The Best New Beer Bars & Taphouses in Oregon
Craft beer may be powered by brewers, but the power of education and discovery is with the beer bars, bottleshops and Taphouses that provide the first and often best platforms to learn about the wide world of beer. Beer bars and Taphouses are frequently the best places to find your community, and essential to the existence of the plethora of beer options that we all know and love. In celebration of these third places that can sometimes be the first, best, or only places in their community with small-batch, local, or imported beers, we like to highlight the best newcomers from across the state. These are the best new beer bars and taphouse in Oregon that have opened in the last few years.
8600 N Ivanhoe St, Portland, Oregon 97203
There is an awesome new beer bar in N. Portland’s St. John’s neighborhood that has some serious craft beer bonafides. Married longtime beer nerds and professionals Joe & Kellye Fuscardo met in California where Kellye spent time managing Karl Strauss Brewing pubs as well as Artisanal Brewers Collective group in the LA area. The couple moved to Austin, Texas where Joe worked in the cellar at Jester King Brewing, brewed at Pinthouse Brewing. After moving to Portland, Oregon they took up residence in St. Johns, and before opening Awesome Beer Bar in October 2024, Kellye worked for Bamboo Sushi and Joe as a brewer at Irrelevant Beer in Vancouver, WA. Awesome Beer Bar came about serendipitously as the Fuscardo’s found the shuttered storefront for what used to be beer bar/bottles hop Hoplandia at the base of the very apartment building they were living in. They were able to bring back what was a beloved beer bar that closed in the pandemic and make it their own. The Fuscardo’s do everything at Awesome Beer Bar, from hosting their our own weekly trivia and music bingo to running the taps and selecting the packaged offerings. The selection is entirely based on their tastes and customer requests. The draft list has a big range from the ever popular Pilsners and local IPAs, to always a sour or Saison, dark beers, and a barrel-aged flavor, plus cider. For those wanting something light and cheap, there is always a $4 pint of either Rainier or the local Yovu Beer. In the package you will find an entire cooler of non-alcoholic options, some gluten-free, cider, and wine, and of course the mainstream and beer nerdy stuff including a big Belgian beer selection that they are especially passionate about. Awesome Beer Bar is a 21+ establishment as they do not have a kitchen but welcome in outside food of which there is plenty of as they are located just off the main strip in the hopping downtown section of St. Johns. Follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/awesomebeerbar/
472 W 7th Ave #5, Eugene, OR 97401
Eugene’s Beer Club is not as new as it once was, but 2022 was just yesterday in pandemic terms. Eugene has been a beer mecca at least since the Steelhead Brewery opened in 1991 and the Wild Duck in 1996, and the great beer bar and bottle shop The Bier Stein actually pioneered the craft beer nerd hangout spot of retail and hospitality in one space when they opened in 2005. So it would be fair to ask, what does “A Beer Club” have to offer? The main thing you should know about ABeerClub is that it is even nerdier than most, founded by George and Jenny Keim for the explicit reason to become a beer nerd hangout and stocked with rare and specialty beers to geek out on. For this reason you won’t find distractions like mass market beers, or even wine, or food, they keep the focus on the very very carefully selected 26 taps, and an incredible packaged beer list that includes exclusive coolers packed with rarities and cellared beers from the personal collection and only available via membership. The space is decked out in beer street cred, like the hundreds of rare and vintage bottles from around the world that decorate the walls. At any given time you will likely find George, Jenny, or a friend behind the bar with unmatched beer geek knowledge and often popping bottles or cans to share with fellow enthusiasts that have made A Beer Club a home away from home. https://www.abeerclub.com/
Public House Pinball
12960 Southeast 162nd Ave Happy Valley, Oregon 97086
The quickly growing Portland suburbs of Happy Valley are ripe with beer bars like the great Valley Public House. The multi-floor and multi-concept beer and food hall started as a strip mall beer bar and has grown into a concept that includes a 68 drafts taproom, a mini family-friendly food hall, and an upscale steak and whiskey bar. Now they have added a third place called Public House Pinball located speakeasy-style in the basement. This standalone beer bar boasts 20 pinball machines and a handful of new and classic cabinet arcade games, shuffleboard, and darts. All games are Stern Insider Connected which follows top scores and displays them at the bar via LED screen and on a free mobile app available to players. The Public House bar has a selection of more than 30 beers, cider, and seltzers to be enjoyed on-site plus 8 drafts. As Public House Pinball shares the building and an OLCC license with Valley Public House, you can also grab a beer from the upstairs beer hall and take it downstairs to the game room or vice versa.
