Oregon daily emerald., April 13, 1984, Section B, Image 9

THE EURYTHMICS
Page 5B
Friday, April 13, 1984
The Friday Edition
The weekly arts and entertainment newsmagazine
All bars aren’t
created equal
At first, we weren't too happy about
the prospect of being draughted to do an
entertainment story. But the editor per
sisted, promising that the research in
volved wouid tap our true abilities
"Find the best draught beer in town!"
she ordered, giving us no other alter
native but to follow her wishes. After all,
she's the editor.
Like the true journalists that we are, we
decided to leave no glass unturned in
our search. We frequented 10 of the
most infamous beer establishments
around, and came up with some rather
sobering results. Our highly scientific,
comparative survey took into account
three main factors — quality, variety and
price of each place's beer on tap.
And in general, we found that the stu
dent with the discriminating beer gut will
have to stagger beyond some of the pubs
closest to campus in order to find the
Story by Jim Moore and
Doug Nash
Photo by Pynes/Kromer
finest of draughts. For example, Rennie's
Landing (1214 Kincaid St.) may be the
closest spot for the parched preppy, but
research indicates it has very little to of
fer under the bar. Rennie's skimpy
draught menu is simply a collection of
bad American brews, with not a true
lager in the bunch: Budweiser, Michelob
Dark, Natural Lite, and Bud Lite. And at
prices that range from $2.75 to $3 for a 50
oz. pitcher, even those out for a cheap
domestic drunk will have to look further.
Old Taylors' Tavern, Rennie's big
brother at 894 E. 13th Ave., has more to
offer in terms of quality but is still lacking
in variety. Aside from Budweiser (which
is 25 cents cheaper at Old Taylors'), the
tavern has Henry Weinhard's Private
Reserve in both light and dark versions,
and an intriguing Guinness on tap for on
ly $5.75 a pitcher.
A block down the street, however,
things start to improve. Guido's (801 E.
13th Ave.) does damage to the statement
that Italians know nothing about beer.
Indeed, it boasts a respectable number
of American names, including Henry's
and Miller, as well as two imported
brands — Labatt's, from Canada, and
Watney's Red Barrel, from England. But
the biggest advantage is the price. At
$2.75 for a 64 oz. pitcher of Henry's,
Guido's has some of the most inexpen
sive draughts in town.
Of all the campus-area establishments,
though, BJ Kelly's has the greatest variety
to offer its customers. With six domestic
and five imported brews on tap, not even
the most hard-core beeraholics would
get bored at BJ's, located at 1475 Franklin
Boulevard. The price is somewhat above
average, however ($3 for a 48 oz. pitcher
of Henry's).
Meanwhile, Max's Tavern, 550 E. 13th
Ave., offers a touch of authenticity — if
one really cares after several beers —
with its pint glasses of Guinness served
at room temperature. The stout, im
ported from Ireland, combines with
Portland's own Henry's to provide a
balanced fare.
Of course, if one has the inclination,
transportation and endurance, one may
want to travel off campus, where the
widest variety of draughts can be found.
The only establishment in the survey to
rate perfect scores in both quality and
variety was deFrisco's, located in the
Continued on Page 8B
Beer buyer
beware!
Rating the draughts at the local pubs
After considerable hard work, sweat and blurred vision, The Emerald rated the establishments it visited according
to quality, variety and price — for draught beers only. The ratings are based on a 30 point maximum, with ten points
for each category.
TAVERN
VARIETY
QUALITY
PRICE
TOTAL
B) Kelly's
deFrisco's
Bavarian
Guido's
The Paddock
Max's Tavern
Old Taylors'
Barney Cable's
Black Forest
Rennie's Landing
9.5
10
9
7
8
6.5
4
4
4
4
10
10
10
7
8
6.5
7
6
4
4
6
5.5
5
10
8
6.5
6
6
7
6
25.5
25.5
24
24
24
19.5
17
16
15
14