Beer Guide 2015: Homebrew Shops in Portland and Beyond.

F.H. Steinbart

234 SE 12th Ave., 232-8793, fhsteinbart.com. 8:30 am-6 pm Monday-Wednesday, 8:30 am-7 pm Thursday-Friday, 9 am-4 pm Saturday, 10 am-4 pm Sunday.

F.H. Steinbart is as much a historical landmark as a great inner Southeast homebrew shop. The oldest homebrew shop in the country, founded in 1918, Steinbart is a bit more professionalized than other nerd-run hobby shops, and supplies some of the top homebrewers in the state. It's home base for the famous (and huge) Oregon Brew Crew and hosts myriad homebrew events throughout the year.

Brew Brothers

2020 Aloclek Drive, Suite 107, Hillsboro, 971-222-3434, brewbrothers.biz. 10:30 am-7 pm Monday-Friday, 10 am-5 pm Saturday, noon-5pm Sunday.

Not everyone wants to drive to an industrial park in Hillsboro to buy their supplies. Brew Brothers' malt selection is worth the hike. Stocking several brands of malt from each of the major malting nations (America, England, Germany, Belgium), as well as brands from France and Chile, the Brothers' selection is second to none. The staff stock the kegerator with interesting yeast and hop experiments, so explore the difference between a Citra and a Galaxy blonde from a three-tap kegerator while they collect and mill your malt bill. And if you've made it this far, you might as well stop by the attached Three Mugs Brewing taproom (page 66).

Above the Rest

11945 SW Pacific Highway, Suite 235, Tigard, 968-2736; atr-homebrewing.com. 10:30 am-6:30 pm Tuesday-Friday, 10:30 am-5 pm Saturday.

Above the Rest has two locations, Foster-Powell and Tigard. The Tigard location is on the second story of an oddly barren strip mall off Highway 99W, while the Foster-Powell location is in a small corner shop just off 82nd. They have a better than average assortment of brewing supplies, and both are great if you live nearby and don't need to grab a vial of yeast on Sunday, when they're inexplicably closed.

U-Brew and Pub

6237 SE Milwaukie Ave., 943-2727, portlandubrewandpub.com. 11 am-7 pm Tuesday-Saturday, 9 am-6 pm Sunday.

Sellwood's U-Brew and Pub is education-focused, offering classes with onsite professionals brewing to supply the attached pub, making it a great place to start the hobby. With the pub and a fully stocked homebrew shop, it's not like you need to go anywhere else when you fall down that rabbit hole. U-Brew also hosts a monthly homebrew club, the Portland Brewers Collective, one of the smaller, but livelier, clubs in town.

Homebrew Exchange

6550 N Interstate Ave., 286-0343, homebrewexchange.net. Noon-7 pm Tuesday-Friday, 10 am-4 pm Saturday, 10 am-4 pm Sunday.

Located just past the New Seasons on Interstate, Homebrew Exchange is for the young and flanneled generation of homebrewers. Though offering nothing particularly rare in the ingredients department, it does have almost everything you might need. The exchange also hosts the all-female Lady Brew Portland club and has a falafel cart in the parking lot.

Uptown Market

6620 SW Scholls Ferry Road, 336-4783, uptownmarketpdx.com. 10 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 10 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday, 10 am-7 pm Sunday.

Uptown has an excellent bottle selection, house-brewed beers, and homebrew supplies to boot. That said, the limited selection of brewing ingredients in the corner is best suited for simple American styles and harried mid-brew-day errands. The staff is friendly, and worth a call if you are looking for rare souring yeasts.

Let's Brew

8235 SE Stark St., 256-0205, letsbrew.net. 10 am-6 pm Monday-Friday, 9:30 am-5 pm Saturday.

Like U-Brew, Let's Brew offers the chance to brew your own beer onsite or take a class. With two kitchens (one for all-grain, one for extract) and weekly all-grain classes Saturdays for $40 plus ingredients, Let's Brew is one of the cheaper places to learn brewing. It stocks everything needed to make most styles, but if you're looking to make something special, better head elsewhere.

Bader Beer and Wine Supply

711 Grand Blvd., Vancouver, 360-750-1551, baderbrewing.com. 10 am-6 pm Monday and Wednesday-Friday, 10 am-8 pm Tuesday, 10 am-5 pm Saturday, 11 am-5 pm Sunday.

Despite a great selection and an awesomely organized stock of malts and ingredients color-coded by country of origin, Bader is best-noted for its selection of brewing gear. Pot stills, Blichmann brew pots, stainless conicals, kegging setups and even jockey boxes can be purchased at reasonable prices. If you have a little bit of extra dough and don't want to wait for shipping or to build it yourself, this is the place to go.

MainBrew

23596 NW Clara Lane, Hillsboro, 648-4254, mainbrew.com. 10 am-6 pm Monday-Wednesday, 10 am-8 pm Thursday-Friday, 10 am-6 pm Saturday, 11 am-3 pm Sunday.

Mainbrew is the hop queen to Brew Brothers' malt king. The 4,000-square-foot supply store hosts the best selection of hops in the metro area, and sells an incredible amount of them by the pound. The shop isn't Brothers, but it does have a great selection of malts, and an entrance to the 34-tap ABV Public House next door, making it a good stop if you're searching for inspiration for the next brew or simply want a pre-mash pint.

Bridgeview Beer and Wine Supply

622 Main St., Oregon City, 650-8342, bridgeviewbeerandwine.com. By appointment Monday-Tuesday, 1-6 pm Wednesday-Friday, 11 am-5 pm Saturday, 11 am-4 pm Sunday.

Just around the corner from the famed Oregon City Municipal Elevator, this supply shop has a dusty vibe somewhere between a used-record store and small-town antique shop. Since opening 21 years ago, UC Davis fermentation science grad and owner Larry Medearis has kept the shop stocked with every supply needed to make brew, and even rents out a large stainless kettle for $4 a day. The shop is packed with more than 1,200 different bottles of beer from 30-plus countries, so inspiration is never far.

The Hoppy Brewer

328 N Main Ave., Gresham, 328-8474, oregonshoppyplace.com. 11 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday, 9 am-10 pm Saturday, 11 am-6 pm Sunday.

Gresham's quaint Hoppy Brewer works well for locals looking to brew classic styles and grab a pint from the 28-tap pub before heading home to the kettle. The shop does a good job at selling rare bottles for inspiration, though those looking to brew something crazy might have to venture afar.

Flyboy Brewing

15630 Boones Ferry Road, Suite 1A, Lake Oswego, 908-1281, flyboybeer.com. Noon-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday, 11 am-9 pm Saturday, 2-8 pm Sunday.

Flyboy (see page 49) is more of a growler station and nano-brewery than anything else, but owner Mark Becker does keep the basics on hand for Oswegans looking to brew up a quick batch. The selection isn’t anything to write home about, but homebrew shops in Lake Oswego are otherwise nonexistent, and Mark is doing his best to help a brother out. Try a pint of Flyboy’s own beer and ask Mark for some advice while you’re at it.

WWeek 2015