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So, why am I at the Laurelwood public house?

I’m here because it is easy to forget our roots. The genesis of craft beer goes back to the 1980’s, and yet so few of those breweries have survived to the modern era. People talk about Dogfishhead or Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, Widmer, Fat Tire, but when was the last time you drank one of those beers?

Laurelwood has been a Portland staple since 2001. I can’t say their beers are flashy, but they are consistent. That IPA? It’s a solid damn IPA. The Lager? Hey it’s a easy drinkin’ and yet forgettable beer, just like expected. Are you interested in a stout? They got you covered, and dang if it isn’t a nice stout.

I went with the Free Range Red ale. I can smell the roasted malt well before I drink it, which is fantastic, and yet it’s still a Portland beer. By that I mean: They put some nice bittering hops on the finish, so it’s a little crisper.

It’s creamy in the middle, which is quite an accomplishment, given the other flavors goign on. Along with being a mild ale to drink-you can have it any time of year, with damn year anything to eat.

So I’m telling people they should come to Laurelwood as a way to honor our history: They been making solid beers they can be proud of for almost twenty years. I hope we get twenty more.

Postscript: Two days after I went here, news of the southeast location closing arrived. I was disappointed to hear that, in part because neighborhoods need places like this-it’s where I wrote this post from. I’m glad the location in northeast is still going strong and the beer is still out there, though.