Thoughts on flights, and some I drank in Oregon

The flight, most breweries and serious beer bars offer one (or a few), and they're as varied in how they're presented, how they're priced, and what comes in one, as there are places that serve them. Here are three I had in Eugene and Portland, plus a dissection of each approach.

First up, Ninkasi. Eugene based and super fast growing, this brewery is one of the highlights every time I'm in the area. They've got a great way to do a flight.

Five beers in a little metal tray, each with a laminated card with the name and logo on the front and a few stats on the back, not unlike a baseball card, but for beer. You get to pick the five beers from the 7 or 8 they've got on tap. The samples are 4 oz (I think) and the price was reasonable, $6-7. I really like the set up, and the cards are a stroke of genius.


Close up of the front of the cards.

Detail of the back. All the important info is on there. And I totally love the format, brilliant.

Next up, Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) in Portland. I'm in love with this brewery not just for their beers, or their bicycle themed brew pub, but, um, yeah, I guess the combo of those things is pretty much why I like them. They are committed to sustainable beer and life in general, so that's super cool. Anyway, their flights are 10 beers, 3 oz of each on a tray made from a bicycle rim, and $7-8, which is about the price of 2 pints, so it works out pretty well.

They've got a big chalk board behind the bar that has 12 beers listed and the flight comes with a taste of the first 10. Simple, easy, and a large selection of beers.

Lastly, I ate/drank at Hop Valley. Their flight is nine beers, 7 standards, with a seasonal and a special release. Simple, effective, and on par with the other flights I've talked about size and value wise.

Of the three flights I had on this visit to Oregon, I think I liked Ninkasi the best. Not because they're beer was the best (it was damn close, and overall it mighta been), but the format with the laminated baseball style cards was amazing. The value on each was similar, and if anything Ninkasi was a tad more expensive than the others, but Hopworks wins huge points for having a sampler that contains almost all their beers. On the flip side, Ninkasi gets points for letting me pick which beers I wanna try.