San Diego vs Portland

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Better beer city: San Diego or Portland?

  • San Diego

  • Portland

Results are only viewable after voting.
BrianTheBrewer

BrianTheBrewer

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So I first want to apologize for starting this thread...dont get the wrong idea. This should not be a heated thread. It is not meant to start fights. It is meant to debate what city has better beer, breweries, pubs, events, ect...

Second, I started this thread because I wanted to see everyones opinion on what city out of the two are better beer cities.

Now we all know they both have great breweries and great people.
Give reasons why you think either one is better than the other.

Also...please be nice...this should be a fun thread.

San Diego CA .vs. Portland OR
 
Well I'm not going to pick between the two. I lived in Eugene, OR for two years and was often up in Portland. Now, I live in LA and our only beer culture is runoff from San Diego.

What I will say about Portland and people in the Pacific Northwest in general--which may also might be true of San Diego, I don't know-- is that those people are zen masters of integrating good beer into every part of life. Case in point: the cine-pub of which there are I believe at least a dozen in Portland. Nothing like paying less than 5 bucks to see a movie, then kicking back and drinking a 24oz glass of Ninkasi.

Here in LA, we have hundreds of movie houses of every shape and size, but nothing like that.
 
While we may not have the awesome cine-pub's of the PNW, all I have to say is:
  • Stone
  • Lost Abbey
  • Port Brewing
  • Green Flash
Carry on...
 
First of all, San Diego is going to win based on vote count because they have more representatives to vote by sheer population and all the people that think Escondido = San Diego.

Would someone from San Diego please come forward and vote for Portland..... silence, I didn't think so.


It just comes down to taste, as much as people say the west coast has it's style of beer like the east coast does, I have news that there are different style tastes between the southern and northern pacific coast.


Brian: to make this interesting, you should change this into a Poll.
 
well PNW resident, I have to vote for Portland. But as I haven't been to SD... their wait staff may be better looking... so I may just change my mind if I ever visit that city.

I do love the Cina-bars here in the PNW... nothing better than kicking back and watching a movie and having dinner brought to you in your lazyboy! $11 Dinner and a movie is the same cost as seeing a movie in the big city!!!! I'm just amazed people in the big city and what they are willing to pay for....

Maybe I'm just frugal or cheap...
 
FxdGrMind said:
well PNW resident, I have to vote for Portland. But as I haven't been to SD... their wait staff may be better looking... so I may just change my mind if I ever visit that city.

I do love the Cina-bars here in the PNW... nothing better than kicking back and watching a movie and having dinner brought to you in your lazyboy! $11 Dinner and a movie is the same cost as seeing a movie in the big city!!!! I'm just amazed people in the big city and what they are willing to pay for....

Maybe I'm just frugal or cheap...
Click to expand...

Where are you at? Have you ever heard of the central cinema?
 
If you loosely define what San Diego is, I think that they would win if the criteria is which place produces better beer. I mean, who who isn't from Portland can even name more than 1-2 of the Portland breweries?

I think Portland wins if you go with a "beer culture" type criteria defined as concentration of beer centric establishments, percentage of population that drinks craft beer etc.

However, if we are loosely defining geographic areas I think San Francisco beats them both on both criteria (including a significant area north of the bay).
 
arturo7 said:
San Diego wins on weather alone.
Click to expand...

Haha +1,000,000!

Humann, as much as you say it comes down to taste... I'm not a HUGE fan of overly hoppy beers. Given the choice I'll take dark, malty goodness over hoppy any day, but I certainly enjoy and appreciate the 'west coast' style beers. I can't honestly say I KNOW SD is better than Portland; I haven't been to Portland and I bet they make some damn tasty brews up there that I will eventually get to try. I also don't know how many breweries Portland has, but I would wager that San Diego has more quality breweries per square mile than any other US city.

