planning a road trip to Oregon and back focusing on breweries. Looking for recommendations that aren't excessively out of the way
Up for anything really. I'm capped out on vacation time at work so I could go a slower route instead of taking the 5 all the way up. I have two weeks to burn. I just don't want to be bouncing back and forth from the coast to central areas to hit breweries 100+ miles out of the way.
you could take the 101 to the Bay Area and hit Barrelworks, SARA, Alvarado, Libertine and others along the way. In SF you can load up on Cellarmaker, Rare Barrel, Fieldwork, and Faction. Spend a night or two in the bay area. Head east towards Stockton, and then head north. It's a 10 hour-ish drive from Stockton to Tillamook
If you roll 101, I highly recommend Redwood Curtain in Arcata. If I5, check out the Fall River taphouse in Redding. B2 taphouse in Salem usually has 2-3 Boneyard beers pouring if you haven't had their stuff. If you hit Portland I really liked the stuff I had at Great Notion, but the city is flush with great options.
Temecula/ Murrieta. I frequent OC/ LA breweries though, so I would want to start with Casa Agria or somewhere around there
If you wind up taking 26 out of Portland, ABV in Hillsboro has solid taps and great packaged selection.
Don't know of much between the bay area and PDX area really. I know that Bend has some good spots to hit, but from what I gathered if you had to choose between a day in bend or portland you should pick portland. I'd honestly just say take it day by day and see where you end up. I've done the road trip you're doing more than once and there's more than just beer to check out . (shhh) If it were my trip... I'd want to hit FW, Alvarado, SARA, (maybe Cellarmaker), RR, then enjoy the coast, and hit PDX before or after hitting de Garde in Tillamook. If you cross over the Sierra's and come through Reno and Bishop on the way south, I don't know that there are any breweries worth hitting but the scenery is nice.
Bend is great for beer and general vibe, but completely out of the way from Portland. You could hit Block 15 in Corvalis, Upright, Great Notion, and some of the other staples in Portland like Hair of the Dog, Cascade, Commons, etc. before making your way to De Garde. Pelican Pub is not far from Tillamook and has a great spot right on the beach.
This. Or you can stay on the 101 and head up to Santa Rosa from the Bay and hit RR before taking the coastal route up through Eureka and all that. It's a beautiful route but might be lacking on the beer for a bit. You can go from Eureka to Eugene, OR and then that puts you in a good position to get to Tillamook and there are some good spots in Eugene. But be aware that de Garde isn't open every day so you'll need to plan your trip around when they are open. I did a similar trip in October but ended up hitting Bend before bouncing back to the coast to go to Tillamook and then back to Portland.
