Post by wonk on Mar 3, 2016 21:41:50 GMT -8
I was going to give Pea a list of beer destinations in Portland for his next visit, but thought I'd spiffy it up a bit and share it with the rest of the board. I'm cool like that.
1. Belmont Station/Horse Brass Pub - Easily the number one beer destination in Portland. Belmont Station is the best bottle shop in town, and the beer bar connected to it has over 20 taps, always with a couple rarities. Bonus, you can order a beer at the bar, and drink it in the bottle shop while shopping. Horse Brass is an old school English style bar with 50 or so different beers. Traditional English pub grub on the menu. Really cool place to hang out when there's not a soccer match. STAY FAR AWAY WHEN THERE'S A SOCCER MATCH.
2. Bailey's/Upper Lip/Santeria/Mary's Club/Tugboat - Bailey's is the second best beer bar in Portland in my opinion. They have the electronic beer menu that shows you how much is left in each keg. 25 taps, and every time I go there, there's at least 15 beers I've never tried. You'll probably see the most hipsters at Bailey's. Upstairs is the Upper Lip, same owners, but a different bar. There's only six beers on tap, but typically a rare selection, including a couple European beers. They also have the rarest/best selection of bottles in town by far. The bottles can only be drank there, no "to go" beer. Across the street is a quirky little brewery called Tugboat, a serviceable but unspectacular Mexican restaurant called Santeria, and Portland's most famous nudity bar, Mary's Club. There's also a new sports bar next to Bailey's if you need to catch the end of a game, or if your friend is craving a Coors Light. You can order food from both the sports bar and Santeria at Bailey's, and they'll deliver it to you. The beer bars tend not to serve food, but there's some sort of law that says if you don't serve food, you have to allow people to bring food in.
3. BeerMongers/Apex/Los Gorditos - BeerMongers is a cool little bottle shop with eight taps, and a friendly atmosphere. It's an older crowd, and everyone seems to know each other. It's like going to a friend of a friend's party, only that friend of a friend has ten coolers of beers in their kitchen. I've heard there is a great vegetarian restaurant next door if that's you thing. It's not my thing. Kitty-cornered is Apex, who routinely have the best beer menu in town with 50 taps. They almost always have at least one Russian River beer pouring. Aside from the beer, I hate everything about Apex. It's the most expensive beer bar in Portland, and it's cash only. But don't worry, they have an ATM on-site that will take an extra three bucks out of your pocket. Combining the ATM fee and the over priced beer, you're down one regularly priced beer at a cool beer bar before you even get a beer at Apex. Everything about Apex screams douchebag, which is probably why you'll find more douchebags here than any other Portland beer bar. Next door is the second best burrito spot in town, Los Gorditos. As much as I hate Apex, I find myself there for a beer while I crush a burrito.
4. Inner SE (Hair of the Dog/Commons/Cascade/Green Dragon/Growler Guys/Taqueria Portland) - A good way to kill a day. Hair of the Dog is one of my favorite breweries in town. They have vintage beers available to drink there (not "to go"), so you'll have a chance to drink an Adam From the Wood several years old (and highly recommended). Down the road is the Commons Brewery (new, I've never been) and Cascade (for you sour fans). There's also the Green Dragon with 50 beers on tap and Growler Guys with 40 beers on tap. Growlers Guys is next door to the best burritos in town, Taqueria Portland. I go Inner SE for the burritos, stay for the beer.
If you've done these four must hit areas, then you have:
5. Brewery Row, Downtown (Deschutes/Fat Heads/Rogue/10 Barrel/Bridgeport/Pints) - If breweries are your thing, there's four within a couple blocks downtown. Pretty much all the breweries in Portland serve awesome food. Deschutes rules downtown, so get there early or expect a wait. Fat Head's has the best beer in my opinion, especially if you like IPAs, and they are known for big sandwiches and big portions, but the service usually sucks. Rogue is a divey brewery that people in Portland seem to hate, but I don't mind it. If you can get past 10 Barrel being owned by Budweiser, that's probably my favorite brewery of the four. Plus they are building an open air rooftop bar that may be open by now. I'll be there when the weather is nice. Bridgeport and Pints are a short walk away from these four.
6. N Mississippi (Prost!, Stormbreaker, Ecliptic, Etc.) - N Mississippi is a trendy area with several bars, restaurants, and shops. There's at least three bars that are old two level houses, which is an interesting concept walking from room to room. Prost! is the town's premier bar for German beer. It's the farthest north destination, so start there and work your way down to Ecliptic. There are two small bottle shops on the way. I killed a day doing this only once, so I don't remember the names of all the bars and bottle shops. Stormbreaker (brewery) has a great patio if it's nice out.
7. Saraveza/Hop & Vine/Fire on the Mountain/Untapped - Located in North Portland , Saraveza and Hop & Vine are about a ten minute walk from each other. They are both bars with small bottle shops, and they both serve food. Saraveza is really chill, and have free bacon night the second Monday of each month. Hop & Vine is more of an upscale place if you're into that. The best chicken wings in town are near these two bars, Fire on the Mountain, famous for their spicy peanut sauce. They also brew their own beer. It's kitty-corned from a new beer bar called Untapped with 40 taps. I can't go to one without the other. Fire on the Mountain and Untapped are close to N. Mississippi as well.
8. Roscoe's - This place is too far away for me to frequent, so I don't know the area. They have a great beer menu, and serve awesome food, which is unexpected since it's basically a dive bar. I heard there is a sushi restaurant near that will deliver to the bar.
