Hello Portlanders! My 50th Birthday is in August and i'm celebrating with an 18 day brewery/taproom/brew pub tour up the west coast. Dallas to San Diego to San Francisco to Portland to Seattle and back to Dallas. I need your help for my few days in and around Portland. I have a game plan in place, but i'm certain i'm missing some of the hidden gems. I've posted this same request in other major cities along the way and found the locals to have some brilliant incite into the beer scene and what's great and what's a little overhyped. Here's what i'm planning on, and keep in mind I probably won't be able to hit all of these, but want to make sure I don't miss the "must visit" locations. The most time I will have is probably 2 days & 3 nights. In no particular order my list is as follows... My approach to Portland from S.F.: Falling Sky Ninkasi Oakshire Brewing Pelican Pub and Brewery Rogue Ales Roseburg Station Portland proper: Hair of the Dog McMenamins Pub, Breweries and Hotel Full Sail Burnside Brewing Coalition Brewing Columbia River Elkhead Brewing Deschutes Hillsdale Brewery and Public House HUB (Hopworks Urban Brewery) LuarelWood Public House and Brewery Leaving Portland for Seattle: Salmon Creek Seaside Brewing Skep and Skien Walking Man Brewing If you see and glaring omissions please let me know. If there's anything on the list that should be dropped please let me know. A quick note about my taste. I lean to IPA, DIPA, Pale Ales, Stouts, Belgians, Porters. I'm not big on Sours, Saisons and Wild Ales. My new crutch has been Double Pilsners. Maybe it's just a summer fling? I appreciate any advice you can give. Many thanks to all! Ed
Wrong forum, you probably want to ask a mod to move it into the Northwest forum. And damn, if you're not into sours and saisons, most of my suggestions to add to your Portland list go right out the window. McMenamin's is run of the mill and you might want to add Breakside if you have time. Also, you'd be remiss if you didn't stop at Apex and Beermongers - two of Portland's best beer bars (and Beermongers is also a bottle shop) and they're right across the street from each other.
For Portland proper, your best starting place is here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-portland-summer-fall-2014-update.195202/ In terms of your "approaching Portland," stratedgy, I have a couple of thoughts. Both Pelican and Rogue are WAY out of your way, assuming you're shooting up I-5 to PDX. Also, unless you have a huge hankering to see the brewery mothership in Newport, Rogue has an outpost right in Eugene, otherwise known as Eugene City Brewing. They have most of the Rogue line-up on tap, including most of the limited release stuff as well. So maybe go there instead? As for Pelican, the location is undeniably gorgeous, but you're going to be adding a lot of driving time onto your trip if you go there. Most of the Pelican beer line-up is bottled now, and is easy to find around town, in either Portland or Eugene. You can even still find bottles of "the mother of all storms" over at the Bier Stein in Eugene. So unless you just have to go see the brewery on the Coast, I would likely delete that stop from my trip. As for Roseburg Station... is there some particular reason you want to stop there? The pub is just another McMenamins establishment, this time configured in an old train station (but it's been completely renovated, so there's not much of the old station still on site). Beer and food selection are typical. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there are several better McM outposts just up the road in Eugene (I recommend the High Street location if you plan to hit one in Eugene), and it sounds as if you already plan to visit either Kennedy School or Edgefield while you're up in PDX (which are great places to visit, and with a wider range of both food and beer). Roseburg is just an hour down the road from Eugene, so I'm just not sure I understand the point of your stop at RS. Let's see... oh, in terms of your visit to Eugene, I would agree with theconductor's comments. Food at Falling Sky is pretty decent, but the beer... mehhhh. Also, depending on what day you arrive, you might want to consider a trip up to Agrarian Brewing as well (they have limited hours, but are worth a stop if happen to be in town when they're open). Best beer bars in town are Bier Stein and 16 tons taphouse, and best bottle shops are the same, along with the MofC on Williamette. BS and the taphouse are both well worth a visit, IMHO. Have fun.
