Portlandia

Lucky Labrador Brewing

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We visited the Lucky Labrador’s Hawthorne location which is their brewpub and one of the four locations in Portland. We met with Hanna who was very nice. She spent a bit of time in our awesome town of Asheville, NC and said she loved it! (Who doesn’t!)

We enjoyed the Super Dog IPA, the Bavarian Crystal Weizen, and the Stump Town Cask Porter.

Basecamp Brewing

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We popped into Basecamp on a super hot Monday in July.  It was happy hour all day.  They sell their beer in aluminum bottles and growlers.  They had a cool, modern and open atmosphere. The perfect place to chat about camping, mountain biking, climbing and outdoor activities.  We met with Andrea and dropped off some hand crafted, American made can huggers. Outside we met Cindy and Dave who were tasting 10 different Basecamp beers.  The India Pale Lager was a crowd favorite, with the NW Fest a close second.

 

Hood River Tuesday

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On Tuesday, I made another trip out to Hood River to visit Full Sail Brewing, one of the regions largest breweries. It’s one of the few breweries that distributes all the way to the East coast.  I enjoyed getting to see how big their operation is. Surprisingly, I drank no beer at their brewery, but had a good business meeting in their corporate office, showing off our custom made craft beer products. They placed their order this week! We are so stoked to represent FullSail!

 Everybody’s Brewing

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Next, I paid the 1 dollar toll to cross over the bridge into White Salmon to visit Everybody’s, Brewing which “everybody” recommended we visit.  Christine was super nice and allowed me to stop in and steal a few minutes of her time. The brewery is located in downtown White Salmon on the main drag of town. Christine’s husband, Doug, is the brewer. He makes some deliciously drinkable beers! I enjoyed their seasonal Indian session ale, appropriately named Little Sister. It was a great summer beer with just the right amount of citrus twist. The food was an additional highlight.  I ate a Cuban sandwich that was the best meal that I have had this trip!! This small brewery had 3 IPA’s on tap and is definitely a local up and coming favorite brewery.  Christine tells me that they are getting ready to start canning their beer, so keep an eye out for Everybody’s brews in grocery store shelves soon.

 

Fire on the Mountain Hot Wings and Craft Beer

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This is a very family friendly place with nice atmosphere and outdoor seating. They have a small brew house and had five beers on tap when we visited. I enjoyed the Wondering Rye and sampled a few of there other flagship beers. Hootie, one of the managers, stopped by to fill our water glasses and commented on the nice leather beer sleeves.  This sparked a conversation about Oowee Products. We connected with Hootie, a super cool ex-raft guide, through stories of Asheville, North Carolina and Panic shows. He also reminisced about time he spent rafting on Asheville’s French Broad River! Fire on the Mountain is a great place to drink a great craft beer and eat some hot chicken with friends and family.

 

Hopworks Urban Brewery

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The first thing you notice is the bike themed designs throughout, including Chris King’s headset components being used as tap handles.  HUB has a very intelligent layout. It’s a clean, modern facility with a unique design. It’s a well thought out brewhouse that includes special touches such as children’s steps in the bathroom. The minute details in their brewery process make their craft beer extra tasty.  All the employees seemed stoked to be there and took pride in their work.  Jamie gave an awesome tour, explaining every process in detail.  We saw the brew process from start to finish, including the canning system, which ex-rays each can and kicks out the defects.  Anyone who is a cyclist is going to love HUB.  It is obviously an epicenter of the bike culture in Portland.

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Mash Tun Brewery

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After a failed attempt to visit Gigantic, we drove to the trendy Alberta neighborhood to visit Mash Tun Brewery.  A small, hard to find, local spot which is somewhat hidden behind the very popular Pine Street Biscuits.  We only had a chance to pop in for a few minutes, but they had a great stout.  Definitely ask a local to point you in the direction of this cool spot, being that you cannot see it from the road and there is not a sign. Very cool outdoor patio and great vibe.  Check it out!