Coming from the Midwest sub-forum, we have several yearly threads highlighting beer destinations/bigger cities that are tailored towards providing a curated experience in that location. Is there anything like that here? I tried to use the place reviews database, but it isn’t really providing me with what I need. For the record, I’ll be visiting Portland is mid-October and staying about 30 mins upriver for a week. Not opposed to driving a distance. I’ve hit up McMenimins bottle shop before, as well as most of the breweries up the river until Backwoods. Nothing really in the city before though. Any personal favorites among wineries, coffee shops, beer bars, breweries, or whiskey holes? I looked at a daily pass for Multnomah Whisky Library, and that looks incredibly overpriced for entrance and pours. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Can you share what types of Chicago places were your favorites? I can speak the language but my Portland is relatively new as a recent transplant I may be of some help but not much.
It's a bit dated, but try this: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-portland-2020.630837/
Ha! Fair point. I find myself gravitating towards places like Revolution, Phase Three, Une Annee, Half Acre, Cruz Blanca, Dovetail. I like good quality beer, doesn’t have to be hazy or a chase stout. Good food + bad/mediocre beer= not a good time. For example, I hated Band of Bohemia. I’ve had Great Notions stuff and enjoyed it, been to Walking Man and 54’40” and had a good time as well. Backwoods was serviceable, although I have heard the place in Carson is better than the place in the city. Red Bluff Taphouse had a good setup the last time I was there. Does this help?
Bailey's has closed, but I think everything else on the list is current. This is Portland, so there are always new openings occurring (every other week it seems like), but the places on this list are still pretty noteworthy and worth your time I think. Personally, I'm a big fan of the beers put out by Ruse, but that's just my opinion. I'm sure there are a number of other breweries that could be added to the list above as well. Typically, when someone visits PDX and asks for recommendations, we always ask just where they're staying in town. Pretty much any place you stay you're going to be near a great brewery, restaurant or taphouse, so recommendations are usually tailored based on the location of the visitor. You mentioned you plan to stay "upriver," but I'm not really sure what you mean by that. There are two very large rivers going thru PDX, so I'm not entirely sure where you're staying. Sounds like maybe around Stevenson? But that's just a guess on my part. With respect to "whiskey" holes, I'm not a big whiskey drinker myself so hopefully others will chime in. I do think Highland Stillhouse out in Oregon City has a pretty impressive selection (especially if you're a fan of single malt). Otherwise, most brewpubs and beer bars will have at least a passable bourbon and scotch selection. Good luck.
And I'd recommend Scotch Lodge. I'm not a huge whisky guy either, but they have good food and the drink menu looks good. My personal favorite coffee shops are Sterling, Barista, and Nossa Familia.
Band of Bohemia! RIP Unfortunately, there aren't any German style brewers that approach the greatness of Dovetail. However, still plenty of options if the cooler weather sparks a desire for German styles. Olympia Provisions on Divison in Richmond neighborhood serves Rosenstadt which is a gypsy brewery. The place has great food and a spacious outdoor patio. Literally 100 feet away is Lil Beast Brewery whose focus is reminiscent of Half Acre's more experimental barrel and wild beers. At the very least they should hire whoever writes Half Acre's beer descriptions... Stammtisch is about two miles north which I'd considered a slightly modernized Huettenbar with great food. If you run through 50 drinks during your stay you can turn your punch card in for a t-shirt An easy Malt Row like crawl is hitting up Modern Times, Rogue and Cascade Brewing which are a 5 minute walk from each other on Belmont. MT should have a nice collection of hazies and BA stouts on tap. Rogue has a nice large outdoor patio with free games and Cascade of course has the sour ales. A 10 minute walk north brings you to West Coast Grocery which reminds me a little bit of Corridor. Their beers won't "wow" you but the total package of solid beer, good food and nice space full of natural light is a great package. My favorite IPA brewer I've had so far is Ruse which is a 10-15 minute drive south of the "Malt Row" mentioned above. Definitely in the Half Acre/Pipeworks tier of brewing great IPAs. Not too far away is Gigantic which is somewhat reminiscent of Revolution in brewing. Gigantic is in an industrial park with an outdoor patio, large indoor space, and two food trucks nearby with one serving Hawaiian and the other Mexican. Most of my suggestions/recommendations are SE focused as it's where I moved to. There are so many choices and I've barely scratched the surface. You can just as easily find a food truck pod and sit down with food and beer and have a lovely day. Edit: The traditional and hazy IPAs brewed here are nice change of pace from the Midwest ones. My favorite hazy in Chicago was Sailor's Kush. A lot of the hazies here trend towards that style rather than the sweet/creamy Hop Butcher style
What! Wayfinder and Heater Allen both do. Heater Allen is out in McMinnville but you should be able to find their beers readily available around town. Probably add Occidental to the list too. Wayfinder pulled their talent from Chuckanut, which is one of the best German breweries in the country and they have the hardware to prove it.
If you’re in Stevenson/Cascade Locks, I’d suggest a visit to pFriem in Hood River (not sure if their Cascade Locks location is open yet). Level is also good (owned by the former owner of Baileys) on the northwest end of Portland.
Paydirt has a lot of good whiskey and its a fun/lowkey spot thats not overly expensive. Loyal Legion taproom also has a solid whiskey selection, in addition to 90+ oregon beers on tap
To get into Multnomah Whisky Library, show up right when they open and get your name on the list. It’ll be maybe an hour wait depending on the day of the week. Hop over to Beer o’Clock a block away until they call you. Multnomah Whisky Library is a neat experience, but honestly it’s not going to be better than any high end whisky place in any other major city. You’re mainly paying for atmosphere and service. edit: I last went in 2019, I’m not sure if this strategy has changed post-covid
Welcome to Portland! A list of German-style beers brewed in Portland which does not include the outstanding work of Wayfinder and Occidental is a woefully incomplete list. There is also room for the fine lagers of Von Ebert, Baerlic, and Zoiglhaus on that list. A regional list of excellent German-style beer options from outside Portland which does not include the fine lagers of Heater Allen, pFriem, Chuckanut, and Ferment Brewing is a criminally incomplete list.
I figured as much. Sounds like a bit too much effort for me. Thanks for dishing. People helping people.
