Windmer, Bridgeport, and Portland Brewing were the three original Brew Pubs in Portland that basically got everything started. Success did a fair bit of damage to both Widmer and Portland. Windmer received a substantial investment from one of the US Majors - Miller I think but am not sure - in exchange for a sizeable share of the company. Quality seemed to wane as they tried to distribute beyond their core Portland market. Portland Brewing started out as a small hole in the wall brewery and took a major hit in Quality and uniqueness when they went semi public and built a massive brewery in the industrial district of the water front. Bridgport held out the longest and always made the best ales of the three in my opinion. They were the first to provide cask conditioned ales to the area. They were purchased a few years ago by the folks that own the Ponzi winery. From what I can tell, the basic operation of Bridgport hasn't changed with new ownership. They are still in the same building and the same people continue to make their beer.Rob Creighton wrote:.... Widmer beers at the brewery sitting with the brewers just were not very good (regardless of how much they sell).
Bridgeport and Pelican was the best I tried in Oregon and I know I would gravitate to them if I lived there. Portland brewery had some really funky flavours that a lot of us sort of looked at each other and wondered about. ....
These days there are literally hundreds of small breweries to choose from between Oregon and Washington. Some of it is very very good, some just plain awful - beer and green chilis just don't mix. But you can't beat the variety.