Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom

Nice bar on SE Division. Came here after hanging out on SE Hawthorne and dinner down the street from here. Chill, contemporary vibe. If you like beer in addition to cider, this is a good place to get a mix of both.

Imperial is like Portland bottled up into a perfect bottle of craft beer. It is a bar/​tap room/​beer shop that offers a huge selection of unique and interesting beers. If you are a craft beer lover, then this is your ideal place to get a tasting board or pick up a few bottles to take home. The people working at Imperial are experts and will help you find your new favorite beer.
There are picnic tables outside to enjoy your beer in whatever weather Portland has to offer that day. They serve a small selection of snacks or you can pick up a pint of Salt n Straw across the street and have the ultimate cliché Portland experience.

My friend and I always end up here after we do dinner on Division Street. (Or on occasion we’ll bring food into Imperial for dinner, because they encourage that too!) It’s got a great vibe, big windows, and helpful bartenders. And I’m always happy with the beer selection.

After food carting, this is a great place to sit back and enjoy a beer. Always great selections!

This is the BEST little tap room in all of Portland. It’s owned by a young couple named Shawn & Alex. They have put their heart and soul in this fine establishment. Everyone is super friendly and the food is top notch.

Always a solid selection of beers and cider and always a fun, lively atmosphere. I like Imperial a lot. It’s a good place to start your evening or afternoon on Division because you can then walk to a restaurant for dinner or happy hour. I usually like to nibble on something while drinking a beer, so it’d be nice if they expanded the food menu to include something other than Chex Mix, but I understand that adds a whole new level of responsibility and work (that sounds sarcastic, but I’m not trying to be! I’d rather have them serve no food than mediocre food.) We always have a look at their massive selection of beers-​to-​go and are usually able to find something new and interesting to take home. Overall, a great spot for a date or a group of friends!

Excellent bottle shop with a consistently impressive tap list. The place is always immaculately clean, the staff are helpful folks and they carry beer that can be hard to find. We happened to find this place during our first trip to Portland and we’ve been back several times since we moved here. Very laid back vibe with good beer — can’t miss!

After a couple dozen visits, I can confirm I believe this to be the best taproom and bottle shop in all of Portland. Their prices are great. The bottle and can selection is great, and their prices are often lower than I see at the breweries themselves. The acoustics are good, so even when it is crowded, it is quieter than any of the other taprooms around. Their staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating to all from the passer-​by who knows nothing about beer to the beer enthusiast like myself. I am a great fan.

Great environment! Alex and Shawn are the best! Awesome selection by bottle or tap. Super cool that you can bring food in from elsewhere or order take out.

My sister and I came here while waiting for a friend for dinner. It’s a great taproom with a very wide selection on tap also to be brought in bottles.
They don’t have a kitchen but you can bring food in.
The vibe is chill. They have some games available to choose from.
Unilocal 100 Challenge (21 out of 100)

Top notch selection! Come here if you want to sample the best west coast beers.
The vibe is super chill with maybe an occasional sports game on TV. They encourage outside food and that’s great since so many options around here!

My friend & I came in here to kill some time waiting for a table at Pok Pok, and we were so glad we did! They have an amazing selection of beers with several on tap. We did the $ 8 beer tasting flight.
I’m not a huge fan of beer to begin with, but I really enjoyed most of the five that we sampled. The most interesting one was a crème brûlée beer which we paid 50 cents extra for (I think because it had a higher alcohol percentage). I also loved that they come in little mason jars — so cute!
There’s a beer chilling barrel/​bucket thing where they’ll let you chill a beer you purchase from the shelves which I thought was cool.
This is a great place to stop by to try some new beers. Would definitely recommend + come back again!

I’m a huge fan of most bottle shops and taprooms because they always have the widest selection of ciders. Imperial is no exception. It’s also located in a great area and the nearby restaurants deliver here! Even Sunshine Tavern (one of my faves). They have a pretty small space, though, which can be annoying on those popular nights. But picnic tables outside are great.
The bartenders really know their stuff and are always very helpful. My dad and brother are beer snobs so we usually make one stop here while my family is visiting. They are never disappointed and neither am I.

