CA beer travel question.

Two days in PDX can easily be done without a car. That's less than you'll need to visit all of downtown and central eastside spots.

 

That's an odd thing to say. You can get to most of the top beer spots in Portland using the excellent public transit system here.

As for Portland being overhyped, shrug. We'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

 

!00% agree. A world class beer city. For both quality and ease of access.

 

weird, i meant to say Portland is a good option for not needing a car.

but on count 2 - i guess we shall disagree. don't get me wrong, there is a ton of great beer there and it's a great city. i just think it tends to get more accoladed than it deserves. mostly because of the quantity of breweries it has.

for me, when i think about what my favorite beers are - or when you look at a lot of top rated lists - there aren't many from Portland. i'm guessing for you there are

 

Not necessarily. Yes, there is a ridiculous number of breweries, beer bars, and bottle shops in Portland. Some of them are outstanding, really world class. But I would say that the beer culture is what I appreciate the most, and is also the thing that's hardest to understand until you visit here and experience it yourself. It's the sheer pervasiveness of good beer. People expect it. People are knowledgeable about it. And people of a gratifyingly broad range of ages are drinking it. (I'm over 50. I don't always want to be the oldest dude in the bar. Up here, I'm not. I can't easily make that same claim in LA or SD.)

Anyway, I don't want to take the thread too far off-topic. I think I agree with @dcgunman that 2 weeks is about enough time to do either the Bay Area or LA/San Diego. California is just too big, and has too many exceptional breweries. Especially if you're without a car and a designated driver.

 

That's something I've maintained for years about both Portland and Denver (well, the whole Front Range, really), and it's an area where San Diego is still behind the curve. It has gotten to the point where things like Stone IPA and Sculpin are on tap damn near everywhere, but good beer still isn't as deeply ingrained here as it is in Portland and Colorado, and it shows in the way people drink and engage in those places. I think the fact that San Diego has a much larger transient population than other cities - especially people in their early 20s - plays a part in this, but regardless of the reasoning, our collective beer culture just isn't there yet.

If someone wants to try hyped and/or elite beers and breweries, Southern California is going to beat Portland and/or Denver/Boulder/Ft Collins. However, if someone wants to spend a week enjoying good beer and good beer culture, San Diego/Southern California would be third on that list, and that's coming from a native San Diegan that genuinely loves the city.

 

Semi related: I was at The Bruery a few months ago and met a man from England celebrating his 60th birthday by visiting 60 breweries in California with his wife. I thought it was one of the coolest birthday ideas I've ever heard. Anyway, he made a list of breweries in LA, OC, SD, and SF that he wanted to visit and mapped it all out. He stayed in LA for a few days and made trips out to OC and SD, then drove up to SF and stayed there for the remainder of the time.

There are many good stops between SF and OC/LA so if you have the time it would be fun to make the drive. You can visit, Firestone Walker, Sante Adairius, Libertine, etc. on the way up. If you like sour and barrel aged beer, you'll enjoy visiting these spots.

 

SF to oakland is easy. You just take the bart to the berkeley stop and then take an uber or a bus to rare barrel. They are only open friday-sunday though.

IN regards to the bus, I'm not sure where you are starting from in SF, but to russian river brewery area it's closer to 3 hours as it's not a direct bus.

 

Foe SF-Oakland transit options www.beerbybart.com

 

Not trying to start an LA vs SD war, but there was a time when LA had nothing to offer in terms of craft breweries other than maybe Craftsman, so if you wanted a brewery fix, you'd have to go to San Diego to visit Stone, Alpine, etc. Nowadays, unless I'm picking up a special release bottle from the likes of Alesmith, I don't really make the effort to drive down because my local breweries like Highland Park, Smog City, Monkish, and Beachwood satisfy my brewery needs for the most part.

Since you'll be taking a beercation, visiting San Diego is a must for you, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you missed out on LA spots. One other point I'd like to make is that while California would be the more epic trip to take because of the effort and area you'd have to cover, a Portland/Seattle trip would provide you with a great combination of superior beer culture, prices (average pour in Portland costs $4.50-$5, while California it's $7-$8), greater walkability, accessibility through mass transit, and better brewery locations (most CA breweries are located in shitty industrial parks). Furthermore, because of the walkability, you can easily visit nearby restaurants or sights in between breweries to work off your buzz--no need for a car. You won't get very many opportunities to do that in California.

 

"California is the superior choice" Took the words right out of my mouth. Cheers

 

While that's certainly true, the OP might want to bring an umbrella & raincoat if he's planning on traveling in the PNW this time of year. Or any time between now and...say...April.

 

Your money is going to be worth more in Portland than in California. The beer and food is cheaper. You must consider the time it takes to travel. I love and live in California. But would suggest Portland. You will spend less time traveling and more time drinking.

Do not listen to any hype about breweries, there is so much good beer to be discovered. It's just that in Portland you will have access to a larger amount without having to commit half a day to travel. The vacation should be relaxed, not hopping from here to there.

Russian River Brewery makes good beer but the pub has bad customer service and very expensive pre packaged food. Portland has a better food culture and dollar for dollar you will get to eat and drink a lot more than you would in California.

 

Agreed. Not to mention a heavy coat as it was below freezing the week in between xmas and ny. Luckily I was prepared for the weather on my recent trip.

 

Yes this is a huge factor...The density of breweries is immense and makes tasting easier and leisurely.

 

Russian River serves pre packaged foods? I've only had pizza, wings and bites but it never occurred to me they did not make their food.

 

I'm just curious how you came to be a craft beer fan living in Korea. there must not be a ton of options right?

if you happen to come through LA let me know and i'll buy you a beer. and for others (maybe you Oregoners), treat this guy nice!

 

Craft in California is not cheap. Never really was. But it has gotten higher the last 4 years. NYC is probably the most expensive. I would have to say Portland is less than California. But if you do your research you will be able to find certain beers in California cheaper than other places. Toronado San Francisco has really good prices. Last time I was there a pint of Pliny was $4. It may be $5 now. Most brewery prices are on the high side for pints. There's a couple of places near me that still has pint prices between $4-$6. But the selection is small and it's not really a craft bar. You will pay higher at the high end pubs.
Have you been to Mikkeler Seoul? There's one in San Francisco. I'm sure you will pay a little higher there. What you will have to watch out for is the bottles you bring back to Korea. Customs may hit you up big on fees. The Pliny and Heady I shipped to Korea cost me $45 via FedEx. And that's with my huge 75% discount. Plus they charged the guy another $75 to get it through customs. A big rip off.