We thought the amount of new Oregon breweries, bars and tasting rooms opening up would slow down because of the pandemic…but we were wrong. The guide to our most anticipated upcoming beer and cider projects is long, and actually has us excited for 2022. Not only will this year see fun and interesting new locations from existing favorites, but brand new startups as well, the openings extend from Portland to Bend and out into the suburbs and under served areas of Oregon.

Ruse Crust Collective turns a triangle into a square

One thing we know about Ruse Brewing is that they are not squares, which makes it even stranger that they are getting into the square pizza game. After all, Ruse Brewing’s logo is a triangle shaped like a slice of pizza inside of a circle that is the shape of a traditional round pizza tin! But we can’t really blame them for being seduced by the thick and gooey square Detroit-style Pies with their buttery charred cheese edges and funny tomato sauce above the toppings.

Recently the Ruse Brewing team returned to Portland from a pilgrimage to Detroit where they received wisdom from the deep dish prophets at Michigan & Trumbull. Top takeaways included specific ambient temperatures in the kitchen that aide in crafting the best crust, what the hydration rates are for gluten-free flour, and the mixing speeds and water temperature to get that dough just right.

All this knowledge sent them home with an even deeper respect and enthusiasm for the Ruse Crust Collective, set to be the brewery’s second location coming to the Vancouver, WA waterfront. The build-out for the location was slightly delayed from our original report, but is still on track to open in mid-2022. So we will be trying to dunk a square slice into a round pint glass of beer in no time.

Fracture Brewing retains integrity under the founder of Culmination Brewing, Chefstable group, and brewer Darren Provenzano

Culmination Brewing founder Tomas Sluiter and Portland restaurant group Chefstable are partnering with brewer Darren Provenzano to open up a new entity called Fracture Brewing. Provenzano is an award-winning brewer from SoCal that has fostered an acclaimed brewing career in Asia where he helped lead Vietnam’s 7 Bridges Brewing to 5 medals and mid-size brewery of the year at their version of GABF the SEA Brew competition.

Backed by Chefstable, the company that helped launch places like Lardo, Oven & Shaker, Grassa, and St. Jack, Fracture Brewing is a Sluiter and Provenzano team-up that plans to make sessionable hoppy ales, and bring people, friends and colleagues together from around the world as collaborators. Provenzano will be brewing from the former Burnside Brewing Co. space that Chefstable acquired when it went out of business in 2019. Originally envisioned as a ghost brewery craft beer incubator called Craft Beverage Consortium, the 15bbl brewhouse will now produce Provenzano’s full flavored hop forward but sub-6% ABV beers that some are referring to as ‘Soft IPA.’ The first pilot Fracture Brewing beers have already leaked at Chefstable partners like Loyal Legion and Tasty, but the brand will get a full launch in the first half of 2022 with draft, followed by cans, and a standalone tasting room on lower SE Stark. Expect to hear much more about Fracture Brewing on the New School in the coming weeks.

Yovu Brewing wants to make American Lite Lager cool again

Nate Yovu is a former chef turned professional brewer, turned brewpub owner, turned yeast lab technician. This year Yovu will fulfill his dream of an American Lager brewery that attempts to both revive mass market-style adjunct lagers and evolve them. 

Nate was the chef at Portland’s Burnside Brewing before he departed to open the creative BTU Brasserie brewpub on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland (now Second Profession Brewing.) For the past few years Nate has been working for Imperial Yeast, and will continue to do so as he launches Yovu Brewing in the first half of 2022. Yovu is the family name, and in the first phase of his business plan will be a one man project to “put the crap back on tap and maybe even make drinking out of a stubby bottle cool again.

Yovu’s beers will comprise the past, present and future of the category as defined by  BJCP style guidelines as American Lager and American Light Lager. That means corn and rice adjunct beers, and showcasing beautiful hop varieties that may not be sexy as they used to be. To accomplish this Nate will use his yeast handling skills to prop up strains from well known off the record breweries. He is also not crazy enough to ignore the draw of hops, and will be making an IPA as well. 

Yovu Brewing will launch with draft beer at Portland watering holes and bodegas this summer with cans and bottles to follow. Retro Game Bar in the Dekum neighborhood will get some of the more unique beers that will play into the nostalgic theme of the bar. So stay tuned for more and #LagerHard.

