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Once it's built out, all a regular bar needs to do is roll in a few kegs and buy some bottles. Things aren't so easy for brewpubs, which only open smoothly when they have enough—but not too much—of their own product. Wait long enough to tap a horizontal of various barrel-aged stouts, and a new brewery needlessly racks up debt. Open without sufficient supply, and early crowds leave without much to judge the place by. It seems like Southeast Portland's month-old Baerlic Brewing (2235 SE 11th Ave., 477-9418, baerlicbrewing.com) has been behind the eight ball since it opened. The sparsely decorated brewery—concrete floor, bare ceiling, industrial metal chairs, lots of blond wood, no TV—hasn't come close to meeting demand. I've been able to taste only five beers in two visits, the best of which was an ultra-hoppy Primeval Brown Ale. The crowd was thinner the second time, too, perhaps because people are holding out for fresh batches of coffee stout and IPA. In the meantime, Baerlic might consider biting the bullet and putting some guest beers on tap.
WWeek 2015