Google Places takes a beer tour with Brewvana in Portland, Oregon

Last week in Portland, we invited 14 of our most dedicated Google Places users to join us on a tour of local breweries with Brewvana owner Ashley Rose Salvitti. The mission? To experience Portland’s finest handcrafted beers. To get one of the seats on our tour, users had to review 30 of their favorite places in Portland and send them our way.

The adventure started at one of Portland’s most well-loved breweries, 5th Quadrant, the latest addition to the Lompoc Family of breweries around town. Guests on the tour were able to sample four of their best handcrafted beers, along with an array of food.

We then headed to Burnside Brew Company, where we sampled a very exotic dish called the duck cigar (see below), paired with various pitchers of the classic IPA, Oatmeal Pale Ale, and Sweet Heat.

At each stop, guests reviewed their experience using the Google Places app on their Android device or iPhone. In their reviews, they told us what they liked best about each brewery.

Here are some reviews written on the tour:

• Jeremy Rios on Lucky Labrador Brew Pub: “Great beer and tasty treats. Bring your dog in!”
• Kevin on Burnside Brew Company: “Had an enjoyable time here and the Duck Cigar appetizer we had was excellent with a cold beer. The food on the menu sparked my interest (example: Porkfecta: chili braised pork belly, pork crackling sorbet, pork brittle.) even though we were not here long enough to partake in more, I'd like to come back to try out some of the exciting food and beer.”
• Emily on 5th Quadrant: “So impressive, amazing beer! If you like dark beer try the LSD. Def will have to come back. Also really good meatloaf sandwich! 
• Kevin on C Bar: “Nice bar with great selection of pinball if your a fan. We enjoyed a light dessert (Strawberry Shortcake) to finish out our evening of brewpubs. The Trip VIII was excellent with its strong hop flavor masking its surprisingly high alcohol content (10.2%).”

What better way to end the night than strawberry shortcake at C bar?

A big thanks to everyone who came out! If you missed us, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and review your favorite places on Google Places — the more great reviews you share, the better your chances of getting an invite to our next brewery tour, pizza party or happy hour tweet-up.

Be sure to stay in touch with us on Twitter at @GooglePDX and on Facebook for the latest news about Google Places in Portland.

Posted by Charles Koh, Google Places community team