Visiting Portland (Spring 2015 update)

I wish more events decided what to brew in the style that they do.

 

Curious as to preferences on which side of the river to stay on if that makes sense?

Planning a trip middle of July (14th - 19th) and was looking to either stay on the west side of the river in a hotel or the east side via airbnb. It looks as though the majority of spots I'd like to end up at the end of the night (Apex, Beer Mongers, Green Dragon, Commons, etc.) are on the east side of the river.

Does this not really matter at this point now that Uber and Lyft are in the city? Not opposed at all to public transit just curious as to if I'd miss out on staying on the east side of town (restaurants, other attractions).

Side note: this question stems from a trip I took to Waterbury last year. I can't tell you how awesome it was to be able to enjoy ProPig/Blackback/Reservoir and then just walk back to the Stagecoach. Obviously Portland is a a major metropolitan city but for a beercation it just seems ideal.

Thanks in advance!

 

Eastside!

 

TBH, most of the good restaurants are on the east side. (Or, at least not concentrated in downtown.)

Of course, most of the city is on the east side, so maybe that's not unexpected.

 

my AirBnB host just informed me that uber is now allowed in PDX, has that started up yet?

 

Yes.

 

Hi locals, I have a few non-beer-related questions, hope that's kosher!

So my wife and I have been planning our trip next week and since it's a vacation and not a beercation (my wife is sober but tolerates my obsession), we're doing lots of touristy things too, since she loves that shit.

Can anyone tell me how much time we would legitimately need to visit/see the following attractions?

OMSI
Lan Su Chinese Garden
Pittock Mansion
Portland Japanese Garden

Those look really cool and we want to visit them all, but I'm just trying to get a sense of how long we need to set aside to do so. Thanks in advance!

 

All of these you can spend hours at or run through quickly, but as a general guide I'd say:

OMSI - couple of hours, depending on how in depth you look at things
Lan Su Chinese Garden - 60mins+, I would grab a tea as well, which adds time
Pittock Mansion - inside 60ish mins, but walking around outside and that view! 30mins+
Portland Japanese Garden - 90mins+

While in the inner SE, OMSI, stop by the Kidd Toy Museum, well worth an hour and before/after you are right next to Coava coffee

 

thank you very much, this is just what I was looking for!

 

OMSI > Hair of the Dog for lunch > Kidd's Toy Museum > Coava Coffee FTW! Looks to all be walkable too

 

Highly Recommended Beer Bars / Bottle Shops
Bailey's Taproom/The Upper Lip (Taproom, Crowler Fills, Growler Fills, Bottle List)
The Beermongers (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills)
Belmont Station (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
Bridgetown Beerhouse (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills)
The Growler Guys PDX (Taproom, Growler Fills, Bottles-to-go)
The Hop & Vine (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
Imperial Bottle Shop (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Bottle Fills)
John's Marketplace (Bottle Shop)
Oregon Hophouse: Hawthorne | 15th Avenue (Taproom, Growler Fills, Food)
Roscoe's (Taproom, Growler Fills, Food)
Saraveza (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Growler Fills, Food)
Tin Bucket (Taproom, Bottle Shop, Counter Pressure Growler Fills)

One more question peeps, if you could only go to maybe 2-3 of these spots, which would you choose?

I'd be most interested in 1) finding awesome bottles to take/ship home, and 2) possibly finding a good growler fill or 2

 

Belmont Station has the biggest bottle selection but is a bit further away. Also has good taps and allows growler fills. Beermongers is a more curated bottle selection with a few taps and has the benefit of being across the street from Apex for a few drafts. Growler Guys has great taps. Tin Bucket has curated bottles and great taps for growler fills.

I know you said 2 - 3 but I put these out there since Portland is a small-ish town and you may be in the neighborhood. All of these (well, maybe not beermongers) have their taplists up to date on their websites so I recommend checking those when you get to town. Everytime I got to PDX the first thing I do is look at tap lists over lunch.

 

thanks Ryan, I've been going through tap lists right now and trying to determine my plan of attack. I said 2-3 just because my wife is being super cool about agreeing to visit breweries and whatnot (I'm trying to pick ones that serve food so it's not just about me drinking and her staring at me with disdain haha), so I didn't want to "push it" by also spending a lot of time in bars/bottle shops.

 

Belmont Station is well worth the trip for bottles. (Pro tip: You'll pay less if you bring cash.) BeerMongers would be my second choice for the same reasons as Kurmaraja (very good bottle selection and proximity to Apex). Finish with a run to Growler Guys for all your growler needs.

EDIT: If you're hungry, add a visit to Pine State Biscuits to your BeerMongers/Apex jaunt.

 

Sort of echoing what was said above:
I'd do Beermongers/Apex since they are right near one another, Belmont for largest bottle selection, Baileys just bc, and Tin Bucket and Growler Guys for growler fills.

 

thanks guys!

 

I always recommend Imperial bottle shop because they usually have great tap selections and will counter pressure-fill 16oz bottles to go which is great for bringing back in your suitcase. They also have a good bottle selection and are close to some highly recommended restaurants.

 

that's really cool to know, thank you!

I have a 12-bottle wine shipper than I check. And inevitably have to go out to buy another 12-bottle shipper and find a UPS as well lol. 16oz counter-pressure filled bottles sound great

 

Not only do they counter pressure fill them, they cap them.

The good thing about a lot of the places in portland is that they're way more approachable for non-beer fans. I mean, Apex has a giant outdoor seating area and a couple solid restaurants in close proximity that you can bring food from. Imperial is in a whole strip of great restaurants and shopping, as is Tin Bucket, so wife and kids can wander. Pretty sure there's an ice cream place right next to Tin Bucket (and, actually, the amazing Salt & Straw ice cream has a branch a short walk from Imperial). Commons has a cheese / charcuterie bar. Most places are pretty light and airy so they don't feel like "i'm in a den of beer drinking iniquity with a bunch of neckbeards."

Point of my ramble is that Portland is a great walking city and from any of these places, your wife / family won't have a hard time being entertained.