My mom has always been ahead of the times. She moved to Portland in the '70s - way before it was hip - and, when I was a kid, would take us to the city's first brewpub: McMenamin's Hillsdale Pub. Lyza and I liked it because if you were a rube enough to order a "large," the thinly cut fries (skin still on) would come out heaped on a baking sheet. Tee-hee. Mom liked it because she could bring along a Ball jar to fill with fresh beer to take home (a growler before we called them growlers).
Today McMenamin's is a huge chain; their food is rather mediocre and their beer quality rather spotty. A micro-to-macro growing pain, I suppose. But they have a thing and they do it well - see, for example, my notes on the Kennedy School. McMenamin's is still a stalwart of old Portland, as are the other early pioneers of the Oregon microbrew scene: Bridgeport (Portland 1984), Widmer (Portland 1984), Deschutes (Bend 1988), Rogue (Ashland/Newport 1988).
So if you're visiting Portland for the first time, know that all of these breweries have large, welcoming brewpubs with full menus and (for the most part) family-friendly atmospheres. For a great, old-school beer crawl right downtown, start at McMenamin's Ringler's Annex (1223 SW Stark) and then work your way through the Pearl district - past Rogue (1339 NW Flanders), then Deschutes (210 NW 11th), and ending at Bridgeport (1313 NW Marshall).
You might have a sensed theme, though, in my PDX posts: as a native Portlander, I can't help but view Portland through an "old Portland/new Portland" prism. Let's say you have a beer-savvy friend coming to town, and you want to impress her with a more "new Portland" (hip/edgy/small batch) brewery experience. You're in luck: in the last few years, there's been an explosion of "nano-breweries" around town. As I've said before, I'm no beer expert, but I know what I like - and this stuff is good.
First, though, in sampling beer around town over the last year, I have learned a few things worth sharing for other microbrew ingenues:
Right, then. To the breweries:
Base Camp: Base Camp (930 SE Oak) wins for best place to hang out with friends - like the brewery equivalent of Central Perk. The loft-like space is filled with handmade tables of salvaged wood and pillars of basalt. Outside, benches cluster around fire pits on a broad patio perfect for summer. Like most serious new breweries, Base Camp doesn't fuss around with food - if you're hungry, the food carts parked outside are happy to bring your order in to you. As for the beer, it's a little hoppy for my tastes - but that just adds to the Pacific Northwest theme.
Coalition: If Base Camp wins for best space, Coalition (2724 SE Ankeny) wins for best location: right in the heart of the Burnside/28th Ave. cluster of fine restaurants, and just a few blocks from the Laurelhurst Theater, a classic second-run movie house that serves pizza and (more) microbrews. Coalition is thus a great way to start or end an evening out, but it's also a destination in its own right, especially on sunny afternoons when they roll up the garage-style windows.
Migration: Like Base Camp, Migration (2828 NE Glisan) just wants you to hang out. Their large but comfortable pub is always chill - think dart boards, armchairs, and beaten-up board games. In the warmer months, they roll up the windows and a beer garden spills out onto their front patio.
Upright Brewery: Currently my favorite local beer, thanks to its Belgian farmhouse-style crafting. Going to the source is like finding the secret club house: you have to enter the Left Bank building (240 N. Broadway), take the elevator to the basement, and turn right to find the bare bones brewery, where they've squeezed in just a few tables and chairs around the big silver vats. They are only open on Friday nights and weekends, when they close at 6. This isn't a bar or a pub - this is a tasting room with 8 taps and a low-key vibe. A 12 oz. glass is only $3, but with 5 oz. pours for $1.50, why wouldn't you just try them all?
This "tasting room" style of brewery is popping up all over Portland. Commons Brewery (1810 SE 10th), which also specializes in Belgian-style ales, has set up a few tables amongst the vats of its small but sunny brewery. Like Upright, they keep eight taps (some of them collaborations with other breweries around town), and a hearty taster of four of them is $8. We tried them all - and surprisingly, their saison was my favorite. Gigantic (5224 SE 26th) has a similar model but with nice outdoor seating.
