The Most Anticipated Upcoming Oregon Breweries and Taprooms of 2021
Coming off one of the worst years for craft beer in decades, Oregon’s beer business returns to form in 2021 with an exciting lineup of upcoming new breweries and taprooms from established favorites and brand new players.
Portland, Bend, Eugene, Clackamas, Albany, Gresham, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Warrenton, Veneta, McMinnville and Hood River will all get new brewery production or taprooms in the near future. The list is so exhaustive we couldn’t fit it all in, instead we will be spinning off many of the listings below into their own standalone stories over the coming days.
Steeplejack Brewing restores historic Portland church
2400 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232
If everything goes according to plan we can all take communion over the bar at Steeplejack Brewing this summer. Taking occupancy of a historic church built in 1909 and christened by the late U.S. president William Howard Taft, Steeplejack plans to brew quaffable ales and lagers that you can gather around with friends and enjoy without feeling any remorse.
The church at NE 24th and Broadway is a landmark of Portland’s Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood known for it’s ornate steeple and long history. The building’s most recent owners Metropolitan Community Church left the building in 2019 and it narrowly avoided being demolished. Turning down competing bids, the MCC leaders chose to sell the space to two homebrewers who wanted to keep the building intact and as a central hub or the community.
BJCP beer judge Brody Day and college friend Dustin Harder purchased the church and have embarked on an epic project to install a 10 bbl brewhouse from ICC (formerly JVNW) with a downstairs kitchen, coffee bar, meeting rooms and a bar in place of the pews at eye level with the dais. Steeplejack has begun exploratory work on the building while awaiting permits to begin renovations that will keep the bones of the building intact while restoring classical building elements with modern sensibilities.
Stingray Cafe in the Leftbank Project will become the future home of the Upright Brewing tasting room
Upright Brewing to open a cafe and satellite taproom
240 N. Broadway (brewery site) and 7151 NE Prescott Portland, OR
Crafting acclaimed farmhouse ales, hoppy pilsners and historical styles since 2009, Upright Brewing climbs out of the darkness and into the light in 2021.
The infamous basement located brewery and it’s intimate tasting room will take over the Stingray Cafe in the lobby of the Leftbank Project building this spring. The move will create a more open seating plan that gives both the brewery and their customers room to breath. The Upright cafe will have natural light through west facing windows, coffee service, and a small food menu.
A new lobby cafe isn’t the only new Upright in the works, a second taproom is coming toNE 72nd and Prescott in an abandoned auto station. The underserved Roseway neighborhood will have a new place for Upright pints while exploring a renewed interest in cask beer poured through English-style hand pumps. While the building will be new, the taproom will have a similarly intimate and jazzy vibe that Upright is known for indoors, while having their first ever outdoor seating options and food trucks outside.
Von Ebert Brewing opens Beaverton and Airport adjacent Pizzeria and Taprooms
Portland and Beaverton, OR
One of Portland’s most acclaimed brewers will open two new taprooms in Portland’s suburbs this Spring as Von Ebert Brewing absorbs By Design Pizza. Opened in 2015, By Design Pizza is a sister company to Von Ebert that shares a co-owner in Tom Cook.
Expanding their award-winning pub experience, By Design Pizza locations in old town Beaverton and Portland’s airport adjacent Cascade Station will be rebranded as Von Ebert’s. Each satellite taproom will retain some independence and remain family friendly pizzeria’s that feature Von Ebert’s beers. Executive Chef Jackson Wyatt has been working on building a synergistic menu that caters to the community of each neighborhood while leaving unique food items and experiences individual to each location. The expansion gives the brewers greater control of how their beers reach the public and reinvests the company in the hospitality business. The two new Von Ebert’s won’t serve liquor or have a bar area like their current Pearl and Glendoveer pubs, but will remain a sit down or to-go option for VE’s great beers and signature pies. More on this coming soon to newschoolbeer.com.
the Breakside Winnebeergo will find a new home at the upcoming CORE food hall and cart pod on southeast 82nd Avenue
Breakside Brewery to open three new taprooms in 2021
Portland, Lake Oswego, and Beaverton, OR
Breakside started in northeast Portland’s woodlawn neighborhood in 2010 as a brewpub with a 3.5bbl brewhouse. By 2020 Breakside has racked up dozens of awards, and has three locations each with their own brewery that produce hundreds of beers and tens of thousands of barrels each year. But even with their successes, the pandemic left the company looking for new outlets for the draft beer market that dried up with the COVID related closures and limitations on bars and restaurants.
