Beer & Breweries

'On a hot day, have beer and all is well. On a rainy day, have beer and all is well". This ale has a marked place in history and stands tall as the national drink of many countries. But if you need variety and thrill in having beers, you cannot seriously think of a better place on the globe than Portland, Oregon. It is not far-fetched to speak that many tourists undertake Portland Oregon travel to shake a hand with the frothy beauty.

New York Times on Portland beer

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/travel/escapes/13beer.html

Official Portland beer site

http://www.portlandbeer.org/index.php?page=home

Portland brewery tour

http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/tours/other_tours/breweries_tour.php

Portland breweries are very renowned and for first hand information, you can take a tour into prominent breweries. They generally take a team of 8 at about $40 per person. You get to sample beer, see how it is made, get aware of the distillation process, drafting, and rooting. There are a few precautions to follow. You have to completely cover your feet while touring as a starter.

Portland beer shops hold out Heinekken, Ambers, Carlsberg, Stouts, and other brands. It has a weather mixed with rain and cold. This has fostered the need for beer even more in the locals. Every now and then, you will find a local or tourist sipping beer calmly and without any fuss, as he travels in Portland.

Portland beer fest

http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/

Beer reaches its crescendo during the annual beer festival at Portland. There is a culmination of free beers that day and competitions held on who can throat how many bottles. Willamette River 'beers' a golden look that day. People throng across the river and have the drink to their heart's delight.

Owing to many breweries in Portland, beer is quite cheap here. That is also reason for the worldwide popularity of beer. You can get lost in the crowd on the festival day and feel slight inebriation. It remains with you for a while. The best thing is that there is no hangover.