Prime Tap House at The Flock Food Hall
917 SW Alder St, Portland, OR 97205
When Dong Khounphachansy and his wife Christine Rosencrance opened the original Prime Tap House in a shopping plaza near Streets of Tanasbourne in Hillsboro we featured it on our best new beer bars and taphouses of 2021. But no one could have forseen how this little beer bar would have so much success due in part because of Dong and Christine’s community building positive thinking, great beer list, and incredible Asian and American chicken wings, shoyu plates and bao buns that have earned a huge following. Prime Tap House has now opened their third location at the much hyped Flock Food Hall in downtown Portland at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. This new location does not offer their popular food options, but that is just fine as the food hall holds 6 other restaurants all focusing on authentic latino and asian cuisines. Prime anchors the food hall, with 24 taps of curated craft beer and cider as well as their first foray into housemade cocktails all of which are served on draft. The location for Prime is prime, not only because of the family-friendly food hall amenities but because the corridor running alongside the building is designed to host street parties and be walking, biking and pedestrian friendly for weather appropriate fun and events. Dong and Christine hope to be throwing semi-regular beer festivals there in the near future. https://www.flockpdx.com/
208 N. Main. St., Phoneix, OR 97535
Southern Oregon has a new food hall and taphouse called The Phoodery is helping revive the town of Phoenix after it was devastated by the Alameda Fire in 2020. The small town of about 4,500 people along Highway 99 between Medford and Ashland is bringing locals and visitors back with city backed projects like The Phoodery. Development group Cascadia Prime Commercial invited local food trucks to come into new brick-and-mortar kitchen spaces with their own mini stalls in a food court style. Food options include Truffle Pig Craft Kitchen, WokStar, The Flying Flatbread, Peruvian Point and Ma’s BBQ. Spread out between two buildings there are 6 businesses, with a second location of Ashland, Oregon’s Skout Provisions anchoring with a new taphouse featuring 50 taps and 38 draft beers and ciders plus house cocktails. Set on a redeveloped city-owned lot, The Phoodery is a modern purpose built construction with new amenities for their food and drink partners to make long-term homes. Top features at The Phoodery include rooftop views and a mini food and drink park and grassy beer garden underneath a towering tree, with picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, and family friendly games like Cornhole, ping pong, and connect four. https://phoodery.com/
3870 S River Pkwy , Portland, OR, United States, 97239
Portland’s south waterfront area has been a developing neighborhood since the OHSU tram running from the South Waterfront to Marquam Hill was opened to the public in 2007. There was little going on in this quiet part of town with views to Ross Island and now it is booming with huge office complexes, metropolitan condos, apartments and parks. Now serving thousands of people in a small secluded area, the south waterftont hasn’t had much when it comes to after work drinks outside of Growler Guys location until the new Lone Wolf Watering Hole opened up in January 2025. Owner Jerry Differding has been a regular fixture at craft beer events, and is fulfilling his dream of a craft taphouse and small bottle/can shop in a wide open and thoughtfully designed ground floor retail floor. Lone Wolf is bathed in natural light, and warmed up with lush greenery of hanging and potted plants and a colorful mural of the northwest outdoors hand-painted by artist Skye Walker. The Lone Wolf bar and lounge seating area is dog-friendly but is strictly 21+ which is sure to be popular with some and frustrate families, but this is a beer bar through and through as evidenced by the impressive beer and cider selection. The taproom has 49 rotating taps, both rare and mainstream with offerings from the likes of Brujos Brewing and Kings & Daughters, to classics like Wild Ride Brewing and Terminal Gravity. https://www.instagram.com/lonewolfwateringhole/
225 SW 5th St, Madras, OR 97741
Madras, Oregon is a central Oregon city that is about 8 square miles and a population of 8k, known for its location in the high desert and for its industrial equipped airport and outdoor activities. But until recently there was no craft beer scene or reason to stop for food and drink. As of November 2024, Madras has a Spot worth stopping for, in the new 3,100 sq. ft. 2-floor indoor restaurant bar and taphouse, with a seasonal beer garden, 3 food trucks, and a full entertainment venue space set to debut in early 2025. The Spot is Madras first food hall/cart pod, brought to us thanks to the city reinvesting into building up a downtown area. Some of the extensive features include outdoor fire pits, a second floor bar and patio with a few of the area, a full-service kitchen indoors with liquor bar and craft cocktails and wine list, and of course lots of great beer. The John Brown Entertainment center at The Spot is an upcoming additional 3,200 sq. ft. and 300 seat venue for live entertainment, sports, and private gatherings. The venue is named after John Brown, the historic first African-American to make his home in Central and Eastern Oregon. https://thespotmadras.com/
