Ex Novo Brewing Co. - Portland

Fantastic brewery! The service is quick and friendly, and they offer a great selection of beers. The decor is lovely, and there’s a water station available. You can choose to sit indoors, outdoors, or at the bar. They also have flight options where you can try four different beers.

Ex Novo Brewing Co. put up a strong challenge for their 3rd place rank in our Top 5 list. Out of the 8 beers we sampled, each one easily scored above 3.5. Fortunately for me—and unfortunately for Melissa—we happened to visit at the beginning of "Fresh Hop" season. Fresh hop beers are exactly what their name suggests, and Ex Novo already had several on tap. Our favorite was the Eliot IPA, which comes in two fresh hop variations—Strata and Centennial—sourced from Goschie Farms, about 50 minutes south of Portland. While the regular Eliot IPA holds a score of 3.85 on Untappd, the fresh hop versions, Strata and Centennial, soar past 4.1, clearly marking them as local favorites based on the comments. Although Ex Novo does offer more than just IPAs, hop enthusiasts should definitely stop by between late September and early October. If hops aren't quite your thing, I recommend trying the Cactus Wins the Lottery. This refreshing 4.3% Berliner with prickly pear is perfect for a warm September afternoon.

I had a wonderful experience at Ex Novo. The fresh hop IPA was fantastic, and the staff were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. It's definitely a great place to stop by!

Ex Novo was the first bar we visited on our Oregon coast trip, and it was easily the best one we went to on our trip. The bartender kept us entertained the whole time with good chat about the beer, some cool history and pour styles and some good places to grab a bite to eat. Love the atmosphere and location. Recommend this spot for sure.

They no longer serve food at this location, just snacks. You can bring in food from a nearby food cart pod. Beer is great.