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TAPPHORIA TAP HOUSE AT TEN YEARS

July 16, 2024 by

There’s good news and bad news:
The good news: Tapphoria Tap House is a mile away from my house.
The bad news: A mile away and I’ve walked it. They couldn’t be any closer.
The best news? Ten years in, baby.

How do you measure time?
Tap house time may not be an official measurement, but ten years is ten years and it works for me.
Another blogger, another navel gazing writer, might explain those ten years on their time line and it would be an easier task than marveling at how a strip mall beer hall makes it ten years.
I ask myself that question every time I pull up to the tree-shaded parking lot and walk in for an upgrade to my all-time beer list.
(The latest was Pallet Jack, which I thought could be a theme for a similar beer line-up. Pallet Jack, Hand Truck, Fork Lift. On top of all the positives in the place is its creative vibe.)
Creative tap house? Big Mike keeps it wide open, and it’s been that way from the start.
From yelp:
Aug 5, 2014
First to Review
Amazing new tap house
Great food! Amazing chicken buffalo dip
Great staff, great people!
Very clean
Minors allowed until 8! Even a place and tv just for them

 

The staff is lovely, the space is welcoming, the location is awesome.
If i could, i’d be there all the time to eat and drink. Alas, i can’t, twice over.

 

There were plenty of seats at the bar and lots of choices for ale. I enjoyed showing my dad how to read the menu and said, ‘hey they have Coors Light’.
He insisted on a craft beer. I chose a Fort George Fresh Hop for myself and a 3Creeks HooDoo VooDoo IPA for him.
The staff was kind, attentive, and engaging. They have a food menu and 8 taps of wine. The wine idea is a little overkill, but perhaps there’s a demand.

 

Came on a Friday night right before closing time so I missed the crowd.
The staff was really friendly and outgoing. I wish this place was in a better location, but over all this place has a good selection of beer and I will be coming back.

 

Our beer tender Granite rocks!!! Great service, great beer selection. Came in for an event a few weeks ago, it was fun!! Love stopping by for a pint…or two……or three!!!! It’s nice to have a joint like this in the neighborhood. Cheers!

 

From 2021

Boomerpdx:

 

An older woman and another in her forties were talking at the end of the bar.
The older lady looked like it had been a long day followed by strong drinks. She was a little drifty sitting on the stool.
“You’re a teacher, aren’t you?” she said.
“What decent teacher would admit it in a bar?”
“So you are a teacher. I knew it.”
“Ask me anything.”
“Where do you live?”
“In the neighborhood.”
“Bull Mountain?”
“It’s over there.”
“I own two and a half acres off of 150th.”
“Unincorporated Washington County.”
“You think you’re so smart.”
“Teachers are supposed to be smart. I’m not a teacher, I’m a blogger.”
“Why did you say you’re a teacher?”
“You said I was a teacher, not me. You’re a teacher.”
The younger woman had been listening in.
“Are you trying to be funny, because you’re not. I was married thirteen years to a narcissist who sounds just like you.”
“I’m funny, you funny, now everybody funny.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Neither is getting wobbly wasted in a bar, but that’s not my business. I hope you call someone when you leave.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be you.”
“I’ll turn my phone off to be sure.”
“Why are you harassing us?”
“It’s called conversation. Don’t blame me if you’re not very good at it.”
“We were fine until you showed up.”
“So was I, but here we are. Looks like your friend is falling over.”
“She dropped her car keys.”
“Maybe you ought to find them and hang on to them until you take her home.”
“Maybe you should-should.”
“And I would if your friend wasn’t crawling on the ground.”
From the ground: “I heard that.”
The bartender cruised past.
“Another beer?”
“No thanks, I’ll settle up. You might want to cut off my new girlfriends, though. One of them’s on the ground doing the alligator.”
“We can hear you talking,” the ladies said.
“Can you hear this: Get a ride home.”
“Who asked you?”
“Teacher is giving you a bad grade.”
“Who?”
“You’re flunking bar research class.”

Ten Years Down The Tracks

 

Since Tapphoria Tap House opened I’ve ridden a bike through Paris.
I’ve checked the clock on smiling Big Ben.

I’ve stayed overnight in English pub motels.
I used to wonder who’d stay over night in an English pub motel room.
Now I know.  Me and my wife.
For every place I’ve been, coming home is a delight.
Part of it is the familiarity, and part of familiarity is the local tap room.
Tappphoria Tap House? I feel like I’m back in the USA when I touch down there for a cold one.
Everyone needs such a place. The only thing to make it better?
If it was part of a building with apartments upstairs like my place in Brooklyn, NY.
Bar at street level, big apartment on the second, two smaller ones on the third floor.
If you’ve got a handle on how much you like to drink, it’s ideal. But not here.
Or, if light rail ran up Hwy99 from Tapphoria Tap House to my front door. Also not here.
The most realistic path is buying a growler, get it filled while you have a pint, and slow drink while listening in, while tapping into local conversations.
When I designate some place as my favorite bar it usually means the end.
Vals Place on NW 21st when I lived on 21st and Lovejoy? Gone.
McMenamins on Scholls Ferry?
Either they changed or I changed.
Tapphoria hits the sweet spot and to celebrate the Ten Year Anniversary I’m rounding up my team for a toast to Big Mike and the longevity, perseverance, and community he has built.
Cheers. See you Thursday.

 

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About David Gillaspie

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