BAR PILOT

Is It Safe?

Drink reporting can be hazardous

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 26, 2010 at 09:00AM 10 Comments

Today’s post asks five simple questions that require answers from you, my faithful drinking buddies.

1. What is in this product?

2. What effect will it have on the human body?

3. Should I drink it?

4. Should I make an intern drink it?

5. Should I just leave it in the office fridge and walk away?

As you know, I’m a slave to your capricious demands, so please tell me how to proceed. By the way, I hope this serves as powerful evidence that I do indeed earn my paycheck. I am a working-class hero.

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We Have A Winner!

Five brew believers take home prizes!

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 21, 2010 at 01:00PM 2 Comments

We have concluded with our Vote for Your Favorite Beer contest, and we have a handful winners who may claim their enviable prizes at the Portland Monthly office (623 SW Oak St. #300) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from now through Friday. So let’s have a hearty round of applause for the four winners of $50 passes to the Oregon Brewers Festival (2 mugs and 40 beer tokens each):

Melva Conner
Joe Morris
Elle Poindexter
Daniel Reed

And finally, an equally enthusiastic hip-hip-hooray to Erik Lindberg who won himself a $50 gift certificate to Belmont Station, Portland’s premier bottle shop. To the 633 people who didn’t win anything, remember, it’s an honor just to be nominated.

So who were the top vote-getters amongst the host of Portland beers that we wrote about in our July Craft Beer feature? Well, Widmer’s Deadlift racked up 27.3 percent of the vote, followed by Laurelwood Workhorse IPA (11 percent) and Full Sail’s Session Black (8.9 percent).

For beers from elsewhere around the state, Ninkasi Tricerihops took top honors with 23.7 percent of the vote; Deschutes Black Butte Porter, and Rogue Irish Lager were the runners-up. I’d also like to point out that there were a ton of write-in candidates. The Honey Red from nano-operation Natian Brewery, the Vortex IPA from Fort George Brewing, and Double Mountain’s India Red Ale apparently have robust followings. So the real winner? Diversity!

Many thanks to Chris Crabb from the Oregon Brewers Festival and Carl Singmaster from Belmont Station for the donation of such fantastic prizes!

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Happy Hour of the Week

Picks and Pans at Cafe Nell

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 16, 2010 at 01:00PM 16 Comments

Remember in those old Warner Brothers cartoons when Wile E. Coyote would almost catch up to the Road Runner—right before the latter took off in a blinding burst of speed that left the road aflame? Well, now you have an idea of how fast I want to get out of the office today. The sun is out, there’s a beer fest going on, and I still have to iron my cargo shorts.

Since brevity is the soul of wit, I will recap my Happy Hour visit to Cafe Nell by describing its various components as either rocking or sucking. Besides, our analytics indicate that in the kingdom of short attention spans, it’s best to get right to the point.

IT ROCKS: Happy Hour eats are varied, inexpensive, and plentiful. Particularly applause worthy was the herb omelet and french fries ($4); the tangy barbecue bacon slider ($2.50) and the fried onion and pickle slider ($2.50). The head-on collision of spicy mustard, crunchy onion slice, and dill pickle was totally Einstein.

IT SUCKS: The Old Bay Peel and Eat shrimp ($5) had all traces of the sea boiled right out of them. Anyone for packing peanuts?

IT ROCKS: The Tom Collins (gin, lime juice, and club soda, $4) was perfectly executed. This old lady staple was tart and bitter, and it absolutely annihilated a Sahara-like thirst. It’s brawnier brother, the John Collins (same except bourbon instead of gin, $4) was surprisingly genteel, and equally well crafted.

IT SUCKS: A cute little cocktail called the Kozy Kitten (vodka, peach puree, maraschino, vanilla, and soda) was one of the all-time worst beverages I’ve ever sampled. A tablemate described it as “vanilla toothpaste” and I can’t improve upon that. For all we know, it’s still sitting on the table, three-quarters full. Poor kitty!

IT ROCKS: The service was speedy and super efficient. A waiter who can gather up a deluxe load of dirty crockery and take a complicated drink order at the same time is a real pro.

IT SUCKS: My contempt for Happy Hours that end at 6 PM are well documented.

