Arch Bridge Taphouse 8th Anniversary: How they helped revive Oregon City craft beer
Arch Bridge Taphouse that helped revive Oregon City’s craft beer scene, is turning 8.
Beer bars and bottle shops can be found pretty much everywhere around the Pacific Northwest, but it takes a certain level of comfort, curation, community and culture to make a truly great one. You could call this the 4-C formula of a great beer bar and bottle shop. There are loads of places that possess one or more of these, however, only a select handful truly exemplify all of these. Since opening in 2015, the little beer bar and bottle shop named after the signature bridge that crosses over the mighty Willamette River just feet from its door has brought all of the Cs together.
Beer lover Gene Gilgorea established Arch Bridge Taphouse in Oregon City’s historic Bank of Commerce building with the intention of bringing some of their favorite beers to their small town in Portland’s backyard and hopefully making it past the one-year mark. “We were so new to this, I think we were just hoping to make it through our first lease! Most of our expectations revolved around breweries we wanted to get on tap, and what we could do to make that happen. I remember getting [Block 15] Sticky Hands was high on the list,” reflects Gilgorea, who co-owns Arch Bridge with Todd Gienger.
Now, nearly a decade in, Arch Bridge is gearing up to celebrate their eighth anniversary. During that time, their small and cozy bar has become not just a local mainstay, but a favorite for beer lovers around the state who consistently stop in. This may be due to the laid back vibe, friendly bartenders, the always-spinning vinyl records that give the bar its soundtrack of punk, indie and classic rock, the delicious Scandinavian food across the hallway that pairs wonderfully with any beer, or the fact that one of only four municipal elevators in the world is stumbling distance from the bar (and it sure is fun to ride). This is the kind of place where you want to sip a beer while watching the rain fall on a gray winter day or kick back on a lazy Sunday afternoon while the summer sun washes over the tap room. You get comfortable and next thing you know, hours have gone by, and you find yourself thinking how freaking nice it would be to live just around the corner. The regulars who stop in each day as well as those of us who go out of our way to stop in can all attest to this. These are the hallmarks of a top notch beer bar.
At the core of Arch Bridge’s magic is a taplist and to-go selection that consistently wows, the result of a passion and obsession on the part of collective curation by Gilgorea, Gienger, and bartender and “taplist artist” Franny Lewis. There may not be an exact formula to pulling off a taplist that consistently excites all kinds of beer drinkers, but it takes a deep knowledge and dedication. This has been one of the biggest draws for Arch Bridge throughout the last eight years.
“I probably spend too much time thinking about it and tweaking lineups, but it’s really important to me to have a taplist that is exciting, and has something for everyone,” says Gilgorea before adding, “Ideally I want to have some balance to my list. Of course you need lots of hoppy things, and we are known for having a nice sour selection so we keep a few of those on, but for the other spots on the tap list, that might be the only thing representing that flavor profile so I need to make sure they are outstanding beers. Honestly there is no secret, I just find breweries I really like, and buy whatever they make.”
If you’ve never spent time at Arch Bridge, a quick look at their Instagram confirms that this isn’t your average beer bar but rather one that is run by true beer nerds. On any given day you will find an almost perfect balance of hazy and west coast IPAs, crispy lagers, classic styles, and rare barrel-aged offerings from Oregon and beyond. So much variety seems like an easy sell with today’s craft beer drinkers, but that wasn’t the case when Arch Bridge opened eight years ago and Gilgorea knew there would be some risks involved. It was here that he cultivated the vibe and community of Arch Bridge.
“When we opened, we knew that we would be introducing styles and breweries that not everyone in this community was familiar with, so we wanted to make sure we took time to answer questions, give samples and create an environment that encouraged people to push the boundaries of their craft beer journey. Another challenge we faced coming in as a couple of industry nobodies, it took a while before we could even get the beer we really wanted. Luckily we found some folks along the way who believed in what we are doing and helped us get our hands on some pretty incredible beers early on.”
