Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 9, 2015
‘Life is too short to drink lousy beer’
West Valley Taphouse, now open in downtown Dallas, offers vast variety of beer, wine, cider, soda
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
Brews on tap
DALLAS — Sam Dufner
has catalogued reviews on
more than 600 beers on
beer-centric the social
media app “Untappd.”
To say he’s a “beer con-
noisseur” isn’t adequate, but
that may be the best de-
scription for his enthusiasm
for the potent potable.
Dufner, who operates West
Valley Taphouse on Main
Street in Dallas with his wife,
Suzanne, has managed to
narrow down those 600 beers
to a few dozen favorites,
which he offer customers at
the recently opened estab-
lishment.
West Valley has 63 taps: 30
for beer, 20 for wine, six for
hard cider, four for kom-
bucha (fermented tea), and
three offering “craft” sodas.
The taphouse offers a full
food menu and minors are
welcome.
Wines on tap are all local
and poured on a system that
allows West Valley to feature
bottled wine, not just kegs.
Dufner said that gives him
the opportunity to offer local
vineyards’ premium wines.
West Valley is located in the
former Tiga Sushi Bar restau-
rant space on Main Street.
The couple decided to open
What: West Valley
Taphouse.
Where: 957 Main St.,
Dallas.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8
p.m.
Contac t: 503-420-
4277.
Of note: 63 taps fea-
ture beer, wine, cider,
soda and kombucha.
the taphouse for two reasons.
The first was market-driven.
“We’ve frequented tap
houses in other places and
Dallas just needed one,”
Dufner said.
The second relates to a
longer term goal: opening a
commercial cider operation.
They have been waiting for
their apple orchards to ma-
ture before making their own
ciders to sell at West Valley.
As far as market share in
the craft brew industry, cider
trails beer significantly, but
is growing at a rapid rate. In
fact, including those avail-
able in bottles at West Valley,
ciders rival beers.
Dufner stocks 30 more
ciders, many from other
countries, for customers to
try. He estimates that cider
accounts for about 20 per-
cent of West Valley’s sales.
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JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Taphouse employee Kyle Dodds pours a beer for a customer on Friday night. Most of the 30 beers on tap are favorites
of co-owner Sam Dufner. Wine, hard cider, soda, kombucha and a full menu also are offered at West Valley Taphouse.
He said soon they would
like to host wine and cider
tastings on weekends.
“We will have people say-
ing, ‘I’ve never had a cider
from England. What does
that taste like?’” Dufner said.
Tasting events will give
people a chance to try ciders
without taking a risk on an
entire bottle.
So what is Dufner’s favorite
brew on tap? He can’t name
just one beer or cider, so you
will have to settle for his top
three. Like any beer connois-
seur worthy of the title, even
that depends on his mood.
But here’s betting he can
find one to your liking —
even if you prefer non-craft
brews. Just so you know,
West Valley does offer a lim-
ited number of beers of the
macro variety.
Be warned, with the estab-
lishment’s motto being, “Life
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Co-owner Sam Dufner hopes to sell his own cider soon, to be made on a local farm.
is too short to drink lousy
beer,” anyone ordering big-
name bottles will have to deal
with some teasing.
Dufner said he’s open to
customer suggestions for ro-
tations to the tap list — a
few are already featured —
but will continue his own
diligent research.
“Too many beers, not
enough time,” he said.
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