The Best*: Rosenstadt and Unicorn Brewing

There is no IPA at Rosenstadt so I’m free to choose whatever! This makes sense, since they focus on the maltier German styles. I immediately go for the fest beer because that’s a favorite of mine.

It’s….good. The finish is a little sharp on the bitterness and the mouthfeel seems a touch thin. It’s a bit off balance, it seems. I don’t hate it, I’m just trying to give up my expectations for the reality of the beer.

My friend gets the Helles lager, and I can’t say I’m jealous but I’m wondering if that isn’t a better deal. However, when I try the Helles, that beer tastes sweeter than I’m expecting, a quality that isn’t assisted by a finish that isn’t very crisp.

My second pour is the Vienna Lager and this is where it’s at: a light, malt forward beer that is far more sippable than the previous offerings. More of this, please.

The Unicorn Clouds IPA from Unicorn Brewing is…ok. I think my beer is suffering from being canned. I’m not knocking Unicorn Brewing, because I recently had their beer off the tap and it was very good!

But the process of putting this into the can and fridging it for a few days has blunted the flavors of this west coast IPA on all fronts. The nose isn’t notable and the notes of pine are ghosts, with more of a malt presence.

Unfortuately, my friend having the Scottish ale is having a similar experience; the beer isn’t very carbonated and leans into the sweeter side. There’s a diacetyl quality too and that is no bueno.  

The Rum Brown is more promising: chocolate with a little coffee in the nose. The beer has a bit of rum qualities and some chocolate-and this is  the most promising beer of the bunch!

I am kind hating reviewing this because my experience off the tap was so good, but: what I’m having is what I’m having. Recommending this beer for not-to go might be the thing.

The Best*

On the same day, these two lists crossed my path.

The Best Breweries in Portland

Portland’s Best Underrated Breweries

*I’m not going to debate which are the best because these things are really subjective. It seems silly. Plus, I know that the right beer on the wrong day can still suck.

What I can do is travel to these places and try their beer and tell you what I think. I can even bring a friend-because we’ve all had our vaccination shots.

In every case, where I can sit outside, I will, and where I can’t I’ll probably look to get my beer to go. The idea will be to have one IPA and one dealer’s choice ale.

An IPA because they are everywhere, and that means I don’t have to fuss with ‘which beer should I try’ but also, it gives me a baseline to judge all the other breweries against.

Then with a beer I get to pick, I can go for something that might be relevant to the brewery-for example, nobody going to Cascade is looking to have an IPA. Cascade specifically specializes in sour ales and if I didn’t have one, that really wouldn’t be fair.

Plus, it might make for a fun series in a time when…things have not been exactly fun.

So let’s go!