Montavilla Brew Works celebrating 10 years as the old school neighborhood brewery
Montavilla Brew Works founder Michael Kora poses in front of the future home of Montavilla Brew Works in 2014 © New School Beer
For even the most successful breweries, hitting the decade milestone is a major achievement. For Portland’s craft brewery scene in particular, the last ten years have been a wild ride to say the least. The boom of new breweries from 2010 to 2019 gave way to the uncertainty of the pandemic years and more packaged offerings as those same breweries had to adapt to a new reality. Yet, somehow, the little 10-barrel neighborhood brewhouse located in a former auto mechanic garage has persevered.
This year, Montavilla Brew Works - named for the funky Southeast Portland neighborhood where it resides at 78th and Stark- is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Making it more impressive is the fact that Montavilla has reached this point with few changes to its original business model as it has mostly resisted the trends that have either altered or ruined many other breweries of a similar age. Though the brewery has shifted to more self-distributed packaged offerings in the wake of the pandemic, it’s still primarily a locals hangout reliant on draft sales. Unlike many breweries and brewpubs that now try and cater to the wants and needs of a picky yet diverse consumer base, Montavilla has stayed very much in the old-school neighborhood model with no food, no liquor, 21+ entry, and a draft list that tends to skew towards styles like Euorpean lagers, classic Northwest IPAs, and traditional pub ales. When you combine all of these elements, you have the kind of brewery model that is almost unheard of these days.
Michael Kora pictured at Montavilla Brew Works shortly before they opened in 2015 © New School Beer
For Montavilla Brew Works’ Head Brewer and Founder Michael Kora, this is precisely the point.”There are some things in our business model that haven’t changed, and I think that’s more of a reflection of what our customers expect and want from us. They want a chill place to gather with friends without a lot of noise and distractions from TVs and all that. Our customers make up their own environment in a sense, and I think having the freedom to allow for that is what makes this place so special and unique.”
Images above of Montavilla Brew Works space pre-buildout in 2014 © New School Beer
When Kora opened his doors in 2015 after two years of renovations, Montavilla was a struggling neighborhood with little competition for craft beer; Then in 2017 it was named one of the "Top 10 U.S. Neighborhoods" by Lonely Planet. Then the Beer Bunker bottleshop/taproom opened less than 2 blocks from MBW in 2017, Threshold Brewing opened around the corner in 2019, and Gigantic Brewing opened the Robot Room nearby in 2020. Roscoe’s beer bar was already there but hadn’t been recognized as a top-notch beer destination yet. Kora has also lived in the neighborhood with his wife Melissa for nearly twenty years and has seen it change, though not in a way he considers negative. “The neighborhood still has a good feel to it. I think the greater business district (including Glisan Street and beyond) has been growing in a positive way, entrepreneurs are hungry, and that’s great for the neighborhood. We’re a long way from 10 years ago when there were more empty commercial spaces and certainly more retail turnover. We took a big risk investing in a decrepit old building and turning it into a brewery, but that’s our pioneer story, and it’s been a good one so far.”
In the early days MBW contemporaries like Baerlic Brewing, Upright Brewing, Gigantic Brewing, did not offer food and catered to adults but over time became more family friendly out of necessity. Other taproom breweries of the era that stayed fiercely adults-only without full service like Tugboat Brewing, Amnesia Brewing, and Ross Island Brewing faded away. MBW is currently the only brewery in Portland to remain 21+ and offer no food options. At the time, Kora’s operation and neighborly approach benefited from a community thirsty for new craft beer options.
“We had a great start. The neighborhood was super supportive (and still is), and the beer was flowing like crazy back in those days,” says Kora.
Like nearly all breweries, the pandemic forced Montavilla to pivot to packaged sales while also providing a sort of silver lining in pushing them to expand their space.
“When Covid hit, we pivoted like most other brewers, started canning, and haven’t looked back. We also had to reinvest in our outdoor patio space, which continues to be a boon for the neighborhood and people wanting to hang outside with their pups and a beer. It’s taken a lot of maintenance over the years to keep the patio going, but it’s been worth it,” he says.
Kora is a musician and longtime fan of the Grateful Dead, sometimes including references to the legendary jam band in beers with names like Jerry Cherry Berry and Lesh Is More. In recent years, the brewery has been hosting live bands. Besides that, the most noticeable change has been staying the course with the increased packaging they started during their pandemic.
