Alameda Brewhouse

Matthew

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

This is the closest pub to my new home and I am glad it is. Alameda has a friendly restaurant type feel to it with some pretty awesome decoration, basically some burlap hanging on the walls depicting hop vines, barley stalks, mash pattles, and a shuvel. The service is always friendly, knowledgable, and informative. The selection is good and there is a rotating seasonal beer along with a rotating nitro'd beer. The beers I have tried there are very tastey, particularly their stout and juniper porter. I've eaten there only a few times but what I have had has been pretty good, some basic pub food with some choices that are a bit nicer meals than your normal burger and fries. Prices are very reasonable and Tuesdays are $2 beer! If you are visiting Portland its a brewpub you should definatley stop at if only to try their stout.

06-28-2006 23:09:01 | More by Matthew

denali99755

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $

This place is a sentimental favorite of mine, and I make a point to go every time I get back to the Northwest.

The atmosphere is hip, but not obnoxiously so, with a semi-industrial decor and some nice hardwood accents, especially in the booths and the bar. Very, very Portland--balancing the old Oregon timber industry feel with the new young attitude of one of my favorite cities.

I have always been fairly impressed with the cheeriness and personability of the wait staff here; they are never hesitant to chime in with a recommendation if you need one; they'll look you in the eye and talk to you about food, beer, or the city. Personable, yet reasonably efficient, in the style of this part of the country.

Nice variety of bar food, from fries to nachos to a great hefty burger with huge variety of toppings to the seafood you'd expect around here. And oh my...the cheesecake. Cheesecake is already my favorite dessert, and this hands-down demolishes anything I've ever tasted--light and fluffy, it goes down much more easily than your average New York-style brick, and it's adorned with a totally unique, spicy raspberry melba sauce. To die for.

The beer, now that I'm old enough to order it, is strong across the board, with a couple of standouts--the Black Bear XX nitro stout is one of my favorite beers, and the Klickitat Pale Ale is another great offering, continuing a strong Oregonian tradition of American pales. Everything they offer is brewed in-house--it's a brew pub, not a beer bar--but they have something to satisfy just about anyone. As a bonus, they also brew a knockout root beer for those underage.

For $3 a pint, the price is quite reasonable, and the food rounds it out for a $15-$20 dinner. Well worth a stop by if you're in the area.

02-14-2006 00:19:40 | More by denali99755

PopeJonPaul

Oregon

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Take a page from German minimalism\industrialism and mix it with Pacific Coast hardwood and you have the unique atmosphere of this place. The brewing machinery and work areas bleed into the stainless steel and unvarnished hardwood bar and restaurant area; you really are hanging out in a "working brewery" and not just an appendix restaurant.

They had 9 of their beers on, two of which were on nitro (ISA and Black Bear XX, which was really good.) They bottle one seasonal, which they also had on tap (Papa Noel's: on the way back from the restroom I some bearded lumberjack guy through a window near the tanks sealing bottles of it with a hand capper.) They had a full bar too, the Bud and Coors Light guest taps were a disappointment though (what fool in Portland would drink macro guest taps in a Brewery? Maybe tourists I guess.) Staff was friendly, had just ate lunch at Laurelwood so didn't try the food but the stuff that passed by looked good. Worth another visit next time I'm in Portland...especially since it's less than 3 miles from my brother's house.

02-12-2006 17:10:14 | More by PopeJonPaul

unklesyd

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went here on the recommendation of a friend for lunch. After reading other reviews, I didn't think that I would be disappointed, and sure enough, I was not. This place exceeded my expectations in almost every regard.

The ambience was nothing special. Very clean, modern, well lit, but certainly not dull. Probably a little better at night.

Their beers were tasty. I had their amber, which wasn't spectacular, but better than many in this style, of which I'm not a big fan, and their English IPA, which was really quite tasty. Didn't want to go in for the taster, which would have been too much brew at the noon hour, but the server obliged me with a couple for free, which was really cool seeing as how I didn't even ask!

Our server was very attentive and knowledgeable. Top notch!

Their beer selection was well rounded, but no real surprises in the style category. Most of the "mainstream" mainstay styles represented, but nothing really out there.

The food was really a cut above the standard brewpub fare. My wife and I shared a crab bisque, I had a HUGE sandwich, and she had chicken wings in a lemon-dill sauce. Generous portions and fantastic quality.

I grabbed a growler tha I've yet to open. But even that shows a commitment to excellence. They recently upgraded to a higher quality cap that retains freshness much longer than the standard metal screw cap.

Highly recommended!

09-07-2005 03:27:49 | More by unklesyd

RoyalT

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5

Atmosphere – This is not your typical rowdy brewpub. There are plenty of people here on a Friday night but it’s a quieter crowd, not the “bachelor party” atmosphere that you find with some brewpubs. It’s more like a restaurant that serves good beer than a brewpub where people come to drink and occasionally eat.

Quality – There’s nothing fancy about this place, but it’s not run down either. Everything is very open. The seating can be a bit crowded, though, and certain bar stools that are close to the table area are real “elbow bumpers”.

