Visiting Portland (Fall/Winter 2013-14 update)

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by guajolote, Oct 2, 2013.

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  1. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,325) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    Updated to add new bottle shop, restaurant and airport info.
    ------------------
    Surely many of us agree that this forum could use an easily seachable/bump-able "I'm visiting Portland, where should I go?" thread. Here, I'll attempt to cull the consensus "must-hits," along with other highly recommended PDX breweries, brew pubs, bottle shops & beer bars that appear in this type of BA thread. Recommendations & suggestions are encouraged.

    (Almost) Universally Recommended "Must-Hit" Breweries & Brew Pubs
    Cascade Brewing Barrel House
    The Commons Brewery
    Deschutes Portland Pub
    Hair of the Dog
    Upright Brewing

    Other Highly Recommended Breweries & Brew Pubs
    Breakside Brewery
    Gigantic Brewing
    Hopworks Urban Brewery / Hopworks Bike Bar
    Laurelwood Brewing (multiple locations)
    Lompoc Brewing (multiple locations)

    Highly Recommended Beer Bars / Bottle Shops
    APEX (Taproom, Bottles-to-go)
    Bailey's Taproom (Taproom, Growler Fills, Bottle List)
    The Beermongers (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills)
    Belmont Station (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
    Bridgetown Beerhouse (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills)
    The Green Dragon (Taproom, Food)
    The Hop & Vine (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
    Horse Brass Pub (Taproom, Food)
    Imperial Bottle Shop (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills)
    John's Marketplace (Bottle Shop)
    Oregon Hophouse (Taproom, Growler Fills, Food)
    Roscoe's (Taproom, Growler Fills, Food)
    Saraveza (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
    Tin Bucket (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Counter Pressure Growler Fills)
    ---------------------------------------------------
    (A Few) Beer-centric Restaurants

    Just about any decent restaurant in PDX has an acceptable beer list. Many are more-than-acceptable. This might be the most debatable section of this thread.

    Bazi Bierbrasserie
    Cheese Bar
    Grain & Gristle
    Higgins Restaurant
    Lardo
    Raven & Rose / The Rookery
    Wildwood

    Eater PDX (great food resource)
    -----------------------------
    Some helpful maps
    digita7693’s map (beer map, restaurants, hotels, cafes, to-do)

    Beer Maps
    The Beer Mapping Project
    Oregon & Washington Brew Map
    Oregon Beer Country map

    Transit
    PDX Bus (free an awesome app)
    Trimet

    A couple suggested Pub Crawl maps
    Cascade > HotD > Bailey's > Deschutes > Upright > HUB/Side Bar
    Inner SE Pub/Brewery Crawl (APEX -> Beermongers -> The Commons -> HotD -> Cascade -> Base Camp -> Burnside)
    Sunnyside Pub Crawl (Horse Brass -> Belmont Station -> Hawthorne Hop House -> Bazi Bierbrasserie)
    North Portland Pub Crawl (Amnesia -> Bridgetown Beerhouse -> Prost! -> HUB BikeBar -> Lompoc Sidebar/5Q)

    PDX Airport Info
    The beer flows at PDX as well. There are two Laurelwood brewpubs (concourses A & E), a Rogue brewpub (concourse D), and several other restaurants with good tap lists. Rogue and Laurelwood are both past security, so you can pick up bottles or growlers and carry them on the plane. There are also Made in Oregon stores past security with very good bottle selections.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Other BA resources:

    Portland BeerFly listing: http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/16

    Some other forum threads on the topic:
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/portland-trip.36279/#post-454592
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/check-my-work-portlanders.13192/
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/so-many-breweries-in-pdx-what-shouldnt-i-miss.20664/
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/taking-a-trip-to-portland-or.15367/
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/pdx-visit-questions.18342/
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-portland-next-week-looking-for-suggestions.31640/
    http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hotel-recommendations-for-portland-brewery-trip.49338/#post-638391

    *disclaimer: This post is not intended to be a catch-all for Portland beer establishments. There are literally hundreds of well-regarded beer institutions throughout the greater Portland area, many of which are not listed in this post. This thread is an attempt to present the most frequently recommended and highest-regarded spots often cited in the Northwest BA forum. Exploration and experimentation are certainly encouraged!
     
  2. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,325) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

  3. anteater

    anteater Pooh-Bah (1,852) Sep 10, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Awesome list! I'm sure anyone visiting Portland will be able to use this to make the most out of their trip.

    The only other thing I can think of that might be worth noting is that if you're already at Bailey's then you can just pop across the street to Tugboat and try their almost always on tap 13.5% Chernobyl Stout. Probably not worth seeking out on its own, but sort of a fun novelty if you're already across the street.
     
  4. SeaAle

    SeaAle Savant (1,237) Jun 24, 2012 Oregon

    I agree awesome. Someone should do a similar thread for Seattle and then both threads should be stickied.
     
