Elite Event @ MacTarnahan’s Taproom

As a noobie, let me tell you how trippy it is to see review personalities and photos from a website come to life. Without drugs. OK maybe a little bit of beer. or a lot of bit.
Free brewery tour, T-​shirts, pins, pint glasses, beer and food (chicken satay, batter fish, shrimp skewers, cheese cubes, roasted veggies, key lime pie). What more can I ask for!
My butt was thanksful for having escaped the booby trap made with used skewers & cheese cubes in the chair.
My +1 was very jealous of the one that took home the beer bong.
Thanks so much to Don B. for a great event!

What a great way to start a new year of Unilocaly goodness! The venue, the beer, the people, all 5 stars.
Don, this was a FANTASTIC opening event for 2009!

What a great first elite event for me to attend!
Not only was there fab yeeps to be met, great swag to abscond with, free-​flowing beer tasters and yummy passed hors d’ ouevres (although I think I took my expecting plus one’s deal a little too seriously — she ate all the food, I drank all the beer!) But also our new fearless leader’s excellent venue selection has helped me to solve a 6 year old mystery:
Q: Where in the hell is the brewpub my boyfriend took me to on day one of visiting Portland?
A: Zoinks! It’s McTarnahan’s Taproom (well, then it was Portland Brewing, but now I don’t have to worry I imagined the brewpub in the middle of nowhere!)
Thanks Don B. for putting together a great event, arranging for top secret international guest appearances, and solving mysteries — all in a days work.

I. Don!!≠fabulous job at…
A. picking out a great, slightly hard to find and therefore really fun and discovery-​y, industrial spot
B. picking out someplace with great food, good beer, and friendly bartenders wearing white shirts
1. I don’t think any bartender/​server/​whatever should be required to wear a white shirt. Who wouldn’t make a mess with all that food and beer, simply by osmosis?! Our fearless bartenders looked great, however.
II. Prizes
A. I won a prize!!! To a jazzy thingy!!!
1. I work that day. :(Boo. Does anyone want to trade for Saturday, February 14^th tickets? They’re «prime» seats! (Stanley?:) Anyone?)
III.Super Secret Surprise Guest
A. Don’t need to say anymore. Wonderful to see you again, Laura! Can’t wait to see you in London this fall. Whee!
IV. J.W. being told he’s like the eye of mordar. Sweet.
V.Meeting all the hodgepodge lovelies I haven’t had the chance yet to meet. You guys all are rad.
VI. Unilocal Beer Bong
A. Gabe

They say «friends help you move, good friends help you move a body.»
Well, I’m pleased to know, and now be able to put a real-​live face to, so many of the friends I’ve met through Unilocal.I don’t know if any of y’all would help me move a body (come to think of it I probably could have tested that — isn’t Industrial NW where you go to get rid of the bodies?), but it was fun to tip back a pint (or 4) and share a laugh with all of you!
Cheers to Don B — o captain, my captain — for putting this little shindig together! I’ve only attended one elite even before last night (I no longer have to eat a goldfish or get stuffed into a locker), so I have little to compare it to, but I can boldly say it was AT LEAST one of the top two elite events I’ve ever been to! And easily the best elite event of 2009.
The beers were flowing, and priced right (even after the event when a few of us grabbed another pint in the taproom). The food was very good — especially the fruit and meat sticks. And the staff at MacTarnahan’s…what can I say, it was 5-​star service with a smile!
But I wonder how they incorporate the unicycle in the brewing process? Methinks OSHA would not be pleased

First off, Don, thanks for throwing a sweet event. The beer was good, the food was great and the people were the best. I met so many cool new people. I had a great time!
I tried to liven up the Brewery tour. The girl giving the tour seemed kinda bummed to be doing it, so I started asking her questions like «Has anyone ever jumped into the Lauter Tun and you had to jump in and save them?» to make her laugh. It worked, but she was still glad when the tours were over.

