🍺 Portland’s Ultimate Brewery Bracket: The Sweet Sixteen

We’re impressed, Portland — y’all feel really strongly about your local brews, huh?

This race was fraught with close calls, early winners, and dark-horse contenders.

We learned a LOT from our first round of match-ups. Scroll on for the results — and start voting now for the Elite Ate (er, Eight).

😊 Classics (sort of) were the cheers of the bar

Breweries like Ecliptic, Ex Novo, Laurelwood, Occidental, and Breakside all made it to the Sweet Sixteen with flying colors.

We also saw some STRONG votes for folks like Little Beast Brewing and Upright Brewing.

🤔 Early potential winners have emerged

Breakside Brewing, Occidental, and Upright Brewing brought in well over 130 votes each in their respective races. While this bracket isn’t playing favorites, the incoming votes from you lot made it clear across the board that these breweries are forces to be reckoned with.

😬 Some of the races were neck and neck

While some strong winners were established early on, the race between Backpedal Brewing and Laurelwood was TIGHT, with the latter squeezing a win by just a few votes. As we progress through each round, it’ll be delightful to see how Laurelwood squares up against its next opponent — Occidental Brewing.

This race made the winners work hard for their victories — some results were determined by just a few votes, right up till polls closed.

To reiterate — our bracket is not here to find the “best” Portland brewery, because “best” means something different to everybody. But we are here to highlight the breweries that Portlanders really love and which ones you feel best represent our fair city.

And what these results showed is that a good Stumptown brewery holds its own.

Regardless of whether or not your favorite brewery made it to the next round, be sure to show the Sweet Sixteen — and by extension, some of PDX’s most beloved local institutions — some love and support. 💖

Portlanders really 💖 a good brewery

Across the board, we saw voters pick passionately to root for their favorite Portland brewery. Quite a number of you feel strongly about PDX beverages — close to 3,000 votes poured in. We are sure to see more tight races ahead as our 16 victorious breweries get whittled down to eight.

Vote here by 9 a.m. on Monday, July 12 to see who’ll make it to the next round.

❓ Bracket FAQs

Here’s a quick primer on how our brackets work: 

Who lands on a bracket?

The original 32 slots are based on reader nominations and staff research. There’s a nomination period before each bracket to collect recommendations on who to include. There is no fee to participate, and you can’t buy a spot in the bracket.

How do votes determine the bracket?

Who advances in each round is based strictly on the number of votes received for that round. We’ve had some tight match-ups, so every vote counts! And yes, you can vote more than once in each round.

How can I sponsor a bracket?

Our sales team works with companies who want to sponsor brackets and related events. For more information, contact Benjamin Chaffee.

Tell your friends!

Contenders are welcome to encourage their fans to vote for them. Past participants have posted flyers and created social media campaigns to rally their troops.