Top 10 Places for Good Beer in Portland29 May 2008

If anyone is in Portland for RailsConf/Cabooseconf (or any other reason) and wants somewhere to grab some fantastic local beer, the following is a list of my top picks.

1. The Green Dragon
Lots of fantastic beers on tap, pretty decent food I hear but I have never eaten there.

2. Hopworks Urban Brewery
Serves locally brewed hopworks beer. Have had the beer lots of times, haven’t been out to the actual pub yet but have been meaning to make the trek.

3. Produce Row (no website of their own apparently)
Usually has really good beer on tap and an excellent menu. Good atmosphere as well, across from Tazo so you can often smell them making Tea from the back patio.

4. Baileys Taproom
Twenty taps of fantastic beers (usually including a few burly IPA’s, one Nitro tap, and a couple of barleywines).
Also has an extensive bottle menu and wine I think. No food except Cheese and Chocolate but my favorite place to get a beer in Portland. They also have a blog and are baileystaproom on twitter

5. Amnesia Brewing
Serves their own beer, the Desolation IPA is fantastic. The food selection is rather limited, they just have a grill out front that they throw sausages and a few other things on. I always just get a very tasty braut. They have veggie brauts as well.

6. Lompoc Bars
These guys used to be one of my favorites but I feel like they are rapidly turning into the next McMenamins (Lots of locations, mediocre food, beer not as good as it used to be). Still not bad, I like the original and the 5th quadrant.

7. Bridgeport
The local big brewery in Town. Good beer, good food, fairly upscale setting.

8. Deschutes
Another big brewery located in Bend, OR. Has some good beers and the very new Portland pub is fantastic. The Black Butte Porter is probably Deschutes most famous beer.

9. Pilsner Room
Full Sail brewing is a relatively large brewery in Hood River, OR. Their Portland outpost is the Pilsner Room, on the waterfront. It is the bar attached to McCormicks and Schmicks Harborside restaurant and you can get the full dinner menu in the bar. Many of the specialty beers from Full Sail are brewed right there in the bar.

10. Concordia
An excellent place to grab a beer in Northeast. Haven’t been there myself but I hear the food is really good as well.

Any other favorites that I missed (and yes, McMenamins isn’t on my list, I am not a huge fan, and there is much better beer to be had in Portland- see above).

Update: Two suggestions from Justin Palmer

Life of Riley in the Pearl has good beer selections and good food (Close to Cabooseconf as well).

Laurelwood Brewing has a few Portland Locations and makes their own beer. The Pizza place in the Hollywood District is “Family Friendly” (aka over run with kids) but the one on 23rd is much better from what I have heard.