Great bottle selection, frequent tap rotation. Order food from down the block and eat here. Cool, mellow vibe, friendly bar tender, mostly regulars here. Sit outside when it’s nice with your dogs, everyone else has theirs here.
Ask the bartender what she recommends as so many on tap are small run, keg only that you’ve never heard of. She won’t steer you wrong.

Extra star for location. Within walking distance of popular destinations such as Tidbit Food Farm, Salt&Straw, Pok Pok, and Whiskey Soda Lounge. That 2 hour Pok Pok wait? Fck that.
Tap list is decent. Standout — Upright Brewing Rose Saison, tea-​like, very light, floral notes, subtle cherry flavor, barely sour. $ 8 for a tray of 5 mini mason jar pours. Mini mason jars. So Portland, so Portland. Nice large open windows for warm weather. And since its summer, all I wanna do is chill and get shaded.
Had high hopes but something about the vibe was off. Crowd was a little pretentious. Also, bartenders were pretty dismissive and in a rush. Imperial just aight. Don’t go out of your way to visit but if you’re in the area, its a convenient place to pass time.

Sweet little taproom just down the street from Pok Pok and Salt and Straw. Great selection of beers on tap and in bottles.
I liked this place for the atmosphere. The music was very chill, and if I were a local, I could see myself coming here to read a book and enjoy a beer, or just have a nice conversation with a friend. There actually was a guy here doing just that — studying and enjoying a refreshing local brew.
If you’re in the area and have some time on your hands definitely get a sampler — $ 8 for 5 different beers. Awesome price and you won’t be disappointed

I stumbled upon this place while exploring the area after discovering Beer Mongers didn’t have the bottled Bruery beer I was hoping hard to find. And they had it. Sitting there on a shelf with about 6 other varieties of Bruery beer. Beautiful. Well played, Imperial.
I can’t attest to table service or drinking on-​site because there wasn’t sufficient time for me to indulge, but from what I saw the tap list is respectable though not overly impressive. The bottles are where it’s at here. So much good stuff to choose from. Beer snobs rejoice!

Oh my goodness, the Chex mix. I know that sounds like a weird way to start a review of a tap room, but it’s about the yummiest thing I’ve ever had with beers/​ciders! I visited last fall on a business trip and brought some friends who lived in the area but had never been.
Oregonians are spoiled in the choices of hard ciders they can enjoy on tap that are locally produced! I’m from the midwest, and I am hard pressed to find anything that’s even close! I was really happy to sample several ciders and beers on my visit. The selection of bottles for purchase is really expansive too. My friends are repeat visitors now, and if I lived in the area, I would be too!
Be sure to follow the Imperial Bottle Shop & Taproom on social media. They frequently have events and draft list updates so you can stay in the know.
As I mentioned, they have Chex mix, and I think a few other snacks to enjoy while tasting, but they don’t have a full menu of food. They allow you to bring in food of your own, and it’s a very relaxed atmosphere.
Next time I’m in the area, I will be returning!

Slightly above average PDX tap room. Good variety, decent prices, bright, clean space.
Not a lot to say about it, honestly. Great place if you’re in the area, but not something you’ll probably want to travel across the city to check out.

Awesome spot on SE Division to grab a giant IPA or a flight of 5 beers/​ciders of your choosing.
Staff were sassy. It was a Saturday evening and the sandy haired gal behind the counter was basically like «WHAT DO YOU WANT, ORDER AND GET OUT OF MY FACE» … so we panicked and ordered as fast as we could. You’ll notice this doesn’t affect my rating. It’s whatever, most bartenders aren’t friendly anyway. If we had questions about their offerings, it probably would have triggered her. Seemed like a personal problem.
The Sampler: grab a card and write down five beers or ciders that you’d like to try. For $ 8, this thing is a steal. I threw in a couple novelty items like cherry cider and coffee IPA, which I would never want to drink a whole pint of. The sampler’s good for that.
There’s plenty of seating inside, but they blast the AC, so grab a picnic table outside if you can and enjoy the people watching. Sitting out there in the early evening heat, sipping a beer, is a very nice experience.
This is definitely a summer spot for me. The inside is stark and brightly lit and chilly, so come here while it’s still hot and you don’t need a comforting and cozy atmosphere with your brew.