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Allegory Brewing
777 NE 4th St., McMinnville, 503-437-9477. 3-8 pm Thursday-Friday, noon-8 pm Saturday, noon-7 pm Sunday.
SOMETHING'S BREWING IN WINE COUNTRY / You'll generally see 10 beers on tap at Allegory, but only two flagships: the German-style Dad Hat Pils and Wheelbarrow of Swords, a West Coast IPA that hops off the hazy train and delivers a powerful mix of floral and citrus flavors. Beyond those, you're likely to find a collaboration-heavy lineup of creative takes on classic styles, like the Traditionally Untraditional—an almost chewy oat dunkel made with Occidental Brewing (page 12). The LED-lit barrel room—equipped with wooden vessels from local wineries, a distillery and the now-shuttered Commons Brewery—is a sign of Allegory's ambitions. On a recent visit, the whiskey barrel-aged Starless Sky was a standout, balancing soft spirit notes with hints of nougat and vanilla. Matt Wastradowski.
Golden Valley Brewery
980 NE 4th St., McMinnville, 503-472-2739, goldenvalleybrewery.com. 11 am-10 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday, 11 am-9 pm Sunday. 1520 NW Bethany Blvd., Beaverton, 503-972-1599. 11 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday.
SURVIVOR: MCMINNVILLE / There's a better than decent chance the brewery that turned you on to craft beer has shuttered in recent years. But Golden Valley has survived the churn, producing one solid beer after another at the eastern edge of downtown McMinnville since 1993. The business also specializes in the styles that you were most likely exposed to early on, changing the way you thought about beer and what it should taste like; the lineup includes a fruity Kölsch, an earthy ESB, and the citrusy Chehalem Mountain IPA that's relatively mild when it comes to bitterness. However, brewmaster Piper Gladwill, formerly of Fort George Brewery (page 46) in Astoria, mixes things up with a variety of sample-worthy limited releases. On a recent visit, the tap list ranged from a creamy, vanilla-tinged eggnog milk stout to a sour aged with Brettanomyces in oak and finished on fresh-picked Willamette Valley raspberries. Closer to town, Golden Valley hosts a second pub just off Highway 26 in Beaverton. Matt Wastradowski.
Grain Station Brew Works
755 NE Alpine Ave., No. 200, McMinnville, 503-687-2739, grainstation.com. 11:30 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday. 220 Pacific Ave. S, Monmouth, 503-838-1730. 6:30 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 6:30 am-9:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 7 am-8:30 pm Sunday.
AGAINST THE GRAIN / The past and present collide inside the rustic Grain Station Brew Works pub in downtown McMinnville, where picnic tables line the renovated timber barn under strands of Edison lights, all within eyesight of a grain elevator and converted warehouses. The backyard barbecue vibe may recall an earlier, more industrial era in McMinnville's history, but Grain Station's beers fit right into the city's modern craft beer scene. A well-rounded tap list showcases a mix of classic styles—the Pitchfork Pilsner earned a gold medal at the 2018 Oregon Beer Awards—and creative specialties like the 15º Dark, a surprising Czech-style lager in which notes of rich caramel blend seamlessly with a full hazelnut body. Grain Station even manages to poke fun at the haze craze with a pair of beers—Hazy Beer Deserves to Die and Long Live Hazy Beer—that deliver, appropriately enough, clashing approaches to the style. Matt Wastradowski.
Heater Allen Brewing
909 NE 10th Ave., McMinnville, 503-472-4898, heaterallen.com. 2-6 pm Friday, noon-6 pm Saturday.
OLD WORLD TRADITION, NEW WORLD FLAVOR / Brewers like to say they enjoy the challenge of making quality lagers: They're difficult to get right and have a limited shelf life, and it's impossible to mask flaws by bombing the batch with more hops or other additives. Having churned out one exceptional lager after another for 13 years and counting, father-daughter team Rick and Lisa Allen continue to produce some of the best in the state. The two have received well-deserved plaudits for both their full-bodied Pils and espresso-tinged Schwarz. But don't miss the Coastal, which the brewery dubs a "Northwest amber lager." The Heater Allen invention delivers a rich, slightly bitter blend of caramel and toffee. Matt Wastradowski.
Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery
30203 NE Benjamin Road, Newberg, 503-487-6873, wolvesandpeople.com. 3-8 pm Thursday-Friday, noon-8 pm Saturday, noon-7 pm Sunday.
HOMEGROWN / Christian DeBenedetti takes the notion of "farmhouse ales" to its logical conclusion: The founder of Wolves & People crafts his lineup of grisettes, saisons and other European-inspired beers—along with the occasional stout, porter or IPA—in a 108-year-old barn. DeBenedetti grew up on the farm and shows off its rich bounty whenever possible. For instance, he brewed the Wild Queen farmhouse ale with 100 percent wild yeast harvested from onsite honeybee hives—and La Truffe, a collaboration with the Oregon Truffle Fest, is aged on hazelnuts that are grown on the property and then infused with Oregon white truffles. Elsewhere, DeBenedetti pays homage to his home state with several beers sporting ingredients grown solely in Oregon—malts, hops, all of it. The Belgian-inspired Landbouw grisette, for instance, sports subtle wood notes, which blend nicely with a slightly bitter hop profile and hints of orange. Matt Wastradowski.
If you’re staying:
The Vintages Trailer Resort
16205 SE Kreder Road, Dayton, 971-267-2130, the-vintages.com.
KING OF THE ROAD | Rarely do you see the words "trailer" and "resort" partnered up, but the compact homes on wheels parked at the Vintages all look like they've been overhauled on episodes of Pimp My Ride. Campers such as the Airstream or the Silverstreak Duchess—almost all built in the mid-20th century—have been retrofitted with everything from luxury soaking tubs to flat screens, making this one chic trailer park. Beer lovers should spring for the Pizza & Pints package ($60), which includes a pie delivery from Odd Moe's, two 16-ounce cans of beer, a duo of Bovino pint glasses, and access to Netflix. Then all you've gotta do is chill. Andi Prewitt.