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  5. fuhkyou

    fuhkyou Initiate (0) Feb 20, 2013 Idaho

    Upright (at the brewery on Friday and Saturday) should be at least #2. The beer here is of very high quality, good selection, and is FRESH!
    No big barleywines, IPAs, or stouts here, just top notch saisons, and other interesting offerings.
    Cascade is another winner... Deschutes?
     
  6. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,275) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Ummmm... I don't think the list is meant to be construed as a ranking of the different places. It's just an alphabetical list of the some of the better and/or more popular places in town, of which Upright is clearly among the best. Opinons differ on the top spots in town, but I think most folks would agree with you, that Upright is one of the very best craft breweries in PDX.
     
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  7. vurt

    vurt Grand Pooh-Bah (3,578) Apr 11, 2004 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I'll stick up for 'em. They always offer a broad selection of good beers, including brewpub-only offerings, and the food is terrific.

    (off-topic) And they're a block from Powell's City of Books.
     
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  8. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,325) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    As johnmichaelsen mentioned, it's not a ranked list. I made it alphabetical as to avoid the appearence that they are ranked in any way. Though I'll admit, I screwed up the alphabetical listing with The Commons. Not sure how I overlooked that. It'll have to be addressed in the next update since the thread editing window is over.

    Also, though they don't have them available year-round, Upright does make barleywines, IPAs and stouts. They're often very limited, but they do exist. (And the ones I've had were pretty damn good).

    I'll stick up for Deschutes too. I think if you polled PDX BAs, a majority would list it as a "must-visit" for people visiting Portland. The space is great, the food is well above average, and they always have a bunch of very good (sometimes great) pub-only taps. Plus, the selection is vast and varied, so virtually any beer drinker will find something that appeals to them -- even a dedicated gluten-free tap. And yeah, it's a block from Powell's.
     
  9. HelloImTravis

    HelloImTravis Initiate (0) Mar 23, 2011 California

    Is it just me or is Baileys Taprooms bottle list really awesome. Do they sell their bottles to go?
     
  10. Spaceloaf

    Spaceloaf Initiate (0) Nov 27, 2008 Oregon

    Yes, all bottles are available to either drink on premise or to go (personally I only get them to go because they always have something I want to try on tap).
     
  11. NWer

    NWer Pooh-Bah (2,145) Mar 10, 2009 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Awesome job of keeping us apprised on the latest and greatest at Beervana.
    May I suggest that you emphasize your updated line items so we can scan the list and easily see what's new to the latest release?
     
  12. Lordkrystic

    Lordkrystic Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2012 Washington

    Double dragon, across the street from Apex and BeerMongers should be tagged somewhere on that list. Their Pork Belly Bahn Mi is to die for and you can eat it at Apex.
     
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  13. Lordkrystic

    Lordkrystic Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2012 Washington


    Always great vegetarian/vegan offerings on the menu also. Bunch of choices.
     
  14. exitmusic00

    exitmusic00 Initiate (0) Mar 15, 2010 Oregon

    It's not just you. And yes. :slight_smile:
     
  15. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,275) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Thanks for the tip. I don't personally go to Apex anymore, but I do like Beer Mongers and go there fairly frequently. The Mexican place next to Apex is OK, but I guess I'm not as wild about it as some of the folks on here. Anyway, it's great to have another food recommendation in the area.
     
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  16. Lordkrystic

    Lordkrystic Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2012 Washington

    Last time I walked into Apex I couldn't believe they had 3 Grid on from Schooner Exact. Seeing a bunch more Washington Beer in Portland these days.

    Another thing that killed me was that they were charging 8 bucks for Pliny...WTH?

    Next time you're in Tacoma, gimme a shout. Would like to sit down and share a pint with you and BWFiend.
     
  17. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,275) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Well, that's if we can get him make that long drive up from Olympia these days. :-)

    Thanks though... not sure when I'll next be up in Tacoma, but I'd like to get together, and will shoot you a BM.

    As for the $8 Pliny, that's just one of many problems I have with Apex these days. I haven't been by there in several months now, and have no plans to stop by again any time soon.
     
  18. SeaAle

    SeaAle Savant (1,237) Jun 24, 2012 Oregon

    I know Vinnie and Natalie hate when places overcharge for Pliny, but I don't know if they would have an issue with $8. They will quit selling beer to places who do though.
     
  19. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,275) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Last time I asked them about the $8 price tag, the bartender (from the BA magazine cover) advised me that as they were the only ones in town who have pliny on tap, the price was justified. Seeing as how Apex IS the only place carrying Pliny on tap in PDX, I'm not sure how they could possibly be overcharging for it. After all, if they're the only ones who have it, then there's no way to find it for a cheaper price.
     
  20. SeaAle

    SeaAle Savant (1,237) Jun 24, 2012 Oregon

    So why can Apex always have it on tap and other places in Portland never have it? Is someone at Apex friends to Vinnie and Natalie?
     
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