Thanks for the replies everyone, it was most helpful!
I got there on a Tuesday, and as luck would have it, most of the town was iced up a little bit, and my sister got a "snow day" called at school. Ha! There was even some clear blue sky that afternoon. Such a change in Salt Lake City weather, who had a "biggest blizzard in a decade" predicted. No blizzard ever really happened in SLC as I heard, and Portland's snow-day was epic blue-sky beautiful.
We hit these places (in order):
Hopworks
Hopworks has a cool facility with rain collection equipment (Hey, even in SLC I'm a rain collecting hippie too) and a nice back deck. It was too cold to eat out this time though. I had a flight of 10 beers. My favorite was Pig War, a ~80IBU IPA. Something about the name and over-the-top'ness of it all. Surprisingly good was the single-hop Pale (I forget the name). It tasted like some of the SMASH recipes I've made and enjoyed. We also both enjoyed their winter spiced ale. Good for the season, most definitely.
Deschutes
We only had one beer each at this place, but it was very nice. I don't recall the name, but I had a flanders style beer in a snifter that was allegedly aged in oak barrels, blended, and had cherries that were hand-picked by one of the head brewers while on a family vacation. Nevertheless, it was remarkable, although a little too much cherry for my tastes. My sister had a pale that I also don't remember the name of, but it was good. We talked about IBUs and how they can be perceived as stronger with different gravities. I did notice here though for the second time that the breweries all listed OG and IBUs for their beers. Very cool!
While sitting at the bar at Deschutes, we noticed a spittoon with a tube pointed into it that was sitting above the taps behind the glassware at the bar. We couldn't figure out what it was about. Moments later, a couple of the brewers that were just working inside the brewery (we could see them through one of the massive windows between the bar and the brewery) came out to the bar, apparently finished with work. She asked about the spittoon, and we were told that it was a Bend Deschutes tradition that had been brought over where quarters are thrown into a small hopper maybe 6 feet above the spittoon, and they roll down the tube and fall into the spittoon. I decided against trying since with my level of uncoordinated'ness would likely result in a quarter shattering a pile of glassware or one of the giant windows between the brewery and the bar. The two brewers that we saw were great to talk to, and we talked all about local home-brewing, contests, and the Portland brewing industry in general. We inquired about Dissident, and from these guys' estimation, it wasn't going to be released until the first few days of December. I had heard great things about it, so hopefully my sister will pick up a bottle while it lasts. The brewers at Deschutes also gave us some helpful advice about where else to visit in town.
Hubers
We stopped here for Spanish coffee's. Holy ****. It was an impressive presentation while they were made at the table. If you haven't been to this place, it's worth a visit.
Tugboat
Because it was so close and it was a brewery, we hit the Tugboat. A dark place that felt homey, with books and games and stuff on shelves all over the walls. It felt like a tugboat. I saw the 100gallon brewery (that's 1.5BBL!), and wondered how much work goes into their beers. That is only 20 times a "normal" single batch that I make in my backyard. If a friend comes over, it's only 10x times bigger. Whatever thoughts I have ever had about starting a nano-brewery were gone when I saw the brewing equipment. The labor must be serious for these guys! The beer was OK- we each had their ESB. We decided against hitting Mary's next door :cross:
Voodoo Doughnuts
What a cool place. We hung out for a little bit and bit heads off of the Voodoo Doughnuts. The cock and balls doughnut looked way too big for one person to take...a huge blackish brown monstrosity. I'm sure some people can take it though. LOL :cross:
Laurelwood
This place was on the way back home, so it was a good choice to finish the evening. I had the porter. It was pretty good stuff, and I would recommend it. I made the mistake of ordering a salad again though- I forgot that I've done this before and it usually doesn't work out well (beer plus leafy greens...seriously?). Friends chastise me, and the feeling afterwards isn't the best, surprisingly.
