PDX. Beervana. Beer City USA. Mecca*.
Many names meaning many things to millions of people from around the world. I first visited when I was a wee lad, only knee-high to a duck as my dad would say, in 1985. Alas, no beer experiences that time, and a tour of Olympia Brewery doesn’t count.
Fourteen years would pass before I turned 21 and embarked on my 48-state Great Cross Country Trip of ’99. Even then, the only brewery I visited was Widmer (not a bad start I might add). I had just begun to delve into the burgeoning world of craft beer and looking back I wish I had been paying more attention, but I just didn’t know what was possible and what some amazingly inventive brewers were attempting.
I returned to visit family in 2003 and to meet up with the one man who started me on this beer-journey, the respectable Ryan LaMar. He had built a mini-beer shrine in his Vancouver apartment, which I soaked up over the course of three hours of muppet porn, Iron Maiden talk and my first beer ice cream float, but we didn’t venture out into the City.
2006 was finally the year that I dipped my pinky toe in. Dad, Uncle Ed, cousin Mike and I drove up from Madera, CA to the Sisters Wilderness outside of Bend, OR for a week of backpacking, stopping at brewpubs along the way. After making the unavoidable visit to Deschutes, we drove as fast as possible to Portland and began to plan the next day. Pre-iPhone days meant loosey-goosey organization, although we found our way to Lucky Labrador, New Old Lompoc, and Bridgeport before realizing we were ignoring local family.
Fast forward to 2011 and one particular member of that family happens to be turning 90 years old. Perfect excuse to make a weekend of it, as if I need an excuse. My knowledge of the craft beer industry has grown tremendously since even 2006 and I even started home brewing beer last year. I have a trusty iPhone with the BeerMapping app locked in on the Portland area, plus I have padded my visit with a couple of days that I am sure my family won’t miss me. I am using Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to gather ideas and suggestions regarding how to get the most out of my visit. The only thing I am missing is a breathalyzer.
Email me with tips: miles@whydrinkbeer.com
* I don't live a religious life so I thought I would borrow the word Mecca and apply it to what means the most to me.