Opening locations in Portland’s growing suburbs was always in the plans for Breakside, but those ambitions were fast tracked to 2021 to capitalize on the consumer base who just isn’t leaving their neighborhoods like they used to. With an emphasis on outdoor drinking experiences and to-go sales, Breakside plans to open three new satellite locations on Portland’s outskirts this year. The first is tentatively planned to open this Spring within a food hall and cart pod on SE 82nd ave called the CORE, that will be followed by a taproom and pickup location in a mixed use development in Lake Oswego, and a beer garden in Beaverton targeted for summer of 2021. Find all the details on their planned expansion projects here.
Shimai-Toshi Brewing
Japanese-inspired and Yuzu infused ales and lagers brewed in Portland
A Japanese influenced brewery with a focus on Yuzu fruited beers and seltzer that pair well with food has released their first beer to market. Yuzu Lager is the house brand for the acclaimed Afuri Ramen and was produced using locally grown citrus from Boring, Oregon by one of Shimai-Toshi Brewing’s founders.
Started by four longtime friends and members of Oregon’s cycling, merchandising and design community, Sean McMahon, Ian Marshall, Nichole Lemaire, & Greg Johnson got together with Alan Taylor of Zoiglhaus Brewing to develop their initial product. The inspiration for Shimai-Toshi started with Marshall’s burgeoning obsession with growing his own citrus and figs and blossomed into a beer. Steeped in foodie culture, Shimai-Toshi Brewing is targeting the niche market of Portland’s Japanese food and drink culture with sharp design and branding and beers designed to pair wish sushi, ramen and izakaya cuisine.
Shimai-Toshi’s first and only product so far is currently available in 16oz cans at select Portland bottle shops like Johns Marketplace, The Beermongers, Road Beers and restaurants like Kayo’s Ramen Bar, and Baka Umai.
Waypoint by Bend Brewing Co.
921 NW Mt. Washington Dr. Bend, OR 97703
One of central Oregon’s oldest breweries will open a second location at the Grove development in northwest Bend, Oregon. Grove is a new two-story mixed use building that will focus on a market hall/food court with 8 counter service restaurants, a grocery store, coffee shop and communal seating.
Waypoint will be a casual Bend Brewing taproom and full bar experience with cocktails and wine served with 12 taps of their award-winning classic and modern ales. Phase 2 of the Grove development will add 33 condominiums along Ordway Avenue with occupancy and openings as soon as April 2021. Grove” is located on the 1.79-acre vacant lot on the roundabout at Mt. Washington and NW Crossing Drive and tentatively scheduled to open on April 15th.
Community Fermentation Union
1313 Pearl St, Eugene OR
A new brewpub with a locavore ethos is coming to Eugene. Community Fermentation Union, founded by Nicole Nishimura and Gabriel Yospin, will open soon in the former La Perla Pizzeria. At first, it will begin selling pizza in the same Neapolitan vein as its predecessor from the wood-fired pizza oven. A 7-barrel brewhouse from Colorado Brewing Systems is on its way and should be operational this summer. Yospin plans to please the people with an IPA and Helles lager, and introduce one of his favorite styles: Scottish ale.
Yospin and Nishimura both come from the biology field at the U of O, and both have two kids. Their mission is to make Community Fermentation Union live up to its name: "A place where families can come and feel comfortable, eat good food, and see the process." The brewery will have to fit in a very small, very visible part of the building. In addition, the long term goal is to produce cider, kombucha, mead, breads, pickles, cheese, and charcuterie using local ingredients. Yospin cited a "community ecology approach" not just for the food and waste stream, but as an inclusive vision for patrons.
