Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner

February 17, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I am a supporter of all things delicious – including craft beer, with special appreciation for those female brewers out there who make it in what is a male dominated field. Being a woman in engineering, I have to support and applaud their resilience, naturally. Whitney Burnside has been an award-winning Portland brewmaster that I have followed for many years and now she recently founded along with the other half of power-couple duo husband chef Doug Adams, the brewpub Grand Fir Brewing. Recently they launched a collaboration beer with longtime friend Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery a new collaboration brew called Chef’s Kiss! They decided to celebrate this launch with a five course Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner.
Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner Menu of the pairings for the Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner

If you have not been to Grand Fir Brewing for Doug’s BBQ Wednesdays, you are missing out! Every Wednesday there is a new barbecue special on offer to enjoy with the refreshing and approachable beer lineup of Grand Fir, adding to the regular menu which offers a small curated list of a handful of small plates and handful of large plates. But a beer dinner with multiple courses that were created to pair with specific beers – yes, I was excited. And I was extra excited to see that there was smoked rib on the menu for this collaboration dinner – the 12 hour slow cooked beef rib with green sauce with tortilla was my favorite dish from the smoker from his previous restaurant Bullard Tavern, and I’ve really missed it.

Well, let me tell you this whole dinner met and went beyond my expectations.
Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner Menu of the pairings for the Grand Fir Brewing and Breakside Collaboration Dinner

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Snackdown 2018

July 2, 2018 by 6 Comments

As in the previous 2 years, the sort of closing party of the Portland Beer Week was a beer and food pairing event called Snackdown. 10 teams of brewers and chefs put together a pairing of a beer and a snack bite, and then the audience got to vote as they tasted all the pairings while teams also each had a little time at the mic to smack talk each other, old school WWF style (often completely with costumes). Here’s a look at this year’s beer and food pairings for Snackdown 2018 to give you an idea of the event to encourage you to attend next year, or as ideas for beer and food pairings in general!

Loyal Legion/Dirty Pretty + Breakside

Spicy Pork Tostada. Crispy corn tortilla, spicy pulled pork, pineapple salsa, slaw, lime crema
Call Me Hazy Pale
Snackdown 2018 pairing of Loyal Legion/Dirty Pretty + Breakside brought together Spicy Pork Tostada. Crispy corn tortilla, spicy pulled pork, pineapple salsa, slaw, lime crema with the Loyal Legion/Breakside collaboration beer Call Me Hazy Pale

Although hoppy style beers are not my preferred beer, I appreciated how some of that hoppiness was tamed here by the spicy pulled pork along with the creaminess of the lime crema and brightness from pineapple salsa. The negative though was that this was just messy to eat as the crispy corn tortilla would break apart from bites.

Afuri/Wayfinder

  • Snack: Hidden Handroll – Capicola-wrapped Asparagus, Chasu Don Pork Belly, Spicy ‘Hidden Sauce’
  • Beer: Hidden Hand Dark Lager

Snackdown 2018 pairing of Afuri/Wayfinder brought together Hidden Handroll - Capicola-wrapped Asparagus, Chasu Don Pork Belly, Spicy Hidden Sauce with the Hidden Hand Dark Lager

It was very cool to see these handrolls being made before us, including getting the pork belly seared with a blowtorch and rolling the asparagus and capicola together and the smear of the “spicy hidden sauce) on the rice in the seaweed before finally rolling the handroll. Though you wouldn’t normally thing to pair a dark lager with a handroll, I was impressed with how it worked here with both strong flavors being an equal match for each other.

Danwei Canting/Buoy

  • Snack: Scallion Bing with Oregon Bay Shrimp, Crispy Garlic and Lime Vinaigrette
  • Beer: Sour Blonde with Pomegranate, Grapefruit and Citrus Zest

Snackdown 2018 pairing of Danwei Canting/Buoy brought together Scallion Bing with Oregon Bay Shrimp, Crispy Garlic and Lime Vinaigrette with theSour Blonde with Pomegranate, Grapefruit and Citrus Zest

Although what looks like a fried wonton here may not appear to be much, the shrimp inside and topping of the crispy garlic was tamed well by the sour blond’s fruity acidity.

Lardo/Pono

Snack: Smoked Pork Burger, American Cheese, Dirty Mustard, Grilled Pineapple
Beer: Pineapple Kölsch
Snackdown 2018 pairing of Lardo/Pono brought together Smoked Pork Burger, American Cheese, Dirty Mustard, Grilled Pineapple with the Pono Brewing Pineapple Kölsch Snackdown 2018 pairing of Lardo/Pono brought together Smoked Pork Burger, American Cheese, Dirty Mustard, Grilled Pineapple with the Pono Brewing Pineapple Kölsch

The pineapple slaw was being freshly grilled outside on the sidewalk outside Loyal Legion to make this slaw fresh, and not surprisingly, this ended up being the winner of the Snackdown belt for 2018!

