De Garde is one of the Wildest, Weirdest and Most Wonderful Breweries in the World

114 Ivy Ave., Tillamook, 503-815-1635, degardebrewing.com. 3-7 pm Thursday-Friday, noon-7 pm Saturday, 11 am- 5 pm Sunday.

De Garde is one of the wildest, weirdest and most wonderful breweries in the world. Husband-wife team Trevor and Linsey Rogers scoured the Oregon Coast to find a place with the right mix of ambient yeast strains to feed their spontaneous, open-air fermentation. They landed on a nondescript industrial space behind the Tillamook Air Museum, with plenty of space for the barrels Trevor blends to create his bottles. A steady stream of accolades and hype surrounding de Garde's wild sours, which vary greatly from batch to batch, have turned the place into a destination. In November 2017, the couple closed up the tiny tasting nook next to the brewery and opened a large, dedicated tasting room in downtown Tillamook, where they're planning to move their entire operation. The roomy new space keeps the vibe of the previous one with high ceilings, tall windows, a shiny black floor and shiny black leather-look seating of barstool height but with sculpted seatbacks. The combination of its popularity and the unhurried nature of the brewing process, which often involves an average of 22 months of aging in oak barrels, means you'll never know what to expect on an upcoming visit. You can try six ounces of anything from six taps for $3, or get a 12-ounce pour for $4. While de Garde sticks to a house style, it also has a well-curated selection of guest taps, which might include Block 15's Sticky Hands IPA or a helles from pFriem. Rather than allow its brisk bottle-sale business to clean the brewery out—as of press time, it has three beers listed among the top 250 in the world on BeerAdvocate.com—the Rogers carefully archive and stagger the supply of their most-sought-after releases for on-premises only consumption. A recent trip found a total of 24 bottles on offer, which included a 2014 vintage of their kriek and Bu Weisse, a tart and barely alcoholic Berliner weisse de Garde has been tweaking since 2012.

Nearby: For the freshest seafood in town, head to The Fish Peddler (5150 Hayes Oyster Drive, Bay City, 503-377-2323), which is right next to Pacific Oyster Company. You know you're in the right place when you spot the mountain of shells just off US Highway 101. Start with oyster shooters featuring a dab of sinus-clearing horseradish and squeeze of lemon. If you're there before noon, you can watch workers shuck with amazing speed through a glass wall.