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Cedar Hills McMenamins
2885 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, 503-641-0151, mcmenamins.com.
Though the newest McMenamins is in a brand-new building, the brothers haven't slacked on their love of history. The Cedar Hills pub pays tribute to this land's former life as an outlaw airfield that once had 40 hangers for amateur pilots. You're always looking up, whether at the huge propeller above the bar, or the steeple-shaped roof made of honey-hued wood. Forty taps are arranged in a circle at the propeller's base. Most are devoted to beer, with 15 pouring brews from various McMenamins.
Yard House
888 SW 5th Ave., 503-222-0147, yardhouse.com.
The most lit happy hour in downtown Portland? That'd be at the local branch of this nationwide chain, which has 130 taps, onion rings and surprisingly good wings. When you have that many beers, not all are going to be great. But every time we've gone, we've been grateful to discover at least one rare offering any beer geek would covet.
Clinton Street Market
3400 SE Clinton St., 503-234-0372.
It looks like a crusty bodega where you buy weird herbal energy pills and off-brand smokes, but Clinton Street Market has adapted to its increasingly bougie neighborhood by also carrying a shockingly large collection of beer, including semi-rare imports and all your favorite locals.
Loyal Legion
710 SE 6th Ave., 503-235-8272, loyallegionpdx.com.
Loyal Legion's 70 to 100 Oregon taps (there are 100, but not all are always in use) make it a killer place for a tap takeover, and they've got the connections to score rare beers that don't get drunk as fast as they do at the nerdier beer bars. But if you have a budget, avoid the sampler tray. Servers have to walk a seeming mile between taps to put one together, and it shows up in the price: You might pay $3 for a 4.5-ounce sample of a pint that costs $6.
John's Marketplace
3535 SW Multnomah Blvd., 503-244-2617, johnsmarketplace.com.
This megastore recently added a tasting counter. It's not much of a bar, but it's a good place to pregame for the search through John's continent-hopping selection of more than 1,000 beers and ciders, including a bunch that've sold out elsewhere.
IBU Public House
4439 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, 971-254-9558, ibupdx.com.
IBU boasts 54 rotating drafts from a two-floor barn-like structure off the highway heading into Beaverton. Its benefits are many, from having its own parking lot, patio, full menu and housemade BBQ to its cozy, warmly lit interior reminiscent of a ski cabin. Soon IBU will add its own in-house brewed beers, too.
Bier Stein
1591 Willamette St., Eugene, 541-485-2437, thebierstein.com.
When it opened in 2005, the Bier Stein was Eugene's first combination beer bar/bottle shop. Today, it sits in a large beer hall with over 1,000 bottles chilled under UV-free LED lighting, plus 30 rotating taps, a full kitchen and regular brewers pairing dinners.
