I love Portland because it is a great craft beer town, and great craft beer towns are starting to put craft beer bars at their local airports. There is a Cigar City Brewpub in my hometown of Tampa. Portland also has two Laurelwood Public House and Brewery locations at the Porland Airport in Concourse A and E. I didn’t get a chance to check them out (next time) but can share some of my experience at Rogue.
Everyone who drinks craft beer knows Rogue Dead Guy Ale which is one of their flagship beers. I love going to Rogue Distillery and Public House in downtown Portland. Great appetizers and beer tasters. I was flying into Portland for meetings for a couple of days and had to wait for a few hours before my German colleagues were going to arrive. I thought I would have a cold one while waiting.
When I arrived at the bar it was a little messy with empty glasses but I think the bartender had a mad rush before I arrived. Within 10 minutes of my arrival everything was tidy. I ordered a Juniper Pale which I have had in the past. I rated it previously on rate beer at 3.5 but today I would have to rate it a little lower (probably a 3 out of 5). Checking the specifics of the beer they use three types of hops: Styrian Golding, Amarillo, Perle but also use juniper berries. I think my problem is I get confused on the portion of bitterness from the berries vs. the hops. Similar to getting an IPA that has some bittering from coffee.
Pints were reasonably priced for the airport (about $6) which was great because I was in Perth Australia 3 weeks earlier and spent $13 on a pint at a bar (not at an airport). The Public Ale House appears to have a similar menu as the one in downtown Portland. I love the Kobe Bleu Balls (3 for $6.50).
In summary, great spot to pass the time while waiting for your next flight. I love Rogue beers and will check out Laurelwood next time I am there to see how it compares. Check out this link for more info: http://www.rogue.com/roguemeetinghalls/.