Beer Guide 2014: Kells

By SAVANNAH WASSERMAN

Kells

210 NW 21st Ave., 719-7175, kellsbrewpub.com. 4 pm-2 am Monday, 11:30 am-2 am Tuesday-Friday, 9 am-2 am Saturday-Sunday.

During the day, Kells is family-friendly, quiet and sophisticated. The stained-glass windows, old mahogany bar and glossy wooden booths give the brewpub a truly Irish charm. When night falls, though, things change. With a full bar on a Friday night and the smoky cigar room in the basement of its downtown location, Kells is more popular with bros than beer nerds. Lead brewer Garrett McAleese started a year ago with a vision to create something different in an Irish Red Ale, an Irish pale ale and something he calls an Irish lager. The beers derive much of their flavor from an Irish yeast strain and are all light and quite drinkable—as you can observe in practice on a Friday night. SAVANNAH WASSERMAN.

DRINK THIS: Irish Red Ale, which is considerably different from its closest American relative, with low hopping and very subtle fruity flavors.


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Day Sips: North Oregon Coast, Hood River, Eugene, Seattle

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