| Hair of the Dog Brewery 61 SE Yamhill Street | Portland, OR 97214 (503) 232-6585 www.hairofthedog.com |
Portland, Oregon is regularly rated among America’s top craft beer cities. According to oregoncraftbeer.org, it’s estimated that 53% percent of all draft beer consumed in Oregon is brewed in Oregon. There are currently 58 breweries in Portland and 84 in the Portland metro area.
I recently had a chance to visit Portland, Oregon, and while I did not visit all 84 Portland-area breweries, I did manage to check out 14 stand out breweries.
The family owned and operated Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, founded in November 1993, is located on SE Yamhill Street in East Portland. Hair of the Dog specializes in high alcohol, bottle conditioned beers, as well as barrel aging experimentation.
The brewery boasts a four barrel brewhouse and 180 oak barrels used to age beer from six months to eight years. They use new oak as well as previously filled spirit and wine barrels.
Each beer has its own identity, similar to the people who inspired them. The beer flight includes the American pale ale Ruth, the maibock Lila, the golden strong ale Fred, and Hair of the Dog’s first beer, the dark and rich Adam.
Other beers on tap included Golden Sabbath, a Belgian strong ale brewed with Hawaiian honey in collaboration with Big Island Brewing, and Blue Dot, an Imperial IPA. There are also rotating selections “from the wood” (barrel aged beers) and “from the stone” (fermented or aged in concrete egg).
Small bites from the kitchen include meat and cheese plates, Chuck Norris Duck Wings, Mac & Cheese, and Pork Toast. Sandwiches include Italian, Grilled Chicken Breast, Turkey and Smoked Mozzarella, Reuben, and Pastrami. There’s also a grilled cheese – but not any grilled cheese – this one is made with gruyere on seven-grain carrot bread.
Hair of the Dog is open Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 AM to 10 PM and Sunday 11:30 AM to 8 PM. Beer can be purchased in bottles to go. Vintage bottles are for on site consumption only. There is metered street parking.
Check out more breweries from Steph’s Portland Beerventure and for more beer spots in cities across the country, check out our complete Beerventure Series lineup.
