Yesterday my friend Liz and I finally made it to the brand new Deschutes Brewery, which is a couple blocks from where I work. The beer was really, really good. At the pub they have some special offerings that they don't sell at the grocery store: I had a Belgian style ale, and Liz had a vanilla porter. She didn't say much about it, but seemed to like it. It was quite light-colored for a porter. More medium brown rather than the usual dark brown. I almost got that, but I've been on a Belgian kick lately. They also had a barley wine, which sounded old-fashioned and intriguing. Maybe I'll try it next time.
The place was packed! Lots of middle-aged people though; not really my scene. I'm guessing it's a big draw for the retired contingent that resides in this neighborhood. The food was only so-so though. We got some sort of jalapeno-cheese dip, which was good, but the slices of bread it came with were stale, like they had been sliced that morning and sat out all day. We also had a mushroom pizza; it was pretty good. Sort of a crackery-style crust, rather than the floppy New York style that I usually prefer, but good for what it was. I guess really, the problem was the stale bread. Our server did comp us our beer due to the crazy crowd though, so that was very nice.
I would try it again. My friend is a prep cook there, so maybe I will have a little talk with him about the bread.
Here's the info:
210 NW 11th Avenue
(503) 296-4906
Open Daily
Lunch Hours: 11:00 to 5:00 PM
Dinner Hours: 5:00 PM to 12:00 AM