IT ROCKS: It took the bartender a while to change the keg for a pint of Ninkasi, so they treated us to a plate of lamb skewers with red bean puree (normally $6). The tender, succulent meat was cooked to a turn and the puree was so flavorful we started dipping our fries in it. This is the sort of consideration that inspires customer loyalty.

IT ROCKS: The four of us ordered a barge full of food and drinks, including a whole pan-fried trout with french fries and coleslaw, and we escaped with a bill that came to less than $20 apiece. Despite my fondness for dives, Cafe Nell is a quality dining establishment with bountiful, expertly prepared entrees that are worth every nickel. If you can find a way to avoid the adorably named Kozy Kitten, you will most definitely stumble home stuffed and satisfied.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Cheap Eats

International Beer Festival

Brews of the world land locally

Posted by: Emma Hall on Jul 15, 2010 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Billing itself as an over-the-top beer festival, the Portland International Beer Festival brings a ton of exotic ales to Portland this weekend.

The festival will feature over 150 different beers from 15 countries, including many unusual and hard-to-find beers that even the biggest beer aficionados have never seen.

When: July 16 4-10 PM, July 17 Noon-10 PM, July 18 Noon-7 PM

Where: Pearl District North Park Blocks. Entrance at NW Davis and NW Park Ave. Here is a map.

What: Over 150 beers, the official website has a complete list of beers they’ll be serving if you’re interested.

How much: Just $25 at the gate gets you a snazzy official glass and 10 beer tickets. Four-ounce pours cost between 1-6 tickets, with plenty of 1 ticket beers available for all you cheapskates.

What if I don’t use all my tickets in one day? Well, I have no idea how this would even happen, but in the rare case it does, just keep your wristband and glass and you can use your tickets the next day!

Tips: Some of these beers are really rare and will likely run out, so don’t wait until Sunday to try that Saison you read about on your favorite beer blog. Also, the event is cash only.

See you there!

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Tags: Beer Festivals

Home Brouhaha

Beer and wine hobbyists advised to stay home

Posted by: Caterina Purves on Jul 13, 2010 at 10:00AM 3 Comments

The Portland home-brew community is in a lather this month about a recent decision by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, who backed up a Department of Justice ruling that home brewing (and home winemaking) competitions are, in effect, illegal.

Evidently long forgotten by everyone, the law in question is ORS 471.403, which reads:  (1) No person shall brew, ferment, distill, blend … any alcoholic liquor unless licensed so to do by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. However, the Liquor Control Act does not apply to the making or keeping of naturally fermented wines and fruit juices or beer in the home, for home consumption and not for sale.

So according to the exact letter of the law, a home brewer may legally brew and consume beer or wine within the confines of their own home. Anything between this narrow instance and the selling of a home brew to the public, which is expressly defined as illegal, has not been mandated over. Despite the fact that none of the in-betweens are addressed in the law itself, they still run the risk of violating the Liquor Control Act, pending judgment.

The problem originally surfaced when an Oregon State Fair committee brought the law to the attention of the OLCC, inquiring whether their popular home brewing and home winemaking competitions operate against the law, as they take place outside of the home and the brews/vints are sampled by a panel of judges. The OLCC deemed these judges members of the public and thus the competition is illegal. An even stricter ruling by the Department of Justice in consultation with the OLCC also pointed out that home brews may not be consumed outside of the home, adding another stitch in the Oregon State Fair’s side.

The State Fair’s home-brewing competition has been operating under this law for the last 22 years, and its winemaking competition has been doing so for 30. Why no one noticed before now is anyone’s guess and it appears that the committee would have been better off staying quiet on the subject. Oh well.

As things now stand, the OLCC is currently awaiting a final verdict from the Department of Justice, which is expected in the coming week. Joy Evensen with the OLCC has stated that the Commission is hopeful there might be some other way of interpreting ORS 471.403 that would allow these competitions to continue, but unfortunately it is anticipated that the initial analysis will hold.

Fortunately for home brewers and vintners, the OLCC has begun working with Rep. Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley) and Senator Floyd Prozanski (D-South Lane and North Douglas Counties) to draft language for consideration in the next session of the Oregon State Legislature. If the rewrite passes at this session, home-brewing competitions should be good to go for next year. To those concerned: let your voice be known. Contact your local representatives and senators and give them your two cents worth. Just remember, we beer/wine lovers will only find cooperation with local legislature if we demonstrate we’re deserving of it. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

We’ll keep you posted.