I might update this first post when I explore Portland beer a bit more. I can already tell Great Notion is a Brewery you're going to want to hit, but I'm not familiar with the Alberta area yet. If I update the post, I'll note it so you know what was updated.
1. Belmont Station/Horse Brass Pub - Easily the number one beer destination in Portland. Belmont Station is the best bottle shop in town, and the beer bar connected to it has over 20 taps, always with a couple rarities. Bonus, you can order a beer at the bar, and drink it in the bottle shop while shopping. Horse Brass is an old school English style bar with 50 or so different beers. Traditional English pub grub on the menu. Really cool place to hang out when there's not a soccer match. STAY FAR AWAY WHEN THERE'S A SOCCER MATCH.
2. Bailey's/Upper Lip/Santeria/Mary's Club/Tugboat - Bailey's is the second best beer bar in Portland in my opinion. They have the electronic beer menu that shows you how much is left in each keg. 25 taps, and every time I go there, there's at least 15 beers I've never tried. You'll probably see the most hipsters at Bailey's. Upstairs is the Upper Lip, same owners, but a different bar. There's only six beers on tap, but typically a rare selection, including a couple European beers. They also have the rarest/best selection of bottles in town by far. The bottles can only be drank there, no "to go" beer. Across the street is a quirky little brewery called Tugboat, a serviceable but unspectacular Mexican restaurant called Santeria, and Portland's most famous nudity bar, Mary's Club. There's also a new sports bar next to Bailey's if you need to catch the end of a game, or if your friend is craving a Coors Light. You can order food from both the sports bar and Santeria at Bailey's, and they'll deliver it to you. The beer bars tend not to serve food, but there's some sort of law that says if you don't serve food, you have to allow people to bring food in.
3. BeerMongers/Apex/Los Gorditos - BeerMongers is a cool little bottle shop with eight taps, and a friendly atmosphere. It's an older crowd, and everyone seems to know each other. It's like going to a friend of a friend's party, only that friend of a friend has ten coolers of beers in their kitchen. I've heard there is a great vegetarian restaurant next door if that's you thing. It's not my thing. Kitty-cornered is Apex, who routinely have the best beer menu in town with 50 taps. They almost always have at least one Russian River beer pouring. Aside from the beer, I hate everything about Apex. It's the most expensive beer bar in Portland, and it's cash only. But don't worry, they have an ATM on-site that will take an extra three bucks out of your pocket. Combining the ATM fee and the over priced beer, you're down one regularly priced beer at a cool beer bar before you even get a beer at Apex. Everything about Apex screams douchebag, which is probably why you'll find more douchebags here than any other Portland beer bar. Next door is the second best burrito spot in town, Los Gorditos. As much as I hate Apex, I find myself there for a beer while I crush a burrito.
4. Inner SE (Hair of the Dog/Commons/Cascade/Green Dragon/Growler Guys/Taqueria Portland) - A good way to kill a day. Hair of the Dog is one of my favorite breweries in town. They have vintage beers available to drink there (not "to go"), so you'll have a chance to drink an Adam From the Wood several years old (and highly recommended). Down the road is the Commons Brewery (new, I've never been) and Cascade (for you sour fans). There's also the Green Dragon with 50 beers on tap and Growler Guys with 40 beers on tap. Growlers Guys is next door to the best burritos in town, Taqueria Portland. I go Inner SE for the burritos, stay for the beer.
If you've done these four must hit areas, then you have:
5. Brewery Row, Downtown (Deschutes/Fat Heads/Rogue/10 Barrel/Bridgeport/Pints) - If breweries are your thing, there's four within a couple blocks downtown. Pretty much all the breweries in Portland serve awesome food. Deschutes rules downtown, so get there early or expect a wait. Fat Head's has the best beer in my opinion, especially if you like IPAs, and they are known for big sandwiches and big portions, but the service usually sucks. Rogue is a divey brewery that people in Portland seem to hate, but I don't mind it. If you can get past 10 Barrel being owned by Budweiser, that's probably my favorite brewery of the four. Plus they are building an open air rooftop bar that may be open by now. I'll be there when the weather is nice. Bridgeport and Pints are a short walk away from these four.
6. N Mississippi (Prost!, Stormbreaker, Ecliptic, Etc.) - N Mississippi is a trendy area with several bars, restaurants, and shops. There's at least three bars that are old two level houses, which is an interesting concept walking from room to room. Prost! is the town's premier bar for German beer. It's the farthest north destination, so start there and work your way down to Ecliptic. There are two small bottle shops on the way. I killed a day doing this only once, so I don't remember the names of all the bars and bottle shops. Stormbreaker (brewery) has a great patio if it's nice out.
7. Saraveza/Hop & Vine/Fire on the Mountain/Untapped - Located in North Portland , Saraveza and Hop & Vine are about a ten minute walk from each other. They are both bars with small bottle shops, and they both serve food. Saraveza is really chill, and have free bacon night the second Monday of each month. Hop & Vine is more of an upscale place if you're into that. The best chicken wings in town are near these two bars, Fire on the Mountain, famous for their spicy peanut sauce. They also brew their own beer. It's kitty-corned from a new beer bar called Untapped with 40 taps. I can't go to one without the other. Fire on the Mountain and Untapped are close to N. Mississippi as well.
8. Roscoe's - This place is too far away for me to frequent, so I don't know the area. They have a great beer menu, and serve awesome food, which is unexpected since it's basically a dive bar. I heard there is a sushi restaurant near that will deliver to the bar.
I might update this first post when I explore Portland beer a bit more. I can already tell Great Notion is a Brewery you're going to want to hit, but I'm not familiar with the Alberta area yet. If I update the post, I'll note it so you know what was updated.
