A Tale of Wales and Ales
From the Oregonian A&E, November, 1997
By John Foyston
Call it a tale of two pubs, this friendship between Portland's Horse Brass and London's Prince of Wales. Except now it's the Princess of Wales, which makes this as good a time as any to use that line about it being the best of times, it being the worst of times, because it was a little of both when Portland publican Don Younger recently learned that the Horse Brass' sister pub was destined to be sold, razed and rebuilt into a car lot. The loss of a good pub is always a shame. Just listen to my old man go on about when Bud Clark's Spatenhaus was demolished to make way for the Forecourt Fountain. But the Prince of Wales had become much more than just a good pub to Younger and Horse Brass habitues. "The travel between the two pubs has been just amazing," he says. "Probably a hundred people have come over to the States because of our friendship -- blue-collar people, we're talking about. People who probably never would've left home or, if they had, would've gone to Disney World and Magic Mountain."
No such fate awaits the Brits who make it to the Horse Brass -- as a dozen did last year for the pub's 20th anniversary. Instead, the tour bus makes the first stop at Wanker's Corner near Tualatin before going on to Rogue Brewery at Newport and the Sportsman Pub in Pacific City. Conversely, many Oregonian has found a friendly pint waiting at the Prince of Wales. Younger, in fact, was in London when he heard the news about the sale of the pub. Within hours he's enlisted help from members of the Campaign for Real Ale -- the British group that saved small English breweries and pubs -- and from loyal customers of the Prince of Wales.
They soon got the sale stopped, but the threat of a future sale still loomed because the pub is owned by YoungÕs brewery. ThatÕs not an unusual arrangement in England, but it does mean that many decisions are out of the hands of the publican and patrons. Then came the Princess Diana tragedy, and the folks at the pub got the idea to change the name to the Princess of Wales in her honor -- apparently the only English pub to bear that name, according to their research. Brewery owner John Young loved the idea and has pledged not to sell the pub, and Younger and many of his customers are chipping in for the centerpiece of the new Princess of Wales -- a large oil portrait of Diana by local artist James Macko.
Which brings us -- in the roundabout manner of any good pub story -- back to the Horse Brass and the upcoming All-British Day. All-Brit Day will raise money to be donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in the name of both pubs, and Younger plans to devote Nov. 23 to the fund-raiser. By then the pub will be the first place in Oregon serving Boddington's ale on draft after years of selling 10 cases a week of cans of classic Brit ale. That makes the Horse Brass BoddingtonÕs biggest account in the state, which may be why the brewery is making a $500 donation to the cause, plus commemorative glassware and the like. Younger also enlisted the help of Union Jack Bangers, the London Tea Room and others.
The day begins at the Horse Brass (4534 S.E. Belmont St.) with the kippers and rashers of a full English breakfast and progresses through pub trivia quizzes, raffles, a garage sale of donated beeraphernalia and breweriana, Celtic music, uncounted pints of real ale, a traditional dinner of prime rib and Yorkshire pudding and after-dinner music from the Beatles cover band, a Hard Day's Knights. Younger insists that he just stepped back while his customers and staff got the ball rolling. "It shows the community spirit that can come out of a really good beer place," he says "IÕm very proud of my customers and staff -- this didnÕt come from me, it came from them."
For more information on All-British Day or donating something toward that portrait, call the pub at 232-2202. Or better yet, drop by, seeing as how they have Rogue Brewmaster John Maier's latest masterpiece on tap: Brutal Bitter, the extra, extra special bitter he first brewed last year for the pub's 20th anniversary.