My wife and I are heading out to Portland and we’ll be staying a couple days @ the Kennedy School and Edgefiled in Troutdale. I’d like to go to the Horse Brass, Laurelwood and HUB while we’re there.
Any can’t miss beer related destinations that I should put on the list?
there is a new brew pub in gresham called 4th street or ave brewing. not too bad. also a little more toward the river outside gresham is an old farm that is converted to a nice restaruant and brew house. cant remember name
I was out at Portland about a month ago now… and had a blast!
I made a side trip to Independance, to check out the Rouge Hop Farms. They were not open on the day I went, but I did get to drive through some hop and barly fields and watched some hops being picked. They are giving tours and you can catch a bus from Portland to the farm, get a tour, and have a “tasting”.
http://www.rogue.com/locations/locations.php
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rogue-Farms-Micro-Hopyard/127864143910739?v=info
I cannot find the link now, but I beleive their schedule was to meet at Rouge in Portland and at 9am the bus would leave to independance. I would E-mail Rouge (through the home page listed above) and they will contanct you in a few days with the details.
Other than that, if you have the chance, go to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. We went on a clear day, and it was breathtaking! The lodge is ineresting, but the view is fantastic!
I enjoued deschutes public house as well.
Also, check out the food carts that are all around downtown. Ther serve fantastic food! (I recommend the polish carts if you are into Polish food)
Have fun, it is a great town!
Excellent choice to stay at McMennamins. I love the Kennedy School, especially the Boiler Room Bar. Laurelwood is also a very good selection out of the many brewpubs available. Bridgeport is also pretty, all remodeled now - check out the restored urinals. Really.
You didn’t say if you’d be driving or spending the whole time in Portland. There’s way too much to see and drink there. Have fun.
Just save your beer drinking for somewhere else that has better beer.
+1 Couldn’t agree more. I believe Hair of the dog will do toursif you call and set something up…
Deschutes Public house NW 11th/Davis is newly remodeled.
Horsebrass is great and you may want to blend a stop at Belmont Station in that excursion…
I would also recommend a stop at the Green Dragon and since you’re there you may want to take a stroll down SE 7th and hit up Roots and/or Lucky Lab.
So much beer in PDX my head might explode!
Yeah, call ahead and do a Hair of the Dog tour. You won’t find many better or more creative beers anywhere.
Does Alan have the new place open yet? I thought there was going to be a pub there?
I didn’t even know there was a new place in the works! Doesn’t look like they’ve moved judging from the website.
There was an article in the Oregonian about it a while back. My mother in law clips beer articles and sends them to me 
Here it is:
Looks like he’s got a while to go before he opens. I’ve tried to tour there twice, both times he had to cancel. But he’s a great guy, if you can arrange a tour I’d definitely go.
Thanks for the info, Tom!
Thanks for all the tips guys!
We’ll be flying into Portland and using public transport until it’s time to head over to Troutdale via rent-a-car.
We had a fantastic time visiting and hope to come back soon!
Yes, the onsite brews @ McMennamins were pretty meh
The bottle selection at the New Seasons Market was nice (didn’t get a chance to pop into Concordia Ale House, across the street)
Deschutes Public House, HUB, Hair of the Dog & Walking Man were all stellar
Big Horse was solid
Horse Brass, Lucky Lab, The Green Dragon, New Old Lompoc, Upright Brewing, Double Mountain, Full Sail, etc were all on the list but will have to wait 'till next time. Too much to do and too little time to fit it all in! All in all, I think we managed to fit 32 different beers into the trip.
Forgot to tell you, apparently it is open. Some friends of mine were there a few weeks ago.
Yes…it’s open 2-8 PM IIRC…this was my favorite beer moment of the trip:
Greg
Blue Dot
Fred
Adam
Doggie Claws
Fred From The Wood
They also feature a guest tap and various vintages of select HOD beers to enjoy onsite only. Regular bottles available to go.
That’s awesome, glad you enjoyed your trip!
Aside from the beers, how did you like the Kennedy School? We’ve stayed there several times and really enjoyed it.
The Kennedy School was great…good access to transportation and in walking distance from the Alberta neighborhood.
Overall, Portland was fantastic; great food, great beer and everyone was friendly. We wound up chatting with people everywhere we went and folks couldn’t have been more helpful and nice.
Yeah, just heard that from a friend in PDX.
If you want a real treat the next time you come to Portland, go to the Racoon Lodge and try their sour beers. Its in the Raleigh Hills neighborhood and their beers are labeled Cascade Brewing. I enjoy it because its so different than all the other places.