SteepleJack Brewing erects a Hillsboro beer temple

2021’s Best New Oregon Brewery was the hottest spot in Portland after opening last July and is now looking to do the same in Hillsboro. As the New School first reported, SteepleJack is looking west for the second phase of their operations with a taproom and a production brewery for brewers Anna Buxton and Anne Aviles to cut loose on. SteepleJack Hillsboro has already upgraded from our initial report, with a ground breaking on their 17K warehouse and 100+ seated taproom next week.

SteepleJack planned for Hillsboro by purchasing the assets of a defunct California brewery, a 15bbl brewhouse, delivery van and canning line. But in the 6 months since opening the Portland brewpub the community response and demand for their beers exceeded their expectations. After realizing the 15bbl brewery wouldn’t cut it, SteepleJack purchased a different 30bbl 4-vessel DME made brewhouse and 8 x 30bbl tanks, a canning line and depalletizer that will allow them to distribute and can.

Recognizing the brewpubs church setting is integral to the brand, SteepleJack is working to make the industrial Hillsboro location appealing to patrons. To create that majestic ambiance they will put the brewery prominently on display near the entrance and orient the tanks to resemble a pike organ. To counter the more industrial high ceilings of the warehouse they will drop down bar and give it a peaked chalet-style corrugated roof and hanging pendant-style lighting. The back bar will be highlighted with steel lift design work and dark wood reclaimed from the SteepleJack church building renovations. 

The Hillsboro taproom will be family friendly, targeting the happy hour and after-work crowd with earlier hours on the weekends. There will be a meeting room amongs racks of barrel-aged beers, a beer garden, and their own food truck in lieu of a kitchen. SteepleJack is looking to begin brewing in Hillsboro this spring and opening the taproom by this summer. 

Van Henion Brewing takes over a Boneyard in Bend

It’s been a few years since Bend, Oregon had a new brewery but 2022 is coming in strong for central Oregon with the debut of Van Henion Brewing. Founded by Boneyard Beer head brewer Mark Henion, his wife Dana Henion, and co-worker/brewer John Van Duzer, the Van Henion Brewing company is opening in the former Boneyard production brewery on Bend’s northeast side. 

All three owners are beer industry alumni with careers dating back from Deschutes Brewery to The Bier Stein, and Ninkasi to Boneyard. When their former employer was acquired by Deschutes Brewery in 2021 an opportunity arose to build their own beer brand in the space they were already so familiar with. In doing so they hope to employ as many former Boneyard staffers as possible in the new venture. 

Van Henion Brewing combines classical European and American lagers with timeless West Coast IPA. Their first beer is a German-style Helles releasing later this month, the second a NW IPA with cascade, centennial, and citra hops. Their influences are closer to the beers of pFriem and Wayfinder than those of Boneyard, and brewmaster Mark Henion cites Bitburger as a favorite. Most startups don’t get off the ground with the massive production space that Van Henion has which has a 30,000 barrel per year capacity. They will take full advantage of the space to brew large batches of time intensive lagers that they can afford to tie up tanks with and offer additional brewing capacity to other outside brands looking to maximize their output.

Another feature that Van Henion Brewing will have that Boneyard never did at this location is an on-site taproom. They intend to can their beers right out of the gate, self-distribute locally and work with distributors for Portland, Eugene, and the coast. But they also hope to sell a lot of their beers at a cozy 21+ tasting room replete with vintage barrel chairs and swag lamps at 63067 Plateau Ct, 97701 and add a patio, a food truck, and begin allowing minors in summer.

Beaverton catches a Breakside Beer Garden and Tavern

The highly anticipated expansion of Portland’s Breakside Brewery into Beaverton is inching closer to fruition. When the New School broke the news of three new Breakside Brewing taprooms it was the Beaverton beer garden that garnered the most excitement as part of the area's burgeoning food and drink corridor. Permitting delays at the city regarding the planned on-site food carts have held up the project as an even more ambitious Breakside property in Gresham took shape, but it looks the Beaverton taproom will be more than worth the wait.

