A few miles up the road is Wild River Brewing and Pizza Co. (wildriverbrewing.com). To date, there are five Southern Oregon locations but the original is in Grants Pass (595 Northeast E. St.) where you’ll find their Wild River Publick House across the street and down half a block. People find it puzzling that the pizzeria has more taps than their own pub, which amiably accompanies not just wood-fired pizzas but a fireplace for ambiance as well. Among their 14 offerings, the IPA is a popular choice among patrons but Dennett opts for the kölsch-style Harbor Lights when enjoying an Italian sausage and black olive pie.
Standing Stone Brewing
On the southern end of the string of Southern Oregon breweries is the idyllic town of Ashland. When not soaking up Elizabethan culture on any of the several stages on the OSF campus, there’s plenty of fine suds to lap up. Start with lunch at Standing Stone (standingstonebrewing.com; 101 Oak St.), where the menu is approachable but way beyond basic pub grub. Everything is sourced locally and sustainably down to the burger topped with smoked tomato relish and their own Standing Stone Stout cheddar cheese, which washes down with their Double IPA. Definitely save room for dessert and hope they have their chocolate cake during your visit, which, while eating and drinking there with a friend, he declared the cake “richer than three feet up a bull’s ass.” Naturally, it pairs perfectly with their Noble Stout, an oatmeal stout made with coffee from local Noble Coffee Roasting (281 Fourth St.).
A mere two-block walk away is the Caldera Tap House (calderabrewing.com; 31 Water St.), opened by popular demand by the production-only Caldera Brewing Co (540 Clover Lane). Among the interesting facts gleaned from Lisa Morrison’s new book Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest, the Tap House is housed in the former Siskiyou Pub, home of the original Rogue Brewing (now in Newport, OR, a hefty drive over to the coast). Caldera, named for the prominent feature in Crater Lake National Park, cans a perfectly hoppy pale ale and an even more perfectly hoppier IPA that should be a chief provision for hiking the caldera, but while in Ashland, sit and sip on their deck. Hopportunity Knocks IPA can be enjoyed year round but their summer-long Hibiscus Ginger Beer is among their more unique (and sessionable) concoctions.
