Visiting Portland (Winter 2015 update)

"1. Addition of a "Newcomers" section
I thought about adding Baerlic Brewing, Ex Novo, Fat Head's, and possibly others to this update since they're newer in town, but maybe in a separate section since the verdict is still out. Thoughts?"

I would put Baerlic in the recommended section as it's a nice spot, the beer is pretty good, and it's only a block or two from Apex and BeerMongers so worth a visit.

Went to Fathead's this past weekend. Not really my kind of place so would have a hard time putting it on a list of places to visit in Portland, but the beer was good and the food was ok. Tried the house IPA and IBUsive IPA. They do have a pretty extensive guest tap list, so if someone was in the area at Powell's or elsewhere It's not a bad place to grab lunch. Never been a huge fan of the Deschutes location near there either, but these two are probably your best brewpub options in that area. Go to Bailey's if you're just looking for beer.

I would also add Captured by Porches to the recommended list, especially the Lombard location. That is a nice cart pod in the summer and winter although maybe a little out of the way for a tourist. St Johns is worth checking out though. There's Occidental Brewing and the bridge and Cathedral Park are pretty cool too. Nice place to walk around.

 

I pretty much agree with your suggestions. I think Baerlic is above average, Ex novo jury is still out, Stormbreaker has taken me by surprise.


North Portland is not well represented in this thread, but I think that's due to the fact that it not the "touristy" spot. I live in St Johns and always take people to Occidental when they visit. I also really enjoy the captured by porches beer garden up on lombard - I think its the best food truck beer spot in the city. Still not sure these give off the best vibes for tourists, but they surely show a more "local" view of the city.

I think for the next iteration of this, we did decide on a newcomer piece which would be nice.

If you go to the San Diego thread, they list basically every brewery they have. Those guys are so self conscious about showing quantity of breweries. I am glad we don't do that.

 

The more I think about it the more I think we should do the events section, not even just for the visitors but just so theres one place where you can see the dates of all upcoming events. (Cards on the table, I googled Cheers to Belgian beers and Puckerfest like 3 time in the last month because a part of me kept thinking they were coming up soon.)

 

Yeah, I do not think this should be an all-inclusive thread, but maybe a new breweries and an events section would be nice. I do like taking people to NoPo as well, and usually do the combo of Taqueria Y Panaderia Santa Cruz or Proper Eats (the Vegan Place next door), Affogato coffee (decent, certainly not a PDX superstar), Occidental and Cathedral Park.

 

One of places that we like to visit (from time 2 time) is Plew's brews IMHO it's local as it gets in that area.

Yeah, Deschutes is major spot for all our great visitors, but still love to drink there every friday
Bridgeport has decent food/ales selection, but I am just block away from them so don't take my opinion.
Another place around Powell's (for ales & light snack only) is The Big Legrowlski tastings,pints & growlers.

Cheers and all the best!

 

Haha oh Plews Brews. That place is a trip! St John's definitely has some gems.

 

Newcomers section is good. How about a "for serious beer geeks/off the beaten path" section? CBP and Occidental could fall into that category. I agree that St Johns is not "touristy", but worth a visit for those who have already been here and done the Pearl/inner SE. BTU is another good addition for the newcomer or off the beaten path category.

 

I don't see much point in an events section in this post, when there's an events database on the site already, and frequently dedicated threads for upcoming events.

 

Agreed. If this is meant to be a quick guide for those visiting, I don't see the point in having an events section. That info can be easily obtained without having to reference it here. It might be helpful to list spots by location though. SE, NE, NW etc. then people can decide how far they want to venture depending on where they are staying. Also goes to my point about an off the beaten path category. Breakside, Roscoe's and John's Marketplace are totally worth the visit, but not sure a 1st time visitor would want to venture out that far unless they are here strictly for the beer.

Some recommended crawls might be helpful too, i.e., Mississippi Crawl; Bridgetown Beerhouse, Stormbreakers, Ecliptic, Widmer.

 

Whoops. Sorry I missed that. Anyways, could still be added to depending on what kind of transport someone is using and how many stops someone wants to make or can handle.

 

What's the Intel on when the commons is relocating?

 

They're either starting, or just about to start tearing things out of the old space. Last time I talked to Brian and Josh they were optimistically hoping for early March, and "worst case scenario" they'd reopen just before the CBC in April.

 

Good for them, bad for me. While I expect to be in Portland once or twice before memorial day, i airbnb'd a house about 2 blocks from there (not for that reason) over memorial day weekend. 7th and Belmont aint too far though. Thanks.

 

I've been wanting to post in one of these threads for awhile now, or even have a reason to read it, and now I do! My wife & I just booked our 3rd anniversary trip and we're coming to PDX for 8 days in late May! Can. Not. Wait.

 

I'll be in town for two days in late March. Two questions for the group:

1) I'd prefer to stay downtown close to the breweries/restaurants as I won't have a car, but most of the hotels run $200-300/night. Anything I'm missing?
2) Is Uber/UberX available in Portland yet? I'm seeing conflicting information.

Thanks!

 

I am coming to Portland in April and found a great deal on a hotel downtown on Expedia. I grouped it with flight and rental car though. Might be worth checking out.

Also, I am coming in town April 9-12. Does anyone know if any special events will be going on or is it too early to know? Didnt know if there was anything planned yearly around that time.

Thanks to everyone who helped put this post together. It has been extremely helpful in planning my trip.

 

2) no.

 

No, that's pretty typical, although you might find deals sometimes. There's some lower-end hotels near the convention center that might be cheaper, and not really all that much less conveniently location. The Jupiter Hotel and Eastside Lodge are also places you might check that aren't in downtown but are still pretty convenient for a beer-cation.

 

There are AirB&B and also depending of what kind of luxy one desires, we have hostels and/or motels, anywho this is Rose City and breweries are plenty anywhere we go.

All the best!