The Copper Plank at Elks Temple
202 N Central Ave, Medford, OR, United States, Oregon
Established Southern Oregon bar The Copper Plank has been around since 2018, but the locals favorite restaurant, taphouse, and music and dancing venue recently relocated into much more spacious and grand digs for a fresh restart. The Copper Plank is now located in the historic 1915 built former Elks Lodge building. The 28,760-square-foot building had sat empty since 2014 when the Elks Lodge vacated. Lifelong Southern Oregonians Cory and Amy Maukonen have been rebuilding the space piece-by-piece while respecting the American Renaissance architecture first constructed in 1915. The Copper Plank are taking over only about 25% of the building with Fusion Dance, and are hoping to see more local businesses move in and share the annex. The Copper Plank is a classic pizza and beer pub with an old world historic feel and extensive dart boards that give it a very Irish-style pub vibe. Craft beer is at the forefront of The Copper Plank’s extensive 16 draft taplist with everything from southern Oregon favorites like Caldera Brewing, and Arch Rock Brewing, to beer nerd stuff like Pliny, and Fort George, even some imports like Kostritzer Schwarzbier out of Germany. In phase two of the recent reopening they hope to add more cocktails, more beers, and open the basement floor ballroom with a new stage and larger music venue area. https://www.thecopperplank.com/
20260 Main St. NE St. Paul, OR, 97137
St. Paul, Oregon is a rural farming town that is home to so hop farming operations, but had no breweries or beer bars before the opening of the Harvester Taproom. B&D farms Austin Smith had a dream, while running his own Riverside Hop Ranch he was an avid homebrewer and volunteer firefighter with his own brewery in planning. Austin talked to us in 2018 about his plan to open Trellis Brewing at the hop farm, he already had a 1.5 bbl electric system and was brewing his own and sharing bottles to brewers when they came to pick up their fresh hops. His long-term plan was to open a 5-10bbl hop farm brewery, and work was underway to launch the taproom portion of the business before Austin was killed in a late night explosion while responding to a barn fire in his role as a member of the St. Paul Rural Fire Protection District (SPRFPD). Family and friends of Austin rallied to bring his long-gestating project to life as the Harvester Taproom. While the business has never become a brewery as Austin dreamed, it nonetheless follows the values that he held dear as a showcase of farmers, ranchers, industrial suppliers, brewers, distillers, cider makers, winemakers, and anyone else who makes the great state of Oregon an even better place to call home from locally farmed beef and milk to hops and barley. The beautiful Harvester Taproom has a killer beer garden, roll-up glass doors, regular live music and community events, and a modern wood-laden interior with features like a hand built 90 year old Doug Fir table. The build out repurposes historic hop farming equipment like pieces of a an old tractor, a retired hop baler, and wooden reels from a hop trellis. A full food menu is available for lunch and dinner, and the beer list keeps a selection of small batch locals like Long Brewing, Portland-favorites, as well as a few national brands and farmer and brewer collabs. https://www.theharvestertaproom.com/
7033 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97213
City Noise Records relocated from NE Broadway to outer southeast Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood opening in June 2024. The new location is on a stretch of Glisan just a couple blocks from Gigantic Brewing’s Robot Room in an old building with two-suites and addresses, one with records, CDs, books, and shirts with an emphasis on punk and metal, and the Replicant beer and wine bar and bottleshop next door. The bar area is a dimly lit beer and wine-only taproom with serious date night vibes with chill music and occasional DJs spinning. They keep a good selection of to-go product too with just as many bottles of wine as cans of beer. While City Noise has a fanzine aesthetic, Replicant is more ambient and takes it’s name from the humanoid androids from the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner. The atmosphere is chill with dim lights, colorful accents, and vintage lamps and decor. The two separate businesses are connected by a hallway so you can browse records with a drink during City Noise hours. The Replicant bar is a very Vegan friendly bar, although they don’t have a kitchen they do make elaborate vegan cheese boards and have a partnership set up with nearby vegan pizzeria Secret Pizza Society to deliver. Replicant is also very supportive of the sober community, with an extensive n/a cocktails and n/a packaged drink selection from the coolers to supplement the alcoholic stuff and a rotating 10 beer and cider taps that focus on local brands. https://www.instagram.com/replicantbeerwinepdx/
232 West 5th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97401
