Construction of the new Mt. Hood Brewing Co. at Tilikum Crossing is currently underway and is expected to open in mid-June. “We’re bringing the mountain to town,” said John Burton, Director of Marketing & PR, Mt. Hood Brewing Co. The Tilikum Station outpost will offer six Mt. Hood Brewing Co. taps and seasonal selections available by the bottle or can, while a signature beer for the new location, developed by Mt. Hood Brewing Co. Head Brewer Bryan Borgmeier, is in the works. Brewing will continue on the mountain and be delivered to the new location, which will not have its own brewing system. The interior is being renovated to accommodate a wood-fire pizza oven (for “rotating pizzas”) and small kitchen, plus a dining area. The pizzas will be made utilizing classic Neapolitan methods but influenced by local ingredients. [gallery columns="4" ids="27796,27798,27795,27794"]

The menu is being developed by Timberline Lodge Executive Chef Jason Stoller Smith and protégé, Chris Flanagan. The two chefs worked together for nearly ten years at a well-known Oregon wine country restaurant, the Dundee Bistro. Flanagan took over as head chef at that restaurant when Stoller Smith became Executive Chef at Timberline Lodge in 2010. Eight years later, they have reunited to pair Neo-Neapolitan pizza with Mt. Hood Brewing Co.'s ales at Tilikum Station. The pizzas will be made utilizing classic Neapolitan methods but influenced by local ingredients.

It’s an interesting location (at a former TriMet transfer station now called Bruun Dock Studios) that has a wide audience of potential customers throughout the day and night. The commuter crowd in the later afternoon and evenings; the lunch crowd from the Central Eastside and near OMSI looking for an additional alternatives for lunch; and the after-hours crowd going to Portland Opera looking for a place to grab a bite.The nearness of the Orange Line also played a factor in the location. “Commuters can get off the stop and grab a beer to go or sit down and have a little refuge,” says Burton.Theoretically, Eastside riders on the Orange Line could start at Milwaukie Beer Store, hit up Ruse Brewing (opening soon), hop off near the upcoming Vagabond Brewing Portland outpost, hit Apex, Beermongers, Grixsen, and Baerlic, then finish up at the The Tilikum Station. (And if you want to keep walking, head down Water Avenue to Hair of the Dog and Wayfinder.)“We see a lot of opportunity for the neighborhood," says Burton. Mt. Hood Brewing's Tilikum Station will be located at 401 SE Caruthers Street. Of note: Mt. Hood Brewing Co. will be a sponsor of Portland Train Day at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center on May 19, 2018. The event takes place right across the street from the new Tilikum Station restaurant, which will still be under construction.