The Great Oregon Brewery Tour

Overview

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This trip was all about getting better acquainted with an old friend — beer.

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This is a 300 mile tour, so unless you are a cycling enthusiast or a world-class backpacker, you should probably opt for the car.

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The Crew

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See photo. From left to right:

Jay Gupta, who did most of the research into the hundreds of breweries in Oregon.

Eric Le, who had the original concept for the trip and set the itinerary.

Brent Don, myself, who provided the transportation and wrote up the journal you’re reading now.

Andrius Mockus, who drove most of the length of the state of California while the rest of us were passed out.

Not pictured: Puck, my car.

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The History Behind the Trip

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Traditionally, college students go where the sun is for spring break, to locations where the weather is beautiful and girls in swimsuits are plentiful. In San Diego, however, we get to enjoy these amenities all year long, so for the spring break of 1999 four of us decided to do something different. We elected to go where the beer is. This was the impetus for our week-long brewery tour of Oregon, which took us all the way from the town of Medford in southern Oregon all the way up to Portland near the Oregon/Washington border. Some people might be surprised by the choice of Oregon as a brewery destination — they are more likely to think of those states associated with the major breweries, such as C...Read More

Traditionally, college students go where the sun is for spring break, to locations where the weather is beautiful and girls in swimsuits are plentiful. In San Diego, however, we get to enjoy these amenities all year long, so for the spring break of 1999 four of us decided to do something different. We elected to go where the beer is.
This was the impetus for our week-long brewery tour of Oregon, which took us all the way from the town of Medford in southern Oregon all the way up to Portland near the Oregon/Washington border. Some people might be surprised by the choice of Oregon as a brewery destination — they are more likely to think of those states associated with the major breweries, such as Colorado, Missouri or Wisconsin. However, we weren’t looking for any of the mass-produced beer you can pick up anywhere, we were going for micro-breweries, the scrappy little independents of the brewing industry that focus on quality rather than quantity.

A fortuitous alignment of favorable beer brewing conditions has made Oregon one of the prime locations for modern micro-breweries in the US. First of all, there are ample water supplies in the state, one of the key ingredients of beer. Secondly, electricity in the state is also relatively cheap, which is beneficial to a variety of industries, including brewing. In the early 1990s the deregulation of the electricity industry led to more competition and cheaper rates, which is what really sparked off the micro-brewery boom in Oregon. Finally, Oregon has long had a number of hops and barley farms in the state, which are of course the most vital ingredients of beer. Before the micro-brewery boom of the 1990s, most Oregon hops and barley crops were exported, but it was only a matter of time before someone realized that as long as the stuff was growing in-state, it made a lot of sense to brew the beer there as well.

We experienced the full range of brewery culture on the trip — lounging in small taverns, spending hours at the bar until closing time, getting to know the bartenders, meeting the owners and brew-masters, touring the brewing facilities and learning a bit of the art that is brewing. If you love beer and love road trips, Oregon is the place for you. Read Less

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Lodging Tips

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Camping in Winchester Photo - Portland, Oregon

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We originally planned to camp for most of the trip, but only ended up sleeping outside one night. The combination of frequent rain and cheap motel rooms made a warm room too tempting to turn down more often than not. The one campsite we did stay at in Winchester was very pleasant, however, and even though it rained we got there in ample time to set up our tent before the deluge (okay, so it was really only a light drizzle).

Motel rooms start at around $40 for a single, and campsites are generally around $5 a person.

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Transportation Tips

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We drove the entire way in a heavily-loaded SUV, for the most part never straying far from I-5. It’s about 300 miles from the southern border of Oregon, where we started the tour, to Portland so make sure your car is equipped for a 600 mile round-trip ... assuming you still want to leave Oregon after you’ve gotten used to drinking at its breweries. We didn’t rely on public transportation during our trip, but if you’re inclined to spend a long time in Portland drinking, taxis or city buses might be a wise choice. Taking the train is another option, but this will probably prove rather expensive and require separate transportation from the station to the breweries. There is very littl...Read More

We drove the entire way in a heavily-loaded SUV, for the most part never straying far from I-5. It’s about 300 miles from the southern border of Oregon, where we started the tour, to Portland so make sure your car is equipped for a 600 mile round-trip ... assuming you still want to leave Oregon after you’ve gotten used to drinking at its breweries.

We didn’t rely on public transportation during our trip, but if you’re inclined to spend a long time in Portland drinking, taxis or city buses might be a wise choice. Taking the train is another option, but this will probably prove rather expensive and require separate transportation from the station to the breweries.

There is very little traffic on the freeways of Oregon, so it’s usually smooth sailing if you’re driving yourself. We spent five days heading north on the tour, but once we were done in Portland we drove all the way back to California in a little over five hours. On an interesting side note, there is no self-service gasoline in Oregon, only full service. Despite this, full service gasoline in Oregon was still cheaper than self serve in California, so just relax and pamper yourselves.

