Life in Rogue's gallery (Rogue Brewery)
Portland, Oregon, is a beer mecca and one of its key players is the Rogue Brewery. Ben McFarland visited it
Undulating, drizzly and a little bit funky, Portland, Oregon, is unlike any other town in America.
It may not have the endless hours of sunshine that brighten-up other cities on America’s West Coast nor the wellknown recognition of Seattle, its nearby neighbour to the north, but Portland is so laid-back, I don’t imagine it really cares too much.
Portlander politics and attitudes to life are liberal verging on leftfield. It’s the kind of place where being an outward bound kind of guy and sporting a trendy hat is by no means compulsory, but it definitely helps.
Recycling and rock climbing are big in Portland. Republicans and rednecks less so. Imagine laptops and lots of Lycra. Portland is a place where java joints, full of creative types chewing on elaborate coffees and conjectural conundrums, outnumber noisy neonclad sports bars and where people tend to hike and bike around town instead of gallivanting about in giant gas guzzling jeeps.
As well as the distinction of being named Bicycling magazine’s No.1 cycling city in America for the second straight year, Portland was also recently voted the most desirable place to live in America by Money magazine. If a beer magazine such as this was to conduct a similar survey, Portland would win that too.
Portland is to beer what Alaska is to big coats.
For a town with just more than half a million inhabitants, we’re not talking volume here, we’re talking sheer variety. Portland can lay claim to more than 30 microbreweries and brewpu.....
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By Ben McFarland
Section : International Brewery
Page number : 36
