Beer Drinkers of the World Unite!
Well, my first blog posting is a couple days after the fact, but I just got the blog set up this afternoon, and this was good enough to make sure it gets posted.
Last weekend, my wife (Free Bird), father, sister, buddy John O'brien and I participated in the Oregon Cancer Ski Out - a 2 day ski event @ Mt. Hood Meadows raising money for OHSU cancer research, Willamette Valley Hospice and Candlelighters - check the website for details, this is a great event! Team I Want My $2!, as we are called finished 11th out of 32 teams this year - just out of the money. - Bad luck from slushy afternoon snow. We'll crack the top 10 again next year!
Anywhoo, after the first day of skiing Meadows, we headed down to the Hood River Inn for the night's festivities (part of the event) but wanted to soak in the hot tub for a bit to loosen the ski muscles, and pre-funk prior to dinner and the hosted bar. However, we finished our 3 growlers of Rogue Ales (a future post fer sure!) in the tub the previous evening. One of our OCSO co-horts informed us that the Full Sail Brewing Tap Room was under remodel (future posting upon remodel completion), but Big Horse Brewing filled Growlers to go for $9. So off I went w/Lynn to pick up some brew to go.
The Brew Pub is located on the outskirts of downtown Hood River (115 State St.), on a hill overlooking the Columbia River. It's not handicapped friendly - there's a full flight of stairs up to the entrance, and another filght up to the pub. But the view from the pub is outstanding! It looks over downtown and across the River into Washington. I'll definitely need to return to sample the rest of their brews and enjoy the few. But that night we were on a mission to hit the hot tub! I quickly decided that we'd try their Mac Stallion's Scottish Ale - John & I are both fans of the carmelly flavor of the Scottish Ale style. However, since my wife and sister are not fans of the heavier brews. The man behind the bar was kind enough to let us taste the Pale (the name escapes me), their Pale Rider IPA, their ESB and their seasonal English IPA. We chose the Pale - it was definitely the lightest of the bunch, and the Pale Rider.
The Pale Rider turned out to be the best of the lot. It was light enough to be enjoyed in the tub, and had enough hops for that tang that good IPAs are known for. My wife might call it Bitter Beer Face, but to those of us that enjoy a good, over-hopped IPA - it's sweet nectar!
I won't say too much about the Scottish. John and I were a bit disappointed. Let's just say the second 16oz were much harder to swallow than the first. I'll probably pass the next time I'm in Hood River. Maybe the Porter or Stout will strike my fancy.
To my knowledge, Big Horse does not bottle their brews and you absolutely must experience the view from the pub! Til my next post:
It's After Five Somewhere - Prost!
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