Hello,

My husband and I are big fans of microbrew's and brewpubs. We also have friends in Newport OR. So we would like to combine the 2 sometime this fall. I know where to get a listing of brewpubs on the net so I can use that to map out our tour. I suppose we would start out by flying into Portland and renting a car. Any suggestions? Also, is fall a good time of year to visit Oregon? (Our friends have lived there for less than a year and don't know how the fall season is).

Cheers,
Terri

Hi Terri, that sounds like fun! Be sure your list includes the Edgefield in Troutdale (a fun place to stay, so long as you don't mind shared baths--it used to be a poor farm), and the Kennedy School in NE Portland--where you can stay in the former classrooms, complete with blackboards and chalk! Both of these are part of the McMenamins group of brewpubs.

The earlier in the fall you come, the better the weather is likely to be...I'd say through mid-October is a *reasonably* good bet, but you never know...

Hi, Terri,
You bet fall is a good time; of course it depends how late in the fall.

Oregon is an important place for good beer, with lots of beer resources around the state, but you probably already knew that. Your visit sounds great.

I'd start your trip just east of the Portland airport at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale on the Columbia River, at the west end of the Columbia Gorge. It's a facility which includes a brewery, vineyards and a winery, restaurants and a movie theater, along with numerous hotel rooms, dormitory rooms, flower garden, outdoor beer garden, shops, and a lot of cool art on the walls. The facility was the former Multnomah County Poor Farm. On a clear evening in the autumn it's just fine, thank you very much.

There are McMenamins facilities in several Oregon towns (the Kennedy School in Portland is the same idea - pubs, hotel, movie theater, restaurant in a converted elementary school), McMinville, other places. http://www.mcmenamins.com

Cheers yerself.

Thanks Sheri & John for the information. Those places sound like just what we're looking for. John, that web page is great and will be a big help for making our plans. We're thinking of going in September and it sounds like that's a good time to go. We live in Colorado and have a few good brewpubs/breweries here too (although not as many as Oregon) so if you're ever out this way and need advice let me know.

Can't wait to go!

Terri

I used to live in Oregon & my parents used to run a pub and we know many of the microbreweries (and their owners) in the area. In Portland, I would recommend seeing Portland Brewing (McTarnahan's Ale is yummy!), Widmer (yummy Hefeweizen), Full Sail, & Bridgeport (Bridgeport IPA). If you're going to be in Newport, you must check out Rogue Brewery in Newport. If you can make it to Bend in Central Oregon, you should check out Deschutes Brewery. I would use Portland as a base and you could easily make Newport a day trip or an overnight trip. The Oregon climate is very temperate and fall is a good time to go. Just be prepared for rain! Have a great trip!

Kim

Hi Terri, My husband and I are real ale fans who will be visiting your home state of Colorado next month, any recommendations for brewpubs /microbreweries we could visit?

Thanks for the info Kim. Definitely want to go to the Bridgeport brewery. We can get the IPA here in bottles and I would love to try it fresh from the brewery.

Jan, it depends what area you will be visiting. We live in Longmont, which is north of Denver about 30 minutes, and we have a brewery call Left Hand Brewery. Large selection of excellent beers. The brewery has a small tasting room and there is also a bar called Left Hand Tap House in downtown that sells most of their beers. There is one brewpub called The Pumphouse Brewery and we don't really care for there beers. In Denver there are several brewpubs. Wyncoop, Breckenridge brewery, Broadway Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery and the Chop House to name a few good ones downtown. There are several in Ft. Collins (about 1 hour north of Denver), the Coopersmith being our favorite there. Colorado Springs has several good ones (with Phantom Canyon being our fav there) and there are several scattered here and there in the mountains. Oh and of course there is Coors in Golden (haha). Hope this helps. If you need more spefic info just ask. Hope you have a good trip! Terri

Me agagin. How could I forget Boulder? Many Brewpubs there too. Oasis, Mountain Sun and Red Fish (great Belgian style beers) being our favorites there. Cheers! Terri

Many thanks Terri, we will be flying to Denver then travelling on to C.Springs Durango, then a few 'free' days before finishing up in the Rocky Mountains N.P. so we will try and check out a few of your suggestions. Thanks for your help, Jan.