Visiting Portland (2019)

First time visiting Portland with a puppy. First time visiting anywhere with puppy. Where could we grab lunch today (as a family) and sit outside with her en route to Bend? HotD obviously—Wayfinder allow dogs outside? Ecliptic? Other? Easy on/off I5 preferred.

 

I believe yes to Ecliptic but no to Wayfinder. The outdoor tables at Wayfinder are a little tight (our pups like their space from strangers, so this makes sense to me). Breakside Dekum allows dogs and it's not too far off I-5.

 

In the Pearl District, I-405 adjacent - Von Ebert, Deschutes, Rogue, and Backwoods all have food and outdoor seating and are dog friendly (sidewalk tables).
Also near I-5 - Ecliptic, Stormbreaker, HotD, Breakside (both Dekum and Slabtown are pretty close to interstate access). Even Great Notion on Alberta isn't a short distance off I-5.

Stormbreaker and Ecliptic both have huge patios and are near each other, so that's probably your safest bet. Deschutes is typically packed, be sure to have backup options if that's your number one.

 

Thanks, all!

 

Lucky Lab. Beer is solid, but they are very dog friendly

 

Pic of pupper?

 

Hi--I'm looking to do a day trip to Hood River to hit Pfriem and maybe do waterfalls/hiking. Is renting a car the best option for doing this? It looks like there might be a bus that goes to Hood River. I'd rather not rent a car through the traditional method, if possible.

 

i would definitely do a rental car. Would allow you to to stop anywhere on the way for a hike and then scoot up to HR. Also, you could drive to Solera brewing for one of the best brewery views in the state.

 

Hey all. I just posted something similar in the “Visiting Seattle” thread, but I needed to share my thanks here as well. Wife and I just returned from our vacation and this thread was super helpful for planning. The many suggestions and related discussion was plenty for us to plan our taproom adventures. We LOVED Upright, and it was super satisfying to finally make it to Hair of the Dog since Adam has always been a special beer to me. We can’t wait to make it out again in the future.

Cheers and many thanks!!

 

Got an apeshit roadtrip planned for August and it starts with a night in Portland before we raid De Garde then escape to Vancouver Island. Primarily looking for the best bottleshops I can use to fill a couple boxes to ship myself from Port Angeles, WA before we cross the border. We will have a car and I will have a preggo sober driver, so any worthwhile breweries near said bottleshops might be a plus. Looking for Russian River (Pliney, sours), TRVE (loved their Cursed sour APA), HOTD, Block 15, Great Notion (west coast IPAs - no haze please), and any other random/hyperlocal sours and WC IPAs you all might recommend. Have had pFreim stuff before so their IPA is already on my radar as an option. 2 other additional questions:

Is there any chance in hell of finding a bottle of Fremont B3K? Trying to liquidate all my large format stuff these days but damn I want this one. I'm guessing it's long gone but never know if it was sitting so thought I'd ask. Would also be cool with snagging any Fremont BA stuff. If not I can always try and set up an IP trade but we are on a tight timeline.

Sorry if I'm asking this in the wrong place, but does anyone here have any experience with crossing the US/CA border by ferry with bottles? We will be sending our pre-loaded car out to Portland prior to arrival and it will be pre-packed with some select bottles for another BA we plan to meet once in Canada. Are the agents at the Port Angeles ferry terminal heading into Canada super exact about ounces brought in? I haven't crossed an international border since I was a little kid so no idea what to expect in terms of duties fees, etc.

 

You will not find RR IPAs in bottles in OR. Sours are reasonably available, though tend to slowly disappear until the next drop. As for TRVE, you're closer to the source than we are. Non-hazy IPAs from Great Notion? Not sure such a thing exists. HotD Adam/Fred/cans of IPAs are easy to find around town, though the barrel aged beers are mostly brewery only. Seek out Barley Browns IPAs, though they're tap/growler/crowler only.Georgetown too, along with pFriem. Based on your interest, though, I'd almost just recommend hitting up HotD (for barrel aged stuff only) and then picking 2 of these 3 bottle shops: Beermongers, Belmont Station and John's Marketplace for widest selection and knowledgeable staff who can help. Belmont have their bottle and tap lists online and are quite up to date. You've left off Upright, who, in an unscientific poll of people with discerning palates, are the best brewery in the state, especially if you like saisons and barrel aged saisons (fruity, funky and delicately sour as opposed to enamel stripping sourness). Plenty of bottles can be found at Beermongers and Belmont.

Long gone, though there might be the place off the beaten path that has bottles. Unlikely, though. You could look for Rusty Nail, which might linger if you're lucky.

 

TRVE beers have been available around Portland for a while now. I've seen them at Belmont Station and John's Marketplace. They even showed up at my local pub of choice, Orenco Taphouse. I don't know if we get ongoing distribution or if that was just a one-time drop and the bottles aren't moving off the shelf that fast.

Anyway, it's worth keeping your eyes open for them.

For non-hazy IPAs, here are some favorites that are easy to find in cans in Portland:

• Culmination Phaedrus
• Ecliptic Starburst
• Georgetown Bodhizafa
• Georgetown Lucille
• Block 15 Sticky Hands (double IPA)
• Ex Novo Eliot IPA

For sours, heed the advice of @DefenCorps and pick up some Upright bottles. They're easy to find and they are great. Don't miss out. I also like the wild ales from pFriem and Little Beast. If you haven't had anything from Ale Apothecary, or they aren't on your radar, you should check them out. Their bottles are pretty easy to find these days. They're pricy, but unique. Well worth looking into.

 

I've brought beer from BC back into WA before, but I've never taken beer into BC. You're better off asking in the Canada forum.

 

Thanks for the tips, should be all the info I need. I'll pull up a map tonight and hammer out a plan. Hadn't heard of Upright and will definitely be sure to grab something from them in addition to the others discussed. That should be enough info to blow way past my beer budget like usual! Thanks guys!

 

First trip to the northwest starts on Friday. I am very excited to finally make it out.

Thank you to everyone for the info in this thread.

- Joe

 

I’m sure a ferry is no different then driving across the border, that being said I drove across the border in 2015. I googled what I was allowed to cross the border with and I believe it was 180 oz. I had most of my beer collection with me, I think it was around 600 oz. I called the Canadian border agents where I was going to be crossing and asked if that was going to be an issue and he said no. Border crossings can vary greatly based on the individual agent you get, in my experiences. Also, Canadian agents have always been waaay more chill than American agents. It’s been easier for me to get into Canada than my own damn country.

 

Similar experiences for me: going INTO Canada tends to be much more chill of a crossing than coming back into the states, and it will vary guard to guard. I've come back down from Vancouver with boxes of beer and had no issue, I figure so long as it doesn't look like you're trying to set up an import/export business they're not gonna have a huge problem.