Caldera has a tap room in Ashland, gotta hit that up. Standing stone brewing has a brewpub/restaurant but I don't remember their beer being anything special(years ago) maybe it has improved? Food is/was decent. Omar's is a rad dive bar that is also an excellent steak house, looks like a diner straight out of the 50s because it is and probably smells like decades of cigarette. I've heard good things about 16 Tons in Eugene but haven't been there personally.
My friends friend owns the Bier Stein in Eugene. Looks pretty legit, the recently remodeled I guess. Might be worth checking out http://thebierstein.com/the-beer
Suggestions for what? Tap housess? Bottle selection? Growler Stations? Good restaurants? Tatoo parlors? Medical marijuana outlets? Speaking for Eugene, you have plenty of options, depending upon what you're looking for. If you can maybe narrow down what exactly you're hoping to find (at least in Eugene - it's where I presently live), I'll be happy to throw out some suggestions. Cheers!
You're in luck then. At least in Eugene, there has been an absolute explosion of recent brewery tap house openings. In any event, if you have the time, I would recommend Ninkasi, the new Hop Valley tasting room and new Oakshire public house, all over in the Whitaker area. They all make very solid beer, IMHO, and you can literally park your car and walk to all of them (you'll have to go on-line to check the addresses; I've been having a difficult time updating Beerfly, as the system reacts as if I'm creating a duplicate entry). Just north of town there's the well regarded Agrarian brewery, which sells beer by the growler and glass on Friday afternoons (it's closed the rest of the time. They don't really have a tasting room, but there are picnic tables outside where you can enjoy their beer and listen to some music out on the patio.) Back in town, there's the well regarded Claim 52 brewery, which like Agrarian, is only open to the public on Friday afternoons. Both brewery's beers (Agrarian and Claim 52) can easily be found around some of the better taphouses in town. I should also add that the original Hop Valley brewpub over by the Gateway Mall in Springfield is also excellent, with a good beer selection, above average pub grub, and very gentle pricing (especially if you go during happy hour!). However, I'd only recommend the brewpub over the new tasting room if you want to get a meal (there is food available at the tasting room, but it's pretty limited - pretzels, pizza, and the like). I should also add that neither Ninkasis or Oakshire have a kitchen at their facilities, but there's usually a food cart around on the weekends, and you typically can buy some light snacks at both places as well. In terms of beerbars/taphouses, by far the best places in town are the two 16 tons locations, and then the Bier Stein over on Willamette. All three places have an excellent selection, and prices are pretty reasonable. The 16 tons taphouse and the Bier Stein also have excellent bottle selections as well; you can either grab something to go or enjoy it on the premises. All three places sell growlers to go as well (you can buy their glass, or use your own). There's now also the First National Taphouse downtown, and they have a very good tap selection as well. Personally, I'm not a big fan of their marketing "schtick," which you can learn about if you take a look at some of the reviews on Yelp (Essentially, the price for beer at the taphouse fluctuates throughout the day,depending on demand. Beers that have little demand sell for less than beers that are in higher demand, regardless of the actual cost of the beer to the taphouse. That's great if you're buying things like Kiwanda Cream ale or Claim 52 kolsch, but it's not so wonderful if you want to order something that's extremely popular, such as the boneyard RPM or Hop Venom. I confess I just don't like the concept.) Growler Stations are also becoming increasingly popular in Eugene. Two that just recently opened are Growler Nation and The Kings Royal Growler. While the emphasis is on growler sales at both spots, you can also order beer by the glass to enjoy on the premises as well. The Kings Royal Growler typically has 12 different beers on draft, while Growler Nation has close to 30. Selection is pretty decent at both spots (especially if you like Boneyard beers), and prices are reasonable. Cheers!
I don't know who this appeals to. I've not yet meet one person who thinks it's a good idea, and I know I tend to avoid the taphouse like the plague, even though they often do have a good selection.
You would think so, but apparently not. :-) http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cheers-to-first-national-tap-house-eugene.103803/
I know you said Ashland, but if you can pop over to Medford, the Apocalypse Brewery tap room and the new Portal Brewing are both cool. As for Eugene, I think Falling Sky deserves a visit. Decent beer and great food, maybe a little pricey. I have a mixed opinion of the Hop Valley tasting room. Beer is excellent but the atmosphere was kind of weird and the limited food looked awful.
