Visiting Portland (Winter 2015 update)

I second the newcomers piece.

Also, I would argue that Breakside is becoming an almost universally accepted must hit.

 

I very much like the idea of a legacy section, especially with regard to McMenamins. In fact it kind of annoys me when a local steers a visitor away from a Mcminamins. Yes, we mostly accept that the beer and food can be average (I've had very good beer on occasion) so the recommendation needs to be qualified. They're a beer-based business doing good and unique things. "It's not about the beer, it's about the BEER." My favorite pit stop on I-5 between Pugetopolis and Portland is the Olympic Club. It's the best barroom I've been in (and I'm an old guy, been in many) and I'm glad to sit there even if just to recaffinate and eat a snack. I think at least Kennedy should be mentioned in the guide.

Excellent work on the guide, by the way.

 

Agree. I wouldn't think twice about sending ANYONE to Kennedy School. It's one of the coolest places in the city.

 

I don't think McMenamins gets enough credit for their one-off beers you often find on tap at some of their brew pubs. I've definitely had as many - if not more - great beers (and the same quality of food) from them as I have from, say, Lompoc - which is listed as highly recommended.

 

I agree, Kennedy is amazing, but I also never torture guests by making them drink there, instead we go jut down the road to what I would agree should be in the top tier, Breakside.


Cheers


Also, what about a festival highlights section for that time of year?
Eg the summer/fall update could have Brews for New Avenues which will be on Sept. 12th at Left Bank again

 

I really like this idea. Though it'd be as long as a book in the summer months.

 

Adding to leave McMenamin's out. Several cool locations, but mediocre beer and definitely nothing I'd ever recommend to someone who cares about beer enough to read beeradvocate. Kennedy School isn't a bad place to take parents though.

The two tips I give people are:
1. Avoid Rogue. It's a name you know but there are so many better options. I don't need to tell the locals this, obviously, but still get plenty of out-of-towners that want to go there.
2. Don't skip the beer bars. You'll almost certainly be better off throwing in at least one instead of a brewery just because it'll get you access to some amazing options from elsewhere in the state like Boneyard, Crux, or Barley Brown's. Or places that are worth trying a beer from but are a little more inconvenient, like Heater Allen.

 

This. When I lived in town and people were visiting and wanted to know which breweries to go to, I almost always just steered them to beer bars instead. If you're not seeking out one specific thing, it's a more bang for your buck scenario in terms of time and ability to get lots of different stuff.

 

The flip side of that though, is what one is potentially missing. The brewery has the best idea of what they want for their beers. The brewery may also have stuff that doesn't leave. One of my local breweries recently found a single 1/4bbl of their Barleywine that was 8 years old. Well, they just slipped that guy on tap with zero fanfare.

Also the brewery will have the newest things first. People have beer bars at home, that's why I send 'em to the breweries first.

 

Im pretty stoked they are going to be focusing on coffee beers and lambics. Also they are going to brew sake too? Thats pretty sweet

 

Looking forward to trying their beer.

Also: Chabudai gaeshi contest? I'm giving them bonus points just for adding that to my world. COUNT ME IN.

 

Thanks for creating this thread. I first visited Portland in Dec. 2013 and appreciated older threads on the subject, and just booked another trip for the end of February.

Last time we popped into an absurd amount of tasting rooms/brewpubs, but missed out on Upright and The Commons (will add for this time around). I also was definitely blown away by my visit to APEX -- I live in San Diego and have tried Chez Monus exactly one time: on tap at APEX.

Couple of non-beer questions for you pro-beer people:
1) Food trucks - Favorite trucks/carts to look out for (or best meet up locations)?
2) Multnomah Falls - Worth the time (and the cost of a rental car) to check out? If I skip the falls I'll also skip the rental and use public transit only.
3) Any other random recommendations? Can be beer related. We've done a lot of the standard Portland tourist stuff - Powell's, Voodoo (liked Blue Star better), Saturday market, Japanese Garden, etc... Wouldn't mind branching out for a more local perspective.

Lastly, I'll probably throw up an IP thread here soon, and bring up some stuff (mostly CA) FT. Feel free to contact me if there's something specific you've been looking for. Thanks!


tl;dr: thank you... Portland cool... food, waterfall, other?... IP ISO/FT soon

 

Do Multnomah falls, but then continue on to Hood River and eat at pFreim or Dbl Mountain, and then visit Solera, I would say hit Logsdon first, but they will most likely be closed.

 

I think there's deinitely a need to include both. As you saids, the breweries pretty much always have their stuff first, but at the same time there is a ton of great beer being produced around the region in places that tourists aren't going to be able to visit on a weekend trip to Portland. Can you imagine getting home and finding out you missed out on Barley Browns, Boneyard, Crux, Block 15, Bend Brewing, etc because you spent your whole trip bouncing from brewery to brewery?