Note: I'm talking about San Diego COUNTY, not city - so Escondido is included. Maybe that's unfair to Portland as it's just a city, but we can take into account whatever county Portland resides in as well if it helps.
 
Gremlyn1 said:
Haha +1,000,000!

Humann, as much as you say it comes down to taste... I'm not a HUGE fan of overly hoppy beers. Given the choice I'll take dark, malty goodness over hoppy any day, but I certainly enjoy and appreciate the 'west coast' style beers. I can't honestly say I KNOW SD is better than Portland; I haven't been to Portland and I bet they make some damn tasty brews up there that I will eventually get to try. I also don't know how many breweries Portland has, but I would wager that San Diego has more quality breweries per square mile than any other US city.

Note: I'm talking about San Diego COUNTY, not city - so Escondido is included. Maybe that's unfair to Portland as it's just a city, but we can take into account whatever county Portland resides in as well if it helps.
Click to expand...

I should walk away at this point but I can't help myself. You have made comments that are grossly misrepresented.

I am certainly not saying that the San Diego area does not have good beer because they do and a lot of it, but to just say that it is better because you live there and have never been to the other (Portland) does not speak to your impartial view.

I have never lived close to either location but have had many beers from both of them.

Here is another thread started by BrianTheBrewer on the same subject.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/1-beer-city-america-145085/

P.S. Next time your up this way, drop by and I'll buy you a beer.
 
Well, if you wanna cheat by using the whole SD county, then you're actually going to lose on your argument of "quality beers per square mile", since you've just driven down the concentration of breweries per square mile.

Portland has some 46 licensed breweries IN THE CITY LIMITS. The question was asked, "How many non-Portlanders could name more than 1-2 Portland breweries?" - I challenge y'all on that, because I bet you can name more than that: Widmer, Rogue, Deschutes, Full Sail, Bridgeport. If you can't name even just those, you're no better than a BMC drinker, you ought to go back to your yellow fizzy water and leave the men to discuss beer. :cross:

Then we start to get into the breweries that serious (even non-Portland) beer connoisseurs should know: Hair of the Dog, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Roots Organic brewery. McMenamin's is our local chain of brewpubs/theater pubs, and is listed among the top 50 largest craft breweries in the US.

But I can only name two San Diego County breweries... and neither of them is in the actual city limits of San Diego. So... looks to me like there's no contest, pal. PDX FTW!
 
humann_brewing said:
I should walk away at this point but I can't help myself. You have made comments that are grossly misrepresented.

I am certainly not saying that the San Diego area does not have good beer because they do and a lot of it, but to just say that it is better because you live there and have never been to the other (Portland) does not speak to your impartial view.

I have never lived close to either location but have had many beers from both of them.

Here is another thread started by BrianTheBrewer on the same subject.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/1-beer-city-america-145085/

P.S. Next time your up this way, drop by and I'll buy you a beer.
Click to expand...

That was kind of my point, I was pointing out my lack of impartiality. I'm biased, and I know it :) I was also making the point that I'm not in love with SD for it's brew scene because of the style that is most common here. I'm only theorising that SD would beat Portland on paper for number of top notch breweries, but I can't even back that up with physical evidence.

P.S. Next time you're down this way, drop buy and I'll buy you a beer too ;)
 
khiddy said:
Well, if you wanna cheat by using the whole SD county, then you're actually going to lose on your argument of "quality beers per square mile", since you've just driven down the concentration of breweries per square mile.

Portland has some 46 licensed breweries IN THE CITY LIMITS. The question was asked, "How many non-Portlanders could name more than 1-2 Portland breweries?" - I challenge y'all on that, because I bet you can name more than that: Widmer, Rogue, Deschutes, Full Sail, Bridgeport. If you can't name even just those, you're no better than a BMC drinker, you ought to go back to your yellow fizzy water and leave the men to discuss beer. :cross:

Then we start to get into the breweries that serious (even non-Portland) beer connoisseurs should know: Hair of the Dog, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Roots Organic brewery. McMenamin's is our local chain of brewpubs/theater pubs, and is listed among the top 50 largest craft breweries in the US.

