The BeerMongers is my favorite place to buy beer in Portland. They have hundreds of bottles, all sorts of imports and rare locals. They get the occasional case of Pliny. I like to go there and just stare at the cases. They also have eight rotating taps, which I have never imbibed, until last Saturday. They were having a Sour, Tart, and Wild Beer Showcase. We had to go; Sarah only likes sour beers.
We had a one off from Upright called Lactovasilios: a barrel aged Berlinerwiess with added lactobacillus. It was a delightful, light beer with a great lemon tartness. It was like a lemonade lager, a shandy if you will. Perfect for a warm summer day.
We folllowed that with a Supplication from Russian River. I've wanted to try it for a while, but ten bucks for twelve ounces seemed extreme. It's good though. Cherry wild beer aged in Pinot Noir barrels. It was all sorts of sour, with big cherry flavors and a nice red wine dryness. I was surprised at how wine-like it felt. Probably on par with many Belgian krieks.
We finished with a black, black beer from Boneyard called Funky Bunch: a blend of barrel aged beers, all sorts of beers in all sorts of barrels. Funky Bunch was the most unfamiliar of the three, confusing. There was hint of coffee? Something sour? Chocolate? Is that a wine barrel? I don't even know.