Visiting Portland - Spring/Summer 2018 update

In addition to what everyone else says, if the wedding is in July you should keep an eye on Belmont Station. They do a week-long sour event - Puckerfest - which traditionally has a day featuring De Garde bottles and on draft. They haven't announced the dates this year but last year it was near the end of July.

 

Just curious, how readily available are the beers from Pelican, De Garde, and Heater Allen in Portland proper?

Am currently planning on renting a car for 1-day side trip to visit them. However if that doesn't work out are they typically available around town? Not looking to stock up on bottles or anything - on-site consumption is fine.

 

Also, be aware that heater allen’s tasting room is only open Friday and Saturday, and not for many hours (3-7 on fridays and 12-6 on Saturdays).

 

On one of the older pdx threads I had asked for some food recommendations and someone posted a link with some good info. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Would love to locate it.

 

In the off chance that I am not able to make it to Belmont Station next week when in town, can anyone recommend a store close to the Residence Inn Downtown Waterfront location.

 

Jumping across the Hawthorne or Tilikum (mass transit/walking/biking only) bridge you can pretty quickly get to BeerMongers from there.

 

there's a shop across the street from Baileys taproom owned by Baileys called "Brewed Oregon" that has a small but decent selection of beers brewed in Oregon. It's less than 2 miles from your hotel assuming you're at Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown/RiverPlace.

 

De Garde's wild/cider hybrid The Law of Motion is still kicking around a few bottle shops. Just in the last week or so I've seen it at Hollywood Beverage (east side) and Pearl specialty (west side). Depending on when you're coming they might still be around. Though that might say something about the beverage itself (I haven't tried it personally).

 

One of the breweries up did a collab with a local ciderey, that was a beer-cider hybrid. I did not enjoy it. YMMV, obviously.

 

Beer geeks are fussy people. They get frightened off by the lack of fruit, or the presence of the wrong fruit, or odd, frightening flavors like smoked malt. (That last one was sarcasm, just so you know.)

Beer geeks are hard to figure out sometimes.

 

I will be in town next week, what are favorite IPA cans available right now? I’m planning on looking for some Block 15 Sticky Hands and Fresh Flow, but looking for other suggestions. I like dank and juicy, can be hazy, but doesn’t have to be.

Any suggestions for PDX/Astoria/Seattle would be appreciated.

 

Possibly this - https://pdx.eater.com/

 

OR - Ex Novo's "Not too Brite"
WA - Aslan's "Juice Box Hero" (Chucks exclusive), Mirage "Candy Rain"
WA & OR - Ft George 3-Way IPA, Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA, Block 15 Red White and Boom!

 

Thanks, I’ll be on the lookout for these.

 

If you're looking for hazy IPAs it would probably be worth stopping at Modern Times. Lately they've had 3-4 on tap and at least a couple of them in cans to go.

 

Hey thanks. Was not that, but that looks like a good resource though.

 

Can't wait to get back to PDX tomorrow. Bringing some Tree House for folks who have never had it.

 

I rarely get South of Division St. Guess I'll have to expand my horizons.

 

Going to Portland in August for a week for work, but only have a limited amount of time to see as much as possible - so Oregonians - I need your help.

I get in from the east coast on Sunday and land around 7 PM (as long as no delays occur). The hotel I'm staying at is the Hilton in Lake Oswego (because my company is thrifty like that), so I'll have to travel through the city to get there. I'd like to make some stops on the way, but not sure what my best bet is (see below paragraph for Monday thoughts).

I also have Monday free before meetings start the next day. I definitely plan on Uber/Lyft'ing to Great Notion to try to get some leftovers from the weekend. While I'm up there I was thinking maybe hit up Breakside on Dekum, and Tin Bucket? Maybe Uber again down to Upright? I'd really like to see Cascade (which is close to Hair of the Dog too), but the Ubers are starting to add up at this point. Is public transit easy enough to get around once I'm in the city?

