Little Beast Grows Up with Pub, Larger Production Space

It's fun to watch the trajectory of breweries. Just over a year ago, Little Beast Brewing had set up shop in Beaverton. Fast forward to this past May, when they opened a pub in southeast Portland. Now there's a larger production space in the works. Times flies.

As many who follow along here know, Little Beast commenced operations in early 2017 at the former Bannon's Brewing in Beaverton. It was a convenient turnkey arrangement, allowing them to get up and running without having to invest in a brewery or renovate a space.

But co-founders Chuck Porter and Brenda Crow knew the arrangement in Beaverton would be temporary. They wanted a tasting room in Portland. As the brand gained traction, they searched the city core for a viable space.

They eventually found and negotiated a lease for the former Lompoc Hedge House on Southeast Division, which closed in late 2017. The Hedge House is located in a bustling area, just as they wanted. Getting the space ready took longer than they planned before opening in May. 

The reception on Division has been positive, Crow says. Some walk in thinking it's still the Hedge House. They're surprised. But most of them stay. Porter and Crow actually hoped to find a space that had previously been a pub or bar with existing clientele. It's working out for them.

The pub, officially the Little Beast Barrel House and Beer Garden, is a cozy indoor space alongside a spacious beer garden patio that will be user-friendly throughout the year. The tap list features the mixed fermentation, barrel-aged beers Porter is known for through his work at Logsdon and, now, Little Beast. Really fantastic stuff.

Although most of his beers cater to a geek crowd, Porter won't make the mistake of assuming all patrons want his specialty stuff. He plans to offer standards like IPA to satisfy the wishes of the non-geek masses. Several of the 14 taps were occupied by mainstream guest beers on my visits.

Besides draft options, patrons can choose from a selection of Little Beast bottles, available to-go or consume on premise with no corkage fee. That's an amazing deal because these are some of the best beers you'll find anywhere. No corkage is a nice bonus.

Crow, who has an extensive culinary background, worked with chef Tyler Auton to develop a menu that includes a mix of cheeses, meats, dips, sandwiches and salads. Items are designed to pair well with the Belgian-influenced beers. It's a work in progress and will evolve with the seasons.

While the pub gains momentum, Porter is busy planning to shift beer production from Beaverton to the former Drinking Horse Brewing space in Clackamas. The move will increase brewing and barrel space from 1,300 to 5,700 square feet, a big deal when you're dealing with a lot of barrels.

The move won't happen overnight. Porter recently acquired a brewhouse, which will take time to install. Then there's the regulatory hurdles. For now, they continue to brew in Beaverton while staging materials in Clackamas, where Porter hopes to begin brewing in a few months.

A juicy, not-so-well known factoid is that Porter will install a Coolship in the new brewery. He installed the Coolship at Logsdon years ago and brewed the first batch on it, so he knows what he's doing. It'll be interesting to see what comes of that project.

For me, an interesting aspect of Little Beast is the approach Porter and Crow are taking to building the business. They're on a deliberate course and have no interest in chasing rapid growth or massive expansion. I hear this a lot in craft beer, but I have a feeling they mean what they say.

We’re a family company, Crow says. It’s just the two of us. We’re far more interested in making and selling quality products than we are in rapid growth. In fact, I don’t believe in grow, grow, grow. I think it’s important to grow thoughtfully and that’s our goal.

Despite that mission, the ground is shifting beneath them as a result of the pub. Previously, outside distribution was their profit center. Crow ran sales. Now that the pub is their profit center, the old rationale has flipped. Crow finds herself functioning as general manager of the pub.

They'll continue to self-distribute outside the pub, but the footprint won't expand beyond Oregon and western Washington. Even at that, Crow doesn't have the time to manage sales. They'll probably have to hire someone to assume the sales role in the near future. Growing pains.

For hours and more information, visit the Little Beast website.

Little Beast Sets Up Shop in Beaverton

One of the most anticipated brewery openings in recent times became official Saturday evening. Little Beast Brewing, the creative child of Charles Porter and his wife and partner, Brenda Crow, held a launch party at OP Wurst in Southeast Portland. A fine time was had by all.

I'll get to the Little Beast details shortly. This was a significant event because Porter has a rich brewing background. He co-founded Logsdon Farmhouse Ales with David Logsdon in 2009, then abruptly departed a couple of years back. It took some time to get Little Beast off the ground. Porter lives in my neighborhood and I got vague updates on the project from time to time.

Breweries open every day. You know this. Little Beast is special because Porter doesn't make typical beers and his beers have won awards in significant competitions. His particular talent is producing mixed culture brews that lean on local produce and micro-flora. Barrel-aging and bottle conditioning are part of that, obviously.

In fact, the Little Beast name itself is nicely conceptualized. How so? Because it's the "little beasts" in micro-flora that ferment the farmhouse and wild ales Porter is known for. A degree in biology provides him with an understanding of yeast and bacteria, handy stuff to know if you're going to monkey around with wild and sour beers.

There's a significant and growing interest in these beers. Cascade Brewing has built an empire on its sour beers. DeGarde in Tillamonk has done well with its wild ales, as has Wolves and People out in Newberg. There's also Yachats Brewing, where Charlie Van Meter, who worked with Porter at Logsdon, is producing some uniquely unconventional beers.

Little Beast will for now operate out of the former Brannon's Pub & Brewery in Beaverton. They're occupying the brewing space there while Westgate Bourbon Bar and Taphouse operates the pub portion of the space. This is a relatively inexpensive way to get the brewery up and running and to build a following. A taproom somewhere in Portland is in the future.

Samples of Bes, a tart wheat ale, and Fera, a brett-fermented Saison, were poured at OP Wurst. Porter also shared a few bottled beers around. Everything was pretty tasty. I preferred the Bes to the Fera, but that was a tough call. Many liked the Fera.

Little Beast will offer year-around flagship and seasonal beers in draft and bottled form. Limited, exclusive stuff will evidently be sold direct via some sort of membership. I'm guessing the standards will show up intermittently in area beer bars and bottleshops. There's a tentative list of shops and bars coming and I'll update this post when/if I receive it.

I expect Little Beast to do well. They have a premium product that's somewhat unconventional and Porter is no stranger to brand building. But these are strange times in craft beer. It's getting crowded out there. Nothing comes easy. Porter and Crow know this.