PORTLAND
an inner-city lot. Mike still drives the kegs from this improvised lab to their bar — a sleek wood-and-stone hangar that could easily be mistaken for a Tokyo design studio — in the boot of his car. Behind it all is the idea of connecting with
Oregon’s seasonality and creating ingredient- driven beers that pair well with food. Currently sharing the site tenancy is Astral, a Mexican pop-up offering small plates like ahi tuna tostada and wahoo ceviche, which harmonise with whatever’s on tap. I try a citra- hopped table beer alongside slivers of pork belly chicharrón (fried pork rinds) and need little encouragement to order more — the meat is lightly oiled and golden, the beer adding caramel to the springy, salty snack. Next comes a rye and hibiscus lager aged
in grappa oak, paired with chilli asparagus and sugar snap peas topped with a blizzard of cotija, an aged Mexican cheese. The food is a passport to a beach in the Yucatán, the beer like a floral explosion, rather than something concocted in a corrugated steel box. Portland’s nanobrewing scene is less bookish
and cerebral and more fun than the approach taken by many brewers I’ve met over the years. The usual norms don’t apply here, and this bold experiment is now moving beyond the city limits to the grasslands. This is a part of Oregon where time is marked by the crows of scratching roosters and the growl of tractor engines as farmers tend their grain.
68
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
A 25-mile drive north of Portland takes
me to Columbia County and Crooked Creek Brewery, run by Dave Lauridsen. A former advertising and celebrity photographer, he moved here from California. Insects thrum and hens scamper around his backyard coop as sunlight pours down over the farmlands. It’s a swathe of countryside resembling a
Mondrian block painting — all burgundy-red silos, blue sky and bright yellow sun — and so far away from Portland in feel, if not distance, it seems surprising the nano trend is taking hold here. But taking hold it is, and Dave welcomes me into his converted garage, where he pours out a selection of tasters that make it clear why this is the case. There’s a Belgian-type hazy IPA (grapefruity and smooth), a dry hopped blonde ale (toasted and buttery) and a saison with prickly pear and apricot (jammy and bold). They’re all deliciously autumnal, although the turn of the leaves is still a few months off. After the tasting, I wander over to the
eponymous crooked creek on Dave’s property to watch it glow in the sun. The nano life seems pretty sweet — creativity and freedom abound, and it genuinely seems to bring people together, whether that’s brewers and the employees of food businesses, or friends meeting for a drink poured from a shed on wheels. “We don’t just make beer,” says Dave, as the yeasty whiff of fermentation carries out from the lock-up onto the cooling breeze, “we create human relationships and are building a community.”
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE British Airways operates direct flights from Heathrow to Portland. United Airlines and KLM operate one-stop services from airports including Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.
WHERE TO STAY KEX Portland hotel has doubles from $199 (£157), room only. Jupiter Original, a converted 1960s motor lodge, has doubles from $115 (£91), room only. kexhotels. com
jupiterhotel.com
HOW TO DO IT America As You Like It offers four nights in Portland, including direct flights and room-only accommodation at the Hotel Rose, from £889 per person.
americaasyoulikeit.com
MORE INFO
traveloregon.com
Above: Steeplejack Brewing Company’s brewpub, situated in a former church
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132
