One Craft-Beer-Filled Afternoon In Portland

A Perfect Day for a Brewery Tour

So. You only have like a good 6 hours or so in Portland and you want to optimize your time and hit up as many great Breweries as possible here in the city?

Guess what.

That's exactly what I am going to be talking about today. Woo! Lucky you.

Another note: All the places in this article can be walked to. No need to Bike… no need for an Uber. This is a HUGE point at least for me. Especially if you are trying to optimize how many places you can hit in a day while trying some tasty beverages.

THE AREA: East Portland/Belmont area by the Willamette River.

I would highly recommend starting off at Hair of the Dog. This brewery started back in 1993 and is one of the oldest breweries in Portland. You can trust me when I say this - they got the pedigree and the knowledge - and it shows. Absolute TRUE great examples of classic beers. These guys have dialed in the brewing process and it's impressive. Stick around and do a Flight and you can do no wrong. YOU GOTTA try the Adam though. There’s a good variety of that but I am always the proponent of asking the bartender which version they would recommend if one doesn’t jump out at you. This is as classic a Portland Craft Beer scene as you can get nowadays. I love this place.

I love these fancy taster glasses they have.

Quick Break from our regularly scheduled programming…

If you want some amazing food in this area you should really check out Olympia Provisions. I only go here on special occasions or when Friends/Family come into town because this is my happy place when it comes to food in Portland. I also know that I’m always going to have an amazing time. They do amazing charcuterie and the quality of their dishes is OH SO GOOD. Map link.

Who doesn’t love Charcuterie?

If you do go to Olympia Provisions… it's probably best if you then proceed to Wayfinder Brewing. It's only two blocks north and if you are in the area… you just might as well. Wayfinder really puts on a great show with its Lagers and Pilsners. Do not let me dissuade you from trying any of their other beers… because everything I’ve had is tasty. I’m just letting you know their beers are extremely quaffable. Map Link.

Wayfinder has an excellent patio to sip on those Lagers

And now… back to our regularly scheduled programming…

This next stop is a toss up between Cascade & Modern Times. It really all depends on how you feel. I’ve done this route with multiple friends before and for this part - I’ve really done it both ways.

The Question that will solve this for you is this one… Do you want Sours now… or later?

I’m always a Sour guy and so I tend to favor them first… but everyone is different.

Cascade Brewing is extremely notable for their Sour beer program and if you like Sours… you will LOVE this place and probably already know about them. They were started in 1998 after all. It's not that hard to find their beers around the country or shoot… even in Rome. This makes them amazing and really opens up great Sours for the masses. Their menu can sometimes be overwhelming because they have soo many great beers on to try. If you do need a recommendation for where to start… I would highly recommend any that are Peaches & Nectarines based. They have always blown me away. Map Link.

Cascade is such a fun place. The Sours are incredible.

Just down the road from Cascade is Modern Times Brewing. While this brewery’s headquarters are in San Diego… you can not deny that they rock and roll when you taste their beer. Modern Times makes extremely good beer. This Belmont Fermentorium is funky and fun. When you go on an adventure… like you currently on… don’t you want to head to a place to drink that exudes that fun vibe? Modern Times does that in spades. This place has a massive taplist and I know by now you might be trying to stay away from high ABV beers… but if you see a stout or a barleywine on tap. Please give it a shot. Their barrel aged program is bar none. Map Link.

This could be you!

So… by now you may be done… BUT… if you are down from one more spot. I have it here for you. Loyal Legion. This place has 100 taps! Its even got a Speakeasy for goodness sake. This place has it all. Its got food and if you haven’t been eating while you’ve been doing this journey… you are probably feeling it and should eat. They got some great standard fare. Map Link. Overall… a great closer. You can pick what drink you want to finish off this grand day with and then know with extreme satisfaction… you’ve rocked it. You’ve truly had a slice of the proverbial Portland-Craft-Beer-Scene Pie.

A great place to end your adventure…

Sooo… Congratulations on hitting all those places! I hope my recommendations made your day the best it could possibly be. 

With that… I bid you adieu.

Cheers.