During its eight years the bar has become a part of the community, one that has grown both in population and in terms of eclectic brewery offerings. Just down the street you can find the bustling Oregon City Brewing Company, while up just the hill you have local faves Coin Toss and Shattered Oak. While Arch Bridge becoming a destination beer bar has certainly been a contributor to Oregon City’s beer scene, Gilgorea sees it as a rising tide lifting all boats. “The beer scene here has grown incredibly in the last eight years. In addition to the new breweries and taprooms that have opened, I see more craft beer on taps at neighborhood bars and restaurants as well! There are also a wider variety of styles being served all over. I recall early on we were known around town as the place that had those weird sour beers, and now the folks down the road at Oregon City Brewing have won multiple awards for their sour program.”
Speaking of weird sour beers, the Arch Bridge team has been longtime friends with Tillamook’s de Garde Brewing, who also just celebrated an anniversary. This friendship was close enough that, during the years when de Garde was difficult to find anywhere outside of the brewery, Arch Bridge was often one of the few bars in the state to have it on tap, which only added to their reputation as a beer lover’s destination. For the past several years, they have also celebrated each anniversary with a special collaboration beer.
“We’ve been friends with the folks at de Garde since before we opened. I started going to their release events very early on. They needed some extra help for their first big anniversary party at the blimp hangar, and our wives offered to help (not us, we had drinking to do). That happened for a couple years and many events (them working, us drinking). When we got this crazy idea to start a taphouse, they were kind enough to let us sell their beer, and we have had de Garde beer in our shop in some format since the day we opened! For our 3rd anniversary (Archiversary 3) we did our first blending with them, (The Trio: Spruce Tip Cuvee) and then each year after that we just tried to do something different than the previous year and have fun with it,” says Gilgorea. “This year for The Ochcoversary (after extensive tasting) we selected two gin barrels that had been maturing with spontaneous wild ale for four years! We love the way the gin botanicals play off the earthy fermentation character, and these barrels had a beautiful expression of this aromatic harmony. We knew right away this was the blend!”
When looking back on the last eight years, Gilgorea is quick to say it has been a blur before showing his true colors as a beer nerd. “I mostly remember ‘beer milestones’ like our first Cantillon keg (Fou’ Foune), getting Pliny the Elder for the first time was a big moment. I remember our first big pre-opening line for Bourbon County Rare was a pretty cool feeling. Archiversary 3 when we had a line clear to the elevator was awesome (and stressful).”
On Saturday, May 20th, Arch Bridge will celebrate yet another beer milestone with its Ochoversary blowout featuring a massive taplist of sought-after brews. If you can’t pick up on the team’s excitement from the Twilight-themed posters (photoshopped posters are a favorite way to get the word out about events at Arch Bridge) plastered around their taproom and social media feed, Gilgorea shares his own thoughts on what to expect.
“The Archiversary taplist usually comes together the same way every year, ask for favors, start with the sours and barrel-aged beers, fill in the lagers and such, wait for the dope IPAs to roll in! We also try to make sure we feature breweries that we love working with. This year I am actually incredibly excited about our lager selection! We are getting one of the first kegs of helles from the super team at Gold Dot Beer, Chuckanut Asian Lager, and pFreim Maibock! We also managed to score a Bottle Logic barrel-aged stout thanks to the folks at Day One Distro!! As usual, I’m leaving some of the IPA spots open for now in case we grab some last minute bangers!”
As for the future of Arch Bridge, Gilgorea and his team have some exciting moves in the works. “You will definitely see more fun events from us coming up, including a frisbee golf tournament we are hosting in September at Timber Park! We are also working on expanding our seating, to more easily accommodate large groups and weekly social events, as well as working with our restaurant neighbors on collaborative food events!”
Arch Bridge Taphouse 8th Anniversary
Saturday, May 20th
Arch Bridge Taphouse, 205 7th St, Oregon City, OR 97045
