Drink 2007: Beer, Beer & More Beer

[May 23rd, 2007] HI-BALL: Sommeliers are for schmucks. Bring on the beer steward! Five nights a week, Higgins (1239 SW Broadway, 222-9070) offers the services of its most knowledgeable beer snob. From hard-to-find La Fin du Monde to the hard-to-pay-for Scaldis Cuvée Prestige ($80), the Northwest bistro's 100-plus bottle selection is incomprehensible. But if you like your brew straight from the tap, Henry's 12th Street Tavern (10 NW 12th Ave., 227-5320) offers 100 draft beers (from Oregon fave Terminal Gravity to Hoegaarden Belgian White), as well as a slightly less-annoying corporate setup than Rock Bottom. Exposed brick and stainless steel barrels encase the joint, but the $2 happy-hour menu (California rolls, mac 'n' cheese) is an appreciated gesture extended toward the regular folk.

LO-BALL: Those who believe that nothing complements a beer better than a good ol' fashioned cigarette will feel right at home in the smoky haze of the Horse Brass Pub (4534 SE Belmont St., 232-2202). P-town's notorious beer authority—serving just about every Oregon microbrew imaginable—is far from a run-down shack, but the ventilation is reminiscent of any good dive. Ditto for the Twilight Room —this equal parts UP student/hipster bar offers more than 20 draft beers and $4.50 pitchers of PBR (hence the clientele). But on a summer afternoon when your lungs need a rest, head to the patio of Produce Row Cafe (204 SE Oak St., 232-8355), which serves 30 beers on tap and 200 beers in bottles for the less-rowdy guzzlers.