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Tags: Craft Beers

Happy Hour of the Week

Duck into Ducketts

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 09, 2010 at 09:00AM 9 Comments

Photo: John Chandler

This must be the place.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

This must be the place.

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Words to live by.

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The obligatory interior shot.

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The sun is starting to set on the patio crowd at Ducketts.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Let me tell you about our specials.

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My perfectly serviceable quesadilla.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Two-man band Ardis Udder, part of the evening’s entertainment.

My band had a show last night at a North Portland venue that I was unfamiliar with called Ducketts Public House. Believe it or not, their Happy Hour lasts from 4 till 9 pm Monday-Friday so I was able to get in on the tail end of it. This report has less to do with the specific deals ($2 well drinks, 50¢ off drafts—pretty standard really, as Dr Evil would say) and more to do with the place itself, a clubby little punk-rock sports bar that hasn’t really found a regular crowd yet. IMHO, this works to its advantage; a bar should be a place where everyone feels welcome and as I kept an eye on the broad cross-section of humanity ambling in and out the front door my heart warmed to this little neighborhood dive. Either that, or I forgot my Prilosec when I ordered the chili cheese fries ($5.95).

Ducketts, situated within spitting distance of PCC on N Killingsworth, is a snug and clamorous hive (three TVs, pinball, video crack, live music starting at 9:30), that fortunately empties out into an equally cozy patio that feels like one of those postage stamp-sized parcels affixed to a condominium for your (minimalist) barbecue and entertaining needs. Rather than feeling uncomfortably close to that table full of baseball capped college students simultaneously yammering away about how much LeBron sucks, you feel inclined toward good will and bonhomie. After all, this is somebody’s party, you’re all invited, so belly up and relax. Clustered in various convo pods nearby were boisterous Latinos, a black dude on his cell, peroxide punks, skaters, a few nervous squares, and one old hippie with an open shirt who seemed incredulous and offended that my band wasn’t going to be playing anything by the Doors.

Oh, and there’s a ping pong table if you feel up to it. Had to conserve my energy for playing the bass last night, otherwise I would have happily thrashed the house.

At the moment, owner Dustin Berkholtz is the only staff in sight, and he’s remarkably efficient. Bartender, server, cook, busboy, and restroom supply guy all rolled into one, he still manages to perform all these duties in a timely manner, never leaving a customer hanging at any of his stations. I appreciate hustle, and Berkholtz seems to be a relentless dervish of task handiness. Gotta hand it to him.

There are craft beers on tap (Ninkasi, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas), but they feel out of place here. Instead, $5 pitchers of PBR and Rainier (one of my favorite blue-collar brews; sturdy and reliable) flow like Type O from a freshly nipped jugular on True Blood. Eeew! Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.

There are menu curiosities I didn’t get a chance to sample (steak and baked potato, $9; mac ‘n’ cheese bites $4; bowl o’ chili $3.50; jello shots $1) but I can report that the quesadilla ($5; $6 for chicken), the service, and the prices were all a-ok. Tall boys of Tecate for $2? Here’s a twenty. Keep ’em coming.

Ducketts is still a nebulous entity, a nascent hangout waiting for that one clique to claim it and plant their flag. Frankly, I hope none of them does. You’ll never learn anything drinking with the same ol’ slobs. No offense, drinking buddies.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Beer, Cheap Eats, Live

Callahan, Call Kinky!

Cowboy philosopher seeks outré cartoonist

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 08, 2010 at 11:00AM 2 Comments

John Callahan is the chap seated on the left.

Spent the morning chatting on the phone with musician, mystery writer, and erstwhile Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman about his upcoming Portland show on July 28. I’ll have the meat of the interview posted well before his performance, never fear.

The first thing Kinky wanted to know was why his ol’ pal John Callahan—Portland’s most famous quadriplegic cartoonist—wasn’t returning his calls. “Tell him I got a paying gig for him,” Friedman said right off the bat. The upshot is, the Kinkstah wants Callahan to play a few songs with him at the Roseland Theater show. He also plans to introduce him to his buddy Billy Bob Thornton, who may be interested in covering some of Callahan’s songs for an upcoming release. In case you didn’t know, Callahan is an awesome singer-songwriter as demonstrated on his 2006 album Purple Winos in the Rain.

