Craft Brews (or Microbrews)
According to Wikipedia, craft beer generally refers to all-malt beer that is brewed with emphasis on quality rather than mass appeal.
This term has become widely used in the United States to cover many imported beers, microbrews, and some high-quality domestic beers produced in larger quantities. Ideally craft beers are bottle- or cask-conditioned, and thus naturally carbonated by live yeast that continues to ferment in the container. They generally contain fewer adjuncts than mass-produced beers... In the U.S., true cask ales are rare, and craft beers on draft are mainly served from pressurized kegs.
Generally, "all-malt," domestic beers produced using 100 percent malted barley. Craft beers that are not all-malt sometimes substitute a percentage of malted wheat (for wheat beers) or malted rye (for rye beers). Their inspiration can be traced to British, German or Belgian traditions or is often uniquely American. Craft beers range from pale to dark in color and from mild to strong in alcohol content. Sometimes they include unusual ingredients such as fruit, herbs or spices. Compared with other beers, their emphasis is more on flavor, and less on appealing to a mass market. (The best-selling American beers are brewed using 30 to 40 percent rice or corn "adjunct," resulting in a paler, lighter-bodied and lighter-flavored beer).
www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html
The "brands" that we are listing here are ones who have bottles (or cans) in good bottle shops, or are available on tap at better taverns in Portland.
Okay, let's just come out and say it: Portland is a craft-brew-lover's paradise. Good beer is plentiful (and sometimes cheap).
As usual, this list is by no means exhaustive -- I am listing the beers and watering holes that I tend to lean on.
Bridgeport Brewing (Portland)
bottled & on tap
Maker of British style ales like Porter, India Pale Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, Coho Pacific Extra Pale Ale, Pintail Extra Special Bitter, XX Stout, and Old Knucklehead Barley Wine Style Ale.
Deschutes Brewery (Bend)
bottled & on tap
Maker of the popular Black Butte Porter, Mirror Pond Pale, Cascade Golden, Bachelor Bitter, & Obsidian Stout
Full Sail Brewing (Hood River)
bottled & on tap
Maker of Session lager, Amber & Golden ales -- worker owned!
Hair of the Dog Brewing (Portland)
primarily bottled
bottle conditioned Belgian/Northern German style beers like Adam, Golden Rose, and Fred. They make a mean double IPA (Blue Dot)
Domestic Beer of the Year (Adam), 1996, Malt Advocate, and a favorite of beer god Michael Jackson.
Portland Brewery
bottled & on tap
check out their McTarnahan's, Honey Beer or Haystack Black; now part of Pyramid
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September 2, 2005 |
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832 N Beech St (at Mississippi)
(503) 281-7708
googlemap
get there via trimet
brews for their own brewpubs and some kegs for other establishments as well. Their seasonals are especially worth seeking out.
- Desolation IPA
- Dusty Trail Pale
- Slow Train Porter
- ESB
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June 16, 2006 |
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1728 NE 40th Ave
(503) 282-0622
laurelwoodbrewpub.com
googlemap
get there via trimet
Laurelwood produces beer for their own brewpubs and some kegs for other establishments as well. Their seasonals are especially worth seeking out.
What they brew as regulars:
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May 3, 2006 |
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Old Lompoc Brewery produces kegs for its own pubs as well as a few selected taverns:
Breweries are located at the New Old Lompoc and the 5th Quadrant in Portland.
Regular beers include
- Fool's Golden Ale
- Condor Pale Ale
- Centennial IPA
- C-Note Imperial IPA
- Lompoc Strong Draft
- Sockeye Cream Stout
Those last two are almost always on nitro, and there's almost always a seasonal on (though it's my luck to come by when the keg has already blown).
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April 16, 2006 |
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2730 NW 31st
(503) 228-5269
http://www.pyramidbrew.com/beer.php
Produces beer in bottles and kegs. Pyramid bought Portland Brewing in 2004, making Pyramid number three amongst craftbrewers on the West Coast, behind Sierra Nevada Brewing and Redhook Ale Brewery.
Regulars:
- Apricot Weizen
- Hefeweizen
- Amber Weizen
- Macs
- Macs Blackwater Cream Porter
- Thunderhead IPA
Seasonals:
- Curve Ball (Kölsch)
- Oregon Honey Beer
- Snow Cap
At the Taproom only:
- Crystal Weizen
- Draught Pale Ale
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May 7, 2006 |
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1520 S.E. 7th
(503) 235-7668
rootsorganicbrewing.com
googlemap
get there via trimet
find a bike route
Oregon's first and only all-organic brewery. They brew for their own brewpub and produce some kegs for other establishments as well.
- Island Red (Red Stout)
- Pond Turtle Pale Ale
- Woody I.P.A.
- EXXXcalibur Imperial Stout
- Burghead Heather Ale
- English Strong Bitter
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June 16, 2006 |
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929 N Russell
(503) 281-3333
widmer.com
Hefeweizen, Blonde Ale, Widberry, Drop Top Amber, and seasonals like W'06 Northwest Red, Okto oktoberfest beer, and Snowplow Milk Stout
Kurt and Rob Widmer, brewers, owners (Anheuser-Busch is a minority owner)
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March 27, 2006 |
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