Where to Pub Crawl in the Vancouver Area, the Land of Aged Ales, Clean Lagers and Giant IPAs

You'll find two amazing former Oregon-based brewers who've hopped the river.

(Sage Brown)

54°40' Brewing

3801 S Truman St., No. 1, Washougal, Wash., 360-844-5932, 54-40brewing.com, 11:30 am-9 pm Wednesday- Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday, 11:30 am-8 pm Sunday. 

Few breweries transform as dramatically from exterior to interior as Washougal's 54°40'. Copious natural light, high wooden walls and a cozy stone-faced fireplace make the inner sanctum of this riverside pub feel more like an Aspen ski lodge than the taupe-colored parking lot partner of a Fastenal store in an industrial neighborhood. Such keen attention to inner experience is equally apparent in the beers, which range from gorgeously transparent German-style pours like Lager Von Shoug—a floral, 4.5 percent ABV beer so easy to down after a walk along the river that it could come exclusively in 2-liter boots—to innovative dark ales like the deep brown 1862 Mexican Porter, which resembles a truffle with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg inside its dark chocolate shell. Food offerings like Wisconsin white cheddar poutine ($10) and a Texas toast grilled cheese with bacon ($10), plus a full kids' menu round out the whole cozy experience, warming both your belly and your heart by the fire. PARKER HALL.

Eat this: There's nothing like fries, gravy and Wisconsin cheese curds to pair with a freshly poured pint, but the overall pub menu, which ranges from burgers to a quinoa pesto and baby kale salad, should offer something for everyone.

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

1834 Main St., Washougal, Wash., 360-335-1008, farmhousebeer.com, 11 am-9 pm Tuesday-Saturday.

After years of publess existence in a red barn outside Hood River (and an all-too-brief stint with a taproom in its downtown area), the acclaimed yeast wranglers at Logsdon Farmhouse Ales finally have a brewpub in Washougal. Brewer Shilpi Halemane and the Logsdon team split the bright wooden space with Alex Smokehouse, where you can now get a wide assortment of blended sour ales and other microbe-powered pours to pair with slow-smoked meats of all shades. Halemane continues Logsdon's tradition of making world-class sour ales like the Continental—a spontaneously fermented, cognac cask-aged sour with notes of lemon and oak—but also does very well on the clean side, with the Hell and Oates kellerbier ranking as one of the cleanest, most delightful lagers I've had all year. And seemingly regardless of what you order, it will pour with a gorgeous frothy head and teeny tiny bubbles, a perfectly civilized complement to whatever smoke ring dirties your fingers. PARKER HALL.

Eat this: Alex Smokehouse (alexsmokehouse.com) offers a wide assortment of sandwiches and smoked meats. Pick whatever the bartender recommends that day, and finish up with some apple crisp à la mode ($7).

Grains of Wrath Brewing

230 NE 5th Ave., Camas, Wash., 360-210-5717, gowbeer.com, 11 am-10 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday, 11 am-9 pm Sunday.

Brewer Mike Hunsaker has continuously transformed our expectations of the finest hoppy ales since moving to the Northwest in 2014, first as the hotshot brewer at the Pearl District's since-rebranded Fat Head's brewery (page 21), and now at—of all places—this heavily remodeled auto parts store in Camas. From the dry, mint-kissed overtones of the Overkill to hazy and imperial Onslaught, the big brick building a stone's throw from this mill town's paper plant offers a wide assortment of the best IPAs we've tasted in recent memory. But not just the hops are worth trying: Hunsaker and his team have one of the breadiest and brightest German-style Kölsches we've ever tasted, and he's also turned out a weizenbock that melts in your mouth like bananas Foster. All that, plus a gastropub-level menu with delicate fatty bone marrow poutine and three distinct takes on the fried chicken sandwich, and you might find yourself in Camas more often. PARKER HALL.

Eat this: There's very little you won't want to try on the pub menu, which ranges from classic burgers to a delicious braised pork belly bowl ($10) with crispy, lime-soaked rice.

Mt. Tabor Brewing

3600 NW 119th St., Vancouver, Wash., 360-696-5521, mttaborbrewing.com, 3-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 3 pm-10 pm Friday, 11 am-10 pm Saturday, 11 am-9 pm Sunday; 124 SE 11th Ave., 3-9 pm Friday.

With a seldom-open taproom on Southeast 11th Avenue and a pub in north Vancouver, you won't snag a view of Mount Tabor at the brewery bearing its name, but you will find classic-style pours that recall your favorite liquid landmarks. Crystal-clear lagers, bright and balanced IPAs, and a spicy American stout were all well-executed on our trip to its wood-fired pizza pub, where big windows and a bright family atmosphere illuminate your pints at a long and conversation-friendly bar. In fact if your find yourself this far north, there's probably not a better American pale than the stone fruit and citrus-kissed Powell Butte ale between here and Seattle. It might be in the wrong neighborhood, but if you find yourself nearby, it's well worth a stop. PARKER HALL.

Eat this: Any of the wood-fired pizzas ($14-$24), which come topped with everything from beer-braised pork belly to housemade Italian sausage.

Loowit Brewing

507 Columbia St., Vancouver, Wash., 360-566-2323, loowitbrewing.com, 11 am-10 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday.

Loowit appeals to activity-minded adults and children alike inside its cozy downtown Vancouver pub, offering an assortment of classic arcade cabinets, two dart boards and even a spinning rack of comic books to keep your eyes—or your kiddos'—off the smartphone between pints. But make no mistake, there's also a lot to capture your attention in the glass: From the crisp and clear Loowit Lager to the crushable, 4.3 percent ABV Iron Rabbit hazy IPA, the beers are clean and intelligently balanced, with classic influences apparent, but leaning heavily on modern flavors and techniques. The dark beers, which have won Loowit medals at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival, respectively, are particularly well-thought-out, every one offering varying amounts of fruity and consonant layers of vanilla, cinnamon and dark chocolate roast that recall the finest cups of joe in Stumptown. PARKER HALL.

Eat this: The full menu at Loowit offers fairly typical pub choices, but if there's a better lunchtime food and beer pairing than a pint of porter and a freshly pressed beer-braised pork Cubano ($11), I've yet to hear about it.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.