Should we call it the Hops District? Lupulin Alley? The Green Zone?
The Oregonian’s Andre Meunier broke the news yesterday that Ruse Brewing would be opening a new taproom literally on the same block as Breakside’s Slabtown brewery. This was already shaping up to be quite a neighborhood once Brujos opened in the old Hammer and Stitch space in the spring, just down the street from Great Notion’s production brewery and taproom.
In the past, I’ve posted the most convenient brewery crawls for people visiting the city, and they all relied on proximity. I don’t recall, however, any of them having a particular theme. All four of these breweries are known for their hoppy ales, however, which makes the 1.2-mile stroll connecting them quite the attraction. In fact, these might be the four breweries in the city most known for their hoppy ales, which makes this the hoppiest mile in the state. So in celebration of Ruse’s announcement, let’s map out this emerald of a walking tour.
Stop 1: Great Notion
This is the site of Great Notion’s main production brewery, and we start here because it’s situated in a properly industrial section of Northwest Portland. We’ll work our way back to Slabtown and end at Ruse. Great Notion was founded in 2016 by three neighbors and homebrewers who were among the first Oregonians to pick up signals from the East Coast about these newfangled opaque IPAs they were making out there. When the three took over the brewpub of a recently-departed brewery on Alberta, they introduced Portland to hazy IPAs. In the eight years since, Great Notion has grown into a small empire, with taprooms from Seattle to the Bay Area. They’ve also grown in skill. Their hazy IPAs remain the gold standard in Oregon, and they have evolved with the Oregon palate and deviate somewhat from the East Coast originals. Ripe and Juice Jr. are the classics, but they’ve expanded into West Coast versions of their hazies, so check those out as well.
Walking instructions. Turn left when you leave the brewery and left again on Nicolai one block, turning right at 27th. Walk another block toWilson and turn right, and proceed three and a half blocks, with Brujos on your left. (Don’t take Nicolai to 24th, as Google instructs—my route is far more pleasant.)
Stop 2: Brujos
Brujos is the new kid on the block—sort of. The brewery is new, but Brujos is a decade-long project of Sam Zermeño, who started using that name for his homebrew brand in Southern California. After he became a professional brewer, it became an occasional collab project with professional breweries. His brewing journey brought him to Oregon and eventually to Great Notion during the pandemic. Both there and later at Living Haus, Brujos became his side-project with periodic releases. The new site on Wilson was the final reanimation of Brujos. (I wrote a long piece about the brewery here.) It’s a gothic funhouse space, definitely the most interesting ambiance in Portland, and is now the place where you can reliably get a Brujos beer without trying to trade for rarities. They don’t have regular beers, so stop in and experiment.
Walking instructions. Turn left when you exit the brewery and head east a half block to NW 23th, turning right. Head south four blocks to Raleigh, and turn left, heading west one block to Breakside, on the southeast corner of the intersection.
Stop 3: Breakside Slabtown
This is Breakside’s third location, originally conceived as an IPA laboratory. Breakside is probably still Portland’s reigning champeen in terms of popularity and general accomplishment, having won about every award there is. Of their various pubs and breweries, the Slabtown location is the hoppiest; eleven of the 14 taps are pouring something hoppy right now, which is pretty typical. Breakside favors non-hazies, but they play the field with everything from hoppy lagers to black IPAs. Breakside IPA and Wanderlust are their twin flagships, but you may not find them elbowed off the menu by the hoppy experiments whipped up in house.
Walking instructions. When it opens, Ruse will be located on the same block, so head either way and walk to the northwest corner of the intersection of 21st and Quimby.
Ruse Slabtown
If Breakside makes classic NW IPAs and Great Notion and Brujos favor the haze, Ruse has managed to keep a foot planted on both territories. They do have recurring beers, but like Brujos they also make a lot of new beers. Even more than Great Notion, Ruse has crafted their hazy IPAs to appeal to Oregonians. They’re drier, less cakey in body, and a bit more bitter. I seem to often find a pale ale at Ruse that has been finely crafted to place the lush hoppy flavors and scents within the balanced drinkability of the style. Finally, if they reproduce the blend of beers they offer at their original location, you’ll also find lagers and other traditional styles, so this may be your best place to find a palate cleansing pilsner.
Walking instructions. Exit Ruse and locate your Uber or Lyft. If you’ve managed to hit all four breweries, you better let someone else drive you home.