Bailey's Cellarfest 2010

It's not often that you can go to a beer festival, and not have a single bad beer.  But that's what I got at Saturday's Cellarfest at Bailey's Taproom: quite a few delicious big beers, and of the dozen that I tasted, not a single dud.  I mean, when the beers that grabbed me the least were 2008 versions of Rogue Glen and Lucky Lab Pavlov's Imperial Stout, then it's a very good day, because those were two really solid beers.

The other thing that was remarkable about the Cellarfest was how few of the usual beer suspects I ran into at Bailey's.  I really like the usual suspects, but it's a very good sign of the breadth of beer appreciation in Portland that the place was packed with more than just the usuals, and really without much publicity for the event. Granted, I was only there from about 4:30 to 6:30, apparently after professionals like the Brewpublic and portlandbeer.org posses had come and gone.  My friends Brian, Bryce, and Cathy had snagged a relatively quiet spot in the back of the bar, so Lindsey and I took it over when they moseyed along; maybe we would have jostled more old acquaintances in the front of the house.

Anyway, about the beer.  Bailey's has only been open for a couple of years, how deep can their cellar be?  In fact, most of the beers on tap -- 10 of 17 -- were from 2008 and 2009.  That's OK by me -- occasionally a beer will keep improving after two years of age, but for the most part two years is enough time, and you get more and more blemishes as the years go by.  I was too late to the Cellarfest to try two of the oldest ales: the Fish Leviathan from 2004 and the Terminal Gravity 2006 Bucolic Plague.  But the 2006 Alaskan Smoked Porter proved my point: still a fine beer, but the papery flavor of oxidation was starting to become a distraction.

Here are some short notes on the beers I tried, more or less in the order of preference, though it's almost as hard to say what my favorites were as it is to say what my least favorites were.  Everything was nice.

• Caldera '09 Old Growth Imperial Stout: bitter, rich, licorice, wonderful
• Lagunitas '08 Olde Gnarleywine Barleywine: nicely fruity, malty, and bitter
• Full Sail '07 Old Boardhead Barleywine: delicious vanilla and hops
  
• Laughing Dog  '08 Dogfather Imperial Stout: deliciously bitter
• North Coast '08 Old Stock Barleywine: fruity and nice
• Butte Creek '07 Train Wreck Barleywine: classic hoppy b-wine
• Flying Dog '09 Gonzo Porter: pretty damn good, bitter and full
• Fort George '09 Coffee Girl Stout: tasty strong coffee and chile flavors
• Barley Brown's '08 Double Whiskey Ale: mellow and smooth; not whiskeyish
• Alaskan '06 Smoked Porter: smoked meat flavors; a little oxidized
• Rogue '08 Glen Strong Ale: solid, thick, balanced
• Lucky Lab '08 Pavlov's Imperial Stout: a little too hoppy; expected more malt
  

Before there was Abyss... there was Caldera Imperial Stout.  Whenever you see it on tap, drink as much of it as you can.

A couple of suggestions for Geoff for next year's Cellarfest.  First, it would have been nice to have the styles of each beer listed on the beer list handouts.  Second, alphabetical order is a beer-drinker's friend.  But don't get me wrong, this event was wonderful as it was, from the well-chosen beers, to the sweet souvenir snifter, to the speedy service despite the big crowd.

Bailey's Taproom

Bailey's Taproom had been open for more than a year when I finally made my first visit there this past January. For evenings out I tend to stay on my side of the river; I sometimes branch out a little further at lunchtime or on weekend days, but the Taproom is closed Sundays and never opens until 4 PM. If it fit my schedule better I'd be there a lot more often, because Bailey's hit its stride very quickly to become one of the best beer bars in Portland. So when Geoff -- the proprietor -- put out the word that he was going to open at noon last Friday, I knew I had to show up.

The atmosphere is hip but comfortable, with a great selection of 20 rotating taps, one cask beer engine, and a few elite bottles. What's surprising is how inexpensive an outing to Bailey's can be. Most beers are served in imperial pints at lower prices than smaller servings at places like Henry's or the Green Dragon -- that snifter Geoff is filling is for a 9% old ale. But the real economy is because you can bring food in to Bailey's, now that the cheese and chocolate snack menu has been scrapped-- frankly, that menu was a ridiculous idea anyway. At most pubs in town you'd be looking at a $9 hamburger or $12 fish and chips; around the corner from Bailey's you have your pick of international street food at the $5 food carts at SW 5th and Oak. Heck, you can bring your own food from home if you want.

When you go to Bailey's you'll likely see Geoff behind the counter. He's a little on the quiet side, but he'll discuss any of the beers with you. The couple of times I've been there, he's been amazingly candid about what's on tap: if he thinks one of the beers isn't so great, he tells you straight out, or gives you a sample to let you make that decision yourself. That kind of personal touch bodes well for the business. By the way, his last name isn't Bailey -- I'm not sure how the bar got its name.

That beer in the snifter was a delicious dessert on Friday. It was Pappy's Dark from Block 15 in Corvallis. It was a heavenly, dense, malty elixir... wait, let me see if my review generator can do better. Here we go: Intense maple aroma, punctuated with toffee and strawberry. Sexy boozy flavor, accompanied by vanilla and raisin. Well, if you don't believe that, just believe me when I say it was awesome. And check out the lacing that Ninkasi Spring Reign left on Dave's glass in the background!

Like a lot of places, Bailey's keeps their online taplist current almost daily. For up-to-the-minute info, follow Geoff on Twitter: he tweets the change whenever one keg is switched with another.

Click here for the Beer Mapping Project's page on Bailey's Taproom.

Bailey's Taproom

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