Earlier this month, the Mr. and I took a weekend trip to Portland, Oregon for some food, fun and tasty beer. We love traveling to new places and Oregon definitely did not disappoint. What a beautiful state! We had such a great time and one of the many highlights {like that sunset on the coast – *sigh*} was going to de Garde Brewing’s 2nd anniversary party. They are my absolute favorite, so it was awesome getting to see where all of the magic happens and enjoying their beers in such a fun atmosphere. Their party is actually what prompted us to take this trip, so we thought… hey, why not make this a beer adventure and visit as many breweries/brewpubs as we can while we are there?! 😉 Oregon has lots to offer and what I love about the craft beer scene is that you can also expect to make some new friends!
Below is a film with a collection of our favorite moments – so much bliss! And bear with me, I still have lots to learn about DSLR video. I just completed Xanthe Berkeley’s Time Capsule Workshop on how to create memory evoking films to help preserve our experiences and this is my first attempt of many to come. Although it’s not perfect, I am thrilled to have it completed and know I will enjoy getting to relive this adventure in the future. PS – If you’re interested in learning more about the breweries and brewpubs we visited, I’ve included a list with links at the bottom of this post. Cheers!
This is part of a special blog series called Keepin’ It Real with a talented group of photographers where we document and share real moments from our own lives. Thanks for stopping by! Now head on over to see the real bliss that Pure Light Photography, Santa Rosa Nature Photographer, has captured this month and continue the blog circle to see everyone’s work. Just click on the link at the end of each post and enjoy!
And for anyone interested, here is a list the breweries & brewpubs that we visited:
- Apex Bar: Lots of variety on tap {50+} and bottles {250+} with a great indoor/outdoor patio area. We went in on a bottle of Firestone Walker PNC with our friends here and it was delish!
- Belmont Station: They have an awesome bottleshop with 1,200+ bottles from all around the world and an adjacent Biercafé with 20+ rotating taps. Really friendly staff with a neat indoor/outdoor patio area where they let us meet up with some new friends to do a bottle share.
- Breakside Brewery: We really enjoyed sitting at the bar and grabbing a couple of beers here. Great neighborhood brewpub atmosphere! I really liked their India Golden Ale, double IPA… solid IPA with great fruit notes!
- Cascade Brewing Barrel House: Tart, barrel-aged beers are an emerging beer style and Cascade Brewing features more than 18 rotating taps, with a predominantly sour lineup. I’m glad we got to check them out during our visit.
- de Garde Brewing: We love their beers, as a matter of fact *all* of their beers! I haven’t had anything from them that I didn’t like. They are located in Tillamook and specialize in a diverse style of ales, but with a focus on spontaneous fermentations inspired by European farmhouse traditions. If you like farmhouse ales and fruit & sours, you will love what they have to offer. So good!
- Ex Novo Brewing Company: Beer with a purpose. They are a non-profit brewery that blends fine craft beer with positive social change. What’s not to love about that?! We had a great time here… really great atmosphere and tasty brews.
- The Commons Brewery: Inspired by European brewing tradition and Northwest grown ingredients with year round, rotating and seasonal beers available for you to try. My favorite was their Mimosetta, a Saison/Farmhouse Ale with kumquats. I wish they bottled it, really good stuff! We also enjoyed a couple of cheese plates from the charcuterie that paired perfectly with our brews.
- The Mash Tun Brewpub: After eating dinner at Pok Pok {btw, highly recommend} we took a stroll down Alberta street to check out the arts festival and saw this Brewpub so we stopped in to check it out. We did flight of tasters and although pretty standard beers, we enjoyed them & their patio.
- Upright Brewing: Okay, this place is the coolest! It’s located in the basement of an office building so it’s dim with really yummy light coming in these tiny windows {nerdy photog talk}. And fun fact, their name references the primary instrument of Charles Mingus, a musician whose compositions defy categorization which fits Upright’s spirit of exercising creativity perfectly. When we arrived, they were playing records and then before we left, Steve Cheseborough was there re-creating the blues and hokum of the 1920s-30s. So awesome! I *love* the unique vibe of this place! Their exclusive barrel aged sour ale, Four Play is a must have!
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