So John, if you’re out rolling around, please call Kinky. He’s worried about you. Did I mention it’s a paying gig? And if anyone knows Callahan’s whereabouts, would you please pass this along?

Yes, Kinky really does answer the phone by saying, “Start talking.” Stay tuned for more.

Note: Kinky curses twice in the video below. You have been warned.

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Happy Hour of the Week

Peaks and valleys

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 06, 2010 at 09:00AM 7 Comments

Grilled cheese sandwich at Ash Street Saloon: fail.

This week’s Happy Hour excursion was a bit of a fiasco. I selected Ash Street Saloon based on memories of cheap beer, rib-sticking bar food, a raging punk rock playlist, and a sunny, inviting patio. But as I quickly discovered, memories can be deceptive, if not pathological liars. The cheap beer was intact—pints of PBR were a quarter more than I remembered, but at $1.25 I can’t really gripe. Apparently we’ve hit the bramble patch economy-wise (who knew?). Stiff wells and pints of craft beer are only $2.75, and I think that’s worth a toot or two on the ol’ vuvuzela. In other words, the drinks are a bargain. And that’s where the recommendable aspects of my experience come to an end.

Ash Street’s Happy Hour, daily from 4 to 8, has several food items on special for $3, and if that sum seems astronomical, you can content yourself with chips and salsa or a basket of deep-fried toothpicks masquerading as french fries for $2.25. Among the high-end entrees, the quarter-pound burger is probably your best bet: a serviceable frozen patty dropped unceremoniously onto a cunningly sliced bun with a side of Tim’s potato chips. If you’re seeking a timely delivery of unremarkable starch and protein to anchor an evening’s binge, it will do. The chicken strips rival any I’ve ever tasted—that have been sitting under a gas station heat lamp since the Carter administration.

The creme de la crap though, was the grilled cheese sandwich which arrived charred black and fused to the basket like a greasy barnacle clinging for dear life to the hull of some doomed ship that would never see port. I vowed to never eat food again.

Cheese at Steve Jones’ Cheese Bar: FTW

Something had to be done to salvage a lousy day. As luck would have it, I managed to hitch a ride to the Cheese Bar at SE 60th and Belmont, an establishment that does not have a Happy Hour, but really should. The Cheese Bar is the retail space operated by Steve Jones, of Steve’s Cheese, a man who knows his curds. In addition to a massive selection of artisan cheese and cured meats, the Cheese Bar has six rotating taps of worthy beers (I had a spicy IPA from Everybody’s Brewing) and a smart little lunch counter that dispenses deftly rendered salads, sandwiches, and gourmet nibbles. My friend and I opted for the English sampler plate that came with three complementary cheeses, a stack of bread slices, and a chutney that caused my palate to sing an impromptu aria. We also split a superb salad of arugula, fresh peas, golden potatoes, and bacon shavings. This place is crying out for a Happy Hour at the top of its lungs!

The Cheese Bar deserves to succeed. It’s a market and cafe for fans of high-quality cheese and charcuterie—and you will pay for the privilege. I took away a modest wedge of nutty cow cheese from a small farm in Utah (“They only have six cows,” I was informed) that set me back $9. Then again, if you’re of a more frugal nature, there’s always the grilled cheese sandwich at Ash Street Saloon. You may not be able to dislodge it from the basket, but at $3, you’ll have plenty left in the piggy bank for another beer.

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Tags: Happy Hour

Patriotic Potables

Try a festive cocktail this weekend.

Posted by: Emma Hall on Jul 02, 2010 at 01:00PM 1 Comments

Everyone’s favorite summer holiday—Fourth of July—is this weekend, and it’s right up there with St Paddy’s Day and New Year’s as an occasion to imbibe. If you’re burned out on popular domestic lagers, you can always go for a local brew (it is Oregon Craft Beer Month after all). But we recommend trying a patriotic cocktail instead. The good people over at Three Olives vodka have again made our day with some inventive star-spangled ideas.

Take the Roman Candle for example:

3 oz. Three-O Berry Vodka
½ Oz. Cranberry Juice
Dash of Grenadine
½ oz. Blue Curaçao

Shake vodka, cranberry juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Strain into martini glass. Pour Blue Curaçao gently down the side of the glass so it comes to settle on the bottom.

