PDX Taproom

Rating: Very good
Meal: Snack and drinks for 2
Price:  5150 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted, but it wasn't working so we paid cash
Dishes: Shepherd's pie, 6 half pints of various kinds
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Well, this was a surprise!  Today is our celebration of our 17th anniversary and my wife's birthday.  She wanted to go try Devilcraft pizza and beer.  The other day I happened to be typing in "pdx" into google maps (to look for Portland International Airport) and accidentally typed in "p dx".  Astonishingly, it pinpointed PDX Taproom in Shibuya, a bar that specializes in Portland beers!  In case you weren't aware, we lived in downtown Portland for several years before leaving the US and we loved it there.  Our "beerducation" took place there, and we've never forgotten those delicious lessons.  So imagine our pleasant surprise to find a place specializing in those beers right here in Tokyo!  We decided to go there first for pre-lunch beer at 12 noon and then later on proceed south to the Devilcraft Gotanda location.  Review on that to come.

Usually I don't bother reviewing "bars" as food is an afterthought.  However I really wanted to be sure to review this place so we bought a little food to go with the beer, since it was noon and we were going to be trying several beers before proceeding to lunch.  The menu has several good looking items on it, and we selected the shepherd's pie, which turned out to be a tasty little treat of a tomato based, ground meat sauce topped with mashed potatoes lightly roasted.  It hit the spot.  There were several other good looking items that I'd like to try when we go back someday.

As for the beers...wow, they really have some obscure beers from Portland breweries available such as Hair of the Dog and Lompoc Brewing (which was still New Old Lompoc when we left Portland!).  Of course they keep changing their lineup, so be sure the check their website (www.pdxtap.com) for the day's lineup.  We ended up trying 6 different half pints, including the Lompoc Pampelmousse Citrus IPA, which ended up being our favorite.  The Hair of the Dog selection was a 13% monster that was a bit much for us to try that early in the day, especially with more beer to come at lunch.  Overall we had a nostalgic blast and plan to return there with friends in the future.