Ruse Brewing Crust Collective coming to the Vancouver Waterfront
Ruse Brewing’s Crust Collective is rising from the inner eastside of Portland’s Brooklyn district to the pristine waterfront redevelopment of Vancouver, Washington. As one of Oregon’s best and buzziest breweries, an expansion has been highly anticipated since Ruse opened their first location 3 years ago. The Ruse Crust Collective will be a family friendly taproom and the brewery’s first foray into food service with a Detroit-style pizza theme.
“Obviously we love pizza, and haven’t ever met a person that doesn’t.”
To make their pizza dreams come true, Ruse has partnered with Vancouver based Covalent Architecture to design a space conducive to the kitchen and being able to serve large crowds in a small-ish 1,825 sq. ft. of space next to Shark Tank stars The Yard Milkshake Bar. The corner suite at 650 Waterfront Way has large windows, covered outdoor seating, and is directly across from the grassy green park on the waterfront making it a central location for families and gatherings. As it stands, the space is a blank canvas that has never held a previous tenant. General contractors Buildform will be building out everything from the plumbing, framing, electrical work, and HVAC while Ruse Brewing oversees signage, tables, art, and a steel leaf bartop similar to the one in southeast Portland.
Getting into food service came naturally to Ruse Brewing co-founders Shaun Kalis and Devin Benware, both of who worked in many roles at various brewpubs and restaurants from McMenamins, to Old Market Brewpub and the defunct Brannon’s Brew Pub to name a few. But it was a trip to San Francisco to see their friends at Cellarmaker Brewing that inspired them to open a pizzeria.
“When Cellarmaker brewing had us down for a collaboration a few years back they literally ordered the entire menu and brought it out to us, the pizza and salads were amazing, creative and thoughtfully plated. We had never experienced that caliber of food from a brewery, we were for sure inspired by that experience,” says Devin Benware.
Co-founder Shaun Kalis says they will approach their pies with the same creativity as their beers, he sees pizza as a canvas that need not fall into strict style definitions.
“We definitely will be offering familiar style of pizzas but experimenting is going to be a focus of the Crust Collective. We want to treat it like all other things Ruse, artistic and outside the box if we desire.” says Kalis. “Growing up in the Detroit area, seems like an appropriate choice of crust style. Using ingredients from Vermont, where Devin is from, will also be a focus.”
The Crust Collective will use elements of both founders hometowns, like King Arthur Flour from Vermont and all Detroit-inspired square pies, though they won’t necessarily follow all the rules (like sauce on top of the cheese). In creating their recipes and signature pies they have looked to local inspiration from two of their favorite Portland establishments; the cult favorite Bridge City Pizza, and the new stars on the block Pop Pizza. They have also found kindred spirits in Kristen and Nate of Detroit’s acclaimed Michigan and Trumbull who have offered their expertise and consultation on recipes. “The things they put on their pies look super fun. We are going to Detroit in November to hangout with them as well as eating at as many Detroit pizza places as humanly possible,” says Benware.
The pizza concept is baked into the name, the Ruse Crust Collective is a callback to both the brewery’s home in Portland at the Iron Fireman Collective building, as well as the collaborative nature of the project, and commitment to the “dough” or “crust.” They want to have as much fun with the pizzas as possible, collaborations with other chefs, pizza-makers and pizza making breweries as possible. All of them coming out of the brand new PizzaMaster PM933ED - 900 Series already purchased for the new spot. One thing that will remain consistent is the square cut pies in 8 x 8” and 10 x 14” inch sizes. Each one with a crispy bottom, crunchy edges, with caramelized mozzarella and brick cheddar and just enough browning. Kalis says the trick is proper dough hydration, and using a steel and seasoned pan that never gets washed; scrape, wipe, and re-oiled between each use. On top of that they plan to make their own hot spicy honey for toppings in-house and for sale to-go, Kalis is also a hot sauce connoisseur who has been making and bottling his own for family and friends and the Crust Collective is the first time the public will get to try some.
Though Ruse Brewing has never served food previously, Benware thinks it’s a no brainer. “Acid and fat. Beer and pizza just go together, some things can’t, and don’t, need be explained.” We tend to think he is correct.
One thing that may need to be explained is the jump across state lines from the grittier old part of inner southeast Portland to the fresh and trendy new Vancouver waterfront development. Quickly becoming a more touristy area of downtown Vancouver, the waterfront is full of higher end bars and restaurants, family friendly shops, condominiums, and views and green area along the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a very different vibe than Ruse’s Portland taproom, but will look similar with blue pine, brass bar, and glass art from Ghost Pig.
Ruse has been looking for a second location since 2019, and was especially interested in opening in an up and coming area of North Portland, but they just couldn’t find the right fit. COVID-19 changed things and made them look at the bigger picture in exploring a broader base of fans outside of their established core following.
“The pandemic made us want to offer food that could be taken to-go and still be experienced similarly,” says Benware. “We knew we wanted a spot that offered food during all hours of operation and that we wanted outdoor seating. (2 things we currently do not have at our Brooklyn location)”
It was at the urging of two Washington friends: Mike Bolt of Final Draft Taphouse, and Randin King of Hollinbery & Sons hops, that they considered the Vancouver waterfront. Both Benware and Kalis took individual trips out to scope out the waterfront scene, they wanted something easily accessible but not large and imposing.
“There was one vacant space that was the exact size we were looking for, with room for outdoor seating and a view of the Columbia,” adds Kalis. “We want to create experiences at our locations, whether it is live music and other events at our SE location or great Pizza on the Columbia during a beautiful sunset, making a fun and memorable experience will continue being the focus of Ruse.”
The Crust Collective taproom will serve 11 Ruse beers, plus cider, natural wines, and non-alcoholic drinks. Expect a family friendly (but not kid-centric) pub for takeout and on-site seating for 6-10 at the bar, roughly 40 seats indoors and another 30-40 on the covered outdoor sidewalk seating with a view of the river. Customers can also expect same-day can releases in Vancouver and Portland, so it will be easy to get your Ruse Brewing 4-pack fix from the source and grab a pie at the same time.
The team plans to start building out the space by early December and are hoping to open in March, but emphasize they won’t be in a hurry to do so if they don’t feel the pies and service will be just right. “We have built in a few weeks of pre-open budget and time for pizza tasting panels,” says Benware. “These will be judged by our friends, employees and other industry folks. We will open when we think the pizza is perfect, and the restaurant is setup and ready for high volume.”