Beer Guide 2014

Get your fill.

Pfriem Family Brewers

Behind a fleabag motel on the eastern outskirts of Gresham, you’ll find it: the mythical tobacco store with a growler filling station.

There, surrounded by Donettes and Romeo y Julieta cigars, hangs an impressive line of tap handles, including Worthy's Imperial IPA, Base Camp's S'More Stout, an apricot cider from Bend and an India pale lager from San Diego.

Gresham Tobacco Outlet will fill your 64-ounce brown glass jug for $9—a buck less than at one of several bodegas offering fills just off Hawthorne. "We can't seem to get them to send us RPM anymore," the clerk says of the Boneyard IPA that lands at No. 3 in our top 10 beers of the year. "But we keep trying."

Amazing bodega beers were just one of the many odd and inspiring discoveries we made while compiling this guide to every brewery and cidery within an hour's drive of downtown Portland. Everyone knows Portland loves beer, but it's never so clear as when you're just north of the MAX line's last stop, standing behind a couple in matching camouflage caps as they debate a $50 investment in the Portland-made Bräuler.

Along the way, I realized there's something special about Portland's relationship with growlers. Sure, they're both the least expensive and the most environmentally friendly packaging. But it's more than that. Portlanders love growlers because they're big and perishable. In other words, because they're meant to be shared.

I'm constantly amazed by Brewvana's sense of community. About crackerjack brewers from Kells and Pints meeting to sniff new coffee beers out of Mason jars at the Lucky Labrador. Or a Montavilla neighborhood house party where Ben Edmunds of Breakside splits a five-year vertical of Bell's Expedition Stout with the Wildwood chef who built an outstanding beer program at an old-school restaurant on Northwest 21st Avenue. Or the legendary John Harris of Ecliptic showing up to watch pinot noir crushed at an urban winery near his home.

Each time, I was surprised to see them. But I shouldn't be. Portland brewers get around. The secret ingredient in our beer isn't our soft water or farm-fresh hops, it's all those thoughtful sips and heated debates held over shared growlers.

Here, you'll find a guide to getting your fill, starting with our picks for the best beers of the year and continuing though a dozen local cideries. Hopefully, this guide will stay with you for a year, serving you well wherever you find yourself with an empty jug and a long list of options.


Portland-Area Breweries from A to Z | Beer of the Year | Favorite Beers #2-10

Portland-Area Cideries | Top 5 Ciders of the Year Beer Bars and Bottle Shops

Local Growler Makers | Surprising Growler Fills | Homebrew Shops

Restaurants With Great Beer | Local Beer and Liquor Pairings

An Oral History of BridgePort IPA | Beer Events Calendar | Beer Tours

Day Sips: North Oregon CoastHood RiverEugeneSeattle


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WWeek 2015

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