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Ecliptic Brewery’s Food

September 11, 2017 by 7 Comments

Ecliptic Brewery‘s is one of my top recommendations for where to have great beer and food in Portland along with my other top picks like La Moule, Higgins (which I’ve highlighted before in a blog post), Saraveza (which I’ve written about before), and Ex Novo. When founding Ecliptic, experienced brewer John Harris specifically wanted to make sure that the food he served wasn’t just around because it’s the law to have food available – he wanted to make sure it matched well with the beer to provide good complimentary and contrasting flavors. The menu of beer and food proves that with its variety of beer available and food available. Everything I’ve had at Ecliptic has always been good, which makes me confident in recommending Ecliptic Brewery’s Food and Beer as among my top 5 in Portland. In particular, they have the best selection of food options if you are vegetarian.
Ecliptic Brewery's vegetarian/vegan option to their burgers - this Farro Burger with a wheat-garlic patty, tahini, arugula, spicy pickled carrots
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Total Brewclipse Festival this Saturday!

July 31, 2017 by 4 Comments

If you haven’t heard the news, it is going to a hot week- possibly record breaking on Wednesday and Thursday. And you’ve also probably heard that in just a couple weeks will be the August 21 Solar Eclipse. But did you know that Portland Monthly is throwing a special party, Total Brewclipse PDX, that takes into account the heat by cooling you down with beers from their recent July Beers of Summer issue highlighting the best Portland brewed suds for hot weather sipping? A portion of the Total Brewclipse festival proceeds will benefit OMSI’s crowdfunding campaign to refurbish 25 year old Planetarium.

Total Brewclipse 2017

The entire event is taking place this Saturday, August 5 at The Redd on Salmon Street from 8 – 11 PM (early admission for VIP ticket holders at 7:30 PM). A ticket grants you unlimited beer tastings and access to everything from food trucks by Olympia Provisions and 1927 Smores, live music, to entertainment like the spacey photo booth and astrological chart readings / fortune-telling.

You can see the full 20 Beers of Summer picks at Portland Monthly’s article, and the 12 beers for the event include

  • Rosenstadt Helles Lager, a beer of German influence with malty, clean golden classic Munich Biergarten flavors.
  • Laurelwood Golden Ale, a crisp river beer (it helpfully comes in a can too to take to the river!).
  • Ex Novo The Most Interesting Lager in the World, a beer that combines Germany and Mexico. If you aren’t already, you should be a big supporter of Ex Novo, a brewery where 100% of profits go to charity and they have been doing so since 2014.
  • Zoiglhaus Zoigl-Kölsch, balanced sessionable beer from a German classic brewery in Lents
  • Gigantic Kölschtastic, light and smooth and a “liquid ode to sunshine”
  • Fat Head’s Goggle Fogger Hefeweizen with wheat and banana flavors
  • Base Camp Pilgrimage Saison, a slightly spiced wheaty beer
  • The Commons Petit Classique is slightly funky and is brewed with pink peppercorns
  • Burnside Sakura Gose, a floral with slightly sour beer that does include cherry blossoms with bit of salt per the gose style
  • Sasquatch Barbarella, a rhubarb ale!
  • Ecliptic Starburst IPA combines Northwest IPA flavors and a name inspired by astronomy (as per all the Ecliptic beers)
  • Great Notion Ripe IPA, a juicy hazy IPA

Guests can also expect a Crispin Cider, Portland Sangria, and Reyka Vodka Moon-inspired cocktail. Tickets are $25 ($35 for VIP tickets that provide swag bags and earlier admission and access to a chic VIP lounge area) and are available now! The event is open to 21 and over. I’ll be there (along with a rare appearance of F with me!).

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Yard House Portland

July 11, 2017 by 4 Comments

I am a proponent of visiting local taprooms and breweries and drinking local beers. This philosophy extends both to when I’m in my home city, or when I’m traveling for pleasure or work. But, I am also a big fan of The Yard House – and I have been for many years. It is a national chain – I’ll disclose that upfront, and owned by Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze) – restaurants you may recognize from suburban retail and tourist areas. However, there is still a place for it, even for a craft beer lover. Here is a look at why and what you can expect from Yard House and Yard House Portland.
Some of the taps (but not all of them!) at Yard House. This is likely the most taps you will ever see in one place - an average of 130 at each location. Yard House Portland offers 130 taps with a keg room holding over 5000 gallons of beer

The Yard House was founded more then 20 years ago in 1996 in Southern California, and since then the national chain has expanded to more than 66 restaurants and 23 states. Before I moved to Portland, Yard House was a major gateway for me to try beers besides the buckets of Bud and Corona of my college years, and for that I am still grateful. Plus, I know that for many just dipping their toes into craft beer, Yard House still serves that purpose of being an introduction to what is available in beer flavors, and that is something craft beer aficionados should give Yard House credit for, it’s nothing to sniff at.
Yard House Portland offers 130 taps with a keg room holding over 5000 gallons of beer. You can order beer in multiple sizes, including putting together your own sampler tray

There are 5 big things you can expect from every The Yard House experience, and which you’ll see some examples of from our local Yard House, Yard House Portland located on the first floor of Pioneer Place Mall (entrance is on on SW 5th and Taylor, a few yards away from the street level shiny Apple Store).
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