If my plan sounds way off please let me know. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed as I've never been to Seattle before and have no idea what I'm doing - especially on what areas to hit Sunday night vs. Monday. This is all based off of Google Maps.

 

Public transit is pretty good around the city in general, but I'm not confident that the first leg of your trip (Lake O to Portland proper) is public transit friendly.

You have some good stops planned already. Cascade/Hair of the Dog/Modern Times are all very close together, and Montage happens to be right by there as well.

Finally, here's your friendly reminder that Upright is only open Thur-Sun. Have fun!

 

Isnt there a Market of Choice near L.O ? Or the Zupans on Macadam on the way in or out of Portland? either of those will have a kick-ass bottle selection that are almost as good (sometimes better) than the known bottle shops, just because the beer geeks dont mine through them as frequently

I would hit G.N first (just because its 10 min outside of the main brewery concentration)
Then Breakside (5 min from G.N)
Then you can go to the inner eastside area and pretty much walk to each spot until you are ready to go home. Cascade, Hair of the Dog, Rogue taproom/bar, Growler Guys, Loyal Legion, Modern Times

This does leave out Upright, which would be a major mistake to miss while you are in PDX. They probably make my favorite beers in the city

 

Thanks for the help everyone. There is a John's Marketplace near LO - seems like they have a good selection.

Bummer that I won't be able to make it to Upright. I don't think I could make it there before 8 on Sunday. Do any bottle shops carry their stuff?

 

I live right near Johns Market. they will have a lot of Upright. But I definitely recommend Zupans or Market of Choice as well.

 

OK, so here's the plan. Get in around 7:30. Uber to Cascade for some pours and dinner (and probably a bottle or two to take home). Uber to either Market of Choice or Zupan's for further loss of money for bottles/cans. Sleep.

Wake up. Head into Portland for breakfast via Uber. Get to GN (Alberta) at noon for crowlers/cans, pours, and lunch. Walk over to Breakside (hopefully nice weather) for some pours. Uber to Tin Bucket for further pours. Do hangover mitigation for Tuesday.

Fin.

 

I mean, if you're just planning on hitting MoC for bottles, you could literally just walk across the street from Cascade and get them, as there's one right there. would save an extra Uber. Assuming the selection is as good as what you'd find out in @John_M's hood.

I'll second the thought that Johns Marketplace is probably a better stop to just shop for bottles.

alternatively, it's a nice walk from Cascade to Beermongers...

 

Good to know. I'd definitely rather do that than pay for another Uber stop.

 

You might want to wait a little bit before you get to GN on Monday if you really want cans from the previous Saturday release. The cans are brought over on Monday, but there is no guarantee when they get there and go on sale that day. Best to call or check their social media.

 

Walking from GN to Breakside is quite a trek. I would maybe reconsider that walk. Now walking from tinbucket to upright sounds more doable.

 

This is what Lyft is perfect for. Ridesharing makes Beer Touring MUCH easier.

 

GN to Breakside on Dekum is about a mile and a half. Not a bad walk.

GN to Breakside Slabtown? THAT'S a trek.

 

Yea I was thinking GN to Breakside Dekum. Might as well see some of the city while I’m there.

If cans aren’t available on Monday that’s ok. I’ll just get some pours. I can always run over there later in the week after work if they release some crowlers. Edit: I see what you’re saying. Yea maybe I’ll grab lunch somewhere first or show up a little after noon and monitor the situation.

 

not exactly a great part of the city to see. i mean, it's not bad, but it's relatively nondescript neighborhoods between the two.

 

Lyft and Uber combined with the MAX trains make getting around the main areas in Portland rather easy. I don't think any of my Lyft rides were more than $15 (even in rush hour) and it's tough to beat unlimited train rides for $5 a day. Those things combined with my willingness to walk a couple miles each day served me pretty well over a short 4-day trip. I was in the Pearl area, which isn't exactly brewery-central, but it's not that far from a bunch of famous stops.