How to Sample Portland's Craft Breweries

While Seattle is known for its plentiful coffee shops, Portland is known for its craft breweries. The craft beer--or microbrew--industry started as a grassroots movement in the 1970s and today has become a major industry, with large corporations like Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams alongside small, localized breweries and brewpubs in towns across America, each brewing their own unique beers. Portland’s number of breweries have developed due to the city’s proximity to the Cascade region, where most of the country’s hop crop is grown. The type and amount of hops used in beer is essential in defining a beer’s flavor. Portland is also close to some of the best-tasting and cleanliest water in the United States, a major factor in creating quality craft beer. Lastly, a city culture known for being laid back and casual, craft breweries and brewpubs find the perfect fit in the city of roses.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Identification proving you are at least 21 years old

1. Visit BridgePort Brewpub, Portland’s oldest brewery, on N.W. Marshall Street. The two story building houses a brewery, a restaurant and a bakery. Its popular wood fire pizzas are a nice complement to a mostly ale-based beer menu.
2. Try one of the McMenamins brewpubs, all of which are Portland institutions. The McMenamin brothers decided instead of building a large brewery, they would restore historic Portland buildings and create brewpubs with interesting twists. Today the brothers operate locations outside of the city and into Washington state. Some locations feature bed and breakfasts, movie theaters and golf courses, and most are in unusual locations, such as a restored elementary school.
3. Head to the Widmer Brothers brewpub, another popular choice that is well known for its hefeweizen. Tours are offered Fridays at 3 p.m. and on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The Gasthaus Pub is open for lunch and dinner.
4. Book a trip on the Portland Brew Bus if the number of breweries is too overwhelming to seek out on your own. This tour takes passengers to three or four breweries and allows them to sample up to 25 beers. The tour takes 5 hours; more information is available at Brew Bus website (see Resources below).
5. Venture outside the city to the coastal town of Newport, Oregon, to visit the Rogue Ales Brewery, one of the most popular national craft brewers that's well known for its Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Tours are offered every day at 3 p.m.

Tips & Warnings

• Selections from Rogue Ales are also readily available in bars around the city, as well as the brewery's Public Ale House on N.W. Flanders Street in Portland (see Resources below).