Visiting Portland (Winter 2016 update)

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by guajolote, Jan 19, 2016.

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  1. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    A while back, it became clear that this forum could use an easily searchable "I'm visiting Portland, where should I go?" thread. In this thread, I'll attempt to cull the "must-hit" spots generally agreed upon by Portland BAs. Of course, recommendations & suggestions are encouraged.

    (Almost) Universally Recommended "Must-Visit" Breweries & Brew Pubs
    Breakside Brewery
    Cascade Brewing Barrel House
    The Commons Brewery
    Deschutes Portland Pub
    Hair of the Dog Brewing
    Upright Brewing (cash/check only)

    Other Highly Recommended Breweries & Brew Pubs
    Baerlic Brewing
    Fat Head's Brewery
    Gigantic Brewing
    Hopworks Urban Brewery & Hopworks Bike Bar
    Laurelwood Brewing (multiple locations)
    Lompoc Brewing (multiple locations)
    Occidental Brewing

    The Newcomers (breweries opened in the past year-ish)
    BackPedal Brewing (July 2015)
    Culmination Brewing (January 2015)
    Great Notion Brewing (January 2016)
    The Labrewtory (October 2015)
    Leikam Brewing (August 2015)
    Montavilla Brew Works (July 2015)
    Splash Brewery (August 2015)
    Zoiglhaus Brewing (September 2015)

    Highly Recommended Beer Bars / Bottle Shops
    APEX (Taproom, Bottles-to-go; Cash Only w/onsite ATM)
    Bailey's Taproom/The Upper Lip (Taproom, Crowler Fills, 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 Growler Guys PDX (Taproom, Crowler Fills, Growler Fills, Bottles-to-go)
    The Hop & Vine (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
    Horse Brass Pub (Taproom, Food)
    Imperial Bottle Shop (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Bottle Fills)
    John's Marketplace (Bottle Shop)
    N.W.I.P.A. (Taproom, Bottle Shop)
    Oregon Hophouse: Hawthorne | 15th Avenue (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*
    Bazi Bierbrasserie
    Cheese Bar
    Cheese & Crack Snack Shop
    Grain & Gristle
    Higgins Restaurant
    Lardo
    Raven & Rose / The Rookery
    White Owl Social Club

    * 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. Eater PDX is a great food resource.
    ----------------------------------------------------
    Portland BeerFly listing: http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/16
    Willamette Week's 2015 Beer Guide: http://www.wweek.com/portland/beerguide

    Some helpful maps
    digita7693’s map (beer map, restaurants, hotels, cafes, to-do)
    The Beer Mapping Project
    Oregon & Washington Brew Map
    Oregon Beer Country map

    A couple of potential(ly dangerous) pub crawls
    The "Walk it Off" Pub Crawl (HotD > Bailey's > Deschutes > Upright > Burnside > Cascade)
    Inner SE Pub/Brewery Crawl (APEX > Beermongers > Baerlic > HotD > Commons > Cascade > Base Camp > Burnside)
    North Portland Pub Crawl (StormBreaker > Bridgetown Beerhouse > BikeBar > Sidebar > Tin Bucket > Ecliptic)

    Want to know if XYZ bar/brewery allows kids? Here are some resources:
    "PDX with kids" BA thread
    Bars that Allow Children in Portland
    Best Kid-Friendly Portland Brewpubs
    Kid-Friendly Portland Breweries

    Need shippers for all the beer you bought?
    Portland Wine Storage
    Rose City Wine Vaults & Storage

    Transit

    PDX Bus (free and awesome app)
    Trimet
    And yes, Uber and Lyft are currently operating in Portland.

    Portland Airport
    If you have time to kill at PDX, there are two Laurelwood brewpubs (concourses A & E), a Rogue brewpub (concourse D), a Henry's Tavern outpost, and several other restaurants with good tap lists. Laurelwood, Rogue, Henry's, and Country Cat are all past security and all fill growlers, so you can get a fill and carry it on. There are also Made in Oregon stores past security with good bottle selections.

    ** 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 cited in the Northwest BA forum. Exploration and experimentation are certainly encouraged!
     
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  2. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    Sorry for the late update. The laptop has risen from the dead.

    Updates to Version 11
    :
    * added Fat Head's to the "Other Recommended" section. Yes, I know this might be controversial due to the food/ambiance, but not many people deny the quality of the beer.
    * removed BTU Brasserie from "The Newcomers" section (opened August 2014).
    * added N.W.I.P.A. to the Beer Bars / Bottle Shops section.
    * rewrote the airport info section; added Country Cat.

    Past versions:
    Original thread
    Update v.1 (winter 2013)
    Update v.2 (spring 2013)
    Update v.3 (summer 2013)
    Update v.4 (fall/winter 2013-14)
    Update v.5 (spring 2014)
    Update v.6 (fall/winter 2014)
    Update v.7 (winter 2015)
    Update v.8 (spring 2015)
    Update v.9 (summer 2015)
    Update v.10 (fall 2015)
     
    #2 guajolote, Jan 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2016
  3. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader


    As always, thanks for putting this together guajolote.
     
