Trivial pursuit

Want to combine your love of factoids and pop culture with a night out on the town? Several Camas and Washougal brewpubs and wine bars host trivia events that give guests a chance to answer questions about everything from music and sports to entertainment and history while enjoying local brews and having a bite to eat. Brewery and library collaborate in Washougal 54°40' Brewing Company, in Washougal, hosts a trivia night in conjunction with the Washougal Community Library, at 6 p.m., on the first Wednesday of the month. At a trivia night held Dec. 5 at the Washougal brewpub, participating teams included "Team Redundancy Team," "Noel-It-Alls" and "DASKED." Washougal library staff members developed the trivia questions, while Amy Minister, one of the owners and operators of 54°40', played trivia hostess and question-asker. Team members answered timely questions, including "Who is the Portland Timbers' opponent in the Major League Soccer Cup final?" (Atlanta United) and "What is the name of the 2019 Oscars host?" (Kevin Hart, before he stepped down Dec. 6). Trivia competitors discussed potential answers with their team members, while enjoying chicken strips, hamburgers and various beverages, including 54°40' beer that had been brewed just a few feet away. The final round featured a local history question: "What year did the Two Rivers Heritage Museum open (in Washougal)?" There were no multiple choice options for that answer, and the question stumped the competitors. Washougal Community Library Branch Manager Rachael Ries helped the teams by telling them the museum opened in the 1990s. The guesses included 1991 and 1992, but the correct answer was 1996. "Team Redundancy Team" placed first, followed by "DASKED" in second and "Noel-it-alls" in third. All of the participants went home with gift cards from 54°40' Brewing. "The more people (who participate), the more fun it is to interact," Minister said, following the conclusion of the Dec. 5 trivia night. It was the second time that team "DASKED" participated in the trivia night at 54?40', and team member Dan Monaghan, Jr. said his favorite topics for trivia questions are sports and entertainment. "It's a fun thing to do with family," he said. "We often played Trivial Pursuit together when I was growing up, and now it's great to get to include the next generation in trivia competition." The team's name, DASKED, includes the first initial of each the team's adult members -- Dan, Angie, Sheila, Kevin, Estelle and Dan Monaghan Sr. The youngest member on "DASKED" is 10, and the oldest is 67. Matthew McBride and his wife, Laura, have participated in previous 54°40' trivia nights under the team name, "Trivia Newton John." Their friends, Kevin and Danielle Tyler, joined them for the Dec. 5 competition, and the four-member, 40-something team members went by the seasonal moniker of the "Noel-It-Alls." Matthew McBride said he and his wife like supporting libraries and 54°40'. Laura McBride is a trustee of the Camas Public Library, while Matthew McBride, Bolt and Amy Minister have served on the board of the Camas-Washougal Community Chest, a group that benefits from 54?40' Brewing's annual "Outlaw Fest" summer music fundraiser. Matthew McBride said the trivia questions about music can be tough. "With digital music, nobody has to read album, cassette or CD covers anymore," he said. "You lose touch." The McBrides have won a hat, a discount on their tab and gift cards by playing trivia at 54°40'. "We don't really care about rewards," Matthew McBride said. "It's about getting out and having fun." Matthew McBride said he appreciates that the trivia nights are family friendly and not super serious. Sarah Howe, a fan of music and sports trivia questions, participated in her first-ever trivia night with several friends, in their mid 30s to early 40s, on the "Team Redundancy Team" on Dec. 5. Howe is the booster president at Columbia River Gorge Elementary School, in Washougal, and her teammates are volunteers at the school. "It's a fun way to get out with friends and enjoy a little fun competition with other people from our community," Howe said, regarding trivia night. "You can learn something new while socializing and having a good laugh." Playing trivia in Mill City A trivia night is held at 7 p.m., every Wednesday, at Mill City Brew Werks, in downtown Camas. Questions are displayed on flat-screen TVs, and Laura Spain, the host, walks around the bar and checks each team's answer. During the Dec. 5 competition, Spain played snippets of the songs, "My Sharona," "Beach in Hawaii" and "Strawberry Wine," and the trivia night participants attempted to name the corresponding artists -- The Knack, Ziggy Marley and Deana Carter -- with varying degrees of success. Jadine Juarez has played trivia at Mill City Brew Werks for about a year, and said it is a fun night out with friends and family, who range in age from mid-30s to early 70s. She said the questions can be fun and challenging. "Some nights we feel intelligent, and other nights I wonder how I ever graduated high school," Juarez said. She and her husband and child also have played trivia as a family at Doomsday Brewing Company, in Washougal. Jacueline Steffanson has participated in the trivia nights at Mill City Brew Werks with her boyfriend, her sister, her sister's husband and several friends, off and on for the past year. "My sister and I have always loved trivia," Steffanson said. "It is a fun way to test our knowledge and hang out with friends. We are pretty competitive and like 'Jeopardy' type questions." Steffanson has a bachelor's degree in biology, so the science questions are her favorite. She and her teammates -- all in their early 20s -- also do well with music questions, unless they involve country music. Steffanson encourages other people to participate in the trivia nights. "It's a good way to test your knowledge on random facts and also have a great beer," she said. Steffanson said she also enjoys playing trivia on Monday nights, at Caps N' Taps, in downtown Camas, but Wednesday nights work out better for her and her teammates. Amanda Keeler, of Washougal, participates in the trivia night Wednesdays at Mill City Brew Werks, while her daughter is in a gym class in downtown Camas. "It is much easier to hang out in town than to go home," she said. Keeler and her husband, Marcus, along with friends they met at a trivia night -- Johnny Berens and Debbie Benecke -- form the team "Dirty Bathwater." "I enjoy the company on trivia nights. The staff at Mill City is great, along with the trivia host, Laura." Amanda Keeler said. "I play trivia to meet up with my friends, have a bite to eat, be social and drink a beer." Ryan Barnes, of Camas, plays trivia with friends and fellow Washougal High School graduates, at Mill City. He said it's fun to get together with friends and work together on challenging questions. "Some of those questions are hard," Barnes said. "It can be frustrating when the answer is on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't come up with it in time."

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