Baerlic

2235 SE 11th Ave., 477-9418, baerlicbrewing.com. 4-10 pm Tuesday-Thursday, 2-11 pm Friday, noon-11 pm Saturday, noon-9 pm Sunday.

Baerlic Brewing is a hall of cheerful kitsch. Ensconced between Blitz Ladd's shuffleboard tables and the streetwear-styled pizzas at P.R.E.A.M., the blond-wood brewpub offers free bumper stickers asking, rhetorically, "Does a Baerlic in the woods?" But you'll find beers from the bare-bones Baerlic popping up all over town, especially the oddly crackly cream ale and pine-needling Arctos red. Among the year-round brews, the Primeval Brown remains its best, with a terrific balance of hop and biscuit. But my favorite was a dark and figgy gose called Starlighter, its deep fruit notes balanced out with sour and salt to form a taste like toasted raisin bread. The Iniquitous Barrel-Aged Stout was boozy with caramel, and likewise graceful despite being heavy—like a ballerina much fatter and happier than all the rest.

Adam Wickham Adam Wickham

Drink This: Baerlic shines with its seasonals, including the gose and the Thunderbolt oatmeal porter.

Willamette Week

Matthew Korfhage

Matthew Korfhage has lived in St. Louis, Chicago, Munich and Bordeaux, but comes from Portland, where he makes guides to the city and writes about food, booze and books. He likes the Oxford comma but can't use it in the newspaper.

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