Hopworks Bike Bar: Again on the excellent outdoor seating, Hopworks Bike Bar (3947 N. Williams Ave.) has a fabulous patio out back for those languid sunny afternoons. Their inside space is designed to be family friendly, plus they have an extensive happy hour menu ranging from buttery pretzels and burgers to healthy quinoa bowls. Hopworks' schtick is that they style themselves as an eco-brewery; all their beer is organic. (Unlike the other entrants on this list, the Bike Bar isn't technically a brewpub, as the beer is brewed at the Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) on the other side of town.) In keeping with the theme, the Bike Bar celebrates Portland's trendiest mode of transportation by catering to bike commuters. I appreciate that they offer a Rattler option for those hot summer days, but alas their lager is too heavy to pull it off. Still, in sunny weather, the Bike Bar is high on my list for out-of-town guests - and with Lompoc Brewing's Fifth Quadrant and Side Bar right next door, you can turn it into a mini-pub crawl if you get restless.
Cascade Brewery Barrel House (939 SE Belmont): And now for something completely different: sours. Sours are extra-fermented with extra bacteria and come out bright and sharp, and completely unlike ales or lagers. It's not really my thing (nor is the loud music or flat-screen tvs of the Barrel House), but it is a refreshing contrast to the Portland beer scene - like a kumquat sorbet between the fish and meat courses of an epic meal.
Pints: All of these other breweries are on the East Side - but what about downtown? My best bet is Pints (412 NW 5th), a true nano-brewery which doubles as a coffee shop in the morning. The beer isn't as reliable as the East Side options, but their friendliness makes up for it. Plus I love the outdoor seating, cafe tables set up under leafy trees along the quiet northern edge of the bus mall. On rainy days, Pints has a surprisingly large back room - but Tugboat (711 NW Ankeny), another tiny brewery downtown, has the cozier winter space, complete with fireplace and sagging bookshelves of battered books.
Practical Thoughts: What if you're just passing through Portland and want to sample the Portland beer scene but need something quick and easy? I'd suggest Bailey's Taproom (213 SW Broadway), a bright and open bar right downtown with a wide selection of interesting beer, both local and otherwise. Tugboat is conveniently located right across the street for a late-night hangout on a winter evening.
If you're feeling a bit more adventurous - and have an afternoon to spare - the best beer crawl in town right now is along SE 9th Ave. Start at the Commons Brewery at SE 10th and Stephens (several buses from downtown will get you close). From there, walk north on 9th Ave. stopping off every few blocks for Lucky Lab, New Deal Distillery, the Green Dragon, the Cascade Brewing Barrel House, and ending up at Base Camp. If you need a real meal, finish off your evening with a warm bowl of ramen at Biwa. Fabulous.
Or head to North Portland for a shorter crawl. From downtown, take the #17 bus, the #77 bus, or the CL street car to the Left Bank building; try Upright (assuming it's open); then catch the outbound #4 bus along N. Williams Avenue to Hopworks Bike Bar. Finish at Fifth Quadrant or walk across the street to Lincoln for an upscale, Northwest-style dinner. (Buy a $5 day pass for the buses and you can take the #4 bus back downtown afterwards. Don't worry, the bus drivers are always friendly - just ask them to tell you where to get off.)
Of course, don't take my word for it - I really know nothing about beer. But John "Bubba" Foyston does, and I like this blog (aptly named Beervana) as well.
Today McMenamin's is a huge chain; their food is rather mediocre and their beer quality rather spotty. A micro-to-macro growing pain, I suppose. But they have a thing and they do it well - see, for example, my notes on the Kennedy School. McMenamin's is still a stalwart of old Portland, as are the other early pioneers of the Oregon microbrew scene: Bridgeport (Portland 1984), Widmer (Portland 1984), Deschutes (Bend 1988), Rogue (Ashland/Newport 1988).
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| Joe, our beer guru, with tasters at the Commons Brewery. |
You might have a sensed theme, though, in my PDX posts: as a native Portlander, I can't help but view Portland through an "old Portland/new Portland" prism. Let's say you have a beer-savvy friend coming to town, and you want to impress her with a more "new Portland" (hip/edgy/small batch) brewery experience. You're in luck: in the last few years, there's been an explosion of "nano-breweries" around town. As I've said before, I'm no beer expert, but I know what I like - and this stuff is good.
First, though, in sampling beer around town over the last year, I have learned a few things worth sharing for other microbrew ingenues:
- Oregon breweries are really really proud of their Northwest-grown hops. At least, that's what I assume, because they double and triple hop just about everything. Hops make beers more bitter; thus, Oregon beers tend toward the hoppy/bitter end of the spectrum (though I sense that this trend may finally be changing).
- For those of us not so found of the hops, here's a really helpful tool that somehow Jeff and I just learned about a couple months ago: IBUs, or "international bittering units." The higher the IBU, the more bitter the beer. For example, as someone who does not like mouth-puckering beer, I now avoid pale ales with an IBU well above 30. This is no easy feat in Portland.
