Back before St. Johns finally hit its long-anticipated growth spurt, the Occidental Brewing Company set up shop near the bridge and quietly started brewing some of the best German-style ales and lagers in town. There is a large patio space with excellent views of Cathedral Park and the Willamette river. The patio is shared with the Urban German Wursthaus for those looking to pair their Maibock with a Brat. Drinkers can also place orders for pick up online. Occidental is currently open Wednesday through Sunday.

Long a neighborhood haunt for Portlanders in the West Hills, in recent years Sasquatch Brewing has been making inroads in the larger Portland beer scene, popping up in bottle shops, taprooms, and winning a gold at the Oregon Beer Awards in the hoppy lager category. The brewery also dominated direct-to-consumer beer sales during the pandemic, creating an in-house delivery team that dropped beers on thirsty Portlanders’ doors through 2020 and 2021. Like most Pacific Northwest breweries, Sasquatch’s tap list is full of hoppy IPAs and lagers, but they also brew cider under the name New West Cider, which is available at the flagship Hillsdale brewpub and the Northwest Portland taproom. Sasquatch is open for dine-in and takeout Wednesday through Sunday.

Since its eponymous IPA was given the gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest in 2014, Breakside has been on a roll. Seven years later, the brewery shows no signs of stopping — it took home a lot of hardware at last year’s Oregon Beer Awards, nabbing a total of 12 medals for its beers and winning Large Brewery of the Year. Visitors will find everything from sandwiches to tacos and nachos at Slabtown and Dekum brewpub locations, or just grab a brew at its Milwaukie location, where customers are encouraged to bring food, if they choose. The brewery is currently open from noon to 9 p.m. every day, 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Pioneers in Oregon farmhouse-style ales, Upright brews French- and Belgian-style beers with a hint of Northwest influence. Located down a few flights of stairs in the Leftbank Building, this basement taproom is the sort of hidden hole-in-the-wall that attracts locals and visitors. Limited releases often rely on cool, somewhat-uncommon brewing techniques, from a saison with a wisp of late-harvest gewürztraminer to a mixed-fermentation, old cask gose finished with lobster mushrooms. The taproom is open daily, with tasting space indoors and out.

Wayfinder opened in the fall of 2016, and the rest, they say, is history. The outdoor patio is one of the most popular gathering spots at any brewery in town, with ample seating and a cozy fire pit for those not-so-warm evenings. Though it’s lager-focused, Wayfinder still offers a few inventive IPAs and other, more obscure styles. Most recently, they’ve made waves in the local scene and online with their “Cold IPAs.” Locals rave about the simple-yet-focused pub fare, which includes a few vegan options as well, such as the popular cauliflower banh mi. It currently offers delivery through Road Beers PDX.

Owners of the nearby Toffee Club Pete Hopkins and Niki Diamond moved into the former Scout Beer spot, bringing in former Alameda brewer Marshall Kunz to brew a wide range of styles. This pub feels bright and spacious despite its size, thanks to the roll-up doors and bright, minimalist decor. Though the European influence is evident in beers such as Bus Stop Bitter and Milner’s English Mild Ale, Away Days also brews ever-popular IPAs. Most recently, Away Days teamed up with Deadstock Coffee for a coffee infused English-style brown ale called Dope Days. It is currently open Thursday through Sunday for outdoor service and to-go.

Baerlic, meaning “of barley” in Old English, produces a lineup of traditional standards, but also pushes boundaries in both its style and process, as exemplified by the omnipresent Dad Beer Lager and the seasonal Dark Thoughts Black IPA, which is 6.66 percent ABV. It’s an iconoclast in terms of its space, as well, opting for a sleek café aesthetic combined with an open ceiling concept and barrel storage in the taproom along with a faux-hedge obscuring a section of booth seating. Baerlic shares a space with square pizza mecca Ranch PDX at the southeast taproom.