Placement of bar was optimal. Beer tasting area in the rear provided great flow in the tight space. Music volume level was just right. Interactive elements (i.e. brewery tours) were a big plus. Giveaway tables positioned correctly. Décor was festive. Registration personnel (a.k.a. Michelle B., Seattle Unilocal CM) was friendly, charming, and well cast. Food an drinks were great. Raffle drawing provided excitement and anticipation. And the guests in attendance couldn’t have been friendlier and more fun than if they’d been hopped up on Prozac.
Most importantly, the event planner was awesome! Congrats on an amazingly run event, Don B. Woot!

My first Unilocal event! What fun! What fun! Again! Again!
See, now I get it. The booze, the food, the swag… now I see what all the fuss is about. Given my dehydration (yay, hangover) this morning I wish I had grabbed a handful of those lip balms.
Couldn’t help but be a bit star struck. I kept wandering up to people saying, «Hey, I love your work.»

After this awesome Elite Event some of my friends and co workers are volunteering to be my +1 for the next Elite Event. I think it’s because I won’t stop Unilocaling to them about the event.
I Unilocaled to them about how tasty the FREE beers were, how delicious those yummy grubs (big shrimps on skewers, chicken satays, yummy steaks on skewers, grilled veggies. hello asparagus and eggplants, and the mini pies… key lime I love you so). How awesome the raffle prizes were (even tho I didn’t win anything, BUT I got some FREE Unilocal t-​shirts and goodies from MacTarnahan’s.
Of course I couldn’t mention all of those things without mentioning how fun the company was. My dear lovely, funny, insane, sarcastic, sexy, pretty, handsome, cutie, smart, intelligent yeeps. You are the main reason why I love to come to these events. Without all of you this review might end up getting three stars. I L U.

Well, fuck.
I was thrown into Yeep culture head-​first tonight. No holds barred. I entered knowing one person and exited having had a ketchup/​fry/​bleu cheese fight with at least two people.
I came, I saw, I received swag.
McTarnahan’s — FIND SOME VEGAN FINGER FOOD. As much as I love living off of tortilla chips and vaguely roasted vegetables, introduce some hummus. Or quality salsa. Or tofu-​dill dip. I’ll even cook!
For real, I received a ridiculous amount of swag and drank enough beer to make it VERYVERYVERY difficult to spell «ridiculous.»
It’s like I’ve come home, only to a drunken, vageuly incestuous and border-​crossing home.
In other words — perfect.

What’s with this string of five star reviews for «Elite Event @ MacTarnahan’s Taproom»?
Clearly something’s up. Might have to flag this plethora of positivity or at least start a skeptical talk thread. So many great write ups in such a short period reeks of free beer, free food, free Unilocal swag, and freaking awesome yeeps ( Unilocal+sheeps).
Someone needs to tell them that we can’t be bought. Damn, I love my Elite hoodie.
@ Don «Mayor of Unilocaltown PDX» B, great job getting things off to a «scandal» free start!

Hell yeah it was a good time, as fully expected. I had not Unilocaled much in quite a while, so I felt mildly guilty partaking of the festivities with what seemed like gallons of delicious beers, tasty little snacks, and all the Unilocal trinkets I could shove into my handbag (the « Unilocal-​stick» still cracks me up…). I even scored a new T shirt — WOOT!
I met so many wonderful people, and remembered why I like Unilocal so much – you throw awesome parties with cool people! Cheers to Don B and the Unilocal crew (and Don’s lovely wife. too)! Thanks for a great event!
The Pyramid/​MacTarnahan crew were awesome, and the girl giving the tour managed to mostly disguise her annoyance and was highly tolerant of our semi-​inebriated (aka really stupid) questions and posing for pix during the brewery tour… (those «beard nets» are rad)

Here’s an event I’m so happy I attended.
A huge underground space filled to the brim with cool people.
new faces. old faces.
all chatting and excited.
Was it something they put in the Slingshot beer? Hmmm naw.
Was it the yummy kabobs with hearty portions of meat and pineapple? Hmmm maybe… but no.
Was it the Unilocal Beer Bong that my boyfriend finally got to play with?! Haha. No.
It was just an AMAZING event.
Don, you really REALLY pulled it off man. Everything was really low-​key, and warm and inviting. Plus all the free beer and food helped! :) I think we all were really excited to see what you’d put together, and we were not disappointed!
It was so great to see Laura N. as our special guest, and to finally meet a few folks I keep missing.
Great great fun. Lookin’ forward to the next one!
P. S. some of the pics are up!

