Visiting Portland (2019)

Personally I'd say Little Beast. I think they're one of the best new breweries in the city. Although if you prefer hazy beers, you'll like Ruse better.

 

Thanks @weaverr I've been leaning towards LB. I appreciate the info.

 

I imagine hitting one Rogue spot would be plenty. You won't miss anything skipping Rock Bottom, either.

 

I would personally skip these....(no offense)

Cider Riot
Rock Bottom
Backwoods
Rogue (both locations)
Lucky Lab (unless you have a dog)
N Williams Hopworks
GroundBreaker
Mt Tabor


That still leaves you with a LOT of breweries and every style imaginable. Good luck

 

I'm going to go through your list and do some selective editing. I added Ruse, Little Beast and Wayfinder and eliminated a lot of places.

But first, damn dude you are going to kill yourself. Or get gout.

Day 1:

Cascade
Modern Times
Hair of the Dog
Wayfinder
Ruse
Little Beast

Day 2:

Ex Novo
Ecliptic Brewing
Upright Brewing
Culmination Brewing
Breakside Brewery
Great Notion Brewing NW


Day 3:

Deschutes
Backwoods Brewing
Back Pedal Brewing
Von Ebert Brewing

 

Ground Breaker is a gluten-free brewer. Not trying to talk you out of stopping there, but The More You Know, and all that.

I'm pretty sure the Widmer tasting room is closed. The Labrewtory is a couple blocks down the street on Russell, if you want a convenient replacement in that area.

As far as I know, Backwoods Brewing in the Pearl District is just a pub, so you can take it off your list if you're really being strict about breweries only.

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Some notes and humble opinions:

• Yes, this is an ambitious itinerary. Especially Day 2.
• I can't think of a good reason to visit multiple Rogue locations, but that's just me. If you're a fan, knock yourself out.
• Wayfinder really needs to be on this list.
• Rock Bottom, being a national chain, does not necessarily belong on this list.
• If you really want to learn about "local product," add a McMenamin's brewpub to your list. Kennedy School would be my choice, but the Crystal Brewery near the Pearl is admittedly more convenient.

 

It's a pub but it's still owned by Backwoods with all Backwoods beer on tap. Avid Cider and Rogue Pearl are the same thing, although I think Rogue Pearl might still have a distillery on site.

 

Day 1:

Cider Riot! - their equipment is currently up for sale and will likely be closed by the time you visit

Mt Tabor - Don't waste your time.

Base Camp - I guess if you're in the area it's worth a stop, but I would drop this off the list in favor of other places

Cascade - worth a visit

Rogue Eastside Pub - I know it's across the street from Cascade, but unless they have something on tap that you're dying to try I wouldn't waste the time or liver capacity.

Modern Times - worth a visit

Hair of the Dog - worth a visit

Lucky Labrador Brew Pub - skip it. The Lab was a great palce to bring your dog when that sort of thing was uncommon, but they don't make a single standout beer.

Ground Breaker - as someone else mentioned, the place is 100% gluten-free. Probably worth a stop just to see what they can do with alternative grains.

Baerlic - Worth a stop if you're in the area

Grixsen - skip it.

Since day 1 is focused on the inner east side, here's some places I'd recommend in favor of the spots I suggested skipping:

Wayfinder - everything is solid, but the lagers are the draw here. Kevin is making some of the best traditional lagers in the country.

Gigantic - Pretty much everything they make is great, and they typically have some innovative stuff like their gin barrel aged IPA and the recent Hellboy series

Ruse - Better IPA's than Great Notion, with a lot less hype for some reason. Also solid farmhouse and wild ales.

Day 2:

Hopworks N Williams Pub - Meh, worth a stop if you're in the area, but I wouldn't waste my time

Lompoc - closed as of yesterday

Stormbreaker - worth a stop

Ecliptic Brewing - worth a stop

The Widmer Brothers Brewery - the taproom is closed. You might get a couple samples if you take a brewery tour, but there's no way to drink there.

Ex Novo Brewing Co - worth a stop

Upright Brewing - definitely worth a stop. You don't specifiy what days of the week you're coming to town, but be aware the Upright's tasting room is only open a few hours a day Thurs-Sun and for a couple hours before each Blazers game

Culmination Brewing - worth a stop

Breakside Brewery - worth a stop, but I'd drop this location and add the Slabtown spot to your day 3 itenerary

Great Notion Brewing NW - if you're a fan novelties and "beer that tastes like other food products" it's worth a stop.

Day 2 additions:

McMenamin's Kennedy School - It doesn't get much more local than McM's, and this restored/converted elemntary school with multiple bars and a hotel is one of their signature properties. Plus, it's less than a mile from Grape Lotion, so you'll already be in the area.

Reverend Nat's - best cidery in town, and it's only 4-5 blocks from Upright. Parkiing in the neighborhood is a PITA, so if you've already found a spot to park you might as well walk from one to the other and burn off some of the calories.

Day 3:

Deschutes - worth a stop

Backwoods Brewing - I stop here frequently because it's 2 blocks from my office, but I wouldn't go out of the way.