- Which brings us to a word about IPAs ("India Pale Ales"). Northwest IPAs are not like other IPAs. Northwest IPAs are very "hop forward," as they say. And Double IPAs, or Imperial IPAs, are even more so. I avoid these.
- But hops are balanced out on the palate by malt - thus a stout or a porter can have a high IBU without tasting bitter. So consider the IBU score in light of the beer's darkness. (Slightly punny there.)
- A Bitter, however, is not necessarily bitter (!!!). The British call medium-bodied, drinkable ales "Bitters" because the historical alternative included basically no hops at all. I just learned this a week ago. It's a shame, because it turns out I really like Bitter beers, even though I don't like bitter beer.
- A final note: As breweries here move away from triple-hopped pale ales and towards Belgian-farmhouse style ales (a trend of which I heartily approve), I have seen a lot of Saisons popping up on draft/draught lists. People love Saisons. In the spirit of my prior manifesto, though, I will dare to assert that this is a regrettable hangover of the hop-heavy days. Saisons, though Belgian-style, are intense, complex, and very hoppy beers. Another important distinction: Saisons are the opposite of sessions. A session beer is a eminently quaffable ale - slightly heavier than a pilsner but with a lower alcohol content than most microbrews.
Right, then. To the breweries:
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| Even the taster at Base Camp keeps up with the Pacific Northwest theme. |
Coalition: If Base Camp wins for best space, Coalition (2724 SE Ankeny) wins for best location: right in the heart of the Burnside/28th Ave. cluster of fine restaurants, and just a few blocks from the Laurelhurst Theater, a classic second-run movie house that serves pizza and (more) microbrews. Coalition is thus a great way to start or end an evening out, but it's also a destination in its own right, especially on sunny afternoons when they roll up the garage-style windows.
 |
| Hanging out at Migration on a warm spring night. |
Upright Brewery: Currently my favorite local beer, thanks to its Belgian farmhouse-style crafting. Going to the source is like finding the secret club house: you have to enter the Left Bank building (240 N. Broadway), take the elevator to the basement, and turn right to find the bare bones brewery, where they've squeezed in just a few tables and chairs around the big silver vats. They are only open on Friday nights and weekends, when they close at 6. This isn't a bar or a pub - this is a tasting room with 8 taps and a low-key vibe. A 12 oz. glass is only $3, but with 5 oz. pours for $1.50, why wouldn't you just try them all?
This "tasting room" style of brewery is popping up all over Portland. Commons Brewery (1810 SE 10th), which also specializes in Belgian-style ales, has set up a few tables amongst the vats of its small but sunny brewery. Like Upright, they keep eight taps (some of them collaborations with other breweries around town), and a hearty taster of four of them is $8. We tried them all - and surprisingly, their saison was my favorite. Gigantic (5224 SE 26th) has a similar model but with nice outdoor seating.
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| The Bike Bar's rattler and pint o' pretzels. |
Cascade Brewery Barrel House (939 SE Belmont): And now for something completely different: sours. Sours are extra-fermented with extra bacteria and come out bright and sharp, and completely unlike ales or lagers. It's not really my thing (nor is the loud music or flat-screen tvs of the Barrel House), but it is a refreshing contrast to the Portland beer scene - like a kumquat sorbet between the fish and meat courses of an epic meal.
 |
| European-style cafe seating at Pints. |
Practical Thoughts: What if you're just passing through Portland and want to sample the Portland beer scene but need something quick and easy? I'd suggest Bailey's Taproom (213 SW Broadway), a bright and open bar right downtown with a wide selection of interesting beer, both local and otherwise. Tugboat is conveniently located right across the street for a late-night hangout on a winter evening.
Or head to North Portland for a shorter crawl. From downtown, take the #17 bus, the #77 bus, or the CL street car to the Left Bank building; try Upright (assuming it's open); then catch the outbound #4 bus along N. Williams Avenue to Hopworks Bike Bar. Finish at Fifth Quadrant or walk across the street to Lincoln for an upscale, Northwest-style dinner. (Buy a $5 day pass for the buses and you can take the #4 bus back downtown afterwards. Don't worry, the bus drivers are always friendly - just ask them to tell you where to get off.)
Of course, don't take my word for it - I really know nothing about beer. But John "Bubba" Foyston does, and I like this blog (aptly named Beervana) as well.
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| Peace out. |
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