Pizza take-out will begin on Monday, January 18. - By AARON BRUSSAT
Battery 245 Brewing
Warrenton, OR
Eric Lane and Jonathan Elliot got tired of having to drive out of town to visit a brewpub and finally decided that Astoria shouldn’t have all the fun. The two friends plan to open Battery 245 Brewing in the neighboring city of 6K as part of a redevelopment bid accepted by Warrenton. Both of them are service industry vets, Lane works for Fultanos/Bubbas Sports Bar in Warrenton, and Elliot is a bartender at The End of the Trail public house in Seaside.
Battery 245 will take up residence in a 100 year-old former Fenton Grocery building on main street, the project will encompass three separated commercial spaces at around 3,000 sq. ft. One space a family friendly dining area, another a 21_ bar, and the third a commercial brewing area. The project will open in phases starting with the all-ages restaurant area, before progressing to the bar and brewery.
Elliot is an avid homebrewer who loves to experiment. Some of his recent examples include a sour blueberry milkshake Ipa, candycane stout, breakfast sour, nut brown and several seltzers. With Battery 245 opening with only a ½ barrel electric brewhouse (with plans to scale up) there will be plenty of time to run through small experimental brews.
“I like the idea of always having something new on tap and experimenting,” says Elliott. “With just supplying our establishnent we should be able to keep up, and with having a full bar and wine, that should help out with the brewing...I'd like other brewers from other breweries, that just brew one recipe, come and brew on our system and collaborate, that would also take stress off.”
With the age of the building and amount of work and funding needed, it could be a minute before Battery 245 Brewing gets off the ground. But the locals aren’t going anywhere.
Oregon Trail Brewery (new ownership)
341 SW 2nd St #A, Corvallis, OR 97333
Oregon Trail Brewery, the oldest brewery in the Willamette Valley (1987), and the Old World Deli in the same building have been sold and will begin to release beer under new ownership later this year. Oregon Trail founder Dave Wills had listed the brewery for sale some years ago, and finally sold it at reduced cost to the family of a former brewer there.
JD Pickett and his brother, Waylon, grew up in Corvallis, going to the Old World Deli. JD brewed there in the early aughts, and always thought he'd like to own the business. So, in late 2020, he and his brother bought it. "At the worst time possible, we decided to keep them alive," he said of the brewery and deli.
The brothers are keeping on brewer Weston Zaludek, who was trained by JD and has run delightfully amok in breweries in Eugene and Corvallis. Currently, the brewery is under construction to bring in a brand new cold side; fermentors and brite tanks from Specific Mechanical in BC. Otherwise, the three-tiered, gravity fed brewery will remain intact. "The hot side is staying the same, but we're fixing things that were broken," says JD.
Other changes include a retooled IPA recipe and canning; the other flagships (Wit, Ginseng Porter, and Bourbon Barrel Porter) are sticking around.
The deli will continue to produce its sandwich menu, but add more "true delicatessen" items and an espresso machine. In the large space, Waylon, a sound engineer, plans to install a small (150-200 person) live music venue. - By AARON BRUSSAT
Back Forty Beverage - contract brewing, distilling and packaging for small producers
10123 SE Brittany Ct Clackamas, OR 97215
A new Clackamas production facility is primed to become the only Oregon brewery that doesn’t make their own beer label. Say what? Contract brewing isn’t a new concept, but it’s been mostly reserved to large breweries looking to cut costs or increase distribution. Oregon has very little history of contract brewing, it’s almost a foreign concept outside of a few rare examples. What makes Back Forty Beverage even more unique is that it will focus on helping out small craft breweries and distilleries, not mass production for national brands.
Brice Barrett comes into the brewing and distilling industry from a background in manufacturing in the aerospace industry. As a fan of craft beer and spirits, Barrett will bring his experience in production to the industry by providing an outlet for small businesses that need help meeting demand in a cost efficient way.
