Brew Review #13

Brew Review #13 was at the McMenamin’s Barley Mill pub in SE Portland. I have to admit to not being very excited about this review, as McMenamin’s beers, while not bad, certainly, are seldom anything to write home about. I chose the Barley Mill pub because it is apparently McMenamin’s oldest pub – and I’d never been there.

The evening started off, as always, with the sampler tray. I wanted to be fair.

1. Ruby

The architect: better than the hammerhead
Amy: Bleh, my least favorite McMenamin’s beer
JunkMiles: my favorite beer probably EVER!
Cilley: a little flat tonight, otherwise fine.

2. Hammerhead

The architect: not as good as the IPA
Amy: It’s alright. Barely.

3. IPA

The architect: Really good, tasty, especially good this time
Amy: Better that usual!

4. Porter

The architect: I like it, but I’m not really a porter kind of guy.
Amy: Thick but not bad.

5. Terminator Stout

The architect: Not as good as the porter (this rating system seemed to be a theme for him that night!)
Amy: I didn’t like it until I poured in the rest of the Ruby. Rubinator is gooood.

6. Nut Brown (Seasonal)

The architect: I think it’s okay.
Amy: not nearly as good as usual, too malty-sweet.

Other beers, not on the taster tray

Nitro Nottingham

Mr. Pi: I like it; there’s enough flavor to overcompensate for the nitro

Nebraskan Bitter

Lori: My favorite beer (she didn’t clarify if it was her fave McMenamin’s or her favorite of ALL TIME!)

The verdict: Meh.

I drank an IPA & a Nebraska Bitter; the architect stuck to IPAs, Mr. Pi had his Nottingham, Lori had the Nebraska Bitter and Cilley & JunkMiles stuck to Ruby.

Other comments from the night

Pros: