Bar Guide 2014: Abbey Bar

By Matthew Korfhage

(NEW!) Abbey Bar

716 NW 21st Ave., 222-1593, theabbeybar.com. 11 am-10 pm Monday-Friday, 9 am-10 pm Saturday-Sunday.

Strange but true: With the hybrid, qualified exception of Caps & Corks, inner Northwest Portland has never had a true bottle-shop beer bar. The Abbey has rolled in with three different cases of Belgian or Belgian-style bottles at three different temperatures, and six taps of rare and imported yeasty, fruity or sour beer. With Wildwood departing, this is an essential addition to the 'hood for a beer lover, even though the cheapest tap is $5 for an 8-ounce beer, the bottles are a little hard to match up with prices, and the décor is as weirdly hard-topped and spartan as that of its predecessor in the space, the unmourned Melt. But as you melt into Belgian cheese or pastry and an Achouffe from La Chouffe, you'll forgive the brand-new bar's limitations. Because behold! Good beer in Nob Hill! Miracles happen every day in Belgium, and all of them are beer. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.

Happy hour: 4-6 pm daily. Food specials.

WWeek 2015

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