I live in the "annex" of Portland, OR; more breweries per capita in Oregon than anywhere else besides Germany. I also worked for Widmer Brewing for 15 years. One of my favorite 'bennies' was that if you work for the company for 10 years you drank for free any time you were in the Gasthaus. Ahhh well, it was a good five year run...
Widmer Brewing: Alt bier (Alt or NOTHING)
Laurelwood Brewing: Workhorse IPA and they currently make a damn fine espresso stout.
Ninkasi Brewing: Total Domination IPA (No hops, NO GOOD). They're based out of Eugene but they get a lot of exposure in the Portland Area
HUB Brewing: All organic. They make yet another great IPA and an excellent Czech style Pils.
Lucky Labrador Brewing: Beers can be a little young, but they make an Alt and a variety of IPAs and Stouts that I really like.
Outlying honorable mentions...
Astoria Brewing
Fort George Brewing: Run by a bunch of hippies. Pints cost $4.20... get it?
Pelican Brewing
There are a number of boutique tap rooms that offer a variety of beers from all over the Northwest, Idaho, California and elsewhere. Generally 30+ taps. Fun to hit when you have guests or want to do an all day pub crawl with friends. A good example would be...
Concordia Ale House: Maybe one of the best selections of Belgian beers in the city. You have to eat something before or during as most all the beers, of any style, are HUGE. Lots of 10% + beers to be had here.
Closer to home...
By The Bottle/The Tap Room: Tiny bottle shop and bar in downtown Vancouver, WA. Six barstools and another six on the opposite wall. They constantly rotate a selection of beers you just won't find anywhere else. My wife and I like to stop in on our way home.
