New Portland Tap Trucks bringing Craft Beer to the People
Food trucks and cart pods are seeing a surge in popularity due to the pandemic, and no grouping of carts are complete without a beer truck. With their open air seating, much lower overhead, and takeout options, food/beer trucks are well positioned to succeed where brick-and-mortar bars and restaurants are struggling.
As the pandemic rages on, two new craft beer centric carts called The Pour House and The Beer Spot have opened in time to take advantage of warm outdoor weather. A third option is coming to southeast Portland on the 82nd ave. corridor.
The Pour House beer truck
The Pour House opened on June 13th when Multnomah County was expected to be approved to open for phase 1 of Oregon Governor Kate Brown's reopening plan. That application by the county was denied, but The Pour House opened anyway.
"After a last minute posponement of phase 1 we decided to go ahead and open with to go only in 16oz, 32 oz & 64 oz mason jars. Fortunately the delay only lasted a week and we were able to offer drinks to enjoy on site," says co-owner Nathan Angelus. "We decided to continue offering to go mason jars after receiving lots of positive feedback."
Nathan Angelus and his wife Valerie both work day jobs but have a passion for craft beverages, a beer cart seemed like a reasonable first step into the industry. Angelus came upon a 1979 Skyline Nomad trailer and the opportunity to retrofit it was too good to pass up.
"I wanted to create a cart that had some vintage personality and also had the look of a nice bar as well," says Angelus.
He gutted the interior, reframed it, redid the flooring, installed a raised service window and a cold room with space for 18 kegs. And a white tile back wall inside the trailer features a dozen extruding draft handles featuring local craft. The result is a little modern posh interior that compliments an overall updated retro vibe.
"The primary focus for us is offering amazing quality drinks. A close second is sticking to local producers," says Angelus.
The Pour House beer truck
The Pour House regular lineup rotates regularly with 10 taps dedicated to beer and 2 for cider. Angelus also keeps 4-8 different wines by the glass or bottle available for patrons. They even spend some time focusing on seasonal specialties which right now showcase Spanish low alcohol drinks likeClaras, Tinto de Verano and Calimocho (Kalimotxo).
Standard beer and cider pricing at Pour House are $6 for 16oz pints with some of the more specialty or premium beverages skewing higher. They continue to offer 16oz, 32oz, and 64oz mason jars to take home.
"Everything has been going well considering we are in a pandemic and we continue to get great feedback from the community. That positive response has been great and we hope to be here for many years to come!"
The Pour House calls the newish Nob Hill Food Trucks pod off of northwest Vaughn St. and the busy 23rd strip it's home. The small lot is packed with a variety of food options from Oaxacan to Indian, from Sushi to Chinese.
The Pour House is open from 12-9pm 7 days a week at 1845 NW 23rd Pl Portland, OR 97210.
The Beer Spot
Micah Tordiff is slinging pints from The Beer Spot food truck in northeast Portland
The Beer Spot opened on August 1st, a full four months after the original planned opening date set before the pandemic hit our shores. While it is part of a brand new mini-food truck pod on NE 44th off of Glisan St., owner Micah Tordiff is not new to the business.
Tordiff moved to Oregon from Salt Lake City and was running the downtown taphouse Beer O' Clock for the past few years. Tordiff purchased his cargo trailer in early 2019 and previewed it at Lardo's Hazy Daze IPA festival that May. But until the pandemic hit, Tordiff wasn't sure he would give up his day job at Beer O' Clock to devote his time to opening up a beer truck.
Beer O' Clock with it's limited and intimate indoor seating has not yet reopened since the shutdown in March. In the meantime Tordiff pulled the trigger on The Beer Spot and waited for weeks as the OLCC worked through their backlog of license applications before he was able to open.
"The plan was to open the cart and maybe do both for a time. I guess the main reason for building a cart would be that I wanted my own place and a this was an available way to get that," says Tordiff.
Flying Tortoise Food Trucks
Flying Tortoise Food Trucks lot is anchored by The Beer Spot and Dinner Bell Barbecue
The Beer Spot anchors the back of a tiny new 3 truck pod called the Flying Tortoise Food Carts. The small lot is behind the Flying Tortoise Kung Fu studio at 44th and NE Glisan, just a block away from Providence Hospital and the popular Big's Chicken and American Dream Pizza.
Their neighboring food truck is the Dinner Bell Barbecue, a food truck that specializes in southern food that had built up a following at their previous location in downtown Portland before it was demolished for a 5 star hotel. Owner Sam Souza is an Alabama-born pit master that specializes in pulled pork, shrimp and grits, and Texas pork patty melts. All food that needs a good beer to be washed down with. A 3rd truck called 86 Biscuits will open as soon as this week and focus on breakfast sandwiches with a menu that looks like it could inspire a cult following.
Micah Tordiff knows beers, from the 9 taps at The Beer Spot he pours a curated selection of craft beers featuring the best of the northwest. On a recent visit the taplist was populated with the likes of pFriem, Fort George, Chuckanut, Bale Breaker and Ex Novo.
Pints at The Beer Spot are reasonably priced at $5, though premium beers like barrel-aged stouts could be higher. They will fill growlers at $8 for 32oz fills or $16 for 64oz, but bring your own as they do not provide the glass.
Tordiff says his goals are simple; to provide a safe and friendly space to enjoy or pick-up a beer in the neighborhood while out for happy hour or getting food in the area.
"I think right now more places to be able to sit outside while enjoying food and beer is a good thing for this city," says Tordiff.
The Beer Spot is open Monday - Friday from 12-8pm at 4400 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97213.
Flying Tortoise Food Carts sign
With no end in sight for the pandemic, food truck pods seem in an optimal place to succeed. In the coming weeks the new 25 truck strong Eastport Food Center pod on southeast 82nd will get a new tap cart called Taco Birria.