings a slightly more foodie flair to the traditional pub fare menu, without endangering the emphasis on pizza and burgers--which calls for another beer (another Mirror Pond; yes, I am boring in my beer choice today).

OK, now I should have known better than to have that third beer, or maybe the second one as well. Not that three beers over the course of a leisurely lunch is normally that much . . . but this was not a normal Sunday: I had work to do the rest of the day, drinking work. Three beers at lunchtime most definitely ARE too much when one is also scheduled to attend two additional drinking events later in the day.

Which was my reality. At 3pm I was planning to attend the second day of the Portland Indie Wine Festival, and at 6pm I was to attend a cocktail seminar on bitters.

A typical Portland Sunday: beer at noon, wine at mid-afternoon, and spirits throughout the evening.

What was I thinking . . .