See? With just a few ingredients you can get an All-American cocktail. If you’re feeling fancy, garnish with the usual cherry, maybe a couple of blueberries on a toothpick or even a tiny wedge of watermelon for that Martha Stewart touch.

Nothing says Independence Day (or the Runaways) like the Cherry Bomb.

1 ½ oz. Three-O Cherry Vodka
4 oz. Ginger Ale
Splash of grenadine

Mix in a glass filled with ice and garnish with a cherry.

You could take this general recipe and run with it: alcohol+plain-colored mixer+grenadine = festive red drink.

If you’re having a fancy soiree (or if you decide to spend more money on booze than on meat at your barbecue—hey, it happens) you could always serve three options of cocktails: a big pitcher each of red, white, and blue drinks.  Perhaps a Strawberry Daiquiri (red), Piña Colada (white), and Blue Bayou (a fruity blue drink made of vodka, blue curaçao, pineapple, and grapefruit juice all blended together).

So, drink up and cheers to America this weekend!

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Tags: Recipes, Cocktails, Holiday Events

Siesta Fiesta

Now I lay me down to sleep

Posted by: John Chandler on Jul 02, 2010 at 09:00AM 8 Comments

Now here’s a local business that I intend to patronize like crazy. Unless someone can tell me what really goes on at Portland Nap in the next few hours, I’ll be heading over there after lunch with my blanket, a good book, my Ghostbusters jammies (with the built-in feet—they rule!) and Mr Sleepy Bear. And I’m turning my ringer off.

To recap, I will not be available between 2 and 3 this afternoon. Sweet dreams, drinking buddies!

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Tour de Taps

Four breweries serve samples for Craft Beer Month

Posted by: John Chandler on Jun 30, 2010 at 12:00PM 7 Comments

Photo: John Chandler

Now that’s a bus!

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Now that’s a bus!

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As members of Portland’s esteemed press corps, it was absolutely essential that we travel in style.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Our first stop was McCormick and Schmick’s Harborside Pilsner Room, where Full Sail brewmaster John Harris concocts a handful of exclusive brews.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

The Dunkopple is actually the brainchild of a Full Sail lab tech Kristy Holsopple (hence the cute name). It’s a full-bodied, lightly hopped brew with a firm malty foundation.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Rock Bottom brewer Van Havig makes a point about his American Dream IPA, a vibrant and hoppy brew with abundant citrus notes.

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Brian Butenschoen, the head of the Oregon Brewers Guild gets a bright idea at Rock Bottom Brewery: “Let’s have some more beer!”

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

In addition to the American Dream IPA, Rock Bottom brewer Van Havig also poured samples of his Saison, a light, Belgian-style ale.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

The view from the back of the bus. I-5 traffic never seemed so tranquil.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Lompoc brewmaster Jerry Fechter regales the assembled bloggers and brewers about the origin of Big Bang Red. By this time John Harris and Van Havig had decided that a double decker bus ride in the afternoon sun was a fine idea so we invited them to hop aboard.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

Lompoc’s barrel-aged Big Bang Red was the most potent brew of the tour. Still bearing traces of its bourbon-barrel incubation period, with lively shades of vanilla and spicy mustard, the Big Bang had many of the same opulent characteristics as a glass of port.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

At Widmer Brothers, the beer of choice was the mighty Odin. Despite the formidable moniker, the beer proved to be a refreshing and highly drinkable gose-style lager with banana and light mustard flavors.

View Slideshow » Photo: John Chandler

A meeting of the beer brain trust: (From left) Rob Widmer, Kurt Widmer, Van Havig (Rock Bottom Brewery), John Harris (Full Sail), and Jerry Fechter (Lompoc Brewing).

I don’t drive—I ride the bus. And I consider myself a master of all things in the bus universe. I know when to ring the bell so as to give the driver plenty of time to stop. I enter in the front and exit in the back to alleviate corridor congestion. I cheerfully surrender my seat to the elderly and infirm. I am stoic when confronted by the hygienically challenged. I remain calm when fellow passengers are suffering from grand mal seizures, conniption fits, and full-blown psychotic episodes. In short, I am usually as serene as the Buddha beneath the bodhi tree.

