Drank: Blonde IPA (Arlington Club)

The Arlington Club was founded way back in 1867, with the purpose of giving men with names you'd recognize from street signs a little quietude in which to smoke cigars, cut skyline-shaping business deals and choose leaders for the citizens to democratically elect. As old-money social clubs go, the Arlington seems pretty chill. Racial and gender barriers have been down for several decades. Jeans are banned, but jackets are not required. Members are asked to neither reprimand nor tip the help. As you'd expect, the club is known to maintain a deep wine list and plenty of old Scotch. More surprisingly, the Arlington Club brews its own beer. Even in Portland, it's odd to find the town's most prominent businessmen interested in suds. We found a member kind enough to share a growler of the most exclusive beer in town, a Blonde IPA. With a deep copper hue and robust body, it would be on the hefty side for an IPA, let alone a blonde. Big malts are paired with a little funk and a lasting pine-resin bitterness that'll all but stick your tongue to your teeth. The rich man's beer is drinkable, certainly, but nothing you need to bother yourself begging an invitation to try.

WWeek 2015

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