Good day, folks! I'm back for more reviews and bev escapades.  Last night, April 9th, I ventured to Storm Breaker Brewhouse in North Portland with a friend of mine. Although I was just expecting the trip to the brewhouse to be a  relaxed, low-key night out at a bar, it turned into a true connoisseur experience. Since it was below 45 degrees and raining outside, we sat next to a roaring fire pit, along with two other groups (who I should say were at least 10 years our senior). Immediately, I was not only amazed by the environment and ambience, but also the food and drink selection. Side bar: I should note that both my friend and I are of age and consumed alcoholic beverages in a responsible manner. Anyways, the names of each beer were filled with pop culture references that pertained to my taste system. Such names included the Go Fugg Ya Self, a coffee stout; the Make My Day, a pale ale which they were unfortunately out of; and What We Brew in the Shadows, a cheeky reference to the vampire mockumentary What We Do In the Shadows.  These names made me happy, to say the least. I was disappointed that they were out of the Make My Day, as this is a cheeky reference to the Clint Eastwood classic Dirty Harry.  Nevertheless, I was taken care of.  

As the hipster waiter greeted us, I ordered the Alterior Motive, a German ale, as well as some fish and chips. Sipping the reddish ale, I was absolutely taken aback by how flavorful it was. My friend, who ordered the What We Brew in the Shadows, was disappointed that she didn't order the Alterior Motive, and opted to order it in the next round. The flavors of the Alterior Motive were so smooth and gentle, it was easily the best pint I had drank in a while. What also added to my good experience at Storm Breaker were the interactions with the waiter, as well as the other people sitting at the fire pit. I had a conversation with the waiter about Nicolas Cage, as I mentioned to him that I had written my thesis on him. There were three thirty-somethings sitting across from my friend and me, and we awkwardly discussed the differences in our generation. They were making jokes that completely missed with us, as our differences in age made our senses of humor apparent. One of the Millennials compared me to some random country singer, who I did not recognize and honestly, did not look like me one point. However, I appreciated the attempt at humor. Also, the fish and chips were incredible.  

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Storm Breaker Brewhouse. The interactions I had with everybody were so pleasant and funny, and the food and bev were both outstanding. Baym's concept of relational escalation, as well as the concept of latent ties, can be applied to my conversations with the waiter and the Millennials. Of course, all of these conversations were example of initiation, as I had never met these people until my journey to the brewhouse. However, my interaction with the waiter felt as if we could have a deeper relationship than the initiating, given that we were able to speak about a niche topic--Nic Cage--for a good amount of time. Talking with the Millennials made me think of the concept of relational ties. Because I am about to graduate, the idea of staying close with my friends is very important to me at the moment, and will continue to be. Many of my friends will be moving to different cities in the coming months, so it is imperative that we stay connected through text, call, and social media. However, I recognize that I will not stay in contact with a lot of people from Lewis and Clark after I graduate. With that being said, seeing these thirty-something year olds still close with each other made me hopeful that I will not have as many latent ties as I may think. Meeting in this space reminded me of this truth.

I also could not help but compare this experience to my previous trip to Rocket Fizz a few weeks back. Obviously, they are two very different locations. But what really stood out to me was the differences in interaction and socializing in these two spaces. The beer garden felt like a more fitting 'third place' in comparison to Rocket Fizz, given the layout and nature of the location. Additionally, the fact that the crowd were all at least ten years older than us made the socializing aspect more viable. It felt like a place where conversation about interesting topics was more viable, much more so than Rocket Fizz. What I have discovered through my escapades is that the first two bev locations--John's Marketplace and Rocket Fizz--were much less social in their lay out. John's Marketplace did have a bar and set of tables, therefore making it a place where people can get together and discuss. However, when I went to John's, it was in the early afternoon, so there was nobody at the bar or tables. This second half of bev escapades is more focused on having closer interactions with patrons, servers, and fellow enthusiasts of the liquid variety. Bars and beer gardens offer more opportunity for creating stronger relationships, even if it only reaches the initiating phase (as Baym puts it). 

Stay tuned, fellow connoisseurs. My last post will be up in the next few weeks. My final voyage will be to T.C. O Leary's, an Irish pub in Northeast Portland with interesting brews and live Irish music. Drink the milk of paradise, my friends!

