Heyo! Flying in this weekend and would like to hit a bottle shop (or two) on my way out to the coast - would LOVE lots and lots of lager beers - suggestions appreciated!
Flying into PDX? Belmont Station is highly thought of as far as bottleshops go. BUT!!!!! It's very likely that a stop at any good sized grocery store will fill your needs. The PDX folks can dial you in better, but, just grab any Wayfinder, Pfriem, Heater-Allen, or Chuckanut lager you see. Enjoy your visit!
How are you getting to Neskowin? Google Maps showed me 3 different routes from PDX. If you're taking I-5 south, John's Marketplace is less than a mile off the freeway on SW Multnomah Blvd., and has one of the largest beer selections in Portland. Another option takes you west on I-84 and eventually gets you to 101 near Tillamook. If that's your route, ABV Public House in Hillsboro is less than a mile off US-26 at the Brookwood Pkwy./Helvetia Rd. exit. Probably the best selection on that end of town. You will find MANY excellent lager options around here. To expand on the good advice of @BBThunderbolt , here's what you should look for from the excellent breweries he mentioned: Wayfinder (Portland)- CZAF Czech-Style Pilsner and Hell Helles Lager are regularly available and excellent. They also just released Luna Muerte Vienna Lager, and you might still see some Older Gods Heller Bock around. If you see that, grab it. pFriem (Hood River, OR)- Their Pilsner is available in six-pack cans pretty much everywhere. Great stuff. Satisfying. You can also find a lot of their other beers in bottles (including a very tasty Helles) at good bottle shops like the two I mentioned above. Heater-Allen (McMinnville, OR)- They specialize in lagers and the occasional German-style ale. You should be able to find their regular Pils, the new Coastline Pils (collab with Good Word Brewing of Duluth, GA), their Zwickelbier, and their Lenzbock (an excellent maibock) without much difficulty. Chuckanut (Bellingham, WA)- This brewery is a NW treasure. No cans, only 500 mL bottles. Everything they make is great. EVERYTHING. Other good lager options: Occidental (Portland)- They make a fine Pilsner, including a rotating collaboration series called Northwest Pilsner, but I recommend their superb Edel-Hell. They also recently released a Rauch Helles which I haven't seen on my side of town yet. I may have to make a trip to their brewery next weekend to nab some. ForeLand (McMinnville)- A new brewery that's quite a rising star. They offer some very tasty lagers. Ferment Brewing Company (Hood River,OR)- Their rotating "Bottom Ferment" series of lagers has produced some gems, including the latest, an Export Lager called Hood River Gold. Von Ebert- They make some solid lagers, including a tasty Dortmund-Style Export Lager and a Rauch Helles that dropped within the past month. Baerlic (Portland)- I enjoyed their Oat Soda Bohemian Pilsner and Expat Export-Style Lager, both of which have been recently canned. I'm sure I'm missing something excellent and obvious, but this should be plenty to get you started. Safe travels and enjoy your visit!
Just make sure to check the canning date. I picked up a can Sunday afternoon, and when I got it home I saw that it had been canned on 12 December 2020.
Thanks all! Planned on taking the "direct" route out 5 then jump on 18 thru McMinneville and on. Live in PHX, and interestingly we get HeaterAllen here and Pfriem just started showing up. Came across some articles on "franconian landbier" - really interested in some of that. Likely make our way up to Tillamook, or down to Rogue - the weekend is our (literal) oyster Its been 107 here for 10 days and my 4 kids (8 and under) just got out of school - 55 and rainy sounds AMAZING CANT WAIT
Would second @vurt's recommendations, but would also add Wayfinder's Party Time Pils. It's their German style pils and is equally excellent. Have fun!
Strong recommendations from @vurt. I didn't see anyone mention Rosenstadt which also makes solid German lagers. I believe they only make bottles and those are relatively easy to find.
