Scout Beer Closes Hawthorne Taproom & Brewery

Scout Beer, the multi-location brewery and taproom business that started as as beer cart, has closed its first brick-and-mortar location and home of its brewery at 1516 SE 10th in Portland. Scout started in 2009 with a beer cart at the now-defunct Good Food Here food cart pod and relocated to the Tidbit Food Cart Pod on SE Division, which has also since closed. In 2016 Scout opened its first brick-and-mortar location behind The Toffee Club at SE 10th and Hawthorne Blvd. and has now sold that spot and the brewery to a new TBA operation. However, the Scout Beer taprooms and campfire-themed beers will live on, perhaps in even more locations."We're not going anywhere as a company, and we're excited with the direction we're currently headed. This pivot actually suits our original goals better than continuing on at the Hawthorne location, and we'll continue to make and sell beer," says Scout co-founder and head honcho of brewing operations Joseph St Martin.Scout Beer began brewing its own beer on a guest brewed/contract brewing arrangement with Sellwood's Portland U-Brew before opening the newly shuttered Scout Beer Garden brewpub, but it's not the end of the company. Last spring Scout opened its own food cart pod called The Lot @ Scout with a permanent brick-and-mortar indoor/outdoor Scout taproom.Co-owner and Scout beer guy Joseph St. Martin tells us that "the brewery at that location honestly didn't make sense given 50th/Division has become our primary "tasting room." We were paying a premium in rent for a location we really don't need."The Lot @ Scout on SE 50th and Division will continue to operate and serve Scout beers, they just will no longer be brewed at the company's own establishment. Instead, Martin tells us he will continue to brew small 2-3 keg batches at Portland U-Brew while contract brewing larger batches with the new owner of the company's former brewery."In the meantime, we're in talks with two new spots for potential taproom locations," says Martin. "From there, we'll focus on a smaller brewery, in a more rent-friendly neighborhood, that primarily supplies beer to Scout locations."Not only is Scout Beer not going anywhere, it just released a new barrel-aged sour red and an English IPA on tap at The Lot. St. Martin is also planning a lineup of more quenchable summer beers for the Lot patio area as the weather starts to improve.Stay tuned for news on Scout's next locations and the mysterious new brewery who will be occupying their former space on SE 10th. Meanwhile, check out The Lot & Scout - open daily 11am-10p at 5029 SE Division St. Portland, OR 97206.