Housed in a Large Converted Barn, Grain Station Brew Works Serves Great Beer From the Outskirts of McMinnville

755 NE Alpine Ave. #200, McMinnville, 503-687-2739, grainstation.com. 11:30 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday.

In a state that's packed to the gills with hip, modern pub experiences, it can be too easy to overlook places like McMinnville's Grain Station Brew Works. This beautiful family friendly pub eschews concrete and stainless in favor of wood and copper and serves a wide array of bar food like buffalo wings and sliders. Housed next to a coffee roaster inside of a large old barn on the quickly developing outskirts of town, the brewery offers a wide assortment of very well-crafted beers that closely resemble the food menu: simple, well-made and easily recognizable. This is a place where a burger tastes like a burger. The Pitchfork Pilsner is just what you want it to be—clear, bready and floral. You may find yourself walking out with a satisfied smile on your face, a little nostalgic for another era of craft beer.

Nearby: The tasting room for one of the best distilleries in the state is about a mile away in the middle of downtown. At Ransom Spirits (525 NE 3rd St., McMinnville 503-472-2493, ransomspirits.org), drop $10 for a taster flight that may include single-cask Old Tom gin, insanely good grappa and some insanely good Emerald Irish whiskey.