Up in the hills of north Corvallis on a small cattle farm, Dirt Road Brewing was established in 2017 and distributes exclusively in the Corvallis/Lebanon/Albany area. The 5-barrel brewery debuted its taproom in neighboring Philomath this week on the corner of 13th and Main, in what was originally a bank built near the turn of the 20th century. The taproom offers a dozen beers on tap, plus wine and cider, and a simple but tasty menu featuring hand pies and rotating specials.

Brewer and Dirt Road partner Jon Campbell and his wife purchased the ~1,200 square-foot space earlier this year, and brewery founder Chuck Cox did the interior buildout. Inside seats around 50 people, including the bar, and outside seating is planned for the near future. During the soft opening on the weekend of August 17-18, a bevy of friends, family, and curious Philomath-ites (Philomaths?) inundated the taproom with ample support.

The taplist runs the gamut of styles and colors, and stays within the realm of beer-flavored-beer with a couple lagers (Stay a Little Lager, brewed with 50% wheat malt, was smooth and grainy, cleanly fermented, and refreshing despite a slightly hefty body); hop vehicles (Juicy IPA and Honeydew IPA had different expressions of the hazy style, both were done well and were bright and fresh); and big brews (the Imperial Stout and Barrel-aged Imperial Stout - boiled for 5 hours! - were easier than their ~9 and ~11% abvs would suggest, with lovely round brown sugar and brownie flavors). Campbell also has some wild brett beers going, which will go on rotation as they mature.

In 1933, the bank that now houses the taproom was robbed by four men at the beginning of a spree that would cover Oregon and part of Washington. They escaped in a stolen Nash sedan, which they ditched and vandalized outside of town. Campbell said he'd like to use that story (perhaps the most infamous thing to happen in Philomath...) to help name some of his high gravity beers as time goes on.

Dirt Road beer is currently distributed locally, and the brewery will be pouring at local festivals as well, like the inaugural Philomath Brew & Wine Fest at the Frolic rodeo grounds, and Septembeerfest in Corvallis, where the brewery debuted (and promptly sold out of) its first beers.

Philomath is growing, like many towns in western Oregon, as housing prices in Corvallis go up; new housing developments nearby should bring some extra traffic to the taproom. Dirt Road joins Nectar Creek's production facility and pub as the primary source watering holes in Philomath.

Dirt Road Brewing
1301 Main St., Philomath, OR
Hours:
Wed-Thurs 2-8pm
Fri 2-9pm
Sat 1-9pm
Sun 1-8pm