Friday 28th of October 2011 01:03:11 PM

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Upright Brewing is in the basement of an attractive new building in an odd location between I-5 and the Willamette River in Portland. It’s challenging to find (enter the lobby through the wooden doors on Wheeler and take the elevator to the basement), but a fun place to visit. The “tasting room” is a corner of the daylight basement brewery. There are a few tall tables without chairs, a couple of picnic tables, and a metal stand with t-shirts nestled amongst wooden barrels (presumably aging beer). Soft music plays from an actual vinyl record player with a nearby bin of records. You can also walk up to and around the brewing area and see more casks in an area further back from the small windows. The floors and some of the walls are concrete and the ceiling is high and has exposed joists and a multitude of pipes, ducts, and conduits. Walking around gives a really good view into a small production brewery.

The beers are highly unusual, generally farm-house style, but very good quality. We particularly liked the “Seven”.

There is no food except for pork rinds with mustard.

You can get a growler filled.

Saturday 29th of May 2010 11:54:54 AM

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The Upright Tasting Room is a unique place. In the basement of the Leftbank Building, surrounded by barrels of aging beer and with taps coming right out of the brewery's cooler, it's like hanging out in the basement of the coolest homebrewing friend you have.

It's only open Friday nights from 6-10, Saturdays and Sundays from 1-6, and for a couple of hours before Blazers home games next door at the Rose Garden. There isn't often much in the way of food.

If you're not familiar with Upright, their specialty is Franco-Belgian Farmhouse style ales. Almost all of the brewing is done with open fermentation in a closed room that you might get to look into from the window (after all, you're right there in the brewery). They like to shake it up with one-off brews that often defy categorization, or by barrel-aging one of the regular lineup with adjuncts like hot peppers or fruit.

While you're there you'll have the chance to buy bottles of their beers (sometimes bottlings which are only available at the brewery). Growler fills are $10-15.