As the Mercury‘s Travel Editor (for those of you who peruse the masthead in the print edition, that is indeed my job title, although for next week I am thinking of changing it to Boat Cop), it is my duty to inform you that Travel + Leisure magazine* has voted Portland as Number One in their list of top US beer cities. That means that you should stop whatever you are doing and gulp down a pint in celebration.
Done? Okay, good. This plaudit is probably no surprise to anyone who’s lived here for longer than five seconds; I think Portland has topped numerous “best beer city” lists before, but the fresh July issue of T+L again verifies it:
Talk about a beer capital: the Oregon city has 39** operating breweries—more than any other city in the U.S. The big names include MacTarnahan’s and BridgePort—the latter offering a seasonal Stumptown tart made with local strawberries. No surprise, AFC voters embraced the Oregon city for its all-natural personality, ranking it first for farmers’ markets, summer visits, and being eco-conscious.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I will be two growlers deep for the rest of the afternoon. It’s my civic duty!
*whose name must always be pronounced as “Travel PLUS Leisure magazine” and never “Travel AND Leisure magazine”
It is just to bad that they decided to showcase a microbrewery that A) sucks and B) is owned by an east coast conglomerate.
Although Portland is my favorite too, I really have to say that leaving San Diego (my #2) off of this list really strips it of all credibility. I know that most of SD’s breweries aren’t in the core, but I was amazed at how it is a big part of the culture there (pubs, events, etc.). How can they not even mention SD in the article? Meh, these results need to be thrown out.