Tiny Wolf Brewing Crafts Small Batch Lambic-inspired Beers in Tualatin
When David Bogle’s homebrewing hobby began to take over his garage, he decided it was time to take the next step. Bogle had grown more adventurous in his brewing and discovered a love for sour beers and wild ales. In 2016 he found a small space in a non-descript collection of businesses on the side of SW Pacific Highway in Tualatin and set up shop as Tiny Wolf Brewing, named after his “sweet, but shy Shiba Inu.”Only this January did Bogle expand from a one-barrel system to two and open an 18-seat taproom when the woodshop next door became available. The new Tiny Wolf Brewing tasting room feels sort of like a clubhouse with its arcade games, board games, and nice selection of tunes playing. There is still plenty of wood in the space, but now it’s in the form of barrels containing various ages of the sour beers that Bogle fondly brews.Explaining how he got into this kind of brewing, Bogle says, “It was kind of the beer hard mode. It was more complicated, there was more going on, and it wasn't limited to just one yeast. It was kind of what I started drinking, you know, you drive out to Tillamook to get de Garde, or go to all the Upright releases. I got a couple barrels, started screwing around with [a recipe] and it turned out good. I did a peach beer as one of my very first ones and everybody loved it. After that one I was like, I want to try that again,” says Bogle.
The beers at Tiny Wolf are unassumingly delicious, and reasonably priced. Focusing on saisons and blends but open to other styles, Bogle aims to brew balanced beers that don’t completely blast the palate and are approachable for those who may not be sour nerds but are curious to try something new.“If you have to chase it with a Pepto Bismol shot, then it's not for me,” he says.As surprising as it is to find an almost anonymous brewery on the side of a highway in Tualatin is the fact that Bogle is making some truly solid beer, with a focus on using Oregon ingredients as much as possible. On a recent visit, the taplist included five offerings, each one tasting totally different. The Tayberry Sour featured the juicy and aromatic raspberry/blackberry hybrid, with the base beer sitting in wine barrels for six months before Bogle added 60 pounds of freshly picked tayberries from nearby Smith Berry Barn for another three. He uses the same technique for his Kriek, adding Bing cherries from Hood River for a straightforward take on the style.
There was also a low-ABV kettle sour called Blueberry Lemondrop, an easy-drinking wheat beer with the zest and juice of Meyer lemons added before fermenting on fresh blueberries. One of the standouts was Raised By Wolves, a blend of a dry Irish stout and a chocolate porter conditioned and blended into a Rogue whiskey barrel, and then aged on vanilla beans. With a slightly tart funkiness, the beer had notes of German chocolate cake, cherry, and roasted coconut. Rounding out the beer lineup was Gallant Fox, a lambic-inspired beer bursting with funky, fruity flavors that come from a heaping portion of Triple Crown blackberries. Bogle is especially proud of this beer because it uses all Oregon ingredients.While sour beers are clearly a passion, Bogle points out that he has other ideas in the works. “I have one stainless fermenter and I have an IPA and a kreik I want to brew. I'm really more of an R&D brewery, so I don't really have a flagship. If I make something and I love it, I might make it again, but there's no guarantee that it will be exactly the same.”
David’s family helped out and his dad can often be found behind the bar, happy to guide you through the eclectic options on tap. If you want to taste the delicious beers at Tiny Wolf, you will have to pay a visit, as there are no plans for distribution at the moment.“We're just kind of releasing what's ready, growing organically, and seeing who wanders through the door,” says Bogle.Even though it may not look like much from the outside, Tiny Wolf is well worth a visit if you’re looking for a humble setting and inventive sours.
Tiny Wolf Brewing18435 SW Pacific Hwy Suite CTualatin, OR 97062TASTING ROOM HOURSFriday: 4pm-8pmSaturday-Sunday: 2pm-7pm