Nestled on Dekum, Portland’s self-described “gluten-free beer geek paradise” is a trailblazer in the gluten-free beer scene, brewing distinctive ales and lagers that push beyond the typical offerings of gluten-free breweries — think: Mochi Donut Sesame Porter and Oyster Mushroom Stout. Founder Jason Yerger, former brewmaster at Seattle’s Ghostfish Brewing, opened Mutantis in early 2021 as a bottle shop and began brewing operations in March 2021. As part of its mission to advance the overall gluten-free beer scene in Portland, Mutantis publishes all its recipes online under a creative commons license, and is transparent about its malt sources. The brewery also carries bottles and cans from Portland’s four other dedicated gluten-free breweries, in addition to several rotating guest taps. Mutantis does not serve food, but does share a space with Tamale Boy Dekum; it’s currently open for dine-in, takeout, and delivery Tuesday through Sunday. 

Perhaps the notion referenced in Great Notion Brewing’s name is the idea to focus a brewery almost entirely on hazy IPAs and culinary-inspired sours and stouts. It is a multifaceted niche that would strike many as an odd choice for Portland’s west coast IPA-heavy tastes, but Great Notion has found great success in its niche, expanding from one taproom on Alberta to three in Portland and two in Seattle; the brewery has received multiple accolades at the Great American Brew Fest and the Oregon Beer Awards. At the Alberta, Northwest, and Beaverton locations, customers can pick up oak-barrel-aged, fruited sours, bourbon barrel-aged stouts, and fruit-forward hazy IPAs alongside modern pub fare like fried chicken, kale salads, and grilled seafood. All Great Notion locations are open for dine-in and takeout. 

Foreland Brewing, founded by Von Ebert alum Sean Burke, started brewing in McMinnville in late 2020 and quickly found an audience in the Portland beer scene, making a Portland-area taproom inevitable. The Study by Foreland Beer is built into an early twentieth century home in Belmont and maintains a lot of the original structure and charm of the dwelling. Patrons can grab a cask-conditioned English ale or a lavender-infused stout and sit in one of several rooms in the home, or take the drink out to either the small front porch or the larger back porch, which holds two fire pits and some covered tables. The Study also sells cans for takeout and welcomes outside food. It is open Wednesday through Sunday. 

Gigantic Brewing Company is another legend in Portland beer, and the company continues to pump out new and creative beers while also keeping folks coming back for the flagships. Gigantic is Portland beer done right, in every sense: The brewery makes the same classic West Coast IPAs that put Portland on the map, while not being so inexorable that brewers Van Havig and Ben Love are unwilling to adapt to changing trends or experiment. The taproom features eclectic artwork and seating in the bar area, in the champagne room, or outside on the tented patio. Gigantic has also opened up a second space in Montavilla at Rocket Empire Machine called the Robot Room. Indoor and outdoor seating are available seven days a week, and beer lovers also have the option of getting beer to-go at both locations.

Assembly Brewing co-owner George Johnson founded the Assembly in 2019 on the belief that well-brewed beer should be accessible and straightforward. Assembly’s beers are often simply called “Amber,” “Kolsch,” or “Pale,” to reflect this vision, and they sell for just five dollars per pint at the Foster-Powell brewpub. The well-crafted beers are true to style and brewed with attention to detail. They pair perfectly with the brewpub’s Detroit-style pizza, which comes in a smaller two person size or a larger family size. Assembly Brewing is open for dine-in or contactless pickup seven days a week. 

Located just off Stark Street in the heart of Montavilla, Threshold is a relatively new arrival already putting out impressive beers. Co-founders Jarek Szymanski and David Fuller first developed a following for their hazy IPAs, but now, Jarek and Sara Szymanski’s brewery has become the place to be for layered barrel-aged beers and nuanced farmhouse ales. The space is pretty simple, with picnic tables and a modest bar. Its beers are available to-go as well as via delivery through Road Beers PDX. Threshold has spaced-out indoor seating as well as patio seating.

What was once a farm and produce market now houses some great beer and a whole ton of 8-bit-style art. Though the most popular beers are hazy IPAs and pale ales — such as Stable Genius and Pixelate Pale, respectively — this brewery also offers a range of beers from stouts to pilsners and everything in between. A handful of food trucks outside Level Beer give customers plenty of options, ranging from shawarma to burritos. The large greenhouse has a kids’ play area as well, so visitors should be aware that popping in on a weekend afternoon could lead to a tricky game of dodging energetic toddlers underfoot. It is currently open seven days a week.