Friday, March 6, 2015

Oregon, Spring 2015, Part 7: Baerlic Brewing Co

Our penultimate stop during Zwickelmania 2014 was at Baerlic Brewing Co., located in the same general area as Apex, Beer Mongers, and The Commons Brewery



The name of this brewery is an Old English word (bærlīċ), meaning “barley-like” or “pertaining to barley.” Open for less than a year (June 2014), they have a respectable list of five year-round beers, six seasonal/experimental ones, and have already retired 21 brews.

The taproom was crowded but a lot of fun. A long line of patrons snaked out the door and down the street, perhaps half of them waiting for the tour. We avoided that group and somehow managed to get a table. Service was surprisingly fast and also friendly. They had 10 taps on, including a few new special brews. An interesting mix of styles, too.



We focused mostly on their seasonals and experimental beers. Here are a few:

Baerlic Cowabunga! (6.2%)     3.6
A smooth chocolaty nose, a bit tangy, with some lactic notes. Dark brown color with a tan head. Mild buzzing sweetish initial, and then mild bittering throughout the palate. Medium body. Sweet but a bit fizzed up, too.

Baerlic Doug E Fresh IPA (6.7%)     3.5
A nice juicy hop nose, quite citrusy and zesty. Moderate malty flavors, with a substantial citrus/pine hop mix. Medium-light body. Very smooth. A lighter sort of IPA, but quite flavorful

Baerlic Invincible IPA (6.8%)     3.5
The only year-round beer we had here. Smooth, fruity nose with a backing of moderate caramel. Muddy amber/orange color. Well balanced from the start, with good lip-smacking hops, and long hop tracks in the finish. Medium body, and actually a bit underdone, really. Middle of the road IPA. Tasty enough

Baerlic Filbert Reynolds Hazelnut Porter (6.8%)     3.4
Sweet, coffee-ish nose. Flavors of coffee, dark roast, sugar, light hazelnuts, and minimal hopping. The hazelnuts add an extra dimension. Well-balanced finish.

Baerlic Wildcat (5.3%)     3.3.
Very fresh citrusy nose, lemon, bit of funk, yeast. Cloudy bright yellow. Small fruity tang in initial, mild bittering, and then goes weak in mid and final. Thin body. Very nice initially, but kind of gives up halfway through.



2235 SE 11th Avenue
Portland, Oregon, USA 97214
503 477-9418

Mon: Closed
Tues-Thu: 4 - 10 pm
Fri: 2 - 11 pm
Sat: 12 - 11 pm
Sun: 12 - 9 pm

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