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D-MOTITAN

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Me and the wife heading for a cruise to Alaska in June. We will be driving thru Oregon from California and would like to spend a night in this beer mecca. We have been to Portland and would prefer a cool place we can sample a variety of brew and a little local culture.
 
McMenamins in Bend would be a decent place to stay. I find their beers to be pretty mediocre compared to all the other great Oregon beer. The atmostphere is nice, though and it's walking distance to some good pubs in Bend. In Portland try the Green Dragon, Horse Brass Pub, and Saraveza. You won't go wrong at any of these spots. Have Fun
 
Lots of people put down McMenamins. In truth, their beers seem somewhat mediocre compared to what is available in Portland today. Their hotels and inns, on the other hand, are quite unique. I am not familiar with the one in Bend, but the Edgefield in Troutdale just east of Portland is one of my favorites: http://www.mcmenamins.com/54-edgefield-home. My wife and I have stayed there quite a few times and my oldest daughter got married there. It has a lot to offer - just not the best beer in Portland. If you stay in Bend check out Boneyard, 10 Barrel, and of course, Deschutes.
 
Deschutes is a must if you haven't been before. The brewery is in Bend and they have a brewpub in Portland. This is the brewery I miss the most after moving from Oregon to TN.
 
Don't overlook the EUG. It's right on I5 and has some innovative brewers and that hippy culture that is pretty friendly. Probably has more breweries than Bend and easier to get to. I used to live there. Ask any of the staff if you can check out the brewery since you home brew and they'll probably find someone to bring you in back.

For breweries there's:

1) Ninkasi
2) Falling sky (also a homebrew shop and great restaurant) Tell the owner, Jason, that northcal says hi.
3) Oakshire
4) Rogue-Eugene
5-6) McMenamins- 1) high st. and 2)North bank (poor beer but good vibes/locations). If you go to Northbank get a table outside on the Willamette river and watch the steelhead and Salmon come through.
7) Steelhead (not recommended but anyway it's where the Ninkasi brewer started)
Over in Springfield (Springtucky) there's:
8) Hop valley (good brews and nice happy hour food)
9) Plank town (never been there and just saw it online).

Best,
 
For Eugene I'd say Bier Stein, Falling Sky, Steelhead, and Ninkasi.
For Bend, try Boneyard, Crux, and Deschutes.
For Portland, look up all the previous threads on here.
 
If you stop in Roseburg there is an excellent pizza place called Logger's Gourmet Pizza. They currently have 15 taps, 13 of which rotate through excellent Oregon microbrews, the other two are Stella Artois and a Shock Top rotator, so essentially no real BMC to be found. Every beer purchase usually comes with a free sample of another as well, and when I was there the guy running the taps was fairly knowledgeable about beer.
Ten Barrel in Bend is a great brewpub.
There are also many excellent wineries around Winston and Roseburg!
 
I moved from Bend almost a year ago back to San Diego, and I miss Boneyard and 10 barrel so much! Those are 2 absolute MUSTS if you go to Bend. Hair of the Dog is my favorite brewery in Portland. If you want a good selection of different beers in Bend, go to the platypus pub. They have 15 or so taps of some of the best beers in the Northwest.

Have fun!
 
If you're in Bend, I'd highly recommend Crux. Boneyard and Deschutes are great stops as well.
In Portland...close your eyes and throw a rock :) But I'd second the suggestion of Hair of the Dog - a unique brewery, and you'll find stuff on tap there that you can't get anywhere else.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Bend or Eugene seem like a good halfway point. That way we could finish the rest of our drive up to Seattle the following day. I guess what i dont drink on the way up....i will on the way back. Anyone with any experience with the drive from northern California to Bend in mid June? All I have ever driven is I-5.
 
mmm...loves me some Boneyard: "Hop Venom" (awesome DIPA), or the "Armored Fist" CDA, Notorious B.I.G. 14% Quad IPA.

I like Hop Venom a skosh better than Double Jack (and I love Double Jack). Other great Bend breweries already mentioned, there are 12 I think.
 
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