As the Eugene/Springfield area continues to grow in stature as a beer destination spot in its own right, it seemed reasonable and useful to create a post/thread similar to the PDX and Bend/Sunriver versions. Have talked over the following list of recommendations with @John_M, but even so, this is far from a comprehensive list, so please don’t hesitate to let me know if I missed something. (Almost) Universally Recommended “must-Visit” breweries and brewpubs Alesong Claim 52 Kitchen ColdFire Ninkasi Oakshire Hop Valley Eugene location - now owned by MillerCoors. Other Recommended Breweries and Brewpubs Agrarian Viking The Wheel Apizza Pub (Owner of Tacovore, former owner/brewer C52, former brewer from Agrarian) Falling Sky Planktown New Comers Freehand Other Local Breweries Steelhead/McKenzie Brewing Sam Bonds Manifest (Formerly Mancave) Elk Horn Highly Recommended Bars/Growler Stations Bier Stein 16 tons café and tap house Tap and Growler Growler Guys Other recommended Bars/Growler Stations Growler Nation First National Tap house The Filling Station Steel Pail Beer Garden Hayden Bridge Taphouse Highly Recommended Bottle Shops Bier Stein 16 tons Tap house Market of Choice (the Willakenzie St. and Williamette St. locations) Beer centric restaurants Electric Station Café 440 Hot Mama Wings Hot Mama's Kitchen + Bar Oakway Falling Sky (multiple bastions) Planktown brewpub Cornucopia Bar & Burger North West Burgers 5th Street Market Hop Valley Planktown Claim 52 Kitchen The Wheel Apizza Pub The Cannery Extra You can always try out the Eugene Ale Trail as well. Prominent Eugene festivals KLCC Microbrew Festival (2nd weekend in February) Hellshire release and barrel-aged beer fest (May/June) Eugene Beer Week (First Week in June) McKenzie Craft Beer and Cider Fest (November 9-10, 2018) The Eugene area is pretty centrally located, making short day trips and combination beer-centric vacations feasible. The City is just a couple hours from downtown Portland and the Bend/Sunriver area, and is roughly a 45 minute drive over to Block 15/Les Caves via hiway 99, and roughly the same distance over to Oakridge and Brewer’s Union 180 via Highway 58. It is also roughly 1 hour drive to Florence where you will find Beach Combers which tends to have 2-3 hard to find New Belgium beers as well as other great taps. So it's very easy to add the Eugene/Springfield area into your beercation plans, no matter what your ultimate destination is in Oregon. ** Disclaimer: This post is not intended to be a catch-all for Eugene beer establishments. There are many well-regarded beer institutions throughout the 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. Exploration and experimentation are certainly encouraged!
ColdFire just released their first bottled beer, Seeds of Infinity, a Saison aged in a Fouder with Brett, blended, then dry hopped with Galaxy, Azzaca, and Amarillo. Bottle conditioned. Only 6 cases of 500ml bottles were produced. Get it while you can. PS, I tried this from the tanks before carbonation and it was amazing.
Eugene Beer Week is just around the corner starting with Bier Stein's Invitational Only Beer Fest on June 2nd at noon, then continuing with events all week around the city.
I'm looking forward to utilizing this thread for the 2nd time this year later this week! Very helpful! Any great shelf beers or beer events I should look out for 6/20-6/24? Cheers!
ColdFire has cans of St James, Cumulus, and Tangle of Tigers out, as well as bottles of Cellar Muse and possibly the Seeds of Infinity. Block15 is dropping Red, White, and Brew this weekend at the pubs. Oakshire just did a hazy version of Watershed that is on draft (can't vouch for if it is any good or affordable). Claim 52 Kitchen has quite a few amazeballs beers... make sure to have Skrrrrt.
Few updates in there for ya. Added a New Comer, moved some New Comers to other points, and added the dates for McKenzie Craft & Cider Fest. PS, if you happen to attend this fest I will be giving a presentation at 3pm Saturday as part of the festivities... Bar Wars: A Craft vs Big Beer Saga