Breakside Beaverton is coming to 12675 SW 1st Street in a lot that extends the length of the block directly behind Ex Novo Brewing Pizza location, which is across the street from the new Loyal Legion beer hall. What first was planned to be an outdoors only space with a shipping container bar and food trucks has blossomed into a full scale beer garden, food truck pod and pub. Breakside is now planning to put in an upscale American tavern and private events space with it’s own deck, right next to an open air beer garden and up to 6 food carts. 

But the real question you are probably asking is ‘when’ ? The demo has already begun at the space, but real construction won’t begin for another couple weeks, which means we will probably be sipping beers in the sun in Beaverton by this summer. 

Funky Fauna blossoms in Sisters

Sisters, Oregon has a new brewery that specializes in wild yeast driven sour and funky beers. Although they technically opened before the new year, we are counting Funky Fauna Artisan Ale’s auspicious soft debut among our most exciting of 2022. Brewer Michael Frith was introduced to craft beer by his then girlfriend and now wife Danielle when they lived in Denver. At the time he was working as a grower for a cannabis company and had no idea he lived a block away from Great Divide Brewing. Frith fell in love with craft beer community and eventually became a brewer for Our Mutual Friend. But when Danielle was offered a job for an architecture firm in Bend they decided to relocate. 

While working as a brewer at a small newish Bend brewery, Frith and Danielle hatched the plans for Funky Fauna. Danielle would tap into her artistic talents to design the taproom, branding, and labels while Michael handled the brewing and day-to-day operations. They created a stylish modern European Cafe-style taproom inspired by the cozy atmosphere and ambiance of Belgium’s beer bars. 

Based on a trip to Brasserie Cantillon, Frith fell in love with the romance of sipping on a funky sour beer in a dimly lit barrel room. With Funky Fauna, Frith is seeking to follow his own creative path with beers that emphasize local agriculture and barrel fermentation, brewed just 2 barrels at a time. Served in a comfortable cozy setting, Funky Fauna’s goals for 2022 are to host gatherings, music, beer dinners and community events, with no desire to grow production from their very small scale. 

Duality Brewing confronts the opposing side of Portland Kerns neighborhood

In less than two years since opening, Duality Brewing will make the jump from nano brewery inside a shipping container to a full brewpub and production facility. If you haven’t had owner Michael Lockwood’s beers, you may still be familiar with his work from his dual role as a cook at some of Portland’s finer establishments like Eem and Kachka. 

In early 2021 Lockwood was very busy doing brewing, packaging, and delivery from a tiny ½ barrel brewery in a cramped space. At the time he wasn’t sure what the future held for Duality Brewing, but when an offer came in to open a full fledged brewpub in the Kerns neighborhood he decided to take the leap. Along with his wife and creative partner Alyssa LeCompte, the new Duality Brewing will be part of a mixed-use shared warehouse re-developmment. The project by Guerilla Development is similar to the Rocket Empire Machine where Gigantic Brewing opened up their second location, the Robot Room, in summer 2020. Lockwood plans to cook up small plates for the taproom and host pop-up dinners when they target opening at 2555 NE Sandy Blvd by this summer. Look for much more on Duality Brewing’s expansion next week on the New School.

Wild Ride Brewing cruises into Prineville

One of Central Oregon’s most successful breweries is planning to open a second location in Prineville. Wild Ride Brewing was founded in 2011 and their beers can be found on draft and in bottles prominently from Bend to Portland and their brewery taproom and food trucks are a popular attraction in downtown Redmond.

When most breweries might have looked to major metro areas for a second location, Wild Ride Brewing saw potential in Prineville. The city with a population of about 9K is only about 20 miles from Redmond. With a 4K sq. ft. building on the main road in town 3rd Street, Wild Ride is putting in a 2,500 sq. ft. taproom with another 1,500 sq. ft for a 5 barrel brewery with 4 x 5 barrel fermenters and 2 x 5 barrel britetanks. Similar to the original location, the brewhouse will be visible through glass garage doors and an expansive patio with gas fire pits and 4 food trucks. Wild Ride hopes to open in Prineville this Spring at 1500 NE 3rd St #101

Obelisk Beer Co. slow rolls the barrel-aged beer in Astoria

Fort George Brewery’s master of barrels, oak, and everything wild is stepping out to open Obelisk Beer Co. which will be Astoria’s sixth brewery. David Coyne has been brewing for Ft. George for going on a decade, and that’s where he met Nathan Lampson who worked in marketing. Together, they are reteaming for Obelisk Beer Co. where they will unsurprisingly focus on Coyne’s artful approach to clean and wild barrel-aged beers.

