Portland has over 70 breweries under it and features its top breweries in Portland competitions. If you wish to find the best breweries in Portland, you will have to do a lot of hard work, as there is no shortage of great breweries in Portland.
You will get a handful of breweries to choose from. Portland is far beyond a perfect place. Some gossip even concludes that Portland is now the most-used brewery in Oregon. Not only this, but Portland is now the epicenter of the craft brew community.
Portland holds the record for standing among the world’s best beer cities. Looking at most beer breweries in Portland, you will find that all the breweries have few drinks in common.
The best breweries in Portland include lagers, IPAs, barrel-aged beers, farmhouses, and sours. You will find the best brewery on every corner of Portland, Oregon.
This article will also look at the great breweries in Portland where you can taste their awesome beers.
Guide To Best Breweries in Portland
In the past few years, the old cities have crossed the count of breweries in Portland. However, even decades since the initial craft beer was served, Portland has been the best city to serve world-class beer. Also, the city has recently been surrounded by numerous local farmlands that produce beer with tons of ingredients.
Oregon state is mainly known for its beer production, and it is also the leader of the cannabis revolution. The breweries in Portland have world-class workers who have high-class knowledge about brewing methods and perform experiments with the wine grapes.
Most of the best breweries in Portland are ancient breweries. The Portland Brewin Co., Horse Brass Pub, and Widmer Brothers are still around to serve the locals and the tourists with their crafted beers and other wines.
1. Breakside
This brewery is almost a decade old and is one of the major Portland institutions. It offers a wide range of beers, and its brews have different but good tastes. Breakside Brewery is known to dominate the North American Beer Award. They have won various categories and were crowned with the Oregon Beer Award of the Year in 2019.
Breakside is also known to make some of the best IPAs of other breweries in Portland. In this brewery, the team brewing the beers consists of three women. They look after every operation and the development of the beer.
2. Gigantic Brewing
This brewery is one of the epic breweries in Portland. They have been serving the best beer for years, and this is the perfect place for a reunion with your school friends.
Gigantic Brewing comes up with a very interesting brewing list, and the best beer to order here is the IPAs. The staff here are also very friendly and always available at your service.
Gigantic beer taste does not disappoint your taste buds; their seasonal beers will surely move you. Only a few breweries in Portland brewing history can compete with its hazy IPA.
3. Ex Novo Brewing Company
The Ex Novo Brewing Co. has been in Portland since 2014, and this is one of the best breweries in Portland. However, this brewing had a very noble cause regarding serving the beers. This novel took them away from the best brewery competition.
The Ex Novo Brewing Company used its business to serve the community. They are known to donate the total profit to the organization, which is working hard to make the world a better place.
Soon after they launched their first brewery, they also found a second one. Their second brewery is in Beaverton, and they have donated more than $100,000 to the community.
Not to mention, here in this brewery, you will find the deep dish pies churning, which are the best in Portland. If you visit this place, then you should give it a try.
4. Great Notion
The Great Notion Brewery also stands among the innovative beer companies in Portland. They make unique beers from local peaches or other ingredients, such as pandan leaves or cereal.
Not only this, but the brewery is famous for its local fruit beers, stouts, sour beer, and, most importantly, IPAs.
The Great Notion brewery team previously was a part of the Pacific Northwesterners. They specialized in making New England IPA style launched in Vermont breweries.
You also find tasty staples here, including double stacks, blueberry muffins, and other things. But the best you can order is the JS DIPA, fruited mochi milkshake IPA, originally fermented with rice and lactose.
5. Little Beast Brewing
This brewery can be nominated for the prettiest brewery award. The beers in this brewery are not only good, but they also have a rich history. The co-founder of Little Beast Brewing, Charles Porter, is quite familiar among Portland locals as the craft-beer rock star.
Before opening his brewery, he worked for twenty years with Deschutes Brewery, Full Sail Brewing, and Logsdon Farmhouse Ales.
The people of Portland have an emotional connection with Little Beast Brewing, and not only this, but they also serve mixed-culture fermented beers. Also, the taphouse of this brewery is very amazing.
Their food menu also perfectly suits their beers. Sipping your beer in front of Little Beast’s Craftsman house is the best thing you can do in the summertime. At other times of the year, you can go to the parlor, which is also very comforting.
6. Culmination Brewing
This brewing company is a favorite of every people living in Portland. It was opened in 2015, and since then, it has been focusing on creating an ideal place for customers to hop in and taste their beers.
