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Dropping this in here too

Vacationing between Seattle and Portland around Memorial Day.

The itinerary:

  • Fly into Seattle late 5/20, land sometime around 11:00 pm (2:00 am EST, we'll be tired).
  • Booked an AirBNB apartment around Madrona, staying there until Sunday, 5/24. Plan to smush with libbey quite a bit.
  • Leave 5/24 AM for Tillamook, smang degardebrewing as much as I can, and head to Portland the next day.
  • Leave from PDX back to the east coast on 5/28.

duketheredeemer OakedCanuck JoeLikesBeer harrymel I know you don't all live in Seattle, just touching you in case you happen to be in the area/want to make the trip.

Recommendations on good neighborhoods I should look to book AirBNB in are welcome.
 
Going from Bend to Hood River, and then Hood River to Portland on Sunday.

Any cool bottle shops or breweries that are a must stop for cool bottles to go, or growlers? Definitely doing Double Mountain. Is Fullsail worth a stop by?
 
Is Fullsail worth a stop by?

Not really, unless the weather is super nice and you can sit on the patio. I can't speak to any bottle shops or growler fill spots in Hood River...

And so much this:
pfriem for beer but definitely double mountain for pizza.

The pizza at Double Mountain is solid (although overpriced), but the beer is average - Pfriem for beer hands down.
 
Oh, and swing by Solera Brewing in Parkdale on your way from Bend to Hood River - it's right off 35. The beer is hit or miss, but the view is fantastic. :)
I can attest to that.

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Dropping this in here too
Recommendations on good neighborhoods I should look to book AirBNB in are welcome.

Depends on what you like, but I would definitely recommend either SE or NE rather than downtown. Pretty much all the good breweries and beer bars are on the east side. Bailey's being the exception. Plus you could probably rent a house for the price of a condo downtown. But again, it depends on what you like.
 
The pizza at Double Mountain is solid (although overpriced), but the beer is average - Pfriem for beer hands down.

Completely agree. I think some of the beers Dbl Mountain puts out, like the dry hopped green and red... are good, but in general I have been 5 or 6 times and always thought the beers were average and the pizza was good, not great, and overpriced. I would much rather drink beer and eat at pFriem.

Solera is a must imo, sometimes they have some very good beers, BUT THAT VIEW!!!
 
I guess I'll just be the one who pipes in to say: I don't care for the beer at Pfriem, and would absolutely pick DM instead.
 
oh and Trady I forgot to mention, the wife & I got a sick condo in the Pearl District for a very reasonable rate (7 nights for $1347). Great location, good 'hood it seems, though I'm sure the locals can set you straight. But it seemed very central to many of the downtown breweries, right near a Safeway (we plan on saving a bit of cash by shopping/cooking a few nights), coffee shops (lol it's Portland, duh), etc.
 
oh and Trady I forgot to mention, the wife & I got a sick condo in the Pearl District for a very reasonable rate (7 nights for $1347). Great location, good 'hood it seems, though I'm sure the locals can set you straight. But it seemed very central to many of the downtown breweries, right near a Safeway (we plan on saving a bit of cash by shopping/cooking a few nights), coffee shops (lol it's Portland, duh), etc.

Check out Fat Head's! 13th and Davis in the Pearl. Bailey's as well (along with the upstairs bar, the Upper Lip) and also The Big Legrowlski on Couch.
 
So how terrible is Base Camp Brewing? They just showed up here and I have my doubts about anything in aluminum bottles.
 
So how terrible is Base Camp Brewing? They just showed up here and I have my doubts about anything in aluminum bottles.

Their cans have started showing up here too. My basic rule of thumb, which has rarely been wrong, is this:

If a brewery from the west coast starts distributing to South Carolina (replace with other state that's relatively far away and not a huge beer market), before a lot of the big market players we don't already have do, chances our they make mediocre beer and are trying to move product in a less competitive marketplace.

So far Base Camp has not proven me wrong. I've tried one can (their Gnar Gnar IPA), and it sucked.
 
So how terrible is Base Camp Brewing? They just showed up here and I have my doubts about anything in aluminum bottles.
They're pretty average. I pick up their stuff when it's on sale, and I do like their patio. But, yeah, nothing to get excited about.
 
Their cans have started showing up here too. My basic rule of thumb, which has rarely been wrong, is this:

If a brewery from the west coast starts distributing to South Carolina (replace with other state that's relatively far away and not a huge beer market), before a lot of the big market players we don't already have do, chances our they make mediocre beer and are trying to move product in a less competitive marketplace.

So far Base Camp has not proven me wrong. I've tried one can (their Gnar Gnar IPA), and it sucked.
My rule is if I haven't already heard of them, they must suck.
 
Pretty average brewery, but they cater to the really outdoorsy crew so the lightness and durability of cans helps them a lot. mediocre beer in cans > ****** beer in cans.
I agree with your statement about the outdoorsy folks. I hope Base Camp takes note of all the amazing alternatives to their product and focus on producing a higher quality product. When/if degardebrewing and other breweries begin canning in a higher volume, they are going to be in a world of hurt in Portland.
 
I agree with your statement about the outdoorsy folks. I hope Base Camp takes note of all the amazing alternatives to their product and focus on producing a higher quality product. When/if degardebrewing and other breweries begin canning in a higher volume, they are going to be in a world of hurt in Portland.

Other breweries like Fort George, Occidental, Hopworks, just off the top of my head?
 
So how terrible is Base Camp Brewing? They just showed up here and I have my doubts about anything in aluminum bottles.
Average. If I had their aluminum bottles available in my market I would only buy them for outdoorsy/BBQ/beach type outings. Shmeal hit it on the head, they cater to hikers/climbers/outdoorsy types.

I will say that I did enjoy their taproom. I had never heard of them and happened to stumble into their taproom while trying to kill some time before Screendoor opened. It's a nice place to kill an hour.
 
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Pretty average brewery, but they cater to the really outdoorsy crew so the lightness and durability of cans helps them a lot. mediocre beer in cans > ****** beer in cans.

they have a beautiful space, and I swing by there usually when walking around that area. I think Shmeal nailed it with the crowd they are going for, I also see it as a great bridge to better beer and I always like to take out of towners there. Their ipl is pretty decen too.
recently I have heard they are working on some experimental/pilot batch beers which sound interesting.
 
Definitely middle of the road, but as mentioned already, the aluminum bottles are great for the outdoors. I usually take a few of them out if I'm going to be doing any backpacking trips
 
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