Beervana
The enormity of
writing a blog on the best place on the planet for great beer I have ever
visited has weighed heavily on me as I knew how difficult it would be to
capture its essence in a few thousand words before it would become an
impenetrable mess. So when my friend Sam said he was going their imminently I
set about condensing what I had written to date and putting it in an e-mail to
him. This is pretty much the content of that e-mail.
When I first
visited Portland I had little concept of what lay before me which was the
greatest concentration of excellent breweries, brewpubs, tap-rooms, bars and
pubs anywhere. My research led me to www.portlandbeer.org and from there I was given
recommendations and itinerary suggestions which I have edited and reproduced
here (so thanks especially to Matt and Brandon, who are credited as appropriate
below, without whose help I would have wasted much of my time in that great
city looking in the wrong places.)
I was given far
more pub-crawls than I could manage in the three days I was going to stay
there, a few years ago, so I went back the following year for 10 days. It was
STILL not enough time and I hope to go back again sometime soon.
The beer and
bar scene typifies the city that is referred to as Beervana and,
self-mockingly, Portlandia. Great beer is the norm there and stumbling across
decent beers is not difficult but this guide is a taste of what is exceptional
about Portland.
BEST BARS
·
Apex, 1216 SE Division St. 503-273-9227
·
Bailey's Taproom, 213 SW Broadway 503-295-1004. Great building with ultra high
windows on two sides, right in the middle of downtown. Awesome staff, very
knowledgeable about beer, and go way out of their way to find great kegs and
bottles. [Best bar .... in the world]
·
Concordia Ale House, 3276 NE Killingsworth St. 503-287-3929. Out in the NE, in an
unassuming corner plaza next to a Subway, Concordia Ale House serves a huge
list of delicious beers. Usually about 20 taps and a large selection of bottles
- if you can’t find what you're looking for here, you're probably not looking
for beer.
·
The East Burn, 1800 East Burnside St. 503-236-2876
·
Green Dragon, 928 SE 9th Ave 503-517-0660. Great, ever-evolving beer list. The
Green Dragon also holds ‘Meet The Brewer’ events to bring the brewers out from
behind their equipment and in front of their fans. [Unique
vibe. Actually has a garden area! Great beers]
· Henry's Tavern, 10 NW 12th Ave
503-227-5320. Despite a quaint sounding name, Henry's Tavern is a huge expanse
of a building located downtown, boasting 14,500 square feet and 24 foot
ceilings. They also carry over 100 beers on tap. Despite their size, they still
manage to stay in close touch with the beer community hosting both public and
private events. [Impersonal and huge but great
character and service. It’s a casual restaurant with a phenomenal beer choice
which all the staff are familiar with. Come here only when dining. Good
burgers]
·
The Horse Brass, 4534 SE Belmont St. 503-232-2202. In a town where you can almost
get craft beer at a fast food restaurant, what makes a great taphouse? Well, a
great taplist, of course. A place that you will be extremely happy with the
rotating list, but very disappointed that you can't try them all in one
sitting. The Horse Brass takes pride in knowing its beer. Not just from the
area, but all over the world. If there is a great beer out there, most likely
it will pop up at the Horse Brass at some point. But as with all great
taphouses, get it while you can as the selections can disappear as quickly as
they arrive! [A proper pub. They say
British-style but if all pubs were like this in England I would be a happy boy.
Very close to Belmont Station Beer
Cafe, 4500 SE Stark which is equally
as good]
·
Roscoe's, 8105 SE Stark St. 503-255-0049. One of our favorite spots in PDX:
great beer list, ultra casual, friendly staff. Don't be discouraged about its
SE 81st address, it's totally worth the trip!
· Saraveza, 1004 N Killingsworth St
503-206-4252. Sign up for their newsletter and Saraveza will fill your inbox
with their beer release information, one of a kind events, and frequent beer
gatherings. Show up at Saraveza, and you'll be greeted with a great taplist,
welcoming staff, and a few coolers of beer representing a wide selection of
world styles. They'll kick you out at closing, but you don't have to leave
empty handed! [Another cosy place that is
the best bottle store I have ever been too. Known for having free bacon on a
Monday night and occasionally having bottles of Russian River Pliny The Elder
bottles for sale but they don’t advertise it (you have to ask) and it is
limited to one per customer. It is simply one of the best beers in the world.
Bring me one back and I will marry you!]
PUB CRAWLS
1.
The Pearl District: Start at Bailey's Taproom (do NOT go to Tugboat brewing
across the street!), then walk to Deschutes Brewery (six or so blocks),
then to Rogue Brewery (about 3 blocks), then to Bridgeport Brewery
(another 6 or so blocks). Can't go wrong here! [Walkable
from central hotels]
2.
SE Portland: Start at Hopworks Brewery, then head over to Apex
bar on Division (about a mile so bus or taxi it over unless you feel like a
long walk), then go over to The Beermongers across the street from Apex
as they have a few taps and killer bottle selection that can be enjoyed on the
premises. [Cyclable/public transport]
3.
NW Portland: Start at Laurelwood NW Public house on NW 23rd Ave, walk
down 23rd six blocks to New Old Lompoc, and then east 3 blocks to
the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall. (New Old Lompoc now closed L ) [Cyclable/public transport]
4.
