The Five Best Breweries and Bars in Portland for Beer Lovers

Portland is a city for beer lovers, full stop. The leading pioneer of the craft brew movement since the early ‘80s and now home to more breweries than any other city, it’s no surprise than American beer aficionados never miss a chance to take the pilgrimage to Portland. However, with so much variety, it’s hard to narrow down the beer destinations – that’s why Hopper’s here to tell you where to go! For the most Portland experiences, we’ve got bars brimming with beer bars with Brits, bars with bites, bars for your beagle friends, bars with bikes and even bars on bikes. Start booking that travel ticket now – beer lovers, you’re about to get hopped up, Portland-style.

Hopworks Urban Brewery has your gluten-free beer and tofu banh mi at the ready

Hopworks Beer is a local craft beer brewery that operates both an Urban Brewery and a Bikebar. Their buildings are sustainably built, entirely powered on renewable energy and are very family friendly. The beer is, of course, organic. Try unique pub plates like the tofu po’ boy, tofu banh mi, Hopyard black bean burger, bomber BBQ bacon sandwich, all with the option of swapping the bun for a gluten-free alternative. For a truly Portland experience, their BikeBar, located in the ecoFLATS Building just off the North Williams bike-highway features 75 bike parking spaces, bike tools for a quick repair, bike-friendly take-out specials and exercycles that help power the operation.

Beautiful beer made with hyperlocal ingredients at Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company

This local family owned and operated brewery in the Industrial District has a huge following of beer critics and avid drinkers for a reason. Willing to experiment in small batches, some of their beers are created from historic beer styles, or play around with the barrel aging process, or are bottle-conditioned which allows the beer to mature in the bottle over several years. As an added bonus, 99% of their ingredients are sourced within a 350 mile radius of the giant space and the ingredients after brewing are given to a local farmer as animal feed. The best business is one that gives back to the city, considers its sustainability and factors these limitations into producing great, stand-out beer.

The Horse Brass Pub has all their taps clean for a right experimenter

This humble English-style pub in SE Portland has been pouring proper Imperial pints since 1975 and in this time, they’ve built quite a reputation for themselves. Closer to a German beerhall than the British pub they disguise themselves as, the Horse Brass offers over 50 beers on tap at any given moment and tons of bottles, most of which pay respect to local Oregon brewers, many cask-conditioned, as well as hand-picked imports. Their devotion to the craft has been recognized by magazines all over the country, topping Esquire’s list for Best Bar in America in 2011 and collecting TV spots with the Food Network. In Portland and want to try some new beer? There’s only one place to go.

Never leave your dog in the car – take them to the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub instead!

For a taste of the local brew scene and dog friendly patios, the Lucky Lab Brewing Company is the go-to bar. Their little neighborhood brewery has expanded into four locations all over Portland, with two of the locations doing their own brewing, using a sustainable solar-powered hot water system. Never shy to experiment, their results span from Bavarian Crystal Weizen beer, strong tripels, classic stouts, IPAs, Pale Ales, Chocolate Stouts and many, many more varietals. Providing strong and always reliable beer and homey digs decked out in dog-loving art and a rustic vibe, the Lucky Lab caters to some lucky beer drinkers.

Bikes and beer, in perfect harmony at BrewCycle Portland

The coolest way to take in some Portland sun and different local brewers is by going on a ride with BrewCycle, Portland. It’s probably the most Portland way to take on the beer scene – it’s bike-centric, brewcentric and quirky as the city. The tour sets its visitors on a bicycle built for 15 with a rocking soundsystem and enough non-alcoholic beverages to keep its riders hydrated (after all, it’s still a biking workout). The tour stops at 5 or 6 different breweries, including Bridgeport, Lucky Lab and Deschutes, and visitors get hop off and grab a pint or a taster before hopping back on the bike and pedaling to the next destination. Visitors to Portland in a group can really cram it all in and then go back to their favorites for another round after!