A very Portland-esque establishment with good brew to boot.

Lucky Labrador
915 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR

Beers Sampled:

• Organic Rose City Red: An excellent, full flavored red ale with subtle bitterness and a satisfying amber color.
• No Pity Organic Pale Ale: Nice organic pale, with a slightly amber color and very subtle bitterness. The hopiness of the pale ads a subtle bite that makes each sip seem very refreshing.
• Super Dog: Double IPA with good flavor and body and while the hops are strong, they do not overpower the beer. Very refreshing and satisfying.
• Steam lager - slightly hoppy rich lager with strong flavor.
• Hellasaurus Rex - smooth pilsner-like German beer with a rich malty flavor balanced by a slight hop crispness. Interesting and very unique beer. Limited availability.

The Lucky Lab is a friendly unassuming bar and pub located on Hawthorne, close in on the East side of Portland. The atmosphere is easy going with no pretension. Folks are content to chat, read, or bring a laptop. The Lab also serves pub food and has a nice patio area where dogs are welcome. The Lucky Lab epitomizes Portland's dog friendly atmosphere and low key style. No problem visiting the pub alone, as there is no pressure.

Pros: Good beer, friendly atmosphere, pet friendly

Cons: Unable to get a solid wi-fi signal here despite the fact that there are several available.

A decidely Portland-esque type of beer event, the NAOBF is the place to go to sample a wide variety of organic beers.  Organic is an interesting trend in beer, but undoubtedly it fits right in with the concept of craft brewing.  If you care about how good your beer tastes, then ultimately you should care about the quality of the ingredients.

The festival was fun, with 40+ brewers on display, live music, and a variety of vegetarian and organic food available.  You'll need several hours to sample all, or most of the beers.  The brews range from summer classics like a wit or pale up into the realms of a chocolate stout.  Clearly there was something for everyone.

The Brew Republic team was out enjoying the festival and the warm weather.  We enjoyed the easy going atmosphere and trying the many varieties of organic goodness.  Some highlights included Double Mountain's outstanding Summer Wit, Redstone's 8% ABV apricot and raspberry meads, and Standing Stone Brewery's Double IPA.  On the weird category was a surprisingly good Squash beer.  For wheat lovers the Edel-Weiss was a tasty brew.

All in all a good show and great fun on a lovely warm Portland afternoon.