Back 40 is installing a 20bbl 3-vessel brewhouse from Marks Metalworks capable of producing more than 20,000 BBL per year from 20bbl fermenters and 40bbl brite tanks. They will also have a 500G hybrid pot still with a 20″ diameter side column for rectification and an inline botanical infuser. Back 40 has not yet announced who the head brewer will be, but Daniel Ruiz, a 12 year veteran of Clear Creek Distillery will head up the spirits operation.
With a two level production facility with office space for their clients to work remotely, and a separate warehousing and loading bay, Back 40 aims to be an easy jump for small brewers and distillers. But as they were building out the facility, Barrett realized he had to pivot their focus from draft output of beer to cans. The ½ acre+ space of land and 3,000 sq. ft. main building will have refrigerated shipping containers for packaged beer storage.
“Covid did a weird thing to us, our first plan out of the gate was packaging. The draft business just went away, it evaporated. You can look at the industry post covid, and I dont think it’s just going to go back the way it was,” says Barrett, who now plans to install a canning line with kegging a secondary option.
Housed in the former ABC roofing building in Clackamas near I-205, the Back 40 fermentation and warehousing space is conveniently located for distribution and storage. Barrett says they have a number of interested clients and expects to be in production by mid-year.
Arable Brewing
Veneta, OR
Chris Archer will just pass his 10 year anniversary at Ninkasi Brewing before setting off on a new brewing adventure in Veneta, a 15 minute drive west from Eugene. Fellow Ninkasi employee Cam Wells and his wife Amy also join in the project, located in a former meeting hall on Broadway that dates to when Veneta was a prosperous mill town. They are still in early stages, seeking out a 5-barrel brewing system and working on the financial side.
Archer said the brewery will first open as a tasting room and food trucks, but will phase in a full pub. Beers will be "clean" to begin: a pretty standard scroll of ale and lager beers, though he wants to start stocking up on barrels to fill in order to have blending capabilities for wild ales in the future. - By AARON BRUSSAT.
Craft Beverage Consortium
Portland, OR
As we first reported in early 2020, the former Burnside Brewing Co. production space will be re-established as a sort of ghost brewery for other independent craft brands. Portland restaurant and bar group Chefstable has partnered with Culmination Brewing founder Tomas Sluiter to launch the Craft Beverage Consortium at an undetermined date when dine in options and draft beer sales return to viability.
The CBC has enough production, cellar and storage space to incubate or launch new or growing brands in the beer, cider or seltzer world. Chefstable brought KEX Hostel and their beers to Portland in 2019, and in 2021 will be able to restart production of their ales and lagers at CBC. For nanos struggling to get a leg up, or an entrepreneur with an idea but not the equipment or space, the CBC will be there for you. The output may include expanded production for Culmination Brewing, and is already beginning development on a local hard seltzer start-up that may be cocktail inspired in flavor profile.
Fruit & Vine - A New Watering Hole in Eugene
Eugene, OR
Nestled in the small business hub of Eugene's Friendly neighborhood, the plot of land where new beverage operation Fruit & Vine opened quietly at the end of 2020 has gone through pretty major changes in recent years. It had been a different food cart pod, which was where Ciderlicious (an outdoor cidergarden, now located up River Rd.) got its start. It has since been leveled, and is surrounded on two sides by brand new, eco-conscious townhouses.
Fruit & Vine opened as a simple trailer with taps drilled in the side, but long term plans (post-COVID) are to build a two-story beergarden surrounded by food trucks. There will eventually be 20+ taps of beer, wine, cider, and kombucha. - By AARON BRUSSAT
Nebuleus Beer
Portland, OR
Timothy Crook started homebrewing rustic farmhouse ales from his Seattle apartment in 2011. At the time, there was little in the way of local commercially available examples other than Upright Brewing. Perhaps that was part of the reason he and his wife Rachel moved to Portland and began focusing nano production on time intensive low acidity but highly complex and drinkable mixed culture beers.
“A lot of popular commercial wild offerings at the time were super sour -- things like cascade and upland, so I took it into my own hands to brew beers that were kind of the same style but much more drinkable while still being complex and interesting,” says Crook.
