re: West coast beer trip recommendations

We did SF to Portland several years back.

Day 1 - Flew in to Oakland. I wanted to do Anchor, but flight times didn't work out, so I settled for an Anchor Steam on the wharf before hitting the road for Santa Rosa. I did my beer nerd required pilgrimage to the always great Russian River that evening.

Day 2: Started at Quintessa vineyard for a private tour and tasting that was hooked up by a good friend. Then to Healdsburg for lunch at Bear Republic Brewpub (very good food. Classic west coast brewery). From there it was a long haul to our spot for the night at the Benbow Inn, which is in the middle of fricking nowhere. Good restaurant at the hotel, but that's about it.

Day 3: Did a lot of morning hiking through the redwood stands in the Avenue of the Giants or whatever that highway is called. Made it Eureka for lunch at Lost Coast Brewing (Old school 90's brewery. Decent food and beer). We then hit up Redwood Curtain Brewing across the bay in Arcata. Nothing special, but a relative of a coworker worked there and hooked us up. That night we stayed at a B&B on the cliffs in Trinidad. One thing to note. We went in August, but damned if it wasn't 40-50 degrees on the coast. Take a jacket.

Day 4: Woke up and hiked up Fern Canyon (thanks to TD poster rutiger's recommendation). From there it was a drive up the coast and doing various sightseeing stops at beaches. We arrived in Eugene late afternoon. We had dinner at Falling Sky Brewery, which was the surprise brewery of the trip. I had never heard of it, but it was very good. We ended the night at some local beer bar to sample some more of the area's beer.

Day 5: Made it Portland and checked in to out tiny house hotel. Our first stop was Upright, which is worth a stop. It's located in a tiny basement and somehow he manages to pump out tons of beer in the small space. Very unique brewery. Then we went to Commons (RIP, which I think it's now Modern Times). It's the most architecturally interesting brewery I've been to. Beer was good, too. Then it was down the street to meet up with Jax at Cascade ( Jax, hope all is well). From there the night became a blur. I think we ended up at Base Camp Brewing. They had a campfire with a smore beer a nice spot to look out over the city. I recommend a stop here for last call.

Day 6: Headed up the gorge to do some sightseeing. There was a huge fire going on, so it was very smoky. Got back in to Portland that evening to hit up Apex bar and Beer Monger(rec from Jax). Walked around the corner to Baerlic Brewing (decent). Ended the night at some neighborhood joint by our house and I proceeded to have my dad school me and drink me under the table.

Day 7 - hungover flight back to Nashville.