USA, OR: Brewery 26 planning own production facility by spring

Brewery 26, a nanobrewery run for the past three years out of founder, owner and brewer Andy Shaw’s Northeast Portland garage, plans to expand by opening its first retail space next month, followed in the spring by a production brewery and second taproom, Oregonlive.com reported on January 12.

Shaw, whose Oregon Sun Hazy IPA won best beer at the 2018 Nano Beer Fest, says he has signed a lease to take over a former coffee house. The 25-seat taproom, at 5829 S.E. Powell Blvd., will be styled as a family-friendly neighborhood spot that will pour Brewery 26 beers and offer light food options such as sandwiches and small pizzas, Shaw says.

The breweries closest to the South Tabor taproom would be Assembly Brewing, which opened last spring eight blocks to the south, and Hopworks Urban Brewery, which has been operating about two miles west for more than a decade.

Shaw has also signed a lease to open a seven-barrel production brewery and a larger taproom in Portland’s central industrial eastside. In a former produce distribution warehouse at 818 S.E. Ankeny St., the family-friendly taproom would seat about 50, and Shaw envisions food trucks in the parking lot as a culinary option.

The Buckman neighborhood spot would be smack-dab in the middle of a pub-crawl corridor that has grown popular in recent years, with Mikkeller, Natian Brewery, Mt Tabor Brewing and Base Camp Brewing nearby, with yet others a bit longer walk away.

Shaw says Brewery 26 beers are handled by High Road Distribution, rotating in and out of 80-100 bars, taprooms and restaurants. High Road focuses on the state’s small breweries and nanobreweries – outfits that run on 3-barrel systems or smaller and have low annual production. High Road also sponsors the city’s annual Nano Beer Fest, a showcase for the breweries.

Shaw, a homebrewer, started Brewery 26 in his Cully neighborhood garage in early 2017 with a partner, and it quickly grew past the hobby state. Working a full-time job while also making beer forced Shaw’s partner to step away, but Shaw, who a year-and-a-half ago quit his own full-time job to focus on Brewery 26, recently added his brother-in-law, Keith Hattori, as a partner.

Shaw says the Brewery 26 name is a tribute to U.S. 26, the highway that connects many of the great aspects of Oregon.

In 2019, Brewery 26 produced about 150 barrels, and Shaw hopes for about 350 this year, pulling the company out of the nanobrewery category. Brewery 26 brews a wide range of styles, including IPAs, hazies, British pub styles and lagers.

“Our goal is to be a Portland metro brewery,” Shaw said during an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive. “I don’t want to grow to the size of Gigantic or Fort George (breweries), those kinds of places. I love what they’re doing, but it’s just more than I want to manage. Distribution in the greater Portland area with two taprooms would be just about perfect.”

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