Oregonians have a fastidious devotion to local products: seafood, wine, cheese, chai, ice cream…the list goes on and on. Local craft beer, however, enjoys somewhat of a cult following. There are 28 breweries in Portland alone, and countless other microbrewers that usually consist of a couple of guys in a basement experimenting with hops and barleys and yeast, and showcasing their products only at annual beer festivals.

Telling a local you’re from New York will elicit a brief moment of delight (“I love New York!” or “Oh…must be exciting living there!”), then a prolonged moment of pity (“No good beer there, huh.”) I live in a city where basements are extra apartments, not think tanks for craft ales. So I had friends show me around to the best watering holes in Portland, keeping in mind that a week is hardly enough time to experience the best of the city’s brewpubs.

Sure, there are bigger commercial breweries like Rogue, Widmer’s, and BridgePort, which are all good for large crowds. But for atmosphere, we turned to some of the many brewpubs housed in historic buildings. At the Baghdad and the Laurelhurst, two renovated movie palaces that are also pubs, we bought second-run show tickets for $3 and pitchers of house brews for $10. Every other row of seats has tables to accomodate your popcorn, pitchers, and extra glasses. The films range from foreign flicks to good ol’ slapstick (we saw “Reno 911” at the Baghdad) But here, you don’t really go to the theater to watch the movies.

McMenamins Kennedy School is on the outskirts of Portland, but still draws a large city crowd. The former elementary school was renovated by the McMenamin brothers into a hotel/brewery/restaurant/pub. And renovating in Portland means keeping almost all rooms intact. You can have a drink in the Detention Bar or Honors Bar, or host a private party in the Gym under the basketball hoops. (Note to all imbibers: All the toilets are left at kiddie height.) One room that has been removed is the Teacher’s Lounge; the site has been turned into a hot tub for a nice post-drink soak.

It’s a good thing that there are tons of hiking trails around Portland to cancel out 7 days of IPAs, brown ales, porters, and stouts. The greasy pub fare, on the other hand, will have to be taken care of later.

- by Diana Kuan of Indietrekker fame