Hopworks is an Organic-Obsessed and Kid-Friendly Brewpub in Southeast Portland

A decade in, Hopworks is polished enough that it kinda feels a little like a very chill Buffalo Wild Wings.

(Hopworks Urban Brewery, Henry Cromett)
By Shannon Gormley

2944 SE Powell Blvd., 503-232-4677, hopworksbeer.com. 11 am-11 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-midnight. Hopworks also has a taproom on North Williams and a brewery in Vancouver.

Ask anyone with kids, and they'll tell you they have two favorite brewpubs. One is Laurelwood and the other is this big, bikey, organic-obsessed restaurant on Southeast Powell, which has a huge play area stocked with toys and games. A decade in, Hopworks is polished enough that it kinda feels a little like a very chill Buffalo Wild Wings, with leather booths and large laminated menus that enumerate the many available types of burger and pizza. Hopworks was an early local champion of the craft lager, its Pilsner nicely washes down a heaping pile of its decadent poutine. Long Root Ale, a collaboration with sustainable outdoor clothing-maker Patagonia, is a mildly hoppy pale ale made with Kernza, which is like wheat, but which has long roots that naturally aerate the soil, sequestering carbon and restoring the natural balance of microflora. Their IPA is now a classic, as is their hoppy winter ale, Abominable. The Vancouver location (17707 SE Mill Plain Blvd.), which has two floors and is huge and wildly busy—people in the burbs have kids, and no Laurelwood.

Nearby: This stretch of Powell feels like a cultural dead zone, but, if you head nine blocks north, you'll be standing at the Pok Pok hostess station, in the heart of Division Street.

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