But I can only name two San Diego County breweries... and neither of them is in the actual city limits of San Diego. So... looks to me like there's no contest, pal. PDX FTW!
Click to expand...

I'd have to say that you only being able to name two breweries in San Diego county really makes you no better than the people you mock for not knowing the breweries you suggested.

I think Remilard hit on two very important points. Portland has a GREAT beer culture. Lots of beer in a small area and it is well known for just that. You can get a good beer just about anywhere when you're there. However, the number of licensed breweries in the city limits means little to me. You named all of 8 out of 46. McMenamins is just not that good, and there are plenty that can be skipped over without any thought.

San Diego has less breweries. If you're in the suburbs or in the middle of the county, it is not that easy to get a great beer without driving somewhere. However, I would put the top five breweries in San Diego against most of the top 5 in the country. I do believe we have better quality beer through and through down here. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Deschutes. They're the only brewery in Portland that I think even holds a candle to some of the better breweries here.

Now, that said, it is all about personal taste, too. Portland is a nice city and I love going there. But where I live, I'm walking distance to a near perfect beer bar that happens to be on the same bus route with a couple of other bars that are just as solid. San Diego is late to the game compared to Portland, but the only reason that these threads keep happening is because it is becoming more and more valid as an argument.

And to that, I say YAY FOR TWO ****ING BEERVANAS ON THE SAME COAST!
 
khiddy said:
Well, if you wanna cheat by using the whole SD county, then you're actually going to lose on your argument of "quality beers per square mile", since you've just driven down the concentration of breweries per square mile.

Portland has some 46 licensed breweries IN THE CITY LIMITS. The question was asked, "How many non-Portlanders could name more than 1-2 Portland breweries?" - I challenge y'all on that, because I bet you can name more than that: Widmer, Rogue, Deschutes, Full Sail, Bridgeport. If you can't name even just those, you're no better than a BMC drinker, you ought to go back to your yellow fizzy water and leave the men to discuss beer. :cross:

Then we start to get into the breweries that serious (even non-Portland) beer connoisseurs should know: Hair of the Dog, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Roots Organic brewery. McMenamin's is our local chain of brewpubs/theater pubs, and is listed among the top 50 largest craft breweries in the US.

But I can only name two San Diego County breweries... and neither of them is in the actual city limits of San Diego. So... looks to me like there's no contest, pal. PDX FTW!
Click to expand...

Rogue is not a Portland brewery, neither is Full Sail. Deschutes has a brewery in Portland but that is not where their primary production takes place. They are a Portland brewery in the same way that Gordon Biersch is a Miami brewery, which is to say not at all.

So that leaves you with Widmer and Bridgeport, which are the ones people will have heard of.

You list some good breweries in the next paragraph (as much as I want to, I can't make myself like much of what Roots brews, McMennimins is hit or miss but hey they have movies), but many of them are very new and all of them have crap for distribution outside of PDX.

HUB has made some noise, but they are ultra new you can't expect a random beer aficionado in Philly to have heard of them.
 
Ok. I'll likely get my butt kick from family but here it goes. I grew up in the Portland area. Lived 6 years in Waldport, Or and cut my brew teeth on Rogue River Beer. But, after moving to Arizona, my tastes have shifted and I don't enjoy Rogue River Beer as much any more. I actually enjoy Four Peaks or Santan Brewery now although they're not from SD.
 
HUB is great! And their Sampler is Fantastic! :drunk::D

Great bar food too!!!

Still haven't been to SD... Guess as I'd have to pass through PDX on the way... why bother traveling the additional distance when it's this good this close! :mug::D
 
Gremlyn1 said:
It appears that SD has Portland beat for number of breweries (8 vs 6), but Portland has far more brewpubs, which I think is something I'd like to see more of in San Diego.
Click to expand...

