Barley Brown’s Brewpub
When a Mexican family opened an authentic Mexican restaurant in Baker City, it looked like a bad omen for Tyler Brown. Brown helped run his family’s own Mexican-style restaurant, which was the only one in town at the time. However, the eventual closing of his family’s restaurant allowed him to open his own brewery 16 years ago.
Barley Brown’s Brewpub is now one of the most awarded breweries in the country, with 24 Great American Beer Festival medals. He credits the local El Erradero’s opening with allowing him to take a chance on a brewery endeavor he wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
Brown originally worked to convince locals to try local craft beer by handing out samples at the door. Today, regulars and visitors alike love favorites like Coyote Peak Wheat and Tumble Off Pale Ale.
Groups can sample from eight fresh ales on tap, dine on locally sourced fare and listen to live music on the taproom stage, which is perched 10 feet off the ground.
Portland’s Distillery Row
When craft distilleries nationwide boomed in the early 2000s, Portland producers decided to capitalize on the movement to band together in 2010. The distillers created Portland’s Distillery Row, a nonprofit to market their tasting rooms in vacant warehouses.
Called the epicenter of the emerging craft distillery movement, the former industrial district now houses a slew of independent makers of small-batch spirits. The nonprofit has attracted attention from liquor connoisseurs, bartenders around the world and casual visitors looking for an afternoon activity.
Instead of choosing one of the row’s eight distilleries, guests can sample as many cocktails as they want with the purchase of the Distillery Row Passport. Groups can also opt for the DX Pedicab’s Portland Distillery Tour to learn secrets behind the distilling process while sampling various unusual flavors.
Favorite liquor samples include House Spirit’s Aviation Gin, Eastside Distilling’s Burnside Bourbon, New Deal Distillery’s Hot Monkey Vodka and Stone Barn Brandyworks’ October Dapple Apple.