Announced back in July, Obelisk Beer is progressing slower than anticipated but that is fitting for the types of beers they plan to make that Coyne is calling slow beer. “To us, this means beers built with intention, focusing on process, and increased resting time,” says Coyne. Usually barrel-aged beer is associated with Stouts and Barleywines and other strong spirits like whiskey, but at Obelisk the slow beer extends to lagers and mixed culture. As you can only drink so much of these intensely oaky beers, they will make intensely aromatic hoppy beers as well, and even pour from a couple cask engines. 

Dave Coyne is still currently at Fort George while Obelisk Beer Co. finalizes some funding gaps and chips away at construction at 598 Bond St. where they still expect to open in 2022. 

Portland Cider Co goes West

Oregon’s third largest cidery is on schedule to open their third location in the West End District development in Beaverton, Oregon. Portland Cider Co. is a Clackamas based brand that has proven to be one of the most approachable, nimble, and colorful cideries in the business. They currently operate a taproom at their facility and another on SE Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland, the upcoming westside location will open them up to a new community and offer a very different experience.

Portland Cider will look to brewpubs and their founders' English roots for the new Westside pub taproom. Expect a modern beer hall-style open layout with communal seating similar to what you may find in western Europe. A small kitchen will have a similarly themed menu of English and NW pub food to go with an extensive 24 taps, including several guest beers. The project will also help launch a big company-wide rebrand with a refreshed, sleeker, clean and elegant version of their red apple logo and a new look for their packaged product in time for their 9th anniversary in March.

Portland Cider Co. Westside is currently planning for a Spring 2022 opening. 

Crooked Creek Brewery makes rustic beers for rural Columbia County

Dave Lauridsen is a 20 year veteran professional photographer and homebrewer who has opened Crooked Creek Brewery on his land an hour plus drive northwest of Portland in Columbia County. Half an hour from the nearest brewery, Crooked Creek is a rustic and rural semi-farmhouse-inspired production on Lauridsen’s property that will have an off-site tasting room in St. Helens.

Lauridsen was introduced to homebrewing by his best friend 8 years ago, and when he decided to leave his career as a photographer and move to Columbia County he began to seriously pursue his dream to have his own brewery. Unfortunately the timing was terrible, the original plan being to open as Meander Brewing in 2021 didn’t work out mainly because of COVID. But the delay may have been a blessing in disguise as it’s given Lauridsen time to convert an old pole barn into a production space that minimized risk because he doesnt have to lease it. He has installed a 3.5bbl brewery that was formerly the system Vagabond Brewing in Salem launched with. The plan is to make saisons, mixed culture beers, and other Belgian-esque ales on a small batch artisanal scale with only high quality local craft ingredients.They have begun brewing with Mecca Grade Estate base malts, and have the benefit of an untreated, slightly mineraly, municipal water supply that has been awarded the best water in Oregon and adds to the rustic flavors of the beer. 

Crooked Creek already began brewing their first commercial beers on Thanksgiving weekend and a few beers have popped up at local taverns. Lauridsen hopes to really launch the brewery with the opening of a taproom at 1935 Columbia Blvd, St Helens in February.

Boss Rambler Beer joins the Club

Boss Rambler Beer Club was awarded the Best New Brewery of 2019 by the Oregon Beer Awards, and was nominated as one of the 10 Best by USA Today. All that and they didn’t even have their own brewhouse until now.

Founded by former Crux Fermentation brand manager Matt Moletta, Boss Rambler is known for their instagram worthy beach themed taproom in Bend sandwiched between Sunriver Brewing and 10 Barrel. Their hazy IPA’s, sours, and smoothie beers packaged in eye catching can labels available in Portland through Day One Distribution. Up until now they have been a nomadic operation producing many of their beers at fellow Bend brewer Silver Moon. But in 2022 they are scaling up production with their own off-site 10bbl Marks brewhouse with capacity to jump from 800 barrels of beer a year to 4-5K. So look for more fun variety of beers, and expanded distribution in Oregon and out of state so everyone can join the beer club fun. 

