Green Dragon Reax
[Note: the post has been updated.]
Is there any doubt this is really a beer paradise? A brewery taking over a local bar might not make news in most towns, but in Portland, it's a Very Big Deal. Below are some early reactions. Keep reading, though, because Champagne of Blogs has a call for direct action--I'll note that at the end of the post.
DA BeersChampagne of Blogs isn't taking this lying down:
As a mug club member and big fan of the Green Dragon, this is quite depressing. I'm still hoping this doesn't come to fruition, but if this holds up the East side just had a major setback.
I'll be honest, I don't like Rogue very much. Their beer is decent, a few are really good, but overall overpriced. They don't treat their employees very well, and the ones they do have often couldn't care less about knowing their product. Everything is overpriced in their pubs, so I'll stick to the bottles and maybe forking over the big chips to try something special if it is only on tap.
Champagne of Blogs
I don’t have a particular beef against Rogue, I drink their beer, but there’s a reason I haven’t been to the Public House in Portland for years. The food is pretty spendy for the average quality and the beer list certainly lacks diversity.
Doc Wort
Lets' hope for little change in the Green Dragon's beer selections...
This falls on the heels of our past loss of Rose and Raindrop Pub which was another beer bar icon to the city. That was sold to banking company.
It's Pub Night
Personally, I think it could be a positive thing. Ed was new to the pub business, and he wasn't particularly interested in beer. In my opinion, getting beer people in at the top is not a bad thing -- Ed's a nice guy, but just a few months ago everyone was wringing their hands about the loss of control by Jim Parker and Lolo.
Most people know that Ed had chosen another local brewer to take over the slowly-gestating brewing operation -- a friend of mine, as it happens. He hasn't been officially hired yet, so I'll be upset if the sale puts a stop to that. On the other hand, if he gets to become a Rogue brewer, that's a huge feather in his cap, not to mention an excellent catch by Rogue. So I'm looking on the bright side.
So, like good beer drinking activists, we’re taking it to the Web. BS Brewing developed a simple petition for Rogue should this sale go through. Here’s the petition:Rogue’s buying the Green Dragon. Our demands are very simple. We want them to agree to:
- Not put their crappy food on the menu.
- Maintain the EXCELLENT tap list, and not just fill the keg cooler with sub-par Rogue brews.
- Keep the amazingly knowledgeable wait staff.
So, how can YOU join the movement that’s sweeping across Portland? Simple, join us on Facebook or leave a comment here. We’ll be sure to forward everything to Rogue.
I would probably tweak that petition if it were me. I doubt Rogue regards it's menu as "crappy," so this may not be wholly persuasive. Nor do they regard their beers as "sub-par." Political action requires a bit of finesse. Twere I to have composed it, I might have said, "skip the usual pub fare and maintain a menu of eclectic, excellent food," and on point two just go with "maintain the excellent tap list by continuing to have a broad selection of beers from around the region and world." But it's not my petition, so you can sign that one as you like.
To add my own two cents. As with everyone, I love the diversity and eclecticity of the Green Dragon. In a perfect world, I wouldn't change a thing. Good pubs are hard to come by. On the other hand, it's possible people are missing the proper mental frame here. I don't know that the choice is between Rogue Green Dragon and Green Dragon. It may well be between Rogue Green Dragon and nothing. No doubt the owners wouldn't be making the deal if they had the cash to keep it as is. So while I will miss the current incarnation, and while I strongly support the effort to keep it as diverse as possible, I also appreciate the possibility that the pub doesn't go away completely.[Update. I added Bill's comment from It's Pub Night in the reactions section.]