Revisiting the Best Oregon Beers

I will not make a habit of flogging my new book--in fact, this is probably the last I'll say on the matter. However, I did want to draw your attention to one section in the middle called "Best in Beervana," a long-overdue follow-up to some best-of lists I made some time ago. Things change, and the past five years have seen the arrival of lots of new pubs, breweries, and especially, lots and lots of new beers.

My old list of the best beers in Beervana was looking particularly dated. Widmer no longer brewers Snow Plow. Roots no longer brews anything. More importantly, the range of beers has exploded, and while I still love every beer on the old list, not a single one comes from the Belgian tradition. Remarkably, even four years ago when I made my first list there were precious few examples. Many of the beers I most admire today are brewed by breweries that didn't exist four years ago. Of my original ten, only two beers made this year's list, which includes:

• Beers from four new breweries
• Three beers with Belgian lineages
• One cask ale
• Three session beers
• Two sours
• A fresh-hop beer

This time, I didn’t limit myself to an arbitrary ten. My criteria was: you get X number of beers that you can take to a desert island and no more. In order to never suffer from want, which beers would you take? The resulting number was 12--the Beervana Half Rack. I also assembled a list of the best breweries in Portland (9) and Oregon (12) and the best alehouses in Portland (10). Of course, to see which beers, breweries, and pubs made the list, you have to buy the book. (Also note: apparently the $5 "file download" option produces a handsome e-book. Thanks for checking it out, Dann!)

Click to buy the book.