Beer of every style, flavor, color and strength is at your fingertips across Eugene.Andre Meunier/Staff

Let’s say you’re heading into Eugene to see one of track and field’s best events, the World Athletics Championships 2022, known this year as Oregon22 and being held July 15-24 at Hayward Field. Fortunately for you, you’re in a town that has some of Oregon’s best beer, too.

From the mixed-fermentation brilliance of perennial award-winner Alesong Brewing and Blending, to the excellent pours of ColdFire Brewing, to the legacy of popular Ninkasi Brewing, options abound.

And it’s not just breweries either. From longtime Eugene favorite The Bier Stein to the patio party that is beergarden, tap houses across town offer you a variety of breweries all under one room, plus food and packaged beer to take back to the hotel or Airbnb.

We did the hard chore of seeking out and sampling Eugene’s best spots so when you arrive in town, your work is done for you and choosing is easy. Read on to find our top choices, delivered alphabetically, for places that sound just right for your palate, your mood or your location.

Alesong Brewing and Blending is among Eugene's top-tier breweries -- a perennial award-winner.Andre Meunier/Staff

Looking for exquisite mixed-fermentation ales aged in barrels? Alesong is your place, whether out of town at the country brewery or in town at the tasting room and patio, which feels like you’re relaxing in the square of a quaint European village. “From tart and fruity to rich and malty, there’s something for every palate,” Alesong says, and that, like its beers, is spot on.

The back patio at beergarden gives you all you need: a comfortable place to sit, a cocktail bar, beer and food carts.Andre Meunier/Staff

This is a true beer garden – from the greenery-filled back patio populated with picnic tables, umbrellas and food carts, to Gray’s Garden Center right next door. The taproom salvaged the bar and other workings of a Marie Callender’s restaurant that closed in 2014, and now you get better food plus beer in an energetic atmosphere that, oh yeah, also includes a patio cocktail bar.

Claim 52 Kitchen is a lively spot for scrumptious pub food and creative, boundary-pushing beers.Courtesy of Claim 52 Brewing

Adventuresome in your beer palate? Maybe looking for a beer style that’s a little more wowzah? Head to Claim 52. Here you’ll find fruity smoothie and culinary-inspired beers, like Splash Pina Colada Sour IPA, Schticky Maple Coffee Cake Imperial IPA or Stuffed Raspberry Apple Cheese Danish dessert sour. And you’ll get it all in an open-to-the-street pub and patio with nachos, sandwiches, burgers and tacos.

ColdFire Brewing is one of Eugene's best breweries and also has an outstanding food cart pod.Andre Meunier/Staff

ColdFire would be an A-list brewery for any city in Oregon or beyond. Its beers rarely miss and run the gamut of styles, including lagers, West Coast and hazy IPAs, barrel-aged and sours. Not to mention spacious patios out front and in back, where a host of food carts offer you a mélange of options.

Falling Sky Brewing is cozy, friendly and delivers good beer and burgers.Andre Meunier/Staff

This small brewery flies under the radar but is a hidden gem. New owner Stephen Such has delivered some needed direction to the brewery, which has made huge strides in the past year toward dialing in recipes focused mostly on pub-style classics. Not to mention Falling Sky delivers one of the best burgers you’ll find in town.

At First National Taphouse, you'll find one of the best tap rooms in Eugene.Andre Meunier/Staff

It’s a rare find to discover a de Garde Brewing beer on a taplist, then add in breweries such as Holy Mountain, Cascade Brewing, Fearless, pFriem, Urban Family, Wayfinder … you get the idea. The tap board is packed with goodness and arguably the best in town, set in a spacious rustic taproom with sidewalk seating.

Gratitude Brewing is an easy stop if you're staying near the University of Oregon.Andre Meunier/Staff

You may have never been to Gratitude Brewing, considering it opened months before the pandemic started. But it’s blocks from the University of Oregon campus in an inviting space that offers sandwiches and small plates to go along with a range of hazy and clear IPAs, sours, pub styles and lagers.

Hop Valley Brewing delivers hop-forward beers at its brewpub in northwest Springfield.Andre Meunier/Staff

You know Hop Valley Brewing – you see its beers splayed across your grocery store shelves every day, thanks to the strength of parent company Molson Coors backing and wide distribution network. If you’re staying on the east side of Interstate 5 in the northwest part of Springfield, the pub is a good stop for hop-forward beers and an endless offering of IPA styles, which the brewery does very well.

McMenamins East 19th Cafe is close to Hayward Field and an easy spot for lunch or post-meet beers.Andre Meunier/Staff

And of course you know McMenamins and its string of breweries and brewpubs. The East 19th Cafe is classic McMenamins with one advantage for our purposes: It’s blocks from Hayward Field, site of the championships. Pop in for lunch or after the day’s events for a pint and a game of tabletop shuffleboard or billiards.

Ninkasi Brewing's Better Living Room is a must-stop for those who appreciate Eugene's beer history.Andre Meunier/Staff

Speaking of well-known legends, Ninkasi Brewing’s name is synonymous with Eugene. Co-founders Nikos Ridge and Jamie Floyd brewed their first batch of Total Domination IPA in 2006, and the rest is history. Drive into Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood now and see the familiar Ninkasi blue, teal and black splashed across the breweries’ buildings, then pop into its spacious and modern Better Living Room pub and accompanying beer garden for a pint and bite. You’re experiencing legacy Eugene.

Oakshire Brewing is a longtime Eugene brewery and a staple of the Whiteaker neighborhood.Andre Meunier/Staff

And yet another old school Eugene brewery still delivers with innovation and a rainbow of fantastic ales and lagers. Also founded in 2006 and a stone’s throw from Ninkasi, Oakshire offers its own spacious tasting room and patio with food carts sprinkled all about. The beer options abound, with classic IPAs, pub styles, modern IPAs, barrel-aged beers, smoothie beers, sours and mixed-fermentation offerings.

The Bier Stein, a favorite of locals, brings all your beer needs together under one roof.Andre Meunier/Staff

Rivaling even the best Portland beer bars and bottle shops, The Bier Stein delivers every beer need under one roof. Great taplist? Check. Delicious pub food? Check. Cooler after cooler of cans and bottles to go? Check.

The Wheel is the place to combine pizza and beer, and what goes together better?Andre Meunier/Staff

If watching all those world-class athletes do their thing inspires you to get moving, you may find yourself on a short hike up Skinner’s Butte. Descend on the west side and find the perfectly placed The Wheel Apizza Pub, an airy pizza-focused brewpub. The pepperoni pizza nails it, and a tap list splashed with lagers and various IPA styles, among others, is the perfect complement.

PublicHouse's beer hall is in a former Springfield church, along with a food annex and whiskey bar.Andre Meunier/Staff

Say “wow” the first time when you walk into this beer hall converted from a former church, complete with vaulted A-frame ceiling and walls of stained-glass windows. Say “wow” the second time when you take a look at the tap list and try to figure out which gem to choose. You also have delicious options from vendors at the adjacent food annex, a spacious outdoor court for quaffing, and the Whiskey Lab. PublicHouse, a sister bar to beergarden, is worth the drive over to Springfield if you’re staying in Eugene.

-- Andre Meunier; ameunier@oregonian.com; sign up for my weekly newsletter Oregon Brews and News, and follow me on Instagram, where I’m @oregonianbeerguy

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