Over the past few years, Nebuleus has been brewing mixed culture and barrel-aged beers on a tiny scale while trading them to friends and a small group of fans. In 2021 they plan to make the garage 1bbl nano a commercial operation.
Utilizing only hand picked fruit from local farms and a house yeast culture that uses dozens of strains of saison yeast, brett, lacto, pedio etc. and almost entirely Mecca Grade Malt. Neuleus will be bottling up these blends that include young fresh saison, “middle age” funky saison, and up to 3 year old barrel-aged saison. The production is tiny, availability will be scarce, unless you subscribe to a future membership club or hand purchase through a webstore via their instagram account.
Bierly Brewing moves into new space in downtown McMinnville
624 NE 3rd St McMinnville, OR 97128
Bierly Brewing has been making gluten-free beers 40 gallons at a time since Spring of 2016 but is relocating into a larger building in McMinnville’s historic downtown area.
Their new home was formerly a bicycle shop for several decades, which means their is less chance of gluten contamination that would come from a previously established restaurant or bar. Founded as a draft based business, Bierly Brewing began to package their beers in 2020 and has been working hard to meet demand. Their new building will more than quadruple their space from 800 square feet to 4,000. It will also allow them to add a restaurant, full pub and hopefully some outdoor seating in a much more visible area of town.
Working Hands Beer opens a lager centric taproom in Hood River
As we first announced in October, Hood River is getting a new lager centric brewery called Working Hands Beer from an alumni of Ferment Brewing and Wild Ride. Sharing a taproom and expanded production space with Slopeswell Cider, they plan to have a taproom and restaurant with back patio seating open by summer 2021. The first Working Hands beer is on the market and it’s a cold IPA called “First Tracks” and is available at the Slopeswell taproom to-go only, and at local Hood River area bottle shops and taprooms.
Owner/brewer Kasey McCullough reports that his Helles lager is nearly finished lagering, and a Pilsner is in the works. The delay to market since their initial release is explained by their stringent adherence to slow conditioning.
“I do colder ferments than most breweries that do modern lager techniques, and longer lagering times to get the beers to clean up naturally and I find it turns out a better beer,” says McCullough.
Read all about Working Hands Beer here.
Mutantis Brewery + Bottle Shop
6719 NE 18TH Ave. Portland, OR
Technically Mutantis opened their bottle shop in Portland’s woodlawn neighborhood before Christmas 2020, but they did not start brewing in-house until the end of the year. What makes Mutantis unique is that it will be entirely gluten-free beers, and will keep a small bottle selection of every other gluten-free brewers that they can get their hands on.
Occupying the relatively recently closed Hi-Wheel Fizzy Wines space, Mutantis will eventually have a taproom and patio in the same building as Tamale Boy and Ranch Pizza. For now Mutantis owner/brewer Jason Yerger is focusing on pickup to-go as he fills his tanks with a vast variety of gluten-free styles. Yerger was the original brewmaster of Seattle’s award-winning Ghostfish Brewing, but plans to explore more creative styles like gruits and farmhouse ales at Mutantis while also making classic pub standby’s. Read more about Mutantis here.
New Spring Brewing is a fresh start for defunct Flat Tail Brewing
140 NE Hill St, Albany, OR 97321
Flat Tail Brewing gets a new lease on life as owner/brewer Dave Marliave reimagines the brand which lost it’s lease in Corvallis last June. New Spring Brewing is not Flat Tail, but the modern reimagining will feature the creative sours and authentic German-styles that Marliave did so well alongside current trends like Hazy IPA and dessert stouts. Read the full story behind New Spring Brewing here.
MadCow Brewing opening Gresham Taproom
686 NW Eastman Pkwy. Gresham, OR
The outer southeast Portland nano brewery that first debuted in 2017 will open their first public facing on-premise location in Gresham this Spring. MadCow takes the plunge into pints and a family friendly tasting room with small bites and cans to-go. Read our full story on their expansion project here.