Now that the warm, sunny days of spring are back, it’s a perfect time to get out and meet new neighbors and friends throughout Estacada, Sandy, Boring and other communities. An on-farm cidery and a cutting-edge brewery concept from the mind of a brilliant biochemist are just a couple of the creative, innovative and tasty places waiting to be discovered.
The Mt. Hood Territory Tap Trail is a free mobile passport that will get you discounts and specials at 15 local breweries, cideries and distilleries, including to-go and outdoor options. If you redeem at 10 or more locations within a year, you can earn a Mt. Hood Territory Tap Trail stainless pint glass.
Tap Trail highlights
Sandy
Boring Brewing honors the place where this nanobrewery was born. When they moved in October 2018, they didn’t go far (about a 10-minute drive), setting up shop in Sandy. And they remain true to their core mission of making small batch, handcrafted beer. Plus, you can bring your own food, so explore the city’s delicious cuisine options with a stop at Sandlandia food cart pod, AntFarm Café, or Le Happy. Their taps are continually rotating with new beers (part of the benefit of being a nanobrewery). Some of the beers we’ve loved are the Rosemary Oatmeal Stout and the Hot Scotch, a Scottish ale with scotch bonnet peppers.
The Boring Brewing Co. has a variety of tasty beers on tap, including the Rosemary Oatmeal Stout and the Hot Stotch Scottish ale.
Boring
Boring has been a hub of activity recently, including the restoration and reopening of Mt. Hood Center, a topnotch equestrian facility. Eager to have a presence in their original home, Boring Brewing Co. opened the Boring Beer Garden at Mt. Hood Center, which just finished setting up its taps and opening in mid-April of this year. This spot is in addition to their Sandy location. Expect plenty of special events, including regular live music. Check out their Facebook page for regular Beer Garden updates.
Estacada
Bent Shovel Brewing creates craft ales and lagers on their 10-barrel system along the Clackamas River. In November 2019, they moved their visitor friendly space from their brewery to an existing beer garden in Estacada. Sometimes that kind of transition can result in sacrificing atmosphere, but not in Bent Shovel’s case! They moved from one forested setting to another, even bigger one. This expansive space offers many picnic tables, including some covered, as well as fire pits and plenty of twinkle lights… and, of course, their expansive menu of craft beers.
Just outside of downtown Estacada, you’ll find a beautiful 36-acre farm that’s home to Stone Circle Cider. Once exclusively devoted to growing Christmas trees, Stone Circle Cider transitioned to growing heirloom variety cider apples in 2015 and is now an on-farm cidery. Stone Circle likes to point out that great wine isn’t made with table grapes, and they apply that principle to cider, too! This is why they blend English bittersweet apples with American heirloom ones. Stone Circle’s dry cider is their signature beverage, made with a blend of over 12 varieties of apples in a scrumpy style inspired by the English West Country.
Once you’ve redeemed at 10 or more locations within a year and you’re ready to pick up your Mt. Hood Territory Tap Trail stainless pint glass, head to a taproom in downtown Estacada. Clackamas River Growlers is the exclusive pint glass pickup location and has 32 rotating taps of local and unique beers and ciders. The owners of this community-centric spot are deaf, so they have created several fun ways to order your drink, including posting American Sign Language hand signs on each of the taps and providing pads of paper for passing notes.
Learn more at mthoodterritory.com/taptrail.
