Congratulations, Portland! #1 Beer City in America!!!

According to the latest (June/July 2006) issue of the Celebrator magazine, Portland (Oregon) is the #1 Best Beer City in America!! (San Francisco Bay Area, while not technically a city but rather a region, came in at #2).

Sure, this is something that somebody who has ever been to Portland for even one day already knows, but still, it's good to be recognized.

The full list is as follow:

1. Portland, OR
2. San Francisco Bay Area, CA
3. Denver, CO
4. Seattle, WA
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. San Diego, CA
7. Washington, DC/ Baltimore, MD
8. Boston, MA
9. New York, NY/ Chicago, IL (a tie)

This is as rated by the Celebrator's writing and editorial staff.

I don't quibble with the first two, but I do question the rest of the list...but, perhaps I just haven't spent enough time in the rest of the cities to really know. :-)

Anybody else have any specific issue with the list, or did they nail it?

http://www.celebrator.com/, but you're better off picking up a copy at your local brewpub, because I don't see this article yet up on their website. So, here's the bit on Portland:

The art of conversation over a finely crafted ale or lager has found its home in Portland. We Portlanders love to meet for a beer. Sure, there are several pubs that have a TV on (muted), but many do not, preferring to revive the spirit of community and invigorate that once-lost, pleasurable pastime of enjoying good company and an artisan quaff.
Craft beer has become such a part of our lives that it is woven into the fabric of our community. We usually don't make a big to-do about it like some places do, with numerous brewers' dinners and competitions and festivals (although we have our share of all those).
Instead, Portlanders quietly rejoice in our beer every time we walk or bike over to our local pubs to share a pint. We elevate good beer when we ask for the beer menu at a nice restaurant. We advance craft beer when we take the kids to a family-friendly brewpub. We appreciate beer when we strike up a conversation with the stranger on the next barstool and speak intelligently about local breweries, or hops, or Belgian tripels.
We celebrate beer in Portland because it's what we are. And it's a part of our lives. Every day. --Lisa Morrison

(all typos in the above post are mine.)

Congratulations, Portland!

cheers,
~Garlynn