Tap Season 2026 Has Started in the Tualatin Valley

Tap Season 2026, a two month celebration of Tualatin Valley breweries, cideries, and taprooms, launched last Thursday, January 15. This is a great opportunity to get to know the Valley’s craft beer and cider scene, thanks in part to the organizing efforts of Explore Tualatin Valley, the local DMO/tourism group. They’ve created a digital passport, planned a launch party, helped bring a collaborative brew to life, and gathered some alpacas.

So Where Is the Tualatin Valley, Anyway?

Portland-area old timers probably think this is a no-brainer (I would not blame you if you were in side-eye mode right about now) but as someone originally from the west coast but still learning about where things are in the Portland metro area, I had to take a look myself to better understand where the Tualatin Valley is exactly. It includes the cities and towns of Aloha, Banks, Beaverton, Cornelius, Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, and more.

Here’s a nice looking map of the Tualatin Valley:

Here’s the Tualatin Valley pictured via the Google Maps terrain feature—the Valley takes up the right half of the image. (Click to enlarge.)

Also, check out this cool Tualatin River watershed map; my inner cartography nerd is loving it. Finally, check out this article on the Tualatins (aka Atfalati), the indigenous peoples who lived here before Euro-Americans arrived.

Tap Season 2026 Launch Party

On Saturday, January 24 from 1pm to 4pm, the official launch party for Tap Season will happen at Hillsboro Downtown Station, a “food cart plaza,” AKA a food cart pod (outside carts) and food hall (inside stalls) together. They opened in July 2023 on a site that used to be a 1940s Studebaker dealership.

You can read more about its background on the City of Hillsboro website, but what’s relevant to celebrating beer and cider is their indoor bar, which has 36 taps. Plus seating for over 300 people.

Ale-Paca IPA

As part of the launch event for Tap Season, we welcome the official launch of the 2026 “Ale-Paca” IPA, a limited edition beer.

It’s a West Coast–style IPA, the result of a collaboration among 15 Tualatin Valley brewers, all of whom contributed to the recipe and the brewing process. The beer project was spearheaded by Josh Johnson and Roger Wood of Binary Brewing Co; Chris Sjolin of Cooper Mountain Ale Works; Alex Kircher of Golden Valley Brewing and Restaurant; and Ryan Still of Lazy Days Brewing Co.

Look for it to be available on tap at select taprooms, as well as being available in cans. 

Additionally on the alpaca front, there will be an “ale-paca snuggle station”—and yes, that means you get to snuggle with some alpacas.

Additionally, Dale the Ale-Paca will be popping up at various places during Tap Season, at Old Market Pub, 19 Acres Co., Pelagic Brewing Public House, and possibly other places.

Ale Trail Mobile Passport

Passports are fun (we’ve seen them used for events like Around the World in 82 Dishes, and World Vegan Month), and for Tap Season, it’s in a digital format. You can sign up for it here at the signup form about mid-way down the page.

Tap Season’s passport features over 40 Tualatin Valley breweries, cideries, brew pubs, and taprooms. They wanted to highlight in particular a new addition, 787 Brewing, Tualatin Valley’s first (and only) Puerto Rican-owned and Latin-inspired brewery and taproom.

Many of those participating in the passport program offer exclusive deals and discounts over the next couple of months. Here’s how it works:

• Check-in on your mobile passport.
• You’ll receive one entry per check-in for a drawing to win a “Mug Club” membership at a participating brewery.
• When Tap Season ends (March 15), the top two passport holders with the most check-ins will each win $50 gift cards to six Tualatin Valley breweries (total prize value: $300 per winner).

What Else Will You Find at the Tap Season 2026 Launch?

There will be special Tualatin Valley pours, a limited amount of custom swag, promos and raffles from 105.9 “The Brew,” as well as additional activities and passport bonus offers.

Participating Breweries

Here are the specific breweries participating during Tap Season,

• 19 Acres Cider (Sherwood)
• Ancestry Brewing (Tualatin)
• Backwoods Brewing Company (Hillsboro)
• Bearkat Brewing Company (Sherwood)
• Binary Brewing.co (Beaverton)
• Bull Run Cider (Forest Grove)
• Cooper Mountain Ale Works (Tigard)
• Golden Valley Brewery (Beaverton)
• Lazy Days Brewing Co. (Beaverton)
• Pelagic Brewing (Forest Grove)
• Steeplejack Brewing Co., (Hillsboro)
• Stickmen Brewing Company (Tualatin)
• The Old Market Pub & Brewery (Portland/Ashcreek-Crestwood in WA county)
• Vertigo Brewing (Hillsboro)
• Waltz Brewing (Forest Grove)

Note: Explore Tualatin Valley encourages everyone to drink responsibly and to use designated drivers, public transportation, and/or rideshare services. 

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You can find more information about Tap Season on the Explore Tualatin Valley website. This sounds like a great way to get to know the robust beer and cider scene active in Portland’s neighbors to the west.

Tap Season in the Tualatin Valley
January 15 to March 15, 2026
Various Locations in the Tualatin Valley
Launch event at 320 SE Baseline Street, Hillsboro
Explore Tualatin Valley Tap Season website