Damn fine event! Great food, great drink (even thought I’m not a beer drinker), great international celebrity (the ever lovely and charming Laura N), and the always amazing Yeeps (Elites, and the fantastic +1’s). I had such a great time, and I hope everyone did as well. :)
MacTarnahan’s pulled out all the tricks to make sure this party was memorable to one and all. I look forward to coming back for happy hour, and dinner in the future.
I also look forward to an AC/​GC house party to make use of the Unilocal beer bong (after a thorough cleaning, hint hint Gabe). I expect to see the beer bong UYE posted this week, bitches. Peace out! Muuahhh!

WOW! To paraphrase Barack Obama: If there’s anyone out there who still doubts that Unilocal is capable of hosting a totally kick-@$$ party, they need only have attended tonight’s event at MacTarnahan’s! They pulled out all the stops: great food, beer that flowed like a raging rapids, and plenty of awesome folks!
It was great seeing so many of you and getting to know you better! Hopefully I can stay later next time so I can take in the awesome totality of the bash… this one will be hard to top!
So…yeah…amazing! Thank you so much for making me feel welcome and for a truly memorable time! Props to Don for all his hard work, and all else involved!

We should know by know that when you stick a load of elite yeeps in a room, add treats, break out the new shirts & swag, and keep pouring the local brews the whole place will turn into a complete kerfuffle.
But that’s what makes pdx. Unilocal so darn awesome! And it’s all thanks to Don for a stellar job and the folks at MacTarnahan’s for putting up with us this chilly Wednesday night.
What a way to kick off ’09, eh?
See y’all next time!

Three cheers for Don B. and his first event as our fearless leader!
Great event tonight. The beer was cold, the grub was tasty, and the people were (natch) awesome.
The only downside? My wife won the official Unilocal beer bong, then she gave it away. Damn you, Gabe! Damn you and your wily ways! (Oh, and give me a call if you ever get around to using it…)

Wow, what a fun event! Great food, great beer, awesome peeps! Don, such a great shot out of the gate, with the only obvious downside: how do you top that?
Re: the beer bong. How I made it through four universities w/​out ever scoring one of these I don’t know. I was mulling over dinner party game-​ideas with it, when it was helpfully pointed out to me that Gabe had been pining after said bong most of the night, and possession would likely make his week, nay, the month. The month is almost over, after all.
So verily I say: Don and Unilocal,thanks for the gift! I trust all understand the spirit in which it was re-​gifted to a more deserving party (when ya’ll start handing out shoes or booze, I prolly won’t be that generous.)
and my hubby: I know you were hoping to torment the cat with it, but there are other toys. ;)

Advanced Unilocal Calculus 2009:
Number of N00B’s met: 3
Number of goldfish eaten: Not sure. How many of you had the beer-​battered fish? ;)
Number of official Unilocal beer bongs: 1
Number of supersexysecretinternational guests: 1
Number of random, crazy, slightly disturbing conversations: not measureable with current technology
Number of fun, quintessentially PDX Unilocal events to come: I want to tell you but the FUC chip won’t let me. Write more reviews & you’ll find out!

Why me? After having a blast at the Unilocal event, I walk outside and no car!
I love my car. I need my car. My ID is in the car and all sorts of other things that are going to be a royal pain to replace. Not to mention, how in the heck am I getting home tonight?
And the evening was so much fun. Don’s debut as Unilocal party planner extraordinaire. The glorious return of Laura to pass the baton (or was it the beer bong?). Free beer, snacks and a brewery tour. And the best part is always seeing some of my favorite Yeeps and meeting a few more ‘friends’ for the first time.
But, ugh, total buzz kill about the car. That… OMG, is right around the corner. Where I left it. So what’s in the beer again?
Nevermind.