I'm sure most people know this, but I have to mention the genius of a 'beer sampler'. Every brewery worth its name will have one, and I have yet to be disappointed when I have sampled one.  Perhaps my favorite 'sampler' locally in San Antonio can be found at BJ's Brewhouse which is a chain Restaurant/Brewery.  You can choose 5 of the 7 beers they carry year 'round.  My favorite, hands down, is the Tatonka Stout.  For all you people who haven't seen “Dances with Wolves”, 'tatonka' is Native American for 'bull'.   As the name implies, it nearly forces itself into your mouth for one more drink. Or, at least, that's what I have surmised.  There are many other beers that may be here today and gone tomorrow so it's always worth it to go back and see what seasonal or special beers are on draught.  I'm tempted to go find a BJ's in Oregon since they are the only state that can boast the making of 'Whiskey Barrel Stout'. Sounds delightful!

I recently read an article by a beer geek from Quebec who spent 7 days in Portland on a full scale brewery tour. Thanks to hitting up the sampler tray at almost every brewery he visited, he tasted a total of 176 different beers!The sampler tray is also a great way to get a real sense of that the brewery is all about.

Oh, and MB, sadly BJ's doesn't brew in Portland anymore. They now have a bigger regional brewery near Reno. The good part is that their old brew set-ups were dismantled and sold to other small breweries just starting up.