written by Jeremy Storton

My foot begins to tap anxiously and I keep looking at my watch. I don’t look at the time, but the date. This is how my beer wanderlust begins. Many of us need to take occasional breaks from the humdrum of our lives, or discover some perspective that will improve it. Perhaps we seek adventure or need to affirm what we have is still pretty good. Nonetheless, the road calls and distant lands beckon. This is the premise for wine-tasting weekends or unspoken trips to Vegas. For me, the thirst for good beer experiences is unquenchable.

My wife and children are often my companions as I drag them to another brewery for lunch. They wait patiently while I gab with another brewer about process, flavors and beer culture blah-de-blah. They are good sports and usually get a glass of wine or ice cream, respectively, out of the deal. Experiences like these, however, are easy. So easy, in fact, that beer-and food-savvy travelers seem to ask a new question: “What else you got?”

With beer tourism on the rise and “beercation” slowly becoming a word, beer-centric lodging and tours are popping up around the country. Ale Trails in Portland,Bend, Eugene and the North Coast are dandy, but to one-up the beer travel game, one must immerse himself fully in the culture. To that end, I recommend getting out of the usual beer hotspots (I’m talking about you, Portland and Bend!) and set cruise control on the road to brew discoveries.

HOW TO BEERCATION

DRINK

Out-of-the-way breweries worth visiting:

Ashland: Standing Stone Brewing Co.

Bandon: Bandon Brewing Co.

Boardman: Ordnance Brewing

Coos Bay: 7 Devils Brewing Co.

Depoe Bay: Depoe Bay Brewing Co.

Enterprise: Terminal Gravity Brewing

Eugene: Alesong Brewing & Blending; Falling Sky Brewing

Hood River: Double Mountain Brewery; Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

Newberg: Wolves and People

Oakridge: Brewer’s Union Local 180

Redmond: Wild Ride Brewing; Kobold Brewing/The Vault

Roseburg: Old 99 Brewing Co.; Two Shy Brewing; Draper’s Draft House

Sisters: Three Creeks Brewing

STAY

Beer-centric lodges worth checking into:

Rogue B&B (Newport)

www.rogue.com/stories/stay-with-rogue-on-newport-s-bayfront

Bunk & Brew (Bend)

www.bunkandbrew.com

McMenamins

(eight locations in Oregon)

www.mcmenamins.com/stay

WHAT ELSE YOU GOT?

BEER TOURS IN PORTLAND

Brewery Bike Tours, Portland

www.pedalbiketours.com/oregon-tours/#oregonbrewerytour

Brewvana’s Beer & Barrels

www.brewvana.com/tours

BEER TOURS IN BEND

Bend Brew Bus

www.bendbrewbus.com

Bend Tour Company’s Cycle Pub

www.cyclepub.com

Bend Trolley

www.thebendtrolley.com

Wanderlust’s Shoes, Brews & Views

www.wanderlusttours.com/shoes-brews-and-views-snow-shoe-tours

BEER TOURS IN EUGENE

Pacific Pub Cycle

www.pacificpubcycle.com