We stayed at the McMennamin’s Oregon Hotel and had a short walk to Golden Valley Restaurant and Brewery in McMinnville. This is what I love about Oregon. There are always craft beer bars that you can walk to from your hotel. According to Golden Valley’s website, www.goldenvalleybrewery.com, they have two locations (McMinnville, OR and Beaverton, OR). They also have their own ranch which supplies their restaurants with Angus beef and organic vegetables. The cattle are fed a diet rich in spent grain from Golden Valley’s Brewery. According to their website, the spent grains contain twice the protein and fiber of regular feed.
We started with a beer sampler to taste the range of beers they produce. All of the beers were pretty good. One of the other guys we were dining with took the Chehalem Mountain IPA so didn’t get to taste that one. I tried the Rye’p Tetts Festbier which is an Oktoberfest/Marzen beer. This was hopier than typical Marzen beers and was brewed with tettnanger hops. I rated it a 3.0/5.0 on Untapp’d. After the tastings I got a pint of their Red Thistle Ale which was an ESB with a decent hop level (40IBU). I thought it was great and was nice and hoppy. I rated it a 4.0/5.0 on Untapp’d. I then got a pint of the Chehalem Mountain IPA (because I like IPA’s) and either they poured the wrong beer or it wasn’t that hoppy. I actually rated it a 2.5/5.0 on Untapp’d. I probably should have tried a taster to make sure I wasn’t being too harsh.
They have a good menu that has something for everyone: lots of appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, burgers, steaks, pasta/rice dishes, chicken, salmon, schnitzel, oysters, and fish & Chips. I ordered their Hardy Havarti Hamburger. I figured since they had their own ranch then their beef must be pretty good. It is an Angus beef burger with avocado, honey-cured ham, mushrooms, havarti, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and romesco sauce. I was very happy with my selection. The beef and combination with ham, havarti, avocado was excellent.
If you are in McMinnville check it out for their beef and beer.