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Bailey's Taproom to Mary's Club: 85 feet
Bailey's, 213 SW Broadway, 295-1004, baileystaproom.com.
Bailey's is perhaps the best beer bar in Portland—and also one of the most crowded. Downstairs, the bar is packed with techbros and out-of-towners, many of whom will join you at Mary's. Above the fray, the Upper Lip is a hidden second-floor event space now open as a bar and featuring six well-chosen taps and a massive case of bottles ranging from Belgians to small-batch bourbon stouts.
Hopworks Urban Brewery to Safari: 177 feet
Hopworks, 2944 SE Powell Blvd., 232-4677, hopworksbeer.com.
Hopworks provides a welcoming place for desk jockeys and parents S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G out dirty words in front of their children. Along with grilled cheese sandwiches and coloring-book menus, they have all the standbys (lager, stout, IPA, ESB), plus a few odder Belgians for the "beer guy" in the group (Abbey, Apple, Tripel). There's a very different vibe next door.
Cascade Brewing Barrel House to Sassy's: 377 feet
Cascade, 939 SE Belmont St., 265-8603, cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com.
It's amazing how fast you can burn through cash at a place like this. Sure, it's only $1 or $2 at a time—but it goes so quickly! Before long, you've spent the night's budget on wee glasses of beer before you even meet the doorman at Sassy's. This world-famous beermaker specializes in odd sours you won't find elsewhere (Concord grape, wolfberry, honey habanero, ginger snaps). Delicious, exciting and fresh—but not cheap.
N.W.I.P.A. to Devils Point: 3,168 feet
N.W.I.P.A., 6350 SE Foster Road, 971-279-5876, nwipapdx.com.
In the changing FoPo neighborhood, where Infowars bumper stickers and theaters full of furry-booted ravers are giving way to board-game shops and mussel plates, this self-consciously rough-edged taproom beckons with resin sculptures of mounted deer heads, hardwood floors and a bar lined with books about beer. They keep it gangsta with at least one IPA.
Lompoc Tavern to Nicolai Street Clubhouse: 2,640 feet
Lompoc, 1620 NW 23rd Ave., 894-9374, lompocbrewing.com.
Two decades ago, this was the site of the original Lompoc Brewing, which began as a moss-covered shanty later demolished to make room for the tony condo complex (French food! froyo!) now here. The condo developer reabsorbed Lompoc as a neat little nook on its ground floor. Things are very different at the Clubhouse, an Old Portland longshoremen's bar that happens to have naked ladies.
Burnside Brewing to Union Jack's: 528 feet
Burnside Brewing, 701 E Burnside St., 946-8151, burnsidebrewco.com.
This food-focused brewpub really does have a beer for everyone. In the mood for something easy-sippin'? Try the Lime Kölsch, the smooth oatmeal pale ale with locally rolled oats or the Hasselhofbrau lager. Want something a little edgier? Try Sweet Heat, a wheat beer with apricots and Scotch bonnet peppers.
WWeek 2015