Breweries in Portland
Portland may be the third biggest city in the Pacific Northwest (behind Seattle and Vancouver), and it may lack the big reputation that comes from giant corporations like Microsoft or Starbucks, but among cerevisaphiles, Portland is considered in the running for Beer Capital of the World. Various beer-loving organizations have declared Portland “Beervana,” “Brewtopia,” and in 2006, the city was officially given a new nickname by Mayor Tom Potter: Beertown.
Craft beer has been a part of Portland culture since the 1850s, due to the purity of the water running off the surrounding mountains, and the climate suited for growing hops and grains. Following a small hiccup during Prohibition (actually, Oregon went dry before Prohibition went national), brewing in Portland has steadily grown to this day, with the city currently sporting 28 different breweries in the city limits alone.
A broad overview of beers in general, and Portland beers specifically, will benefit the traveler looking to add suds to his schedule. Though it might sound appealing to just dive in and swim (metaphorically), trying all the beers at all those pubs might just put your liver on the disabled list. So perhaps a tour is in order. The Portland Brew Bus offers microbrew tours 360 days out of the year (the other five days are for hangover treatment and recovery, presumably). Not only does the tour offer samples of as many as 25 beers, the tour guides have a blast testing your discernment abilities. They also teach guests the differences between different brews: Porters, stouts, ales, lagers, etc., so their knowledge can help their taste buds decide which flavor is for them.
Most breweries themselves offer tours as well, with brewers confidently and proudly showing off their unique techniques and recipes. Most brewpubs also proudly tell their origin stories, usually involving a religious pilgrimage to German breweries, a couple of misunderstood geniuses, and a lifetime commitment to the very thing that proves God loves us and wants us to be happy (this, according to Benjamin Franklin).
The Widmer Brothers, the legend goes, discovered a unique form of yeast from a Bavarian Institute dedicated to brewing amazing beers. The Rogue Brewery has an epic blizzard and a fellow lover of delicious food (world-famous clam chowder in this case) who rescued a wayward wanderer as part of their origin story. More high-end education and an abandoned rope factory play critical roles in the history of Bridgeport Brewery.
And the beer is only part of the experience. Each of these breweries/ale houses/pubs/taprooms builds itself around a unique ambiance that attracts locals and travelers from around the world. At the Raccoon Lodge and Brew Pub, they take their beer and pub food with a side of socializing, featuring a patio out back where your canine companions are welcome to join you. McMenamin’s prides itself on a more hip, fun point of view, including a movie theater that serves food and microbrews. If you like pitchers with your pictures, McMenamin’s is the place for you. The Tugboat’s intimate digs calls to mind a British pub (to reflect the British-style ales they specialize in), with limited seating. But they also feature live jazz at night. The Lucky Labrador nuzzles right into its neighborhood, every bit as friendly and pleasing as the breed it has named itself after, and Hopworks Urban Brewery proudly focuses on sustainable practices and organic ingredients in their Eco-Brewpub.
And those examples only scratch the surface of the brewpub opportunities in Portland. So if your travels take you to Brewtopia, you might want to avoid renting a car, or at least park it at the hotel overnight, because there are just too many tasty brews to list, and trying just the tiniest fraction of them will result in an inability to drive safely. But considering how much fun these taprooms are, where else would you want to go?