Portland Waterfront: Start at the Widmer Gasthaus, then head over to Upright
Brewing about 0.5 miles south (only open Friday evening through Sunday),
then to Hair of the Dog brewery which is about 2 miles south of Upright,
then across the river to Full Sail Brewery which about a mile from Hair
of the Dog but a very beautiful walk. Option 4 is probably the most difficult
from a travelling perspective but is one of the most rewarding. [Walkable from central hotels but maybe public transport
back]
5.
Northeast Portland: Start at the Horsebrass Pub (you might feel at home here),
then walk 5 blocks to Belmont Station (great taps and tons of bottles),
then a mile to Coalition brewing, then 6 blocks to Migration
Brewing. [Cyclable/public transport]
Pub Crawls as recommended to me by
Brandon Emerson. You can design your own on: http://www.portlandbeer.org/breweries/crawls/
If you are considering visiting Portland I
strongly suggest you spend a bit of time on the Portland Beer Org site I have
linked above as it covers everything anyone could ever want to know about beer
in the area and every city should have one. Best website ever! Matt Wiater, who runs the site, was very
helpful when I first went there blind to what was on offer, and also when I
went back, and it’s a shame I couldn’t take up his offer to meet up for a beer
whilst I was there as he knows Beervana like nobody else. If you want to
contact him he is very receptive and proud to show off his city’s best
bars/beers. matt@portlandbeer.org
PUB CHAINS
Just about every bar does food usually
something substantial but sometimes just a hearty snack selection. The bigger
brewpubs are more like restaurants so drinking there alone can be a dispiriting
experience so the tap rooms win there. The McMenamins chain brew at
every location (throughout Washington and Oregon) an eclectic selection of
different beers which are of a reasonable standard but the pubs are amazing
(formerly schools, theatres, churches, cinemas) so are a good fallback option
wherever you are. www.mcmenamins.com
The Rock Bottom chain is like a
super version of Wetherspoons that brews its own beers and trains it staff.
They are all over the country and there is one in Portland at 206 SW Morrison
which is fairly central, a decent choice to eat at and there are always beer
events such as cask versions of beers and fresh hop beers in season. www.rockbottom.com
Finally, my absolute recommendations:
BEST BEERS
Beers: Most
brewpubs do a huge range of standard and seasonal. You should use the IPA as a
benchmark but remember that they are stronger than here. Pale Ales and Stouts
are great also. Their ‘English Ale’ seems to be trying to copy the worst of
English beer so avoid. Again, most places will do a tray/paddle of their beers
consisting of maybe half a dozen of their beers in 4 or 5oz glasses. A great
way to find your favourites without drinking too much and spending too much on
beers you may not like. There are plenty of happy hours outside peak times too.
The tap-rooms have the best ranges of beers and may even have half a dozen IPAs
on at the same time. Barrel-aged and barley wines are sipping beers and not to
be taken lightly though they can be amazing. Don’t be put off by the fact that
the standard beers are 6% ABV or more as they are brewed through so are not
heavy or cloying but clean and moreish. Just drink less of them and slower. If
no paddles are available then half-pints are available.
My absolute favourite beers: Lompoc C Note, Lucky Lab Super Dog (on cask), Walking Man Homo
Erectus IPA, Left Coast Hop Juice Imp IPA, Green Dragon (their own IPA),
Hopworks (esp the IPA), Russian River (Blind Pig IPA or Pliny DIPA from CA),
Wet Dog Bitter Bitch IPA (from Astoria).
BEST BARS
On Foot:
Bailey's Taproom, 213 SW Broadway – Very central. Great atmosphere. Small by US
standard and everyone is there just to drink the amazing ever-changing range of
beers. I went there every night I was in town. http://www.baileystaproom.com/
By bike:
Hopworks
Bike Bar, 3947 N. Williams Ave, OR 97227 – The bike bar.
Bikes on the ceiling and clothing/bike peripherals for sale. They even
lent me a lock to chain the bike up outside. Unmissable. The pizza and pint of
pretzels are great and the IPA is my favourite Portland beer. http://hopworksbeer.com/general-info/bikebar
Also Saraveza is a must. http://saraveza.com/
Lucky Labrador, 1945 NW Quimby St. Dog-friendly, spacious and unique. http://luckylab.com/
By car/bus/MAX: Green Dragon – Quiet location and good buzz with killer
beer selection.
Horsebrass Pub – It’s a pub whereas most places are bars. A good pub is measured by
how long you stay there longer than you intended. You may never leave this
place once you get a seat. Then stroll to the equally brilliant Belmont
if you can pull yourself away.
You can’t fail to have a great time
drinking in Portland as great beer is everywhere – they even have it at the
airport! Most bars do at least a couple of local brews but the best places are
away from the centre (Pioneer Square) but Portland is a very walkable city with
an excellent public transport network (including free travel in the city
centre) and is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Don’t be
concerned about falling into conversation with a stranger in a bar as it is not
like England where only the pub bore would talk to a stranger. Portland people
are invariably relaxed, outgoing, liberal people but not as direct as New
Yorkers or as brash as Californians can be. The climate is similar to England’s
so the best time to go is late July as that is when the Oregon Brewer’s
Festival is on, a legendary outdoor beer festival on the riverfront in the city
centre.
If you do go to Portland, tell them I sent
you. In fact, tell me when you’re going and I’ll see if I can join you. J
LINKS
Transport: http://trimet.org/index.htm
Festivals: http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/
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