Eat, drink, play is the key tagline at Eugene, Oregon’s newest taphouse. Play was opened in 2024 by beer industry veterans Holly Emery-Walen who spent time managing Belmont Station’s Biercafe and Eugene’s Beer garden, and her husband/carpenter/DJ Andrew Muckerman. What makes this taphouse unique is the colorful and electric obsession with interactive games and eating and drinking experiences. Play is a true family-friendly games lounge that gives the drinks just as much attention as the activities, and carves out space for adults too. Two of the top features at Play are the batting cages set up for adults or children, the other is a VR golf experience more engaging for grown-ups and young adults. The main seating area has a 32 tap beer bar, booths, and a play area for children. Don’t want to interact with the little tykes? There is a separate cocktail lounge with dart boards. For food they have their own outdoor lot with games and 4 food trucks serving a variety of foods. The event schedule at Play is also packed, from live music and DJs to gaming tournaments and tap takeovers. https://www.playeugene.com/
3612 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
The impressive indoor structure and outdoor food trucks on SE 82nd and Lafayette make up the CORE (short for Collective Oregon Eateries) which opened in 2021. Despite the CORE’s location on a not very walkable strip of 82nd, the pod and food hall has slowly found success first with the Breakside Brewery Beerliner winnebago which later moved to Breakside’s Beaverton location, and now with a permanent new indoor taproom called Publican’s Beer Room. Some people may know the man behind the bar, Chris Shimamoto previously owned beloved bar ‘Barrio’ on 73rd and SE Foster inside the Portland Mercado, before it burnt down in a late night fire in January 2024. At Publican’s Beer Room there are 10 drafts for Shimamato to curate and he seems to have fun discovering new breweries and flavors for himself. A recent trip featured Ruse, Fort George, pFriem, and Single Hill taps, and styles from IPA, lager, to fruited sour and amber ale, plus nitro drafts for classics like Guinness. Shimamoto also likes to showcase his Japanese heritage, so you will find better than average options for sake and soju. The taproom itself is a strange but fun setup, with one open window and counter inside the main indoor hall and seating area in the CORE, and a second speakeasy-esque room with an intimate couple of bar seats and benches in a lounge-like setting that is hidden away and accessible through a hallway connecting the indoors to the outdoor food truck pod. Follow https://www.instagram.com/publicanbeerroom/
7955 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203
Recently celebrating their one year anniversary, St. Johns newish Mosaic Taphouse offers something unlike any other beer bar in Portland with their original fusion of cultures. Mosaic founders Jarek and Laurence Oliver are one of the few queer married business partners in the local craft beer scene. Jarek’s passion for craft beer, and Laurence’s passion for showcasing his Filipino family heritage, make for a fun mash-up with their in-house kitchen partner Chemgio’s Vietnamese street food. The slick but comfortable Mosaic Taphouse has custom features like powder coated and insulated beer lines that drop down from the ceiling to 24 gold plated faucets. Digital tap boards and a solid packaged selection to-go spotlight beer first and foremost, with wine, cold brew, n/a, and seltzers, kombucha etc. filling the selection out. As a community driven gathering spot, Mosaic has carefully selected industry partners and brews local collaborations and throws fun parties like the recent west coast blind IPA tasting during the 2024 Portland Beer Week. On nice weather days, the patio is also a killer spot for neighborhood watching as it is both covered and heated but still open air with large tables great for gatherings. Whatever you do don’t sleep on the food either, Chemgio is making really terrific contemporary Vietnamese food that goes great with beer. The fish sauce wings and the spring rolls with dipping sauce are my go-tos for finger food, but if you want something larger check out the Mini Banh Xeo Tacos in crispy rice pancakes, or the veggie or beef broth with noodles. https://mosaictaps.com/
2006 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
Pop-up event space turned pop-up beer bar Function opened a new location on NE Alberta in Portland in early 2024. The original Function in NW has served as a platform for out-of-town breweries to run limited one month residencies in Portland, introducing Beervana to their brand and beers. The new Function NE is a more open space then the semi-claustrophobic confines of the original basement set NW location and has the room for slick branding of the featured breweries with better seating options, more bar space, and a back room to stock their cans and bottles to-go and serve a special Basement Beer Club. But one of the best advancements to the Function project is that with two locations they are now featuring separate breweries each month, so its worth the drive across town to check out both of them every month. https://functionpdx.com/
