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.

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