Service – Up at the bar the service was excellent. It’s a very long bar, too, so I appreciated the effort that the bartender made in keeping the tasty brews coming.

Selection – The Alameda spread of beer styles was very nice. They have everything from light Golden & Wheat Ales to a dark Porter & Stout and of course a couple of hop bombs to fill in the gaps.

Comments – Overall, this is a nice, quiet place to enjoy some really good beers.

09-29-2004 16:34:21 | More by RoyalT

HiroProtagonist

Maryland

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4

Went to Alameda brewpub/resturant for dinner. The decor was a bit mismatched. Most of the place embraced an industrial concept, complete with steaming tanks and sheetmetal bar accents, factory ceilings, and a loading dock looking area in the back...cool. but the seating and dinning tables were made of a light modern oak wood that didn't mix with the rest of the place...and it was a little too squished together. But still, its a different kind of brewpub. A tray of all ten of their beers was $7...a good deal. All were pretty good, though the standouts were the ISA, porter, and the stout (very good). For dinner we had the falafel sandwhich and the reuben. Both were good, though about average compared to other pub offereings. The fries however were pretty damn good. There were a number of other tasting looking things on the menu that I would love to come back and try. Alameda is yet another quality Portland brewpub that deserves your attention.

08-22-2004 05:40:34 | More by HiroProtagonist

freed

Oregon

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5

Blending in well with the urban revival that has graced the Beaumont District, the Alameda Brew House is decorated with externally with a gigantic hop cone. A sure sign that you've arrived.

The inside is somewhat reminiscent of a Belgo; no attempt to hide the previous life of the building, and decorating in a way to flatter it. The tables, booths and bar are styled with a danish influence, light woods with definite edges. The booths, by the way, are constructed in an amazing fishbone weave, and are surprisingly comfortable.

One side of the building displays the working brewing equipment, some fermenters in a modified shipping container. The bar is quite sizable, and the selection of non-beer is pretty good. There are a fair number of single malts, whiskeys, and other standards.

The beer selection is limited to house beers. There were a couple taps that I couldn't identify, but there isn't any need to venture out. The beers at Alameda are stelar, which was just confirmed by several medals from GABF and WBC.

The food was terrific, and there was plenty more on the menu that I must try at some point. We had shellfish, and it was perfect. Sadly, our service wasn't the greatest; we didn't get napkins or silverware, but the waiter was honest about food choices, and was definitely right.

05-01-2004 17:55:15 | More by freed

Elemental

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5

I have been wanting to try this place out for ahwile and finally got around to it last night. The atmosphere is pretty nice. Its a little trendy in the sense that everything looks "industrial" and all the servers are dressed in full black. But its no smacking, there where a couple tvs at the bar playing a bball game, and you can see all the fermentors and brewing equipment which I always like. The food was exceptional. I had the mussels and got to try the onion rings and oyesters and it was all very good. There is a large selection of food on the menu. There were about 8 beers to choose from but I only had one - the black bear xx stout which is great. Overall this is definately a place that I would frequent.

05-01-2004 15:08:53 | More by Elemental

RedDiamond

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5

The Alameda Brew House is a neighborhood brewpub serving a dozen or so house beers and some very decent food. Look for the huge hop cone outside facing the street -- can't miss it.

This is not a tavern. There are no pool tables, video, or neon. Instead the Alameda sports an industrial chic flair with exposed mash tuns, cinder blocks and roofing trusses. Conditioning tanks are visible through windows behind the bar. The decor is simple and refined with bright wood, clean lines, and lit candles in abundance. A small selection of wine and mixed drinks are available.

A friendly staff was eager to hook me up with beer samples. They even placed the TV remote in front of me -- a gracious gesture but I never touch the stuff. While sipping ale, I munched on a plate of beer batter onion rings that were crisp and flavorful. The "small" serving was a meal in itself.

This is a nice place to take a date, a business client, your parents, or your well-behaved friends. It's not a loud joint by any means. Not a place to watch a ball game. Visitors are advised to seek Alameda’s Black Bear XX Stout, a distinctly world-class ale and my favorite stout in Portland. Their other offerings failed to strike me as similarly charmed until I discovered Mean Old John’s Barleywine and Klickitat Pale. These three charmed ales keep me eager to return and sample their next batch.

02-26-2004 05:02:13 | More by RedDiamond

weefisheads

Oregon

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5

In a city known for brewpubs, it's difficult to stand out from all the rest. With some of the very best beers around, the Alameda Brewing Company provides plenty of reasons to pass up all the rest to come here, but otherwise it's just another brewpub amidst a sea of beer spots.

Located on a stip of businesses in a residential area, The Alameda tries to position itself as a restaurant with some damn fine beer versus a pub that incidentally has some food if you want. The atmosphere is pleasant - usually pretty crowded and lively - with a pretty good mix of local regulars seated at the bar and those coming for lunch or dinner. The food selection is quite diverse and for the most part quite good, but I've had company with me that has not been thrilled by the service. Mostly due to it being a pretty popular place, probably.

Overall I'd say the Alameda Brewing is worth a visit - however, mostly because of the incredible beers they have. Yum....

04-30-2003 20:45:50 | More by weefisheads