Michael Kora at Montavilla Brew Works
“On the distribution front, we’re still a 100% self-distributed company, and we’re moving the beer all by ourselves without help from a distributor. Self-distro is a grind, but we’ve gotten into a groove and have hired some great employees, so the biggest challenge now seems to be how much beer to allocate to draft versus package (cans). It’s a constant shuffle, but it keeps me going and keeps things exciting,” says Kora, who adds that draft beer and the easygoing, unpretentious vibes of the taproom are the biggest draw. “We still move a lot of beer, including cask beer from our beer engine, through the taproom, and always have. People know us as a draft-friendly place first, a place for conversation, in a pub-style atmosphere. We worked hard on creating a welcoming and down-to-earth space for beer lovers and their friends, and having a strong on-premise feel has been proof of that.”
On Saturday, July 12th, Montavilla Brew Works will officially celebrate its 10th anniversary with an all-day, all ages party with food from Ro’s City BBQ and DJ MD spinning vinyl records. To commemorate the occasion, Kora is honoring his Detroit roots with an extra special beer. In a way, the beer is the culmination of his “10 for 10” concept to collaborate with 10 breweries and/or local businesses throughout the year.
“The thought was, why just celebrate one day of the year when we can celebrate all year? So far this year, we’ve collaborated with 10 Barrel, TPK, East Glisan Pizza, HeartSticker Company, Pink Boots Society/SheBrew, and even our four-legged neighborhood “mayor” Millie. We plan on a few more collabs this year, including one with Puff Coffee, Nico’s Ice Cream and some others.”
Perhaps unbeknownst to many, Portland’s beer scene is filled with former Michiganders, including Kora. For Montavilla’s celebration, he brought a handful of them together to do something he has been thinking about and planning for almost 10 years.
“I learned there are a lot of Michigan-born brewers in Portland, so I’m finally bringing them all together for a Michigan brewer collab using Michigan ingredients,” says Kora.
The resulting beer is an IPA that found Kora working with Assembly Brewing’s George Johnson, Assembly, Ben Edmunds of Breakside, Dave Vohden of Oregon City Brewing, Shaun Kalis of Ruse, and Upright’s Alex Ganum, all of whom are originally from Michigan.
Oregon Brewers from Michigan, left to right: Michael Kora, David Vohden (Oregon City Brewing), George Johnson (Assembly Brewing) holding a photo of fellow Michigander Ben Edmunds, Shaun Kalis (Ruse Brewing), Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing)
Ten years in, Kora is still excited about “continuing to improve solid beer recipes,” especially when it comes to cranking out styles of beer that may have fallen by the wayside for many breweries that favor trendier offerings.
“We’re pretty excited about our new Scottish beer series that’s been happening for a couple years. My Mother was born in Scotland and I’ve always been proud of the heritage, the tenacity of the people, and the tried-and-true beer styles from there. Our Wee Heavy, “Scotland The Brave” has been a hit over the past couple years (especially in cans) and now we’re playing around with a Scottish Oatmeal Porter (using Scottish steel cut oats) and a light Scottish Lager. All these Scottish beers have been super popular on cask, which is another thing we’re really excited to be working on. It’s nice to see a resurgence of cask beers in Portland, and we’ll continue to pump those beers out as long as cask drinkers are enjoying them.”
While Montavilla Brew Works has no plans to start offering food anytime soon and doesn’t expect any drastic changes other than the occasional live band, and of course their anniversary party, they aren’t going anywhere for now. For Kora, the focus remains on being “mindful of today’s trends in beer and how different generations are spending their leisure time” and adapting as best as he can without sacrificing the old-school neighborhood brewery ambiance that has made Montavilla special to its customers.
Kora reflects on the last ten years and the future at the same time, saying, “We’re still independent, we’ve carved out a little niche of our own, we know our audience and they support us. Our polestar hasn’t changed much over the years and we intend to keep on truckin.’”
Montavilla Brew Works Anniversary Party details:
Saturday, July 12th 2025
12pm-9pm
7805 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
ALL AGES
Ro’s City BBQ, 3pm until OUT
DJ MD spins vinyl from 3pm-9pm
Leashed pets welcome on patio
Small activities for the kids
Michigan brewers collab release with: Assembly, Breakside, Oregon City, Ruse and Upright Brewing
Commemorative 10th anniversary glassware available for purchase
Raffles/Giveaways throughout the day
