Beaverton, Oregon’s growing Craft Beer mecca welcomes 3 new Taprooms
When it comes to beer, Beaverton has been on a roll in the last couple of years. The westside suburb of Portland, Oregon was once known only for shopping centers, corporate headquarters, and affordable housing, and the latter may come into play for the city's rise to prominence as a competitive beer and food landscape that’s become the fastest growing sector for craft expansions. It’s safe to say that Beaverton has finally become a bustling ‘burb of beer lovers, with beer bars jockeying to get into this quickly growing drinking mecca.
In fact three Hillsboro based beer bars have recently opened second locations in Beaverton. What makes things even more interesting is that they all opened during or shortly before the pandemic and thrived during a time when many businesses closed, and now they have each opened their second locations all within ten minutes of one another in Beaverton. Each of these businesses seems to be working within their respective niche and bringing something a little different to their community with a shared camaraderie. On the decision to open second locations in Beaverton, the owners of these bars point to a supportive community, regardless if they are customers, vendors, contractors, or even direct competitors,” and a desire to help each other succeed. From their perspective, beer bars have become “central hubs” for much of this community. It is also a matter of being convenient, as one owner points out that “people love to have their ‘local spot,’ a place where they know people and don’t have to drive great lengths to have a wonderful beer with friends.” If there is competition, these bar owners see it as a way to drive up the overall level of quality.
These are three new Beaverton beer bars to check out:
Prime Tap House - The West End District
3900 SW Orbit St, Ste 120 Beaverton, OR 97005
Come for the wings, stay for the beer. This isn’t the official slogan of this unassuming tap house tucked into the mixed-use ground floor of a new apartment complex off the Tualatin Valley Highway, but perhaps it should be. Prime Tap is the dream of Dong Khounphachansy come to life. After years working at Frito-lay, Khounphachansy opened the first location of Prime Tap in the Tanasbourne area of Hillsboro in 2020. When the opportunity came along to open a second location, he liked the idea of “bringing the trendy downtown vibe to the west side” that was also based in the community him and his family call home.
The concept is seemingly simple yet different than pretty much any other bar in the metro area. Customers are treated to a menu featuring an array of chicken wings, many of which carry the culinary touch of Khounphachansy’s Thai upbringing and feature creative names like Dong’s Sauce, K Pop, Killer Bees, Ol’ Dirty Buffalo, Thai Me Up and Yummy Yaki. For those who miss Pok Pok’s fish sauce wings, this is the place to seek out as the popular Bangkok wings are reminiscent of the style. The wings - perfectly crunchy and ranging from sweet to tangy to devilishly spicy - are definitely the main attraction at Prime Tap, but other items like the crispy chicken sandwich, Shoyu Bao Buns, and the Sidewinder fries are well worth a visit. Prime Tap is truly a family operation, with Khounphachansy’s son and daughter working in the kitchen and his wife managing aspects of the business operations. When it comes to the food, Khounphachansy is ambitious and though he can’t say yet, he has lots of exciting culinary ideas in the works that will hopefully come to fruition.
“Growing up, I remember being surrounded by friends and family celebrating with amazing food and great beer and I wanted to bring that into the tap concept; wings and beer it’s the feeling of nostalgia from my childhood,” he says.
The beer menu also features 26 taps that skew towards Oregon and specifically breweries in the Beaverton and Portland area yet has options from around the state and beyond. Khounphachansy aims to please with his beer list, offering adventurous options alongside beers that he hopes will convert the local Blue Moon and Bud drinkers to craft. This is a logical move since there will undoubtedly be apartment-dwellers wandering in to try the food, so why not hip them to a local craft brew? He does this by balancing lagers, hazy and West Coast IPAs, classics like hefs and ambers, and other hard beverages like seltzer.
The setting features outdoor patio seating that Khounphachansy hopes to expand and a welcoming indoor space that borders on sports bar meets fast casual with a touch of pub. There are TVs playing sports, and Khounphachansy plans to install pinball machines too. For those looking to check out multiple spots in the area, Portland Cider Company also just opened a spacious tap room caddy corner to Prime Tap, so all you have to do is stroll across the parking lot.
