Portland Brewing

By Pete Dunlop

2730 NW 31st Ave., 228-5269, portlandbrewing.com. 11 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday, noon-10 pm Saturday, noon-9 pm Sunday.

Portland Brewing is one of the city's founding breweries, along with BridgePort, Widmer and McMenamins. The brewery opened 30 years ago on Northwest Flanders Street and moved to industrial Northwest in 1993. In 2004, Portland Brewing was sold to Pyramid, which changed the name to MacTarnahan's, a moniker that stuck until 2013. Pyramid was then purchased by Magic Hat in 2008. Then Magic Hat was purchased by North American Breweries in 2010. Finally, the whole consortium was acquired by Costa Rica-based Florida Ice and Farm Company in 2012. All those ownership changes have been a drag on brewing creativity. In an effort to reverse the momentum, the company hired Rob Rentsch, most recently director of brand marketing at the Craft Brew Alliance. Rentsch is committed to rejuvenating the Portland Brewing brand. Part of his plan is a specialty program expected to put Portland Brewing brews back on the radar screens of beer fans. The results aren't yet plain and probably won't be for a while. For now, the pub remains a comfortable destination with a good menu. The beer list doesn't match up well with most brewpubs here, but look for changes in 2016.

Pete Dunlop Pete Dunlop

Drink This: The flagship, MacTarnahan's Amber Ale, has been a favorite for years and will please many. BlackWatch Cream Porter is perfect for a gloomy winter day.

Willamette Week

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Pete Dunlop

Pete Dunlop

Pete Dunlop is a Portland-based writer and the author of "Portland Beer: Crafting the Road to Beervana." He has written about beer for local and national publications.

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