5201 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., 503-200-5988, otbrewing.com. 11:30 am-10 pm Sunday-Wednesday, 11:30 am-11 pm Thursday-Saturday.
Through a fortuitous series of expansions and talent acquisitions, what was once just a semi-haunted pizza spot in Old Town has grown into an ambitious brand that now includes a massive Valhalla-esque brewpub in the King neighborhood. After expanding across the river in 2011 and losing former brewmaster Bolt Minister to his own 54-40 brewing in 2014, owner Adam Milne found brewmaster Andrew Lamont on probrewer.com and leapt at the chance to bring the former Sam Adams R&D brewer into the fold. Old Town quickly won a Great American Beer Festival medal for Shanghai'd IPA, a dry yet citrus-forward IPA praised for its balance of a heavy hop character and a smooth finish. Since, it's steadily collected a handful of medals for brews like Paulie's Not Irish Red and Sun Dazed Kölsch, both of which pair well with Old Town's pillow-thick pies.
Nearby: A mile to the west you'll find the now-iconic Saraveza (1004 N Killingsworth St., 503-206-4252, saraveza.com), a top-tier beer bar with a Wisconsin accent in the form of housemade Chex mix, fried squeaky cheese and pasties.