7718 SE 13th Avenue, Portland, OR, United States, 97202
South Portland neighborhood Sellwood has a new beer bar and bottle shop called Smitty’s Taphouse and with 30 drafts its one of the better selections in the city. The vibe here is contemporary European-style sports tavern with a brighter and cleaner aesthetic then the older taverns of yore. Clean lines and 12 cooler doors of bottles and cans line the space, with bar seating and a tile backsplash, a handful of booths, picnic tables for groups, and limited outdoor seating, this is a great place to catch up with friends or catch a game from one of the numerous flat screens. At Smitty’s the focus is on keeping the taps constantly rotating, and providing a local spot for games and brews, so they don’t have cocktails or food but welcome you to bring in grub from nearby. https://www.smittysinsellwood.com/
1080 SE Madison St, Portland, Oregon 97214
The popular inner southeast Portland late-night friendly food truck pod Hawthorne Asylum has a new bar on-site called Asylum Spirits. Previously this walled in and gated food truck pod featured a mobile bar trailer called Black Dagger Pdx, but they scaled up in May of 2024 with a permanent brick-and-mortar tavern stylishly designed with ambient colored lights in a dim lounge-like environment. Asylum Spirits has a craft cocktail liquor bar, but beer nerds will be overjoyed to find one of the most extensive taplists in town with 42 handles of rotating craft beers. With an extensive 21 food trucks at the Hawthorne Asylum and plenty of fire pits in an open beer garden, the taproom offers a drinking respite from the elements and much desired refreshment for this incredible selection. https://www.instagram.com/asylumspirits/
263 N Hemlock St, Cannon Beach, OR
Small seaside town of Cannon Beach has a pretty great little craft beer scene for how small and heavily tourism based the local shops and restaurants rely on. In the downtown Cannon Beach corridor one of the oldest breweries in the state, Bill’s Tavern, is a favorite of both locals and visitors, nearby is the homegrown brewpub Public Coast Brewing, and a satellite location of Pelican Brewing. Now Cannon Beach has their own little beer bar and craft bottle shop called the Bodega Taproom. Located on the main drag through downtown in the former Laurel’s Wine Shop, the Bodega is a great find for beer nerds. Husband/wife owners Jesse Heiny & Melissa Ehret bring their knowledge and connoisseurship developed from many years living in Sonoma County, Asheville, NC, and Portland, OR, before moving to the coast. From the outside the Bodega Taproom may not catch your eye, but inside they embrace true publican culture by embracing the community with engagement, and knowledge, and eschewing tv screens and other elements that take away from conversation and relationship building. The small space lends itself to intimacy and curation of their 8 taps, and 100-ish beers and cider, plus another 50-ish wines. Bodega Taproom is happy to fill growlers, and has a grassy little back patio for when the weather is nice. With no kitchen the Bodega is a 21+ establishment with bar snacks, but is located right next door to tons of eateries like the Seasons Cafe, and Tom’s Fish & Chips. https://www.instagram.com/bodegataproom/
460 SW 4th Ave, Ontario, OR, United States, 97914
If you find yourself shopping for home supplies in the eastern Oregon town of Ontario, you would be wise to stop at the The Bar at the local Ace Hardware. Yes you can drink a beer, or wine, cider, or coffee, while perusing the selection of handsaws, pipe fittings, and house paint, because the entire building is licensed with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. The Bar takes the business model of bottleshops like The Bier Stein, Belmont Station, and John’s Marketplace, with packaged beer sales to-go for cans, bottles, or growler fills to go with a can of paint or a big power tool purchase. The Ontario Ace Hardware is owned Baker City, Oregon natives Tori Thatcher and her husband Zach, and it all makes sense when you learn that Tori is the daughter of Barley Brown’s Brewing owner Tyler Brown. So grab a pint of Pallet Jack IPA while perusing the lawn and garden supplies department. https://ontarioace.com/
2401 Portland Rd. Suite A6 Newberg, OR 97132
Newberg, Oregon is home to venerable veterans of craft like Long Brewing, destination worthy Wolves & People Brewery, and newcomers like Coattails Wine & Beer, and Raw Cider. Despite all that, Newberg is more of a wine town known for its lush valleys and local farms. Any good craft beer scene deserves its own taphouse, and the newish Stump own Taps fills that niche in helping establish Newberg as a craft beer worthy destination of its own. With 21 drafts to choose from, Stumptown Taps makes good use of them by selecting almost exclusively local beers and going out of their way to highlight more obscure breweries when they have the chance. These days beer bars need to be nimble and put a little extra work in, Stumptown Taps is all over this with regular meet-the-brewer, tap takeovers, trivia, bingo, showing big games, hosting holiday parties, and generally shouting from the rooftops out to the community about good beer and gathering places. https://www.stumptowntaps.com/