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 HOPWORKS: Beer- and bike-ophiles, rejoice! IMAGE: Baker Poulshock |
[April 9th, 2008]
SKIPWORKS, JUMPWORKS: Looking to socialize? Bring friends or look elsewhere. Hopworks (2944 SE Powell Blvd., 232-4677) is all about the beer, as evidenced by stool after stool, table after table, of silently sipping souls. The brews are tasty enough to pack the house on a Monday night, and the food (vegan pizza, burgers, wings, etc.), isn’t bad either—at peak dining hours, the wait can exceed one hour. So which in-house beer should you pick? Regulars recommend the IPA, but don’t listen to them. Instead, try the fruity Velvet ESB or the Survival Seven-Grain Stout, an addictive brew finished with Stumptown espresso beans. Less delicious but equally enticing are enviro-friendly perks like recycled construction materials and biodiesel-fired brew kettles (which use waste oil from the fryer). What strikes most people is the size—Hopworks has an amazing 3,400 square feet of indoor space, and when the patio’s open it can accommodate 238 beerophiles. Frankly, seeing so many people quietly drinking in one place is…well, it’s unnerving. But the upside of having so much space is that you can do your own thing: On a recent visit, WW spied a middle-aged man, squeezed in between rambunctious couples, pairing his hops with Albert Camus’ The Plague.
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Just got home from my first visit to Hopworks. I loved the vibe - beer lovers, socializers, families, buddies, couples, groups of friends and post-sports game teams were enjoying themselves. I skipped food only because I had just eaten but my friend had a chicken sandwich made with just the right amount of tenderness and not too much fussiness. I watched as several fresh salads went by and were delivered to happy diners and I started makings plans for when I can get back there to try out their Ceaser salad.
My beers, a Deluxe and the house Pale (served in 16 oz glasses!) were zesty and each had their own personality.
So often breweries dis their wine-drinking patrons, but Hopworks has assembled a wine list that is both succint and impressive featuring great NW wines.
Service was friendly and competent with just the right balance between attention and not too much bother.
As a neighborhood resident I appreciate the value and quality Hopworks has brought to an otherwise unattractive section of Powell.
Now, I can't wait until they open the southern-facing outdoor deck. Summers just got a whole lot better in SE.
Anybody tasted their food? Do they have generous portions? Is the Beer served in 14oz glasses?
Is this place too cool to revue?, I'll take some off the street revues... anyone?