New Analysis Shows that Portland is America's Best City for Locally Made Beer

Forget about lousy school and unaffordable housing, we've got the most breweries.

(Emily Joan Greene)

In these uncertain (and cold) times, it's good to know where your next pint of beer is coming from—and that the pint will be brewed close to your home.

Proximity to good beer remains a major selling point for Portland, even as housing grows less affordable and traffic worsens.

Local economist Joe Cortright used data from Brewerymap.com to examine the prevalence of microbreweries within five miles of the center of the nation's 53 largest metro areas. 

Here's what Cortright found:

"Portland has 89 microbreweries within this 5 mile circle, the highest density of microbreweries of any large city in the United States," he writes. "Denver and Seattle rank second and third, respectively, followed by Chicago and New York.  Virginia Beach and Hartford have the lowest density of microbreweries in their urban cores."

The result is particularly impressive because Cortright simply examined the number of breweries and did not factor in population. Portland's population density is far lower than many of the major metros on the list.

The city—and the state's—best brewers will come together next month in an assemblage of Carhartts, flamboyant facial hair and expansive midsections for the Oregon Beer Awards.

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