At Ridgewalker Brewing, the Rack of Ribs is Just $13

A combination taproom, growler station and barbecue restaurant, the new brick-and-mortar home of Ridgewalker Brewing is in an old beige building within spitting distance of Pacific University.

(Ridgewalker, Christine Dong)

1921 21st Ave., Forest Grove, 503-747-0271, ridgewalkerbrewing.com. Noon-10 pm Monday-Thursday, noon-midnight Friday-Saturday, noon-11 pm Sunday.

A combination taproom, growler station and barbecue restaurant, the new brick-and-mortar home of Ridgewalker Brewing is in an old beige building within spitting distance of Pacific University. Beautiful knotty-edged tables and booths anchor a simple but tasteful interior, the byproduct of cofounder Justin Marble's days as an arborist. The place smells like fresh pine and offers cheap barbecue (a rack of pork ribs for $13) alongside 34 taps on its digital tap board, eight of which were housemade creations on our visit. The location is nice and all, but we'd stick to guest taps for now; the Ridgewalker beers we tasted were all oddly watery, with one IIPA that was amber and about as bitter as pale ale, and a wild red ale that tasted like a red ale gone awry, rather than a purpose-built creation.

(Ridgewalker, Christine Dong)

Drink this: The Storm Brown Ale, which was nice and nutty, sporting a sessionable body beneath a frothy white head.

(Ridgewalker, Christine Dong)
Parker Hall

Parker Hall is a writer, musician, and home brewer from Portland. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, where he studied jazz percussion with drum legend Billy Hart (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock). Now a freelance writer and professional member of the city's jazz and indie rock scenes, he spends most of his days writing, playing music or drinking brews in his spacious North Portland basement.

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