Wildwood Tap House - Cedar Mill
12545 NW Cornell Rd Suite 101, Portland, OR 97229
In terms of taplists, Wildwood conveys perhaps the deepest knowledge about beer in the Beaverton/Hillsboro area. This was the goal when Will Witt and Andrew Bradford opened their original location in a, you guessed it – strip mall, in Hillsboro in 2019. It was here that they started bringing an expansive and often adventurous beer list to the good people of Hillsboro who, luckily enough, seemed ready to indulge.
With Wildwood established as a reliably great beer bar that powered through pandemic lockdowns, Witt and Bradford jumped on the opportunity to open a second location further east in a new Beaverton complex of businesses (but not quite a strip mall!).
“There are so many wonderful people who live out our way and fortunately enough they are looking for a comfortable, friendly place to sit with friends around a beer,” says Witt.
The new building, which resembles a cross between an aesthetically pleasing barn and a ski lodge, almost feels like Witt and Bradford got to design their dream space. Airy and sun-filled with almost all-natural light, the space can feel cool in the summer and cozy in the winter. Two floors with lots of seating give it almost a loft-like vibe, which is conducive to the social atmosphere. There are also plenty of TVs to take in whatever sport you follow and board games to enjoy. Wildwood doesn’t offer food at the moment but encourages patrons to bring in takeout from one of the nearby establishments.
Besides the impressiveness of the space, the real draw of Wildwood is its taplist. You can tell that Witt is a fan of sours and mixed-culture ales as he will often have at least a few taps dedicated to them, whether it’s a farmhouse ale from Dwinnel, a watermelon mint sour from Untitled, or something rare from de Garde. At Wildwood, there is a fine mix of IPA, lager, dark beer, and cider among other styles, but you can guarantee that every visit will find at least a couple of left-field surprises on the list. Whoever is tending bar at the new location – Witt on most days – will be more than happy to steer you towards a beer you might find unexpectedly amazing.
7329 SW Barnes Rd Portland, Or 97225
Like many businesses in Beaverton, you can find the second outpost of Cascadia nestled into the non-descript setting of a strip mall. This isn’t a dig; in fact it makes things convenient with easy parking and some decent food options within a stones throw. Cascadia is aimed at being a no-frills spot with a solid taplist.
According to owner Rich DeCoste, he felt the area north of highway 26 was “underserved in the craft beer space and took a leap.
There is a big screen TV and a general soccer-centric theme to the bar, but what sets this spot apart from the others in this article is that they appear to have a liquor license and that they also open in the morning as a coffee shop. Though the coffee shop/beer bar concept has been hit or miss for a handful of Portland-area breweries, it makes sense as Cascadia is tucked between downtown Portland and its sprawling western suburbs. That means you can stop off for your morning coffee and then pop in again for an after-work beer or two. At the moment, there are just a small handful of spirit offerings, but this may expand in the future.
They also have food, and even though the menu is fairly small, there are drinking snacks alongside quick meals like pizza, cheesesteak and a chicken bake. Like many beer bars you encounter in the suburbs, Cascadia could benefit from a little more decoration as it feels pretty straightforward in its layout. Besides the bar, the center point of the space is a large screen TV adorned with Portland Timbers gear. The stadium may be just over the hill, but they likely don’t have a taplist that includes hyper local IPAs, lagers, hazys, stouts, ciders and more. It would be a stretch to call Cascadia Heights a destination bar, but it certainly checks the box of neighborhood watering hole with a beer selection that is sure to please even the snobbiest beer nerd.
DeCoste reflects on the ultimate goal of Cascadia and what may sum up the goal for each of these new Beaverton beer bars. “We're striving to offer amenities and comforts others aren't able to and it's ensuring we don't take this amazing community for granted. We're constantly on the hunt for opportunities to support our local schools, sports programs, and community events. Hopefully others are able to do the same.”