Greetings, fellow connoisseurs! On Sunday, March 20th, I ventured to Rocket Fizz in downtown Portland. Fresh off my escapade to John's Marketplace,  there are many distinctions between the two locations. Firstly, Rocket Fizz is much more family-oriented and kid-friendly, as they only sell sodas, candy, sweets, and novelty items. It is also located in the heart of downtown, making it a popular place to find foreign bev. More importantly, there is a campy, goofy element to the interior design. The color scheme was all over the place, mixing and matching various colors to create an eclectic feeling. This was another similarity to John's Marketplace, whose variety of beverages made for a colorful palette. To touch on the interior design again, Rocket Fizz makes use of many novelty items. From cut-outs of superhero characters, to the gag soda flavors they had on display, Rocket Fizz almost feels like the quirky kid of John's Marketplace. 

During my excursion, I purchased three quality items: a Twix Cookies and Creme bar, a pack of Japanese strawberry gummies, and a Dr. Brown's Celery Soda beverage. The Twix Cookies and Creme bar and strawberry candies were magnificent. The Twix bar in particular was very special, as I had literally never seen this type of Twix product in any store. I have to say that the Celery Soda was quite awful. It had an almost medicine taste to it, but without the sugary sweetness that usually comes with a Dr Brown's soda. The cream soda and black cherry soda were both staples of my childhood, and honestly, played a contributing role in sparking my interest in connoisseurship. Consequently, the fact that this celery soda tasted bad was unfortunate. 

In terms of my experience at the store, I went with a friend, which made the journey much more entertaining. We each were pointing to specific bevs and candies that interested us, and talked about what kinds of flavors we personally enjoyed. Going by myself would have made the experience at Rocket Fizz much less appealing and interesting, as my intention was to have conversation and interactions about items and connoisseurship. My friend was a fellow connoisseur, as they pointed out many speciality items that I had never heard of. I was humbled and grateful to be educated on candy and bevs that I had never seen or tried. I also had a pleasant interaction with the clerk, who was maybe only a few years older than me. We complimented each other's tattoos, and I asked them if they had tried any of the items I was purchasing. They had tried both the Twix bar, and the Celery Soda, and gave rave reviews for both. This interaction with the clerk definitely made my experience even more lively, who clearly cared about their job and showed a real interest in the products at Rocket Fizz.

Having said that, there was something cold and disconnected about the downtown Rocket Fizz location. While I think this was partially influenced by my prior knowledge of Rocket Fizz being a nationwide chain, what really struck me was how the customers were interacting with each other and the store. Many of the customers were parents/guardians with their children, and I couldn't help but notice that the parents were mostly on their phones while their children would browse. There was something sad about that, as if the parents had lost their sense of wonder and connoisseurship. I couldn't help but be reminded of the concept of the third place. While disputed amongst many scholars, a third place is generally understood as a location--whether physical or digital--that is outside the confines of work and home, where people gather to share knowledge, information, and culture with each other. The distinct separation between customers, predicated on the usage of their phones, created a disconnection from Rocket Fizz acting as a third place. While my friend and I were interacting and sharing our personal tastes, only a handful of customers were doing the same. This is not to sound holier-than-thou or on my high horse; it's not like I never went on my phone in my whole trip to Rocket Fizz (I had to take pictures of products, of course). I just had noticed this and felt it necessary to acknowledge all of that.  Maybe I just went on the wrong day. 

In comparison to my experience at John's Marketplace, there was less connection between myself and the clerk. I guess the Rocket Fizz clerk and I had similar interests in that we both had tattoos, but that was about it. Meanwhile, the John's Marketplace clerk was also a fan of Iron Maiden, the band whose beer I ended up purchasing, as well as heavy metal in general. There was so much excitement on both of our faces when we discussed Iron Maiden for a second and how the beer was actually a popular item because of its taste. I did not have this same experience at Rocket Fizz. I think also the fact that John's Marketplace makes better use of their Instagram page, and the affordances that the platform offers, helps in their more unique and friendly aesthetic.  Having that knowledge of their Instagram page and the layout of the store I think helped in making my experience at John's more comfortable than the journey to Rocket Fizz. 

Anyways, I have yet to find my third location, but this time I want to find a smaller, local, and maybe even family-owned location that specializes in connoisseurship. I also have considered going to a niche bar of sorts to gain a different perspective on location. I have a feeling this third location will be very spicy. Bigger and better things to come!
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