PORTLAND TAPROOMS: NINE COMMANDMENTS

A cry for beer opened Portland taprooms, but suburban taprooms like Tigard’s Tapphoria make our day.

An ocean of new beer flooded Oregon in the 1980’s.

The original Portland Brewing next to the old Acapulco’s Gold on NW 14th and Flanders was enough to make beer lovers cry.

Then things changed when small batch beer grew up and moved from kegs to bottles.

Instead of making a road trip downtown for the best beer in world history, it came to corner stores and gas stations.

Today you can find most beer if you look hard enough. A few places in the Portland metro area carry a world beer selection, like Barbur World Foods.

While world beer is a comfort, Portland taprooms show real world beer: Oregon Beer.

It’s hard not to love the evolution story of bottled craft beer, even for non- beer people.

Still, there’s something exclusive about keg beer. It feels like beer in it’s natural state, hence the rise of taprooms where local varieties thrive.

Not every beer comes in a can, a pounder, a 22 oz. bomber. For some it’s a keg or nothing. And not every brew pub carries the beer range we look for.

Portland taprooms to the rescue, but first some stats from Beervana.

• 22% of the beer consumed in Oregon was brewed here–and with the exception of 10 Barrel, these all conform to the general sense of “craft breweries.”
• 63% of draft beer sold in Oregon is brewed in Oregon. (63%!)
• The amount of Oregon-brewed beer consumed in Oregon increased 11% in the past year, even while…
• The amount of beer brewed in Oregon increased only 3.5%.
• Oregon had 206 brewing companies operating 246 brewing facilities in 72 cities at the end of the year.
• Portland has 65 breweries and there are 95 in the metro area.

Click the link to Beervana the Blog for the whole story. The line we’re looking at is the bold ‘63% of draft beer sold in Oregon is brewed in Oregon.’

Do Portland taprooms push that number?

Tigard’s Tapphoria is doing it’s part.

You can do your part by following the Nine Commandments of Portland Taprooms.

1. You Must Sample New Beer.

Don’t walk in and order your regular. There’s always something new to try, so try it.

Even for those stuck on one beer like Beck’s, take a chance.

2. Sample More Than One Beer.

Walk into a taproom and the first thing you notice are the beer tap handles.

There’s a bunch of them and they’re all connected to beer kegs.

It’s not for show.

3. Sample More Than Beer.

You like beer, but since you’re not in your garage chugging a half rack of PBR, it’s safe to say you’ve got room for variety.

Try a citrus beer. Stretch out to a cider.

The more you sample the better you educate your palate, and we’re all about education.

4. Embrace The Footed Beer Glass.

Every beer doesn’t come in a boot, an Imperial Pint, or a frosty mug.

Some come in a footed beer glass that looks like a reject from a wine glass factory.

High alcohol beer in a smaller glass is good for everybody.

5. Find A Taproom That Partners With Brewers.

A taproom with only one brewery’s beer is an outpost, not a taproom.

Taprooms that span the craft brewing universe from light to dark, lager to ale, need you.

And you need them.

6. Find A Taproom Building New Traditions.

Instead of the WYSIWYG of the past, join new beer and new anniversaries.

You get more than what you see.

7. The Growler Is Your Friend.

Before you order one beer too many, do a growler fill.

The growler shows a grown up, an adult who refuses temptation until later.

Take a growler home and share. It’s so much better than sharing a DUI.

8. Taprooms Are About More Than Beer.

The right taproom, like Tigard’s Tapphoria, are community resources.

From meeting place to eating place, you want more, and you get it.

From stylish swag to free passes, keep your eyes open.

9. Celebrate Oregon Craft Beer Month By Visiting Your Nearest Taproom.

Portland taprooms don’t have boundaries, but local is better.

If brew pubs had territorial limits, NW Portland would be fenced off every other street.

Somehow Tigard scored with Tapphoria. I asked one of the owners about it:

“Exceptional Craft Beers, Wines, and Ciders ALL on tap; with an intense feeling of Euphoria.”

Portland baby boomers know Euphoria, a name out of Portland’s past, and it’s working hard in Tigard, just like Tapphoria.

You know what’s next.

Ideas for updated Commandments? Leave them in comments.