In this brewery, you will find top-notch beers. In addition, it also serves a variety of beers ranging from traditional to brews of IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, ambers, pale ales, and barrel-aged sours. If you visit this brewery, you will not be disappointed by its beer list.
7. Cascade Brewing
The Cascade Brewing barrel house was first launched in 1998 and is recalled as one of the oldest breweries in Portland. This brewery has the most on its list; all of its brews are top-notch and original. Their taste in beers will take you back to the ’90s era.
Cascade Brewing is still recognized as this country’s true master of sour beers. You will find bright sours here in Cascade Brewing. In addition, it has won some awards for being a brewery over the years.
So, with all this, you can imagine how great their beer may taste. You will even find the Mirror Pond pale ale here. This brewery has to be on your brewery list when you are visiting Portland.
8. Occidental Brewing Company
This brewing company has also served beers to its customers for over a decade. They have a very well-balanced brew with classical German-style beer. Most brews have a continental style, ensuring its success as one of the best breweries in this capital. You can find this brewery on Baltimore Ave.
The beer from Occidental Brewing Company is worth trying. When you visit this brewery, you will know it is a bit different from others and worth trying. However, you will also be moved by its ambiance. The music played in this brewery is old-school music, which is also great, especially with their beer can collection.
9. Culmination
If you think you have tasted their original beer purchased from some supermarket or bottle shops, then you should know that you haven’t tasted the original brew of this company.
Surely, you will find some of their brews in some supermarkets, but they have more than 20 brews on their tap. Their long list of brews is only possible due to a new system that works within the house.
The culmination is known to go through several processes for making their brews. It includes mashing, lautering, and some other spontaneous fermentation. They have created a brewing system that can simultaneously create different batches of brew with only a single traditional system.
This place has grown its market since its launch in 2015, with all its IPAS, sours, and other rotating beers. Their workers are skilled in this profession and leave no gap in showing off their skills with beers and doing their job perfectly.
10. Ruse Brewing
Ruse Brewing has also emerged as one of the best breweries in Portland over the last few years. The owners of this brewery produce different varieties of IPAs, including hazy IPAs and some other brews.
They even serve some mixed-fermentation beers, ales, stouts, and sours. Their taprooms are in the industrial space made with wood-paneled walls and a small seating area with large-paned windows.
Most Ruse taprooms don’t have a kitchen, so you must bring your food from other Portland restaurants. However, in a few weeks, the Indian restaurant Bhuna produced some tasty foods from the food trucks. Ruse has earned the third position this year in Fort Geroge’s IPA celebration.
11. Other Breweries in Portland
There are plenty of options for you to check out the best breweries in Portland. Portland is quite familiar with holding some world-class breweries.
You can approach any one of the best breweries in Portland and taste their brews. Let us see where you can hop in other commons’ best breweries in Portland, Oregon, other than those mentioned above.
- Von Ebert Brewing
- Wayfinder beer
- Dog Brewing Company
- Double Mountain Brewery
- Upright Brewing (specializes in Belgian beers)
12. The Specialty of Breweries in Portland
Portland has many options to suit your taste buds with the beers. But picking the best breweries in Portland will be a real hassle. However, some criteria exist for choosing certain breweries to rank them at the top.
12.1. Best Quality
Most of the breweries in Portland City have won the accolades award for consecutive years. Some breweries produce beers regularly. However, they put in extra effort when choosing the ingredients and recipes. The locals here love the beers, so the city has grown many breweries over the years.
12.2. Evolution of The Craft Industry
Some craft breweries in Portland are decades old, and most locals still look up to them. However, the breweries in Portland are not stuck to the old experts.
They have taken this field to some different levels. Brewing has become one of the most profitable businesses in Portland.
This city has produced some young craftsmen who surpassed the old legends. The new kids are early adopters and have used the latest methods and styles to bring the blazing beers to their customers.
Final Note
Portland has about 50-60 breweries, which are all top-notch. You can always come up with your friends in any of these breweries. The tasting room will give you the taste of great beer and other best IPAS in the United States.
Portland breweries serve some exceptional beers, which are award-winning brews. You will also find that some of the best breweries have the Oregon Beer Awards or the North American Beer Awards.
Most breweries in Portland have hazy IPAs. The best breweries in Portland even serve wine barrels for non-beer drinkers. However, beer lovers have the best beers and can be ranked top among the local beers.
After reading this article, we hope you have some idea about the best breweries in Portland, the Portland beer scene, the type of brews that can be found in these breweries, and other foods.
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