However, that doesn’t mean I like riding the bus. In the cruel heart of winter, when the driver thoughtfully cranks up the heat to volcanic levels, and half the riders are sweating profusely while the rest are coughing like TB patients, I can envision better modes of travel. Like maybe being chained to a galley oar in the bowels of a tempest-tossed ship and beaten at 10-minute intervals while Yul Brynner keeps time on the drums. If anyone from TriMet is listening, there is a solution at hand: Try to adapt your vehicles so that they more closely resemble the bus I rode last week during the Craft Beer Month brewery tour.

Along with several other local beer bloggers, I was invited to ride along on a tasting tour of four breweries that had prepared special release beers in honor of Craft Beer Month (also known as July). That in itself would be reason enough to skip and jump, but it was our method of transport, a pimped out bus from a new Portland business called Double Decker PDX that proved to be the sprinkles on the cupcake. Spacious, comfy, and equipped with a fridge and a bumpin’ sound system, the double decker bus is the only way to fly.

With stops and samples at the Harborside Pilsner Room, Rock Bottom Brewery, the Sidebar tasting room adjacent to the Fifth Quadrant, and finally, Widmer Brothers Brewing, it was a stellar example of edutainment and the brilliant assortment of beers poured added to my already giddy anticipation of Craft Beer Month. Follow the action in our web-exclusive slideshow. You can almost feel the breeze and taste the hops.

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Tags: Craft Beers

Happy Hour of the Week

Idle pursuits suit Mash Tun

Posted by: Logan Buckley on Jun 25, 2010 at 10:00AM 2 Comments

The need for exploration drives us to relentlessly seek out new places; our desire for adventure causes the heart to beat stronger, faster, and sometimes, at the moment of discovery, to stop. Sorry to say that discovering the Mash Tun Brewpub will not cause your heart to stop, but it may, for a moment, fill you with the same sense of wonder you had as a kid when you found a rad treehouse or abandoned fort in the woods—an unexpected oasis to while away a summer day.

Tucked away in the Alberta Arts District between two of the more bustling zones of the strip, the Mash Tun has a perfectly serviceable Happy Hour for frittering away an afternoon in the company of a satisfying array of suds and snacks. From 3-6 pm Monday thru Friday patrons can satiate themselves with $3 house micros and well drinks. For the real deal, pop in on Tuesdays when house brews are only $2.50 during Happy Hour and pitchers are $8.50 all night long.

The main entrance is just off Alberta on 22nd Ave, seemingly hidden for those with eyes that are naturally accustomed to searching for likely locales to escape the traffic and sidewalk throngs. The lofty ceilings with numerous skylights and dotted with hanging plants complement the airy open floor plan and “local, sustainable” vibe. Follow the breeze to a sizable covered patio spiffed up with a mural of copper mash tuns nestled against a vivid backdrop of mountains. The overall effect is like being suspended well above terra firma.

After dutifully goggling at the scenic splendors, it’s time to replenish the inner man. When hunger strikes, be advised that the Happy Hour selections at Mash Tun are decidedly mundane, but thankfully well executed. Familiar foodstuffs generously portioned—fries, hummus, nachos, a burger, and salads—are all priced somewhere between $2.50-$6. Nothing earth-shatteringly spectacular, but no obvious bum steers either. Citizens worried about the specifics of what goes into their body, should rest assured that most of the ingredients are locally sourced. And peckish vegetarians will be thrilled by the number of entrees, including a vegan BLT sandwich. Mmm. Fake bacon.

When sifting through the six unfiltered, unpasteurized, and unprocessed directly-from-the-holding-tanks house brews on tap, don’t miss the Sam Jackson Pale Ale or the robust Razorback Red, both of which have the basic template of balance and flavor down pat, and also possess a bit more spice and soul than the darker offerings. There are also guest taps from Lagunitas, Ninkasi, and Anchor Steam, if you aren’t willing to root for the home team.

Speaking of which (soul), there is a well-stocked free juke for your sipping soundtrack playlist. Free pool, free wi-fi, darts, and a bookcase of games and reading material round out the entertainment options, but here, idle pursuits seem to be the activity of choice. You can practically feel your blood pressure ease downward while seated next to Mash Tun’s decorative waterfall leisurely mulling over your next pint.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Craft Beers, Cheap Eats