The Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area is a canyon running over 80 miles formed by the snaking of the Columbia River through the Cascades. Waterfalls, mountains and hiking trails dot this part of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. In true Pacific Northwest fashion, nearly every town, no matter how small, seems to have a stellar craft brewery.
Beer on the Oregon side, particularly in Hood River, has long been a popular attraction based on the popularity of illustrious breweries like pFriem Family Brewers, Ferment Brewing Company and, the granddaddy of them all, Full Sail. On the Washington side, not so much. Here, along Washington State Route (WSR) 14, lesser-known breweries allow visitors to soak in small-town vibes while sipping beer that isn’t always widely available elsewhere.
Buses shuttle visitors through all the major towns (gorgepass.com) along WSR 14, a curvy road that is the backbone of this beer route. Heading east on a clear day, Mount Hood’s snow-covered peak glows in the sun — a shiny beacon leading into the gorge.
We’ll start in Washougal. Proximity to nearby hiking trails like Cape Horn and Beacon Rock, as well as swimspot Cottonwood Beach, rightly earn the city the title “Gateway to the Gorge.” There are three terrific breweries here to start your journey.
Trap Door Brewing’s space in downtown Washougal produces popular hazy IPAs like Glowed Up, with Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo hops; and Tang, another hazy IPA, dry hopped with a mountain of Mosaic and a dash of El Dorado. The Washougal location has a kitchen that offers pizza, salads and sandwiches.
Down the road and through the industrial Port of Camas-Washougal sit two other notable breweries with very different vibes — 50˚40’ Brewing Company and Recluse Brew Works. Bolt and Amy Minister opened 50˚40’ in 2015, back when starting a craft beer taproom in an industrial warehouse district of Washougal seemed like a bold move. Nonetheless, Bolt’s stellar brews like his crisp Kascadia Kölsch and There’s Money in the Banana Stand Bavarian Wheat Beer (with banana notes from a special strain of yeast) have drawn both locals and visitors of nearby Cottonwood Beach to this feelgood space. A food truck has been added to the back of the production brewery and serves as the kitchen, turning out a full menu of extraordinarily good pub grub.
Based on the success of 50˚40’ as well as an abundance of warehouse space, other breweries have been recently drawn to the port. Camas-based brewer Grains of Wrath is opening a production facility next store to the recently opened Recluse Brew Works. Recluse’s space feels more like Portland than other breweries this far east, with its eye-catching black-and-white murals and minimalist design by Portland-based StarKeep Studios. You’ll find a changing parade of trucks providing a variety of beer-friendly food to go with the crisp, balanced ales and lagers created by Recluse’s brewer and owner, Gus Everson, who grew up drinking Miller Light and still digs a fizzy yellow beer.
The next stop on this gorge beer trip is Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, about 30 miles east. The brewery was opened in 1999 by Bob Craig, who owned a nearby windsurfing shop. Over the years, this neighborhood gem has expanded its outdoor space filled with picnic tables and garden gnomes to accommodate the increasing number of guests. Walking Man has 10 taps of fresh beer made with hand-milled grains ranging from ales and lagers to a luscious cherry stout, along with a full menu including salads, IPA-braised wings, and a cremini mushroom and white truffle oil pizza. Crowlers are available for take out.
From here, it’s a short drive to Carson and Backwoods Brewing Company. This logging-themed brewery has genuine roots in the sawmills that used to be the main economic engine of this region. Jim Waters began making beer at home decades ago while working in the logging industry and taught his sons the craft. When Jim and his wife Debbie opened a market in town, the sons decided to add a small brewery to sell fresh beer to their customers. Backwoods originally served frozen pizzas from the market, but — fast-forward to now — the brewery serves pizzas on homemade dough and a variety of smoked meats like brisket, ribs and linguica from their smoker.
After Carson, follow WSR 14 east and climb the precipitous Dock Grade Road into White Salmon, where Everybody’s Brewing sits on the main drag. This neighborhood spot is notable for its long tap list including lagers, pilsners, IPAs, sours with flavors like peach or passion fruit, and creamy milk stouts like Monster Cookie made with leftover Halloween candy. The kitchen makes more than just the ordinary pub grub. Everything is fresh and scratch made, including a vegan chorizo made with mushrooms and cauliflowers that tops vegan nachos as well as a vegan burrito.
“It says ‘everybody’ on the door; we want to make sure if you’re vegan you can also enjoy good food,” says owner Doug Ellenberger.
The last stop on this journey is Dwinell Country Ales. About an hour’s drive east on the dry side of the Cascades, the Goldendale-based brewery, winery, cidery and taproom is decidedly off the beaten path but worth the trip for beer adventurers in search of unique flavors. Dwinell brews award-winning farm ales made on-site with local wild yeast — as well as foraged ingredients not often used in beer making, like wild yarrow.
Owners Justin and Jocelyn Leigh began catching wild yeast for brewing in their apartment in Chicago for several years while Justin attended law school. When they opened their Goldendale brewery in 2017, they built it with flat open vats to cultivate wild yeast. Here, you’ll also find younger saisons fermented in stainless steel and older fruited beers aged in oak, inspired by the traditional method of bière de coupage. In line with this style, the flavor for these farm ales relies more on the cultivation of the wild yeast that surrounds the brewery than hops sourced from the Yakima and Willamette valleys. This hyper-local approach extends to the yarrow (foraged from the Leighs’ nearby orchard) and wild mushrooms they add to their blended canned farmhouse ales.
Make it an overnight
Looking to make it a two-day trip? Check in somewhere and relax. The grande dame of the gorge is the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, offering a variety of luxurious options, ranging from stately hotel rooms to tree houses to tent glamping. Backwoods Brewing in Carson recently opened eight one-bedroom cabins near its taproom that come with a pullout-couch, fully stocked kitchen, king-sized bed and an indoor fireplace. In Bingen, the Northwest-chic Society Hotel offers cabins, hotel rooms and hostel style bunks in a refurbished schoolhouse. With your stay comes a one-hour visit to the spa, which includes an outdoor hot tub and indoor warm tub, cold plunge and sauna.
