No offense man, but will this series be over soon? I was interested for the first few days, then ignored it for a few days, then got sorta pissed to see it for a few days, and finally (now) about to unsubscribe to the merc rss for a few days. I know.. this is going on for a month, right? Ugh. A personal blog would have been a MUCH better place for this. It ain't news. And I don't care if beer is fruity, rolls on the tongue, creamy over the bitter backend profile, whatever-the-fuck. Is it worth tasting? Great, tell us. Then shut it. I'll be back in August, I guess.

PAC's my favorite Merc writer by a long-shot, but yeah, if End Hits (or god-forsaken MOD) deserves a blog, then so does this.

Yeah, who wants to read about beer... or art openings, movies, or music? Let's just stick with Sam-time all the time, shall we?

Seriously Patrick, this series has been great. Keep it up.

I too am enjoying the series! Keep on keeping on!

tl;dr

Higgins employs a Beer Steward who recommends pairings. I don't remember his name, but it's written at the bottom of the beer list on the menu.

keep it up! portland is proudly microbrew-central and if you don't like it, then move to st. louis, missouri!!!!!! I love to hear someone finally laud the intricacies of the brew in such a public forum. as for pairings with food, nothing's better than a nice heap of buffalo style hot wings and some hoppy IPA or red. at the risk of leaking one of portland's best kept secrets, the laurelwood pub has a 50-cent wing special every monday - minimum six wings.. they've got lots of different kinds of sauces too, but I don't mess with anything less than buffalo style, extra crispy, extra saucy. nothing like a hoppy brew to calm the fire. the rock bottom brewery's wings are pretty good, too.

Patrick,

Nice piece! Indeed beer and food pairing is going crazy nationwide. I haven't been there yet, but Higgins in Portland is supposed to be doing a good job. (Although like many places that claim to do beer with food, their website seems to play up their wine pairings. Sigh.)

Just to clairfy: Certified Cicerone(tm) is a professional certification (kinda like being a Realator) achieved by passing a four-hour exam (written, tasting & demo). The knowledge required to pass can be found in the Master Syllabus on our website (link in the article).

I expect to run a Certified Cicerone exam in Portland this fall, so I'll check out your work for places to go. Keep up the good work.

Cheers,

Ray Daniels, Director, Cicerone Certification Program

I drink the fact that you think the Mercury is actually a news source. I drink it up!