Inside look at Fracture Brewing Taproom / Cocktail Bar, & BIPOC food truck pod Grand Opening
Fracture Brewing, the new brand with Vietnamese roots, launched from the former Burnside Brewing Co. space last June, will open their off-site taproom to the public on December 1st, 2022 after spending the last few months hosting registration only preview nights. Fracture Brewing is led by Brewer Darren Provenzano and wife Ny Lee, who met in Saigon before moving to Portland after the pandemic scuttled their plans to open a brewery in Vietnam.
“[Fracture Brewing] could be best described as an amalgamation of inspirations through travel and friendship in food and beverage,” says Provenzano.
Provenzano hails from California, where he first got into craft beer before working his way up the ladder from taproom to the brew kettle at Heart of Darkness Brewing. That is where he met Ny Lee, in her hometown of Saigon, before he moved on to make a splash as head brewer of 7 Bridges Brewing, and they were later married. To make a long story short, they connected with Chefstable Group, the Portland hospitality seed group that has backed some of the best chef's by helping turn their bars and restaurants into a reality. The Chefstable success stories include Lardo sandwiches, Loyal Legion beer halls, and St. Jack, to name just a few.
After Burnside Brewing Co. closed in early 2019 the brewery was vacant with all the equipment still intact and gathering dust. Chefstable Group purchased the assets and for about 6 months operated the pub as a long-term Mikkeller Brewing pop-up that ultimately didn’t work out. The restaurant side was later leased to longtime Chefstable family chef Doug Miriello who opened one of Portland’s finest new pizzeria’s Dimo’s APizza in that spot, meanwhile Darren with help from Culmination Brewing’s Tomas Sluiter, got to work rehabbing the production side of the brewery.
Fracture Brewing beers have been available on draft since last Spring, and their 16oz cans debuted this summer and can be found on the shelves of Portland-area New Seasons, Market of Choice, and Green Zebra, plus a plethora of local beer shops like Imperial Bottleshop, Belmont Station, John’s Marketplace, and Mayfly, to name a few.
The new taproom is off-site from the production, but only 8 blocks and a short 9 minute walk from where the beer is made. The small and intimate 1,200 sqft. taproom seats 50, and has the distinction of being just 2 blocks away from popular music and comedy venue Revolution Hall and just as close to the upcoming Grand Fir Brewing, and Ecliptic Brewing’s recently reopened Moon Room. The vibe inside is unique for a brewery, in Portland your average brewpub is either industrial, woody and rustic, or clean shiny and steel like new PDX development. Fracture Brewing is dimly lit, full of rich and velvety blues and purples punctuated by warm stained wood bar and table tops and reflective copper plated light fixtures. Leather bound booths have the swankiness of Loyal Legion but the atmospheric vibe of drinking in an island lounge in the eye of a tsunami thanks to the fluid, wet, and windy mural by Hawhuh Lee and ambient lighting. This is the kind of sexy space you would expect to be a cocktail lounge and not a beer bar, and both of those things are true.
Fracture Brewing co-founder and bartender Ny Lee
Ny is shaking things up, utilizing her experiences bartending in Portland and Saigon to design the Fracture Brewing cocktail program.
“My ideas are around all the favors, fruit, juice that remind me of Vietnam, like passion fruit, pandan leaf, five spice syrup, pineapple, cacao, and coffee,” says Ny. “I like my cocktails more tropical, smooth and easy to drink. We'll go with liquors like rye whiskey, brandy, rum, tequila, mezcal, and vodka.”
Fracture House Cocktails:
Pandan Daydream - rum, vanilla liquor, coconut milk, lime, and house made pandan leaf syrup and garnish
Saigon Never Sleeps - mezcal, coffee liquor, creme de cacao
Lucky Monkey - bourbon, house made five spice syrup, lime,
Hibiscus Margarita - reposado tequila, triple sec, housemade hibiscus syrup, lime
Lilikoi Sour - pineapple vodka, passionfruit puree, honey, lemon
From the moody LED lit back bar Fracture illuminates 16 draft lines for house beers, wine, and cider, including side-pull lukr czech style faucets. Provenzano’s beers run the spectrum from West Coast and Hazy IPA to a Dark English Mild, but brewer Provenzano really lights up when he talks about lagers and wild yeast driven funky brett beers and Belgians. The opening taplist has a bit of what’s cool and what’s geeky; a Cold IPA collaboration with hot new brand Brujos Brewing, a Belgian Winter Warmer collab with Via Beer, a New Zealand-style Pilsner, Dark Lager, West Coast Pilsner, and a Double IPA. If it’s still available we highly recommend the 100% brett beer which manages to be sweet and tropical but also dry and funky with a hint of tartness a spicy and yeasty bite of balance.
Fracture Brewing’s food options are equally news-worthy, as Chefstable has partnered with restaurant group Win Win (from the team behind North Williams Chinese restaurant XLB) to open food cart pod Lil’ America right outside of the taproom. Food carts as brewery food options in lieu of a kitchen are nothing new, but Lil’ America has the distinction of being a pod where all the carts will be owned by BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ chefs. Lil’ America is a food court pod with a mission: to bring fresh cultural flavor to Inner SE Portland with diverse small businesses, outdoor seating for 100, and an event space.
The Fracture taproom will have a door directly into the food cart pod area so that visitors can walk between the pod and the brewery seamlessly, bringing food and drinks to either side. The building will offer the comforts of a brick-and-mortar, with comfortable seating and shelter from the elements, while the pod will provide an exciting range of dining options, including carts like Hainanese chicken cart Hawker Station and Guyanese cart Bake on the Run.
The recently painted Fracture taproom exterior features a mural by Mario De Leon, featuring a portrait of Ny’s mother. To the east side of the building is a parking lot that is partly fenced off for construction of the food cart pod. The indoor bar hopes to pull-in a more adult late night crowd even though it will be friendly to minors until 8pm, while most beer bars close by 9 or 10pm they plan to stay open until midnight on weekends.
“We’re happy to be part of the Buckman neighborhood and feel we offer a unique space for all walks of life,” adds Provenzano in closing. “The aim is to also be a late night alternative which is harder to find lately.”
Grand Opening Thursday, December 1st, 4-11pm
Fracture Brewing
1015 SE Stark St. Portland Or 97214
Opening weekend hours (12/1-4): 4-11pm
Ongoing hours: 3-10pm Sun-Thurs, 3-midnight Fri-Sat