On your way up from SF to PDX, do yourself a favor and stop in Corvallis for a visit to Block 15. Also, your places from PDX to Seattle are way spread out. Walking Man is actually east on Highway 14 in Washington, Seaside is the opposite direction to the coast, and is Skep and Skein something special to you? It's a fine place to drink in Olympia, but if you are just passing through, I would rather stop in Tacoma at Engine House #9 or the Red Hot. If you are stopping in Olympia though, the Eastside Club Tavern would have more tap options, plus usually has a ton of IPAs and DIPAs.
Portland: as John M mentioned, visit that link. Personally, I think you have left off 4 of PDXs top 5 breweries. Do you like wild ales or saisons? If so you are doing yourself a huge disservice in not going to three of the best breweries in Portland: Upright, The Commons and Cascade. Additionally, assuming you do like, or are at least intrigued by wild ales, you should definitely visit De Garde when you are out at Pelican. McMennamins, go to Kennedy School and walk around and enjoy it, it is quite cool, but do yourself a favor and leave after walking around for an hour and drive the 1.5miles to Breakside and get good beer, a place which should definitely be on your to visit list for PDX. I would also recommend swinging by Corvalis to stop by Block 15 on your way to PDX, one of Oregon's top breweries; they have great ipas, stouts and wild ales.
How are you getting from SF to Portland: I-5 or Highway 101? The breweries you listed on your approach to Portland suggest both paths. If you're going up I-5, replace Roseburg Station with a stop at Caldera in Ashland. Also, beefandbean's suggestion that you take a detour to Block 15 in Corvalis is mighty good advice. As for your trip out of Portland and up to Seattle, again, you seem to be describing a couple different directions. If you're heading up 101, I recommend a stop at Fort George and Buoy in Astoria. (And grab a chocolate ginger cookie at the Blue Scorcher Bakery next to Fort George. They're so good that I kind of wish I hadn't thought of them right now.) On the other hand, if you're going up I-5, there really isn't much until you start getting into the Seattle metro area.
For PDX proper I'd cut out Burnside, Columbia river, Coalition....personally not at all impressed with any of them. I'd stick in any of the following: Breakside, The commons, Cascade, Baerlic, Occidental. As for Vancouver not sure if salmon creek is brewing last time I went there they just had beers from other places. Loowit and dirty hands are two pretty good places in Vancouver
Well if Saisons, Sours, and wild ales aren't your thing, your list makes sense. But then again, maybe you just havent had good ones. If I were you, personally i would use my time through Oregon as a beer education on how styles you may be turned off from, can be done right and beautifully. And if you are really into double Pilsners (imperial or otherwise), I would stop by The Commons, Occidental, and Upright as they make some of the best Pilsners I have ever had. I would also stop by BaseCamp in Portland as they have an IPL in their line up that might suit your needs. For your needs, your Portland list should include: Deschuttes Upright (pilsner and beer education) Laurelwood Occidental Hair of The Dog Kennedy School Apex Beermongers If you really want to be awesome, you can do specific brewery /pub crawls by foot/bike/street car. I reccomend the Hair of the Dog >Cascade > Lardo (for a food break) >Commons >Baerlic >Beermongers >Apex (you can walk this) I will reiterate, Portland (and Oregon) is known for Wild Ales, Saisons, and Sours -> so you are kind of doing your self a disservice if you do not try it out. Good Luck
Good advice so far. I'd also tell you to skip Hillsdale Public House, as it's just another McMenamin's. If you have to go to a McM's, go to Kennedy School, as mentioned above. If your heart's set on Hillsdale for some reason, hit Sasquatch instead. Good food and reasonably good beer. I also see you have Skep & Skein on your list. While that's a fine establishment, if you have to hit only one spot in Olympia, DO NOT MISS The Eastside. Great beer selection, great prices, and some awesome calzones from the place next door. Enjoy your trip!
If you don't have time for a day or two in Bend, at least head out to Hood River. Then you can just jump across the river, hit Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, WA, then drive back to I-5 via Rt14, and catch Walking Man that way.