Oregon Trail Brewery begins a new journey

One of Oregon’s oldest breweries plans to reopen this Spring with a refresh and soft reset of the brand under new ownership. Founded in 1987, Oregon Trail Brewery was one of the first breweries to embrace bourbon barrel-aging beers and remains the oldest operation in the Willamette Valley - and one of the funkiest.

Oregon Trail Brewery’s production is a 3-level gravity fed process in a tiny space in a larger marketplace building in downtown Corvallis. The beers have been primarily sold through it’s sister outlet the Old World Deli which is an anchor tenant in the promenade of the intimate shopping center. Once upon a time you could find Oregon Trail beers prominently in 22oz bottles in Portland at places like Belmont Station. The new owners have been busy sprucing up the production to return it to some semblance of past glory with both new and old beer recipes. 

Binary Brewing Co.’s Beaverton expansion computes

Originally launched as the side project and adjacent brand of SW Portland/Beaverton’s Uptown Market homebrew and bottle shop, Uptown Brewing Co. became Binary Brewing in 2018. This year the retro coding and video gaming inspired beer brand fully emerges from Uptown Beer Co.’s shadow where it is currently produced and into it’s own brewing facility and taproom. 

Binary Brewing is moving into the old Beaverton bakery at 12345 SW Broadway and scaling up to a 10bbl brewhouse from Practical Fusion which is ready to-go along with new tanks, glycol system, and mill. Binary first hoped to be open by the end of summer 2021 but as with all build-outs and demos such as the one here it has taken much longer than expected. But things are coming together and the work on their new building should soon be completed and they hope to be brewing by February and opening a taproom in March. The taproom will serve food, feature a pinball hall as a central draw, and have multiple lounge areas and events room. The brewery plans a funky design with as many elements of the old Beaverton bakery building as they can keep intact.

Brewery 26 takes the road less traveled

4 year-old Brewery 26 has been around for a minute, but has not had a real production brewery and full fledged operation until now. Founded by Andrew Shaw, who has been joined in co-ownership by his brother in-law Keith Hattori, Brewery 26 started out as a 1 bbl nano brewery in Shaw's garage. Over the ups and downs of the pandemic, Brewery 26 opened and then closed a taproom, lost a wholesale distributor, and spent over a year building out a new home. 

After nearly 2 years of waiting Brewery 26 has opened their Ankeny St. taproom and brewery in inner southeast Portland. The dimly lit and dark tones of the garage set location feel like you are entering an after hours punk rock show in the back of an auto shop, which is actually perfect as it’s right across the street from popular rock venue Doug Fir Lounge. Not only can you now enjoy Brewery 26 beers where they are made, but the bigger and better equipment will improve their quality and availability. The taproom is softly opened now, but they plan to put in a parking lot patio and have secured atleast 1 food truck to move on-site by the time they do a grand opening. 

Stickmen Brewing chooses the carrot

When they opened in 2013 Stickmen Brewing & Skewery was first and foremost a brewpub that featured the unique pairing of Japanese-inspired food and unusual, creative and experimental beers. A couple years later Stickmen Brewing dropped the “skewery” and re-centered the menu on an American grill concept and moved ahead to open a Tualatin production facility and taproom with a more mainstream line of ales (though they still have fun with beers like Co-Co Ray, a sour fresh hop IIPA.) 

Last year Stickmen Brewing announced both an upcoming Cedar Mill taproom in Beaverton, and another in Portland’s southeastern suburb of Happy Valley. Both projects have experienced serious delays due to construction delays and supply issues, but both are now looking at Spring openings with Happy Valley as early as March. Both locations will share a similar ethos based around wood-fired pizzas, salads, cocktails, and a morning coffee bar with wood-fired frittatas and pastries, each with 28 taps of Stickmen beer and guests.

Those were just some of the Oregon beer and cider projects that give us something to look forward to in 2022!