Hello all! I'm driving from CA to Portland next week and was wondering what are the best breweries to hit on the way up. I've been to Portland before so i'm familiar with all those, just not the others in OR. I have De Garde and Crux Fermentation on the list already. Thanks and Cheers!
Ummm... assuming I understand your definition of "southern" breweries (which I gather is anything not located in PDX?), I would recommend the following: In the Ashland/Medford area, I would strongly recommend a stop at Caldera. They always have a number of brewery only offerings, and my feeling is that they've really upped their game over the past few years. For some reason, the ability to make a high quality IPA/DIPA appears to have eluded them so far, but almost everything else they make is terrific (or at least interesting). Over the past couple of years, Eugene has started to become a beer destination, with a surprising number of high quality breweries. Oakshire, Hop Valley and Ninkasi get all the attention, but lately Claim 52 and Sam Bond brewing have really upped their game as well. Agrarian brewing just outside of Eugene in Coburg is also making some interesting stuff; just be aware that the tasting room there has limited hours of operation (open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only). There's also Planktown, McKenzie Brewing, Elk Horn and Falling Sky as well, but I wouldn't count them among the best breweries in Eugene. There's also Block 15 over in Corvalis (roughly 15 or 20 minutes from I-5), as well as Brewers Union Local 180 over in Oakridge (about a 45 minute drive outside of Eugene). The latter brewery makes only "real ale"(everything is cask conditioned), and most offerings tend to be low gravity, session beers (but very tasty). Enjoy your trip...
If you're planning to visit Bend for Crux, this thread may help for other Central Oregon suggestions.
