As far as I’m concerned there are three powerhouse beer towns in Oregon: Bend, Portland, and Eugene. I am very familiar with the first two (having lived in both) but my knowledge of Eugene breweries has come more slowly. Why? No offense to the beer loving citizens of Eugene, but I kind of hate Eugene. Now hear me out. My first few trips to Eugene were for work for a job I didn’t really like and since the aforementioned company was based in Eugene, I worked with many Oregon Ducks fans who are often really annoying. Most of them were wonderful people otherwise but when the conversation turned to college football, ugh, it was annoying and tiresome. It probably also doesn’t help that I earned my master’s degree from the University of Washington, a noted rival of the University of Oregon. Is all of this Eugene’s fault? No, not really, but I want to get my rant about this damp, patchouli scented den of homeless people and college students out of the way before I talk about the beer. Let it also serve as an explanation as to why I don’t really go into further detail about the city outside of the beer. Citizens of Eugene, feel free to call me out on this but I’ll warn you that I have two friends who live in Eugene so I have heard all of the defenses of your fair city already. Now with that out of the way, onto the beer.
Southern Food? Yes please.
While doing my research for these trips I take deep dives into each brewery’s website, seeing not only what beer they have on offer but what food options they have going on. The latter is what drove me to Elk Horn Brewery (also the fact that I’d never had their beer before). Elk Horn specializes in southern food, from BBQ to fried chicken to gumbo and fried okra. I had the Cajun Chicken sandwich (basically fried chicken on a bun) while my husband tried their pulled pork sandwich. Both were delicious and this place has really good fries (I am a connoisseur of fried potatoes so I like to think I know a good fry when I taste it).
Elk Horn also has a nice selection of brews on tap. I sampled the Velvet Antler Red, a balanced red ale that was perfect for the start of fall, and the Scoggin’s Common, an easy drinking California Common. Side note: I love a California Common and wished more breweries brewed that style. My husband had the Hoppy Kettle Sour and the Lemon Blonde both of which were pretty tasty (especially the Lemon Blonde).
No Sir, I will not fall in that hole
Our next stop was Coldfire Brewing which is currently surrounded by some street construction (including the nice man with the Ditch Witch who warned me to not fall into the giant hole they had just dug near the sidewalk). Coldfire’s tasting room is a little hidden away, sandwiched between Skinner Butte Park and the Willamette River. The space is similar to a lot of newer tasting rooms: open floor plan, small patio, a nice view of several of the fermentation tanks, and a food truck out back. By calling it similar, however, I am not trying to infer that it is bad. Far from it. The tap room has a nice chill feel while still being industrial (a combination I thoroughly enjoy) and most importantly, serves some excellent beer. Also, fun thing to note about the industrial style: the fermentation tanks are all named (and are all ladies). Forgot to ask if there was a meaning behind the names so fair readers, if you know, drop me a line.
I had sampled some of Coldfire’s beer prior to this visit as they do some distribution to Bend. I bought a four pack of their St. James IRA a few months back and enjoyed it very much, so I knew that this was definitely a place I wanted to visit next time I was in Eugene. I knew that Coldfire was the place for me as soon as I spotted the tap list and saw a dry hopped Brett Saison on there (a Brett Saison is one of my favorite styles and I will sample one whenever I see it). Their Brett Saison Seeds of Infinity did not disappoint either. So fucking good, you guys. They also bottle this beer so you can bet that I also bought a bottle to bring home with me. While visiting I also sampled the Stylish Kolsch which is crisp, clean, and delightful on a warm day (also bonus points because they served it in the appropriate glassware). My husband went with the Cumulus Tropicalus (a hazy IPA, a four pack of which also came home with us) and Peaches and Dreams (a peach sour which was very subtle and not overpowered by peach flavor).
The Hoppiest of Valleys
Now, I am fully aware that some beer nerds have a serious issue with macro breweries of any kind. I am not one of those people so be forewarned that I am about to say some nice things about a brewery that is owned by Miller Coors. Everyone prepared to deal with that? Good. Hop Valley Brewing has been a favorite of mine since I started drinking craft beer (back when they were still technically a craft brewery) and as far as I’m concerned still make some of the best widely distributed IPAs in the Pacific Northwest, which was why their downtown tap room was our last stop of the day. (I also have two friends that work there who I was meeting up with). This was my first visit to this location (I have previously visited their pub in Springfield, OR which I would also recommend) and was pretty impressed. This location has a large patio out front, a wood paneled tap room near the main bar, and another space that is primarily utilized for private events. It’s definitely a good place to chill and have a beer and a snack (I would recommend the soft pretzel).
If I have an issue with some larger breweries’ tasting rooms, it can be a lack of experimental beers. Unlike their close neighbor Ninkasi (who I love and makes one of my favorite reds but who only serve their core beers at their tap room-although I’m hoping this may change with their upcoming expansion) Hop Valley has an excellent experimental program and has a number of those beers on tap at any given time. While there I sampled their Mango and Stash, a fruiter version of their core offering Bubble Stash, and Ripple, a pale ale. I may have had a third beer as well but at this point I was neglecting my reporting duties in lieu of having fun.
To finish off the evening my husband and I headed over to Cuthbert Amphitheater where we had tickets for Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. Great concert, nice outdoor venue, and the fourteenth time I have seen Flogging Molly (side note about me: Flogging Molly is one of my absolute favorite bands and I have loved them since I discovered them my senior year of high school). If you have not had the pleasure of hearing their music before, let me share. They always put on a great live show and that night was no exception.
One last word to the wise about Eugene: do not visit on a weekend when there is a University of Oregon football game happening. It is busy everywhere and good luck finding a hotel. Also don’t be a dumb dumb like me and get tickets for a concert the weekend before school starts at said university.
Happy drinking, my friends! Prost!