When in Portland, you must of course visit Powell’s Books. Within walking distance is another landmark, Rogue Brewery. We popped in for a leisurely meal with beverages, little suspecting what surprises awaited.
I started with the Hazelnut Brown Nectar, which is rich and creamy, a total winner. The Long Suffering Husband had something from a near-empty barrel, the name of which (alas!) escapes me. Whatever it is, it’s not listed on their website. I think it was some type of Stout.
The Hazelnut Nectar is served in the Belgian-style glass on the right.
Rogue has been around since the 80’s and is famous enough that we can buy their beer out East. In the Portland airport, the souvenir shops are well-stocked with their product. Rogue combines the most delicious beer with the most off-putting names in all brewerdom: Beard Beer, made with yeast from some guy’s beard (ugh).
If that doesn’t float your boat, how about Dead Guy Ale? (I was afraid to ask). And then there’s the nauseatingly-named Voodoo Doughnut series (“Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry and Chocolate Ale”).
I always wondered about names like these. Are they metaphors in the style of wine descriptors? (“Charles, I detect a soupçon of chocolate pretzel in this ale, and there is raspberry on the nose…”) No, it turns out that these are actual ingredients. The Voodoo Doughnut ale is designed to be consumed with dessert. The Pepto-Bismol pink bottle is amusing, but doesn’t do much for the appetite. We stayed away from the Doughnut ales.
Lately we have been sampling the food at brewpubs in Cleveland, with hit-and-miss results. Brewpubs tend to have meat-heavy menus with lots of salty, fatty popular favorites like burgers, nachos, chicken wings, pretzels, and sausage. Some of the chefs take the food seriously and some don’t, and you’re lucky if there is more than one vegetarian option. Rogue had extremely good food, albeit served in the brewpub idiom (and in huge portions). They offer hummus and a kale salad with miso dressing, but I fear we gave in to temptation and consumed little but carbs and fat.
The Not So Plain Jane pie with five cheeses including Rogue Creamery TouVelle and Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue. Delicious.
Smoked veggie sandwich with hummus and goat cheese on a ciabatta roll, with a humongous side order of tater tots.
All the food was good, but I couldn’t get over the side of tots, which was enough to feed an army (somehow we managed). Rogue makes a very tasty tot, and a crisp tater tot is a great match for many different styles of beer. We continued our tipple with a flight consisting of Wasted Sea Star Pale Ale (not my favorite), Brutal IPA, Fresh Roast Ale, and the Don Imperial YSB. Of these, I was most impressed with the Brutal IPA–crisp and not too bitter in spite of its name.
A flight of four Rogue beers.
Rogue Brewery in Portland is definitely worth a visit.
Linnet Moss 
I am not a massive lover of beer but can appreciate its nuances and subtleties. Those tots, Crikey! Good job getting through them.
Yep, that mountain of tots was reduced to zero by the time we walked out of there. But we took our time 🙂
I only drink beer when it is very hot in summer. I try to get all the subtle differences and sometimes succeed 🙂
Yes, beer is very good in hot weather. Some of the heavier ones, like Guinness, are good for winter. They’re as filling as eating food!
Yes, to drink when starving 🙂
umm, yum!! looks like very rich beers that are nice to taste even if some of the names are beyond weird! No pink beer here for me either, yuk!
What are those taste looking crispy little bits?? never heard of them.. fried cheese?
We call them “tater tots”–they are a kind of fried potato nugget. I’m a fan of them, but here they are considered food for children (except in trendy gastro-pubs).