It rains frequently in Oregon, especially during the spring, so be aware that conditions might not be ideal at some times during the trip — particularly if your car is going to be heavily laden with baggage, drinking buddies and brewery memorabilia.

Visitors coming from north of Oregon can of course simply follow our route in reverse. If you’re coming from the east I recommend heading for either Medford or Portland and then starting the tour from one of these points. I personally think following the route from south to north is the best way to do it, because Portland is pretty much the brewing capitol of the west coast and the perfect way to end the trip.

Please keep in mind that while the point of this trip is to enjoy the beer, at the same time it is important to stay safe. At every stop we made sure someone stayed sober enough to drive, or took time to let ourselves sober up afterwards. Have fun, but remember to be responsible. Read Less

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Day One

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Sierra Nevada Coaster Photo - Portland, Oregon

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This isn’t technically on the Oregon tour, but if you’re coming from northern California, or at least passing through it on your way to Oregon, I recommend doing what we did and stopping by Chico, CA to check out the Sierra Nevada brewery. •Sierra Nevada Brewery Chico, CA. Exit the 99 freeway on 20th Street heading west. Sierra Nevada is one of the most widely distributed and recognized micro brews in California (I can’t testify to its popularity and availability in the rest of the country, however). Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale is their flagship beer, but I am also partial to their stout (it will soon become apparent that I am partial to heavier beers, so I should warn you ...Read More

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Day Two

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At the Bar at Southern Oregon Photo - Portland, Oregon

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After waking up in a foreign state we were disoriented and uncomfortable, so we immediately set out to get some beer to settle our nerves. Our first Oregon brewery of the trip was Osprey in Medford. •Osprey Ale 404 East Main Street Medford, OR 97135 Osprey has a bar upstairs and a game room downstairs with pool tables, foosball and darts. We each ordered a pint, grabbed some pretzels with mustard and headed downstairs to enjoy some recreation. I started out with a pale ale which tasted good by itself and as an accompaniment to bar snacks. •Southern Oregon and Pacific Brewing Company 145 North Front Street Medford, OR 97501 ...Read More

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additional photos for Day Two

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The outside of Southern Oregon & Pacific Brewing Company in Medford, Oregon.

A sample picture of Southern Oregon & Pacific Brewing Company's coasters.

The exterior of Umpqua Brewing Co. in Roseburg, Oregon.

The interior of Umpqua.

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additional photos for Day Two

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Eric posing for a picture with Mike, the owner of Umpqua Ales in Roseburg, Oregon.

A picture of Umpqua's coaster, which lists some of the different varieties they serve. The logo at the center is an old Native American rune.

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Day Three

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Wednesday started off in Eugene City and took us up to Corvallis and Albany later in the day. •Eugene City Brew 844 Olive Street Eugene, OR 97401 Eugene City Brew is located on the lower level of a restaurant, which gives it an appropriately dark pub atmosphere — even when you’re drinking there at nine in the morning like we did. We ordered the sampler to get the full Eugene City experience and we were thoroughly pleased with almost the entire selection. We were particularly fond of the stout, which had rich coffee overtones and was heavy enough to rank as a meal in its own accord. After polishing off the sampler we each ordered a glass of our favorit...Read More

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Day Four

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Cascade Brewery Photo - Portland, Oregon

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Thursday was our marathon day — we hit a total of seven breweries and covered about 70 miles. We started the action off in Salem. •Big Horn Brewing Company 515 12 Street Salem, OR 97302 Big Horn is perched overlooking the river in Salem, affording a great view for your meal or round of drinks. The restaurant is quite large and is set up like a sports bar with multiple television screens. We went straight for the many-angled bar, which looked like something an excited Tetris player had slapped together. Our waitress was cute, too (sorry, no picture). An interesting non-beer observation: Big Horn was the only place I’ve ever seen Jägermeist...Read More

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additional photos for Day Four

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Portland Brewing Co. Photo - Portland, Oregon

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Golden Valley Brewery & Pub, located in McMinnville, Oregon.

Portland Brewing Co., located in downtown Portland. Portland has so many breweries you could make an entire trip just out of visiting pubs in the city.

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Day Five

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Outside Blue Pine Photo - Portland, Oregon

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This was the last day of our brewery tour and we were determined to make the most of it. We had two breweries left on our list, and we had to go back to two where we had unfinished business. •Saxer Brewing Company 5875 Lakeview Boulevard Lake Oswego, 97035 Saxer is another large, well-known Oregon brewery that can commonly be found in California. The location itself proved to be a little difficult to find as we drove up and down the hills overlooking the lake a few times in the rain before finally finding the brewery in an industrial looking part of the town. The layout of Saxer is very utilitarian — this is a full-scale brewery, make no doubt about i...Read More

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