  4. JouerAvecLeFeu

    JouerAvecLeFeu Pooh-Bah (2,032) Apr 17, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    FYI: When I was at Zupan's on Burnside last week, I noticed that they started carrying a variety of styrofoam bottle shippers. They have them in 12, 9, 6 and 4 bottle sizes. They keep up on top of the beer coolers.
     
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  5. rjd722

    rjd722 Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2013 Maryland

    Thanks for putting this together, this is some great information!

    Up until last June I was traveling to PDX about every two months (on average) for work and did this for about two years. I fell in love with the area and really the Pacific NW in general. Ever since I started to visit I would try and convince my girlfriend that we needed to move there ASAP. The good news is that the more I talk it up and show her what's around she has become very open to the idea. She's never been to the west coast, though oddly enough she is from Hawaii, and so I planned a trip to show her the area (and consume lots of beer).

    We'll be in Portland from 1/27 - 2/1 and will likely do a trip down to Bend as well, partly for the scenic drive, mostly to consumer lots of beer. I'll definitely be utilizing this forum to maximize our trip. Cheers!
     
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  6. cysiam

    cysiam Zealot (657) Feb 21, 2005 District of Columbia

    Do the bars in Portland use anything like beermenus to post their draft lists online?
     
  7. dphi

    dphi Zealot (534) Apr 14, 2013 Oregon

    Not consistently. There's Taplister, which most places don't keep up to date but luckily there's a last updated date to tell you whether it's old listings or not. Mostly I just go to the place's site and see if they have an online list or check untappd for recent check-ins. A lot of places use DigitalPour, I just wish they would have a way to search for beers across tap lists like you can on Taplister.
     
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  8. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    @guajolote , I know the OP of these threads is getting a bit unwieldy, but, maybe include a link to one of the "where to stay" threads? Those seem to be popping up about monthly lately.
     
  9. Aestro

    Aestro Devotee (360) Nov 29, 2009 Oregon

    Most of the beer bars will have their lists online. Saraveza and Bailey's both use Digital Pour, and I think a few others do as well. Apex and Belmont Station will also have their taplists online. I can't remember who else off the top of my head.
     
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  10. chinochino

    chinochino Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2013 Washington

    A DigitalPour button on my phone that I can press and it will let me search for beers across tap lists? I think everyone (tap owners and thirsty patrons) wins here.
     
  11. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    Like @Aestro said, your best bet is to check the individual bar's website. Almost every beer bar in town has some version of an online taplist (some better than others). You're most likely to find the most up-to-date info direct from the source. If you're looking for a good compendium of taplists, Brew Notice is probably your best bet. They have a free app that works pretty well.
     
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  12. JouerAvecLeFeu

    JouerAvecLeFeu Pooh-Bah (2,032) Apr 17, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    Except The Hop & Vine... You have to follow their friggin' Instagram feed - which they only update once in a blue moon...
     
  13. SeaAle

    SeaAle Maven (1,381) Jun 24, 2012 Oregon

    Taplist is on their website if you click on draught.
     
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  14. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    Frankly, unless you're chasing a specific beer you can pretty much roll into any place on the "Beer Bars" list and find something tasty that you've never had before, especially as an out of towner. If you are looking for a certain beer, it's probably easiest to use Untappd and search for nearby check-ins rather than looking up the lists for a dozen different places.
     
  15. chikunwing

    chikunwing Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2013 Oregon

    Love that NWIPA got added. My personal favorite!
     
  16. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    Yeah, definitely an oversight on my part. Probably should've been added a while ago.
     
  17. Arassuil

    Arassuil Crusader (409) Jan 21, 2008 Australia

    Great Portland listing! Thanks for the effort! May be dropping in this year sometime.
     
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  18. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    Weekend bump.

    Has anyone been to Splash Bar/Splash Brewing? I'm debating checking it out this weekend (definitely during the day), but it really looks like the kind of place I'd have to be dragged to kicking and screaming if it weren't for the fact that they (kind of) brew their own beer. Their logo is a cartoon shark wearing sunglasses and a Bermuda shirt, for fuck's sake. They also use a Smart Brew system. My cynical, preliminary judgment tells me it looks like a supremely lazy way for a bar owner to say they brew their own beer & use it as a marketing ploy. Have I mentioned that I tend to be cynical?

    Any insight? I'll report back if I end up going.
     
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  19. digita7693

    digita7693 Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2010 Germany

    Don't do it!
    I remember passing by there many times, picking up Los Gorditos on my way to Bailey's, and never once, ever, did I even have the remotest urge to go near that place, quite the opposite.
     
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  20. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Take one for the team! Be a trail blazer! Be safe though, use the buddy system.
     
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