Beer Guide 2015: Best Growler Spots in Portland

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The Big Legrowlski

812 NW Couch St., 206-6481, biglegrowlski.com.

Way out in the Pearl there was this minimalist 15-tap bar…bar I wanna tell ya about, bar by the name of Legrowlski. That's the thematic handle its loving owner gave it, but the space itself never had much use for Lebowskian what-have-you. The Chinatown crowd is not the issue in this little nook—no rich fucks, no fucking strumpets waltzing around—just an Australian guy pouring Boneyard and Barley Brown's.

The Growler Guys

816 SE 8th Ave., Suite 109, 971-255-0715, thegrowlerguys.com.

The Growler Guys know their audience, and give most of their 48 taps to new seasonals and rarities. You can get a pint at the bare-walled, shiny-floored space, but mostly you want a to-go fill topped with CO2. We've had a fill from these Guys stay fresh for two weeks. This mini-chain is based in Bend and gets more central Oregon kegs than its competitors.

Growlers 

3343 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 628-8000, growlers.net.

Portland's first exclusively to-go filling station, this stop on the heart of Hawthorne doesn't do any on-premises glasses but is generous with the plastic taster cups. The list is well-curated, steady and ranges deeply into California and Colorado, two states which produce some great beer that's not always easy to find on tap here in Portland.

The Growlerie

15151 SW Barrows Road, Beaverton, 469-2932, thegrowlerie.com

Located in Portland's fanciest outdoor mall, across the massive parking lot from a Cinetopia and a New Seasons, the 42-tap Growlerie is perfectly decorated for a crowd in jeans and knee-high leather boots. Selection is relatively generic, unless you are into kombucha. But they are one of the very few places to find Tigard's Red Ox brewing on tap, even if they don't use a proper fill hose.

Chill N Fill

5215 N Lombard St., 841-6361, chillnfill.com.

With 29 rotating taps, a thoughtfully curated bottle selection, and a down-to-earth yet modern bar with flat-screens and a friendly vibe, Chill N Fill has become something of an official headquarters for outer-NoPo beer enthusiasts. Suggestions to the lineup are welcome, and the slick digital menu listing current tap selections' info and keg levels is not only available in real time online, but sends followers a tweet every time a new keg is tapped.

NW Growlers

6141 SW Macadam Ave., 245-4509, nwgrowlers.com

If you are headed to Lake Oswego from downtown Portland, you want to bring beer. That hole can be filled at a 32-tap Macadam strip-mall station with a well-tended list of regional favorites such as this year's top-10 pick, Feckin Brewing's Top of the Feckin Mornin', served here on nitro.

WWeek 2015