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Apex
1216 SE Division St., 273-9227, apexbar.com.
Apex has reverse seasonal affective disorder. In the winter, it's casually convivial, with friendly bartenders and an extraordinary number of taps. But when the sun comes out and the entire nation of Canada appears at the city's most famous beer patio. Then it becomes a famously surly place, refusing even to look at the dude in an LSU cap trying to pay with a card.
White Owl Social Club
1305 SE 8th Ave., 236-9672, whiteowlsocialclub.com.
A mullet of a bar, White Owl Social Club keeps the business in front and the parties out back on a huge-ass patio that is a sea of picnic tables leading up the steps to an always-occupied set of benches around a fire pit. It's tented in the winter and stays busy with weekend events.
Altabira
1021 NE Grand Ave., 963-3600, altabira.com.
No longer do eastsiders stay in a humble Red Lion and order the "pork parfait" at Windows Skyroom and Lounge. Today's consumers have Hotel Eastlund ("the finest luxury boutique hotel in downtown Portland's thriving Eastside"), topped by a beery pub called Altabira. The whole place feels like a patio, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls facing west, toward what we used to call downtown. The actual patio has modernist steel furniture and a killer view.
Prost
4237 N Mississippi Ave., 954-2674, prostportland.com.
It's a little bro-y, sure. It's also the closest thing the city has to a German biergarten, because all the bier comes from the old country and because the malt-fueled vibe is happy and loud.
The Hop & Vine
1914 N Killingsworth St., 954-3322, thehopandvine.com.
All your friends in NoPo are in love with this place. Ask why twice, and you'll end up with the famous burger on the picnic tables out back. The selection is idiosyncratic compared to nearby Saraveza, but the back patio is lively and inviting.
Bottles NW
5015 NE Fremont St., 287-7022, bottlesnw.com.
Hanging out at Bottles is a little like going to your cousin's cabin. There's a small game room with cartridges strewn around that you're welcome to use but never do, a spacious backyard with picnic tables, a dude making ribs out front, Ninkasi in the fridge and some beers you've never thought to try—like Three Creeks taking over three of eight taps—that he keeps telling you are the best.
Steinhaus
2366 SE 82nd Ave., 954-1797, facebook.com/steinhauspdx.
You say patio; we say smoking porch. Steinhaus is like Roscoe's country cousin, but with a focus on German brews like a smoky Aecht Schlenkerla or seasonal Ayinger. The covered patio is a beauty, like one of those tucked-away beer gardens that dot Bavarian cities.
Hawthorne Hophouse
4111 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 477-9619, oregonhophouse.com.
Both this upper-Hawthorne spot and its sister in Irvington are neighborhood pubs. The Hawthorne patio is small but inviting, and populist draft lists lean hard toward cider and IPA. It's warm, bright and family-heavy by day. But on weekend nights Hophouse also stays open an hour after nearby Belmont Station.
Willamette Week