Visiting Portland breweries

If you're serious about casual beer-drinking, buy a day ticket for unlimited bus rides ($4 daily or $10 for three days) and equip yourself with the free map provided by Tri-Met. Then mark up your map with your intended tour stops.

A map showing locations of breweries around Portland is on the Oregon Brewers Guild Web site: www.teleport.com/~beer.

You can buy bus tickets from the Tri-Met office in Pioneer Courthouse Square, Monday through Friday or in advance by mail. Tri-Met's customer service desk at Pioneer Courthouse Square (701 S.W. Sixth Ave. in downtown Portland) is not open on weekends but if you call at least a week in advance, a map and information will be sent to you free. Phone: 503-238-7433. Web: www.tri-met.org.

Portland is relatively compact, and most breweries are located west of the Willamette River, or close to downtown. Tri-Met's map shows all the bus routes and times. Tri-Met services are free in the area bounded by the west side of the Willamette River and Interstate 405 up to Union Station. Portland's light-rail service, MAX, is of limited use for visiting most breweries in Portland. Tri-Met buses and light rail operate until about 1 a.m.

If you want to venture further afield, there is also a concentration of breweries south of the city in the suburb of Lake Oswego. These, too, can be reached by bus.

The Widmer Brothers Brewery offers free tours at 3 p.m. Fridays and at 1 and 2 p.m. Saturdays. No reservations necessary. Phone: 503-281-3333. For general information on Portland and accommodations, contact the Portland Oregon Visitors Association at: 877-678-5263.

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