Grains of Wrath Opening Portland Location at former Lompoc Sidebar
Washington's Grains of Wrath Brewing will open a Portland location at the recently closed Lompoc Brewing building on North Williams Ave. Grains of Wrath Portland will feature a new 15-barrel brewery to supplement production and an intimate but edgy 21+ taproom in the former Lompoc Sidebar space at 3901 N Williams Ave.
GOW was founded in Camas, WA in 2018 by former Fat Head's brewer Mike Hunsaker, Brendan Greenen, and partners Brendan Ford and Shawn Parker. The metal and punk aesthetic, elevated pub grub and Hunsaker and brewer Owen Lamb's diversity of styles have proved a big hit. From west coast-style IPAs (and the occasional hazy) to craft lagers, stouts, fruit sours, classic German styles, and barrel-aged beers, GOW offers the entire package.
Both Hunsaker and GOW brewer Owen Lamb brewed at Ohio-based Fat Head's Brewing when its Portland outpost opened in 2014. Hunsaker left in 2016 to found Grains of Wrath, and Fat Head's soon transitioned into Von Ebert Brewing.
Grains of Wrath has been one of the more award-winning Washington breweries over the past few years, earning medals at the Washington Beer Awards, Great American Beer Festival, and Best of Craft Beer Awards. Its beer has been embraced by Oregon and Washington, even winning The New School's Non-Oregon Beer of the Year for 2019. Grains of Wrath beer distributor Day One Distribution hasn't been able to keep GOW in stock, and distribution to Seattle has been scarce to non-existent. The expansion will free up tank space in Camas for greater service to the metro areas.
“We are very excited to expand Grains of Wrath’s footprint to the Portland area.” Says Greenen. “The Portland market has been a big part of our history due to Mike’s time at Fat Head’s which has led to a dedicated following of our beer from GoW over the past couple of years. We very much look forward to be able to expand to try to meet the growing demand for the beers we currently make as well as to the opportunity to get a little more creative at the pub in Camas.”
The Portland expansion will specialize in brewing some of GOW's core hoppy beers, allowing them to make more lagers and diverse styles and one-offs in the Camas brewery. GOW has maintained a close connection to the Portland market, and sells most of their beer in the city even though they are a Washington brewery and just a short drive over the river. The opening of the N. Williams Ave. location will allow GOW to become a member of the Oregon Brewers Guild and participate in events like Zwickelmania and the Oregon Beer Awards.
Mike Hunsaker has always felt a kinship with Oregon's brewing industry and has been anxious to officially be welcomed back into it. The GOW team hopes to open their Portland taproom later this Spring with a brand new 15-barrel brewhouse from Portland Kettle Works installed late this summer.
Grains of Wrath Portland will feature an intimate 50 seat taproom and fireside setting, a small kitchen will offer elevated plates from a limited menu. A full bar with GOW's signature aesthetic and a full cocktail and spirits menu will be part of the package. The adjacent, and now closed, Lompoc 5th Quadrant is not part of the new Grains of Wrath and will be leased separately by the building owners.
About Grains of Wrath (GoW)
Based in Camas, WA this classic Northwest hop-centric brewery takes its name from the Bad Religion song Grains of Wrath. The extremely popular two-year old brew pub has already garnered some impressive awards. Most notably, its Dystopia IPA won Gold Medal at Washington Beer Awards in 2019 and the Vienna Lager took Bronze in 2018 and Silver in 2019 at the Great America Beer Festival. With a popular variety of core craft beers and a seasonally rotating menu, the industry veterans at GoW offer something for everybody.230 NE 5th Ave., Camas, WA ph: (360) 210-5717. Learn more at www.gowbeer.com