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In honor of Oregon Craft Beer Month, this particular brewpub was offering their Golden Penny beer. According to the brewer:
“Presenting a crisp German Kolsch with a slight English twist! A gin-soaked oak spiral has been mingling with Penny’s Golden for one and a half fortnights, leaving a very refreshing beer with a unique spice and juniper-fueled dryness. Cascade hops provide flavor and aroma, while the gin and oak infusion provides a “zip, tang, pow!” (highly technical brewing terms) of botanical goodness. This combination of ingredients was inspired by my home-brewing partner’s favorite drink, the gin and tonic.” Measurements: 5.2% ABV • 14 IBU
My notes from that day read: “Interesting and different beer ... almost like a weak gin and tonic. I guess it tastes pretty much along the lines of the stated ABV and IBU. Not too hoppy, but not much malt taste either ... a bit bland, but I guess that’s sometimes the case with a Kölsch” |
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Well, the beer wasn’t so awesome, but I was quite happy to get both the location stamp and the beer-tasting stamp. Then it was time to head for McMenamins’ other Corvallis location to eat my Passport-prize supper. And hopefully have a better beer.
I had driven by the Third Street Pub many times during my years of Corvallis shopping, but never really noticed that it was a McMenamins.
Because of the beautiful summer weather, I took a seat at one of the empty outdoor tables, with a lovely view of my 2009 Toyota Tacoma in the parking lot. There I sipped a pint of Nebraska Bitter. According to the brewer: |
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“This golden bitter uses fresh Cascade hops in modest amounts to create a more subtle hop flavor and bitterness than its big brother, Hammerhead. It’s named after Southwest Nebraska Street in Portland, where the Fulton Pub and Brewery is located and where it was first brewed. This crisp and flavorful ale has become a standard attraction at McMenamins taps everywhere.” Measurements: 4.5% ABV • 20 IBU
My notes from that day read: “This time I took pictures of the beer and made notes ... when I had it the first time playing pool with my son I neglected these things! Nebraska Bitter is pretty good, perhaps just slightly bland. Maybe I like stronger beers (higher IBU) after all! I don’t know why it’s called Bitter, because there does not seem to be anything bitter about it. The beer was better with the meal than alone. I don’t think I would order it again. Big brother Hammerhead is better!” |
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Because I had collected all two of the Corvallis location stamps, I was entitled to a free appetizer prize. Looking at the list of ‘Starters’, I noticed a pretty deluxe $15 item — Black & Blue Steak Bites: “Black Rabbit Red marinated steak bites, blue cheese fondue and fresh-cut fries.”
Interestingly, as of this writing, it is no longer listed in the Starters section of the menu, therefore it is not available as a prize anymore. |
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My notes from that day read: “Not very tender steak ... needs some tenderizer. I wouldn’t want to pay $15 for it, but for free I can’t complain. The cheese sauce was good but not killer ... not a strong blue cheese taste, nor a strong cheddar taste ... I think the cheese sauce with the pretzel at Edgefield was better. Actually not all the steak was tough, just a few pieces of tendon ... it would have been nice to trim that off ... no way to make that tender!” |
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My next visit to the Third Street Pub was with my wife, Catherine, in October, to celebrate Oktoberfest at the
McMenamins Corvallis Oktoberfest party. This was my wife’s first time at a McMenamins, so I was anxious for her to have a positive impression. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped.

For my beer, what else could I order but their Corvallis-brewed Monroe Oktoberfest? According to the brewer:
“Traditionally, Oktoberfest beers are brewed in the spring and cellared until the fall harvest festivals. This version was fermented with a Kölsch yeast for three weeks at 58 degrees. Most ales ferment closer to 70 degrees and for a shorter period of time. Copious amounts of Vienna and Munich malts provide the rich malt aroma. The balance is malt-forward with a moderate hop bitterness.” Measurements: 5.8% ABV • 22 IBU
My notes from that day read:
“Pretty good, not bland, not too hoppy ... I would have it again next Oktoberfest.”
There was some big mix-up between the waiter and the kitchen. Apparently some or all of our meal was supposed to be cooked on an outside grill — I would suspect the sausage — but the grill was not set up yet. So after waiting quite a while, the waiter came to tell us that he was just told they had not made the meal yet, and that it would be coming in a while. No problem, we were not in a hurry and we could wait.
So I ordered pretzels and cheddar fondue to tide us over in the meantime, but even that was taking so long that eventually I had to tell the waiter that if it didn’t come soon, it would come with our meal and then we would not want it. He was apologetic and nice about it all, and gave us the pretzel fondue for free. I wasn’t too bothered by it, so I remained pretty nice as well. The pretzel fondue was really good as usual. Catherine and I each had one pretzel, and I took the third one home to freeze.

We had ordered two different items to share. The King Oktober Dog —
Olympia Provisions Terminator
kielbasa with grilled onions and
sauerkraut relish — had a king-sized $11 price.
Even
spendier ($13) was their Schneuben Sandwich: breaded chicken
schnitzel, Swiss cheese with sauerkraut and
1000 Island dressing on grilled
rye bread. The menu said it came with fries or tots, but it was actually a small bag of
kettle chips, which was OK with me. This sandwich was an interesting and tasty variation on a traditional
Reuben sandwich.

I thought the sausage would be the better of the two, but actually we both thought the schneuben was better. But in the end, I think that a real
corned-beef reuben is better yet. Nevertheless, trying something new, and even the bad service, is all part of the adventure. I’m just sorry it was Catherine’s introduction to McMenamins, because it’s probably the worst services I have had at any of
their 54 locations.
If they were not going to serve the special Oktoberfest food until later, like, maybe after 2:00, they should have said so on their Web site and on the little Oktoberfest menu. Even before we got our meal, we heard our waiter tell another server that customers can’t order what we ordered until later. So why did they advertise that the party started at their 11:00 AM opening? Things were pretty confused and disorganized.

Also, on the menu it said that “various fruit juices” were available. But when I asked about it, the waiter said they didn’t have any. But then he came back and said they did. I guess he asked someone. So Catherine was able to have some apple cider after all.
To top it all off, when I asked for my just-for-fun Oktoberfest stamp, the waiter wanted to put it on Page 4, as a Brewfest Experience. I’m sure he wasn’t supposed to do that, because this Oktoberfest party was definitely NOT a McMenamins Brewfest. He said that that was what he had been doing for other customers. Uh oh ... bad boy!
Fortunately I already had a proper Brewfest stamp in my Passport — see
McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse 2016 Brewfest for all of those details. So he put the stamp on Page 30 (Brewfests), even though I think it should have gone on Page 32 (Birthdays & Events). Because an Oktoberfest is NOT a Brewfest, despite the identical last syllable of the two words!
It seems like this nice waiter could have really used a good manager. And some proper training. Maybe he was new. Maybe his manager was new!
During my three McMenamins Corvallis visits, I took a total of 31 photos. The best 16 can now be viewed in the new
McMenamins Corvallis 2016 album.
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