I think we need to define "brewpub" vs. "brewery". If you're brewing beer, what's the difference if you're serving it in your space with food or packaging for mass distribution?

To me there are far more than 6 breweries in Portland. Some have been listed, but I'll take a stab (and I know it will be far from a complete list):

Widmer
Bridgeport
McMenn's
HUB
Roots
Laurelwood
Lucky Labrador
Amnesia
Almeda
Upright
Hair of the Dog
Lompoc
Cascade Brewing
Tugboat Brewing


Brewery in PDX, though may not be their "main" brewery:
Deschutes
Full Sail


And there was a recent report that between summer of 2009 and summer 2010 15, yes 15 new breweries/brewpubs will be opening in Portland or the surrounding area. And if we extended it beyond Portland limits...The list just grows from there....

I don't know who brews the best beer (a very subjective thing), but for a city that makes beer a part of it's life and culture and the overall picture I think Portland has anyone beat...far and away.
 
Kilted Brewer said:
I think we need to define "brewpub" vs. "brewery". If you're brewing beer, what's the difference if you're serving it in your space with food or packaging for mass distribution?

To me there are far more than 6 breweries in Portland. Some have been listed, but I'll take a stab (and I know it will be far from a complete list):

Widmer
Bridgeport
McMenn's
HUB
Roots
Laurelwood
Lucky Labrador
Amnesia
Almeda
Upright
Hair of the Dog
Lompoc
Cascade Brewing
Tugboat Brewing


Brewery in PDX, though may not be their "main" brewery:
Deschutes
Full Sail


And there was a recent report that between summer of 2009 and summer 2010 15, yes 15 new breweries/brewpubs will be opening in Portland or the surrounding area. And if we extended it beyond Portland limits...The list just grows from there....

I don't know who brews the best beer (a very subjective thing), but for a city that makes beer a part of it's life and culture and the overall picture I think Portland has anyone beat...far and away.
Click to expand...

(in a nice monotone voice, like a kid asking really nice because you live in a beer nirvana land) Can I be your friend?

Anyways, I am jealous of anyone that lives remotely near these places.

On another note mentioned earlier about the weather alone should have San Diego ahead. Some people don't like having to worry if their house is going to burn down and like things to be green. Those people might live in Portland.
 
It's green here 365 days a year...we owe that to the rain everyone seems to complain about. It's really not that bad folks! (as I'm looking out the window and a pretty heavy/steady rain). ;)
 
"The senseless waste of pitting these two mighty forces of BREWING against each other, like matter vs. anti-matter, will be a tragedy, not only for the CITIES involved, but for our planet. All nations must band together, to ensure that such a conflageration never takes place."

Todd O'Conner

(With slight modificiations by Shooter - Who is all too happy to be blessed with the apparently less than noteworthy beers offerings in the San Francisco Bay area!)
 
Quite a snarl! I think both churn out magnificent beer. Being in the Portland area, I still find myself drinking beer from Green Flash, Stone and Alesmith quite often. I love them and I think their style is distinctive. In Portland's defense, I think the representation of our brews aren't adequately covered by the bigger breweries. I think Widmer and Bridgeport are good for what they do, but for true afficianados, you really have to be here and get it right off the tap from some of our better places. Hair of the Dog, Hopworks and Lucky Lab kick a tremendous amount of ass in their own right. Likewise, I'm sure there are some kick-ass breweries in SD that can't be tasted outside the area. Both cities have a very strong brew culture and I applaud both for offering more than fizzy, yellow, crappy beer!

To speak to this area, Portland just has a great vibe that lends itself well to a whole beer culture that has been established for decades. Good beer is infused in almost everything we do and it cracks me up sometimes that even when people aren't really "into" beer, you STILL see them sipping on something other than a Miller or Bud. That says something about the entire region. It doesn't hurt that almost the entire supply of the nations hops grow right in our backyard (Willamette and Yakima valleys).
 
