I was heading downtown to Fat Head's (which I'll be writing about later this week) when I happened to pass Ex Novo and decided to stop in.
At first glance, it's a very attractively laid out facility - looks to be a former warehouse, with the bar and tables up front and the brewing setup down the middle aisle. There's a small kitchen serving what looked to be rather good upscale pub grub, though definitely on the lighter and pricier side.
Ex Novo's gimmick is that they're a non-profit brewery - they donate all of their net profits to a selection of local charities. A nice idea - drinking beer as a way to help people in need. And the beer prices are pretty reasonable, especially for Portland:
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| Ex Novo's taplist during my visit. |
From the list, it's clear that Ex Novo's current focus is on lighter, more sessionable styles - both in terms of alcohol content and overall bitterness.
Here's what I thought of the beer:
How the Helles Are Ya'. Terribly punny name. The beechwood character of the malt really comes through - in fact, I thought this was too smoky for the style.
Saison Lillis. I didn't get the melony/bubblegum flavors mentioned in the notes - for me, this was a very estery, lemony saison with some funky meandering going on.
Eliot IPA. From the hop bill, I thought I'd love this. I was disappointed - it's vegetative and hollow, but there's a nice lingering bitterness the other beers lacked (mostly due to style).
Jacked-up Farmhouse. Easily my favorite of the beers I tried, this saison had a mild tartness with that interesting jackfruit flavor. Just enough alcohol heft, too.
I really like the concept of Ex Novo - the non-profit angle is interesting, and I hope it succeeds. However, the beer I had was pretty average and unmemorable. I know it's early days yet - the brewery just launched last year - and I think the beer'll improve with time.
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