Our Favorite Beer Carts

Carts on Foster
5205 SE Foster Road, 503-853-3541, facebook.com/CartsOnFoster
It seems odd now, but beer at carts was once a controversial idea. Carts On Foster owner Steve Woolard fought the city to win the right to sell beer from the little shack at his pod on busy Southeast Foster. He uses his hard-won rights well, buying the kegs himself and strongly favoring obscure, tiny and new breweries.

Hindsight on Belmont
4255 SE Belmont St., 267-474-2022, facebook.com/hindsighttapcart.
Hindsight owner Karyn Wisniewski promises "no crap on tap." That's a good motto considering this cart, in the tiny pod that popped up after the giant pod across the street closed, has just four taps. Usually, it's beer from tiny breweries like 54°40', Ross Island, alongside a couple bottles of wine and $2 cans.

Captured Beer Bus
113 SE 28th Ave., 509-954-2136, capturedbeerbus.com.
In one of Portland's best food hoods, this is not only one of the best cart pod beer lists in town, it's the best beer bar for over a mile in every direction. The nine fast-rotating selections include off-track but often spot-on decisions like Rosenstadt's excellent Vienna Lager, an 11-percent barleywine from Fearless and Upright's Supercool IPA. Tack on a fire pit, a roof, live music and some Korean fried chicken from one of the lot's carts, and it's one of the best beer porches in Portland.

Blue Room at Cartlandia
8145 SE 82nd Ave., 503-421-9815, blueroombar.com.
This massive pod in deep Southeast has a panoply of offerings, from fried catfish to Voodoo Doughnuts to Mongolian dumplings. The on-site bar has a full liquor license and makes a stiff hot toddy in addition to pouring pints.

St. Johns Beer Porch
7316 N Lombard St., 503-887-3443, facebook.com/TheStJohnsBeerPorch.
The anchor tenant in St. Johns' popular food cart pod is a ramshackle indoor/outdoor beer bar with a solid rotating taplist and live music. Couches and Christmas lights give it a cozy charm, and it makes for a popular community gathering spot.

Beergarden
777 W 6th Ave., Eugene, 541-505-9432, beergardenme.com.
Eugene's Beergarden is next to a garden center and boasts 42 taps of rotating beer, wine, cider and kombucha. The covered beer garden is surrounded by five of Track Town, U.S.A.'s best food carts and has a bottle selection to boot. It also hosts live music and festivals. If you get there early, there's even a beergarden coffee cart out front.