Beer Guide 2015: Pints

By Matthew Korfhage

Pints

412 NW 5th Ave.,564-2739, pintsbrewing.com. 11:30-11 pm Monday-Saturday, noon-9 pm Sunday.

[KAISER ROLLS] Tiny 3.5-barrel Pints is in its own way a giant. Alan Taylor, a German-trained brewer and Widmer vet, took over as brewmaster in May 2013 and has slowly been bringing his Teutonic sensibilities to the fore. Oddly isolated in an off-drag stretch of Old Town, the cozy brewpub serves pleasant pub fare and always carries a handful of beers that eschew the local hop and malt crop for German varietals. This means the Helles Hefeweizen has those wild banana esters you find in Bavaria, and is matched by none in Oregon except Heater Allen. The altbier is also amazingly faithful to form, malty and bitter and full of clove. Really, Taylor is a brewer in uncommon control of his craft. Each Pints bartender is allowed to assist on seasonal batches made from their own fever dreams to varying effect, and some of the old blondes or IPAs remain, but it's best to stick to the old German styles.

DRINK THIS: The Schwarzbier is a full-bodied revelation.

WWeek 2015

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