Fracture Brewing closes brewery, pivots to taphouse only business model
Portland, Oregon’s 2 year-old Fracture Brewing is no longer brewing beer, but will keep their two taprooms open with guest taps, cocktails, and by contracting out brewing for a few of their already established recipes. The major contraction of the brand will mark an end to their distribution arrangement for both draft and 16oz cans through Day One Distribution, as the Chefstable group owned brewery pivots to supplying only some of their key bars and restaurants and looks to regroup in the future.
Fracture Brewing celebrated their 2nd anniversary on 4/20/2024, and also closed out their brewhouse and production space in the same weekend. At the time it seemed like a savvy pivot to move brewing to the smaller and nimble Culmination Brewing space, where Fracture head brewer Steve Beaudoin could still make all the beers only now with Culmination head brewer Dan Hughes who coincidentally is his roommate. The shared partnership seemed full of potential, but with the downside that Fracture was locked out of their own space and equipment by the building landlord amid rumors of legal trouble. Original brand visionaries Darren Provenzano and Ny Lee had already left the brewery in 2023, and earlier this year they laid off sales, and now head brewer Steve Beaudoin will exit the company as well as they scale back to the basics.
Chefstable still plans to make 4 core Fracture Brewing beers by contracting them out to Culmination Brewing to brew based on Beaudoin’s established recipes. Pilsner, Czech Dark Lager, Hazy IPA, and WCIPA, will be draft-only, and available at Chefstable family properties; Loyal Legion beer halls, Juliett at the airport, and any other ChefStable partner that wants to carry them on tap.
Fracture Brewing beers were brewed in the former Burnside Brewing Co. brewhouse and warehouse space at 701 E Burnside St. which Chefstable Group had acquired after that brewery closed in 2018. At first Chefstable wanted to brew Mikkeller beers in this location, and did operate a Mikkeller taproom and restaurant for one year next door to the brewery in the restaurant which is now Dimo’s Pizza. Then came an arrangement to make KEX Brewing beers, this was the craft beer side of the Iceland based hostel which partnered with Chefstable for a Portland location in 2019. Then there was Dirty Pretty Brewing, a pink and neon drenched brand dreamed up by Chefstable that did not last long. Following that, Chefstable picked up the already defunct Ross Island Brewing and started making their beers with founding brewmaster Carston Haney before that too ceased operations around 2020.
Fracture Brewing was originally created by Darren Provenzano and Ny Lee. The husband wife duo met in Vietnam, where Lee was born and raised, and moved to Portland, Oregon in 2020 when the pandemic scuttled plans for a new brewery they were planning in Saigon. Provenzano ended up trialing his Fracture Brewing concept at Culmination Brewing as one-off collaborations, before landing a deal with restaurateur and investor Kurt Huffman and his Chefstable Group. Fracture Brewing officially launched as a standalone new concept and brand in 2022 with Provenzano at the helm of brewing operations and Lee as a creative force. With the help of Chefstable they opened their current taproom at 1015 SE Stark St. with a beautiful cool color palette reminiscent of a tsunami blowing through a rainforest, with the glints of warm brass flourishes, and tropical Vietnamese inspired art and cocktails. The beers too were great, and showed a special level of attention to saisons and lagers, for which Fracture won a silver medal for at the 2023 Oregon Beer Awards. But by that time Provenzano and Lee had parted ways with Fracture Brewing leaving behind the brand they had created to Chefstable. Steve Beaudoin was already at Fracture Brewing and guiding much of the production, his seasoned hand made for a smooth transition as he took over head brewer duties and kept the beers fresh, classic, and at the same time fun and playful with collaborations with Threshold Brewing, Funky Fauna, and Trap Door Brewing.
Currently, Fracture is operating two on-premise locations both attached to food truck pods and with a clientele that is also coming for cocktails and non-beer options. The Fracture on Stark taproom is the brick-and-mortar bar for the Lil’ American food trucks, and the Fracture Bar Cart is an anchor for adult drinks at the Midtown Beer Garden in downtown Portland. According to Chefstable Group, there are no plans to shutter either location but the shift away from being primarily a brewery will help Fracture take the time to look for a new brewery space where they can also operate their own restaurant.
Fracture Bar Cart at Midtown Beer Garden is still open 11am-9pm daily. Fracture Stark St taproom hours are Wed & Thu 12-9pm, Fri & Sat 12-10pm, Sun 12-9pm.
