Pub night last night was at the Nine Muses Acoustic Pub, a folk-musicy hangout on Belmont. The attraction? They have six Ninkasi beers on tap!I haven't been to Ninkasi's headquarters in Eugene, but I well remember my first taste of their beer. My neighbor Lindsey got me to go to the pre-brewfest Brewers' Dinner in 2006, and the knockout beer served that night was a Ninkasi IPA. "Where is this brewery, and what's with the Japanese name?" Turns out the name is ancient Sumerian, and the beers keep knocking me out.
So Dave and I were excited when Corey alerted us to the wealth of Ninkasi waiting for us just a few blocks from home. The Nine Muses is in an old house that used to be the beloved -- if dumpy and stinky -- neighborhood video rental place. They fixed it up pretty nicely, it's a comfortable place. Too smoky for me to be a regular there, but at least it's not the Horsebrass level of smoke. And I can definitely picture myself outside at one of the picnic tables come summer.
We started off with a Tricerahops, the full and flowery IIPA, which is sold in a 10 oz. glass due to its 9.5% strength. Of course we had to have a Believer, the dark and delicious double red ale. And somewhere along the way was a Total Domination, another fine IPA. Oh, that Tricerahops is nice. The other ones they have on tap right now are the Oatis Oatmeal Stout, Schwag Light Lager, and (embarrassment) something I can't remember, Pale Ale maybe?
They had a few other respectable brews on tap, Lompoc Strong Draft (get it? hippie pub? LSD? hahaha), Bridgeport Hop Harvest (good move!), and a couple of Fearless beers.
Other places to get Ninkasi
The Green Dragon, being the guardians of good taste that they are, usually has a Ninkasi on tap, a couple weeks ago it was Believer. Non-smoking!
The Horsebrass usually has one or two on tap, if you're lucky they'll have one on cask. Had a cask Believer there during the summer. News flash: had some cask-conditioned Tricerahops there on 2007/12/20! All the pretty flowers, a little less sweet than the regular.
The Blue Monk had Oatis on tap, 2008/01/18. Non-smoking.
Every few months I torment myself by going to Henry's Tavern at 12th and Burnside. How can they have such a respectable beer list, but no one waiting tables knows a single thing about beer? That includes what quantity of beer you are ordering. "Is that served in a pint glass?" "Oh, yes." And here he or she comes back with a little round glass. The bar staff seems to think anything stronger than a "Hef" has to go in a little glass. Still, they seem to keep one or two Ninkasi beers on tap, if you don't mind a small serving.
Ninkasi's MySpace blog now has a list of Portland Ninkasi taps.
4 comments:
I'm surprised Portland hasn't jumped on the nonsmoking bandwagon. Austinites will be happy to know they're actually ahead of Portland on something — we're usually struggling to catch up with you.
The Oregon legislature passed a smoking ban this year, but it doesn't go into effect until 2009.
Capt. Ankeny's Well and their respectable beer selection is going smoke-free on February 1, 2008!
Let it never be said that Capt. Ankeny's Well moves more slowly than the Oregon Legislature.
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