My First Time

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Last summer, I took my first trip to the Northwest. I wanted to go somewhere where I could camp and hike and Jim wanted to go somewhere where he could drink lots of delicious beers that can’t be found in Kansas City. We settled on a week-long tour of Portland and Seattle. We wanted to arrange our trip to put us in Portland during the Oregon Brewers’ Festival in late July, which happened to be the same weekend as my 10-year high school reunion. It was really not a tough decision to make.

I did not find my happy beer at the BrewFest, although I did taste many amazing beers. My discovery came before that, on the first day of our trip. To keep our costs down, we ended up flying both into and out of Portland, and decided to take the train between Portland and Seattle. We landed in Portland on Saturday, just before noon, and had a couple hours before we needed to be at the Amtrak station. Jim desperately wanted to squeeze in a visit to a Portland brewery during our lay over. I desperately wanted to eat something. So we got out our handy-dandy travel book and saw that there were a variety of microbreweries very near the train station. So we hopped the light rail from the airport into town, dropped off our bags and picked up our tickets at the station, and walked around the neighborhood until we came across the Rogue Public House. I remember having Jim take a picture of me just outside the door with my fist up, just like on their bottles. And then we went inside.

Jess at Rogue

It’s important to know that this was toward the beginning of my beer journey. I have always enjoyed a nice, refreshing beer, and I even appreciated the history and art of brewing (I did have a college internship at a major brewery where I became aware of the pride associated with creating a great beer), but I didn’t begin to learn about beer styles and mouthfeel and hop variations until I met Jim. My beer world had been so small, and this trip marked the time when it was really beginning to open up for me.

The waitress at Rogue asked what we’d like to try. Jim was trying to decide between a couple of beers that we don’t get in Missouri. I had no idea what to order. I told her I like browns, and nothing too bitter. She said they had a Hazelnut Brown Nectar that she thought I might like. I said sure. And then we anxiously awaited our first beers in Portland.

When the first sip hit my tongue, my eyes grew wide and my face lit up. I didn’t know beer could taste like that. It wasn’t just a refreshing, fizzy beverage that could give me a buzz. It was packed with flavor and aroma. It was sweet, but not syrupy. The sweetness was pefectly balanced with a roasty nuttiness that was distinctly hazelnut. It was rich, but not too thick. It tasted so good I was sure I could drink gallons of it at a time, but I wanted to make it last. I wanted to savor every sip. I rolled it around my tongue and let the aroma roll up through my nose. It was wonderful.

That beer marked the beginning of a fantastic trip, where I saw a part of the country I’d never seen, and tasted easily several dozen beers I’d never tasted. Anytime I drink Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, I go back to that trip and remember how much fun we had. For me, my happy beer isn’t just the best beer I’ve ever tasted, but it’s the beer that’s tied to some of my happiest memories.

Cheers! I found my happy beer!