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1. TopWire Hop Project
8668 Crosby Road NE, Woodburn, 503-765-1645, topwirehp.com. 11 am-8 pm Thursday and Sunday, 11 am-9 pm Friday-Saturday.
The average beer nerd can’t score a badge to the Craft Brewers Conference, the brewing industry’s largest annual gathering. But you can get a taste of some of the same beers that will be available to attendees of this year’s event. TopWire Hop Project—the beer garden that opened in the middle of Crosby Hop Farm in 2020—has announced that it will kick off its third season with a selection of special collaboration beers, many that are only available at the 2022 convention in Minneapolis. Even when those kegs have tapped, return for the view of the hop bines, which grow 18 feet tall and surround the space like emerald green curtains.
2. Urdaneta
3033 NE Alberta St., 503-288-1990, urdanetapdx.com. 5-10 pm Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 5-11 pm Friday-Saturday.
If you live by the slogan “Rosé all day,” then you’ll want a standing reservation at Urdaneta this spring. The tapas restaurant just announced its wine of the season is Punctum Petulante Pét Nat—essentially a wilder version of Champagne with a vibrant pink hue, bright berry aroma and red summer fruit notes. Urdaneta’s wine director chose this particular rosé because it pairs perfectly with chef Javier Canteras’ Spanish-inspired dishes, such as burrata drizzled with harissa honey, tortilla de bacalao (confit salt cod), and croquetas de jamon filled with béchamel.
3. Ferment Brewing
403 Portway Ave., Hood River, 541-436-3499, fermentbrewing.com. Noon-9 pm daily.
There are few places more beautiful in Oregon during spring than Hood River when the fruit trees are in full bloom. Make a day trip to the area before the cotton candy-colored canopy disappears, and while you’re there, visit a stunning human-made attraction: Ferment, a two-story, gleaming glass brewery feet from the Columbia River. The business just released four new seasonal beers: Pink Boots Society fundraiser the Brewster’s Pale, Japanese-style lager Hana Pils, Holy Citra IPA, and White River, a limited-edition, wild-fermented saison. Do not leave without a half-liter bottle of the latter.
4. 503 Distilling Lounge
4784 SE 17th Ave., Suite 150, 503-975-5669, 503distilling.com. 3-9 pm Thursday-Saturday, 1-7 pm Sunday.
Portland has a new outlet where you can sample draft cocktails right next door to the source. 503 Distilling recently opened a lounge adjacent to its distillery inside the Iron Fireman Collective building. That’s where you’ll find six rotating cocktails on tap, plus made-to-order mixed drinks, beer and wine. The draft options offer visitors first tastes of some of the newest concoctions coming out of the distillery, acting as something of a laboratory. And once you’ve had your fill of spirits, Ruse Brewing is a short stumble away.
5. The Emerald Room
2117 NE Oregon St., Suite 202, 971-213-1085, aimsiremerald.com. 4-10 pm Wednesday-Saturday.
Portland’s Aimsir Distilling Company just nabbed three awards from the prestigious San Francisco Spirits Competition, so if you haven’t made your way into the brand’s swanky bar the Emerald Room, now you have as good an excuse as any to book a reservation. Be sure to sample the Aimsir Bourbon, its first whiskey that won double gold, and the Cold Brew Bourbon, which took home silver. The latter can be ordered in a boulevardier starting April 20, National Cold Brew Day.