I don't think I'll ever post in a vs. thread again. Too much bull**** superiority over something that should be celebrated. Collaborations are more fun than rivals any day.
 
barleynhops said:
Good beer is infused in almost everything we do and it cracks me up sometimes that even when people aren't really "into" beer, you STILL see them sipping on something other than a Miller or Bud.
Click to expand...

PBR and High Life, as I recall. :)

I actually think I see less BMCP(abst) drinking here in Kansas City than I did when I lived in Portland, seriously. This is due primarily to the market dominance of Boulevard. Every bar, and I mean EVERY bar anywhere near Kansas City has 2 or more Boulevard taps. St. Louis is similar with Schafly, even though they are the city that AB built.
 
carnevoodoo said:
I'd have to say that you only being able to name two breweries in San Diego county really makes you no better than the people you mock for not knowing the breweries you suggested.
Click to expand...

Actually, I googled "san diego breweries" and the list came up with only two nationally recognizable names (Stone, in Escondido, and Lost Abbey, in San Marcos), and a ***load of pizza/burger brewpubs. I'd love to see a definitive list of what is considered a SD brewery, then we can noodle over the names to see what's legitimately a recognizable brewery. So far, I've given a PDX list, but nothing has come from the SD side.

But back to PDX. Deschutes and Rogue are making beer in their Portland breweries that are bottled and distributed in non-on-premise sales, so I wouldn't be so quick to discount their Portland locations as legitimate breweries. And I didn't even mention MacTarnahans/Pyramid, which is also a full-scale brewery within the city limits making beer that is nationally distributed (and now owned by Magic Hat).

The beer culture indeed is living and active here, with two large homebrew clubs in the city and one of the classic LHBSes, F.H. Steinbart's. The Collaborator project between Widmer Brewing and the Oregon Brew Crew has brought 20+ homebrewers' recipes to the taps of the Widmer Gasthaus and other craft beer pubs throughout Portland since 1998, and a project at the Green Dragon Pub (recently taken over by Rogue) has homebrewers producing 1BBL batches on their system for sale exclusively at the pub.

Portland is host to some of the largest and most interesting beer-related events anywhere in the USA. The Oregon Brewers' Festival is the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in the nation, and we supplement it with the Spring Beer & Wine Fest, the Organic Brewers' Festival, the Holiday Ale Festival, Cheers to Belgian Beers, and two Bike & Brew activities throughout the year, among other events & mini-festivals hosted by the many pubs and breweries themselves.

But hey, I also concur with the sentiments that we're blessed to have good beer all along the West Coast! :mug:
 
"I'd love to see a definitive list of what is considered a SD brewery, then we can noodle over the names to see what's legitimately a recognizable brewery."

This is why this **** is stupid. You have no clue what you're even fighting over. If you weren't so blatantly ignorant of the breweries outside of your city, you might be able to convince me of something. Luckily, I will travel North for beer, East for beer, and overseas when I get the chance for beer so I don't have to rely on a really half-assed google search. If you didn't even make it to the San Diego Brewer's Guild site, you really didn't look.
 
carnevoodoo said:
"I'd love to see a definitive list of what is considered a SD brewery, then we can noodle over the names to see what's legitimately a recognizable brewery."

This is why this **** is stupid. You have no clue what you're even fighting over. If you weren't so blatantly ignorant of the breweries outside of your city, you might be able to convince me of something. Luckily, I will travel North for beer, East for beer, and overseas when I get the chance for beer so I don't have to rely on a really half-assed google search. If you didn't even make it to the San Diego Brewer's Guild site, you really didn't look.
Click to expand...

Dude, you said you weren't going to post anymore. You sir, are a LIAR!! :p
 
how about all the people that live in San Diego and Portland send me samples of the best the perspective cities have to offer and I will evaluate them and report back.

This sounds fair don't you think? ;)
 

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