Rogue Pearl - see my response to the eastside pub

10 Barrel Brewing - Fuck ABInBev. That said, Whitney makes some damn good beer, so if you don't mind giving money to the evil empire at least the beer is solid.

Back Pedal Brewing - this place only survives because it's the starting and ending point for a brew cycle tour company. The fact that I work 3 blocks away and never bother to go should tell you all you need to know.

Von Ebert Brewing - worth a stop

Avid Cider - If you like sweet, very fruit forward ciders they're worth a stop, but I'm not a fan.

Rock Bottom - skip it. You won't find anything here that's any better or different than your own local BJ's, Rock Bottom, or other chain place.

Places I'd add to day 3:

Breakside Slabtown since I told you to skip Dekum

McMenamin's Ringler's Annex - I'd suggest this as a quick stop if you don't make it to Kennedy School. It's a funky little spot in the basement of one of their hotels, and the layout and decor alone make it worth a visit.

It's not beer, but if you like hard liquor it's worth noting that Bull Run Distilling and Eastside Distillery are both a couple blocks away from Breakside.

Last but not least, I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice by sticking exclusively to breweries. Some of the best breweries in Oregon (Block 15, pFriem, Barley Browns, Buoy, De Garde, Crux, Fort George, and more) don't have Portland locations.

At the very least I'd suggest hitting Beermongers and/or Apex since they're right down the street from Baerlic, but Belmont Station and the Horsebrass are both worth a detour.

Similarly, Bailey's Taproom is one of the best beer bars in the city and it's only a 5-10 minute walk from the pearl district breweries you're planning on hitting.

 

First, I want to say thank you to everyone for your feedback so far! I really appreciate the friendliness and responsiveness here. I will be taking it all into consideration as I plot out this journey, and will be reassessing the routes.(stay tuned)

Sample flights. I definitely understand that many stops will have more beer than I can possibly sample, as well as more beers than fit into a flight.

Are flights about 3-4oz pours, with about 4-5 pours total?

Thank you for the advice. Out of curiosity, what don't you like about these?

 

Not sure about PDX, but up here in Washington 5 or 6 tasters at 4-5oz each come on the typical taster tray. So, unless you're gonna take a lot of sips, and then leave 3-ish oz in each one, you'll be near the equivalent of almost 2 pints with each taster tray.

 

Good to know. What's the average cost of a flight?

 

From where, and what airline?

Seriously though, in general (depending on number of beers and ounces in a given taster tray), roughly a buck more than two pints. You need more glassware, which is a base investment, that need to be washed more frequently, which is extra utilities, and it takes longer to pour, which ties up employee time more than pouring a couple pints. That's why taster trays cost more than just having a couple full pours.

 

Oh yes, I understand all that. I was just inquiring as to the average cost of a flight in the Portland area as this tends to vary on where you go.

 

Friendly PSA that Upright improved their hours earlier this year to Tuesday-Sunday. During the week they're 4:30-9 and on the weekends they're 2-9. They even started doing $1 off beers all day Tuesday a couple weeks back. Highly recommend a visit here and yes they're in the basement of a small office building.

@BreweryTraveler My recommendation is to hit all of the "Must Hit" places in the first post, and then do as many of the highly recommended ones as possible. You're welcome to go to more (there's nearly 100 in town) and almost all of them are making drinkable beer, but you can't come out here with a sense of FOMO. None of us have been to all of the breweries in the PNW. It's impossible. Enjoy the city, enjoy the atmosphere, eat some good food, drink some good beer. You've got to shake the idea that you're going to "miss" something because no matter how many breweries and bars you hit, I guarantee you'll miss something. It's not about trying it all, it's about enjoying your time here. Perhaps consider some beer bars like Baileys, Beermongers, Belmont Station, or Beer o'Clock (side note: what's the deal with our beer bars all starting with B) and try multiple breweries in one place. Also, maybe check out a food pod so you don't die.

 

Sorry, was just being a smartass.

 

Sometimes I forget that others get involved......

 

I agree with the others that this might be a bit ambitious. Will you have a car or are you going public? Cider Riot seems a bit out of the way, for instance, without a car. But assuming you actually could pull it off, this would be my advice.

Day 1:
-Unless you have a particular affinity for gluten-free beer I'd drop Groundbreaker
-I'd put Base Camp, Mt. Tabor and Grixsen at the bottom of the list. If you make it to them, fine, but they're probably the weaker on your list.
-Unless you hate lagers I'd add Wayfinder. It's fairly close to the others.
-If you have a car I'd add Ruse and drop the three I mentioned above. It'd only be a 10 minute drive.
-There's a brewery called Away Days that isn't that great but isn't any worse than the three I mentioned above. And it's close by.

Day 2:
-As mentioned earlier, Lompoc is closing
-I think Widmer is just brewery tours at this point? If so, that might be a big time commitment. I think the pub closed.

Day 3:
-Rogue in the Pearl probably won't have anything you didn't try at the eastside location
-I've never tasted a Rock Bottom beer I liked AND they're a national chain so personally I wouldn't recommend it.
-Backwoods is a Washington brewery with a taproom/restaurant in the Pearl. They don't brew there.

Anyways, enjoy and be safe. Let us know if you pull it off!