The Unique Odyssey of Mt.Tabor Brewing

Every brewery has a story. Just like any business. Of course, some of the stories are more interesting than others. For Mt. Tabor Brewing, which just opened a production brewery and tasting room in Southeast Portland, it's been quite a ride.

The first edition of the brewery, launched by friends Eric Surface and Brian Maher, was located in Maher's garage. Subsequently, they moved to an industrial space in Montavilla in 2010. A year later, they lost that spot. That led to Version 3 in downtown Vancouver, opened in October 2011. Now there's Version 4 in Portland.

"When we moved to Vancouver, the brewery was really nothing more than a hobby that supported itself," Surface says "But we quickly outgrew the limited space there. My vision had always been that our production facility should be in Portland and we actually made that happen more quickly than I imagined when we moved to Vancouver."

In fact, plans for Portland were moving forward well before their lease in downtown Vancouver ended last May. Two years ago, Surface and several partners leased 6,000 sq ft of space in the Buckman neighborhood. Since then, they've been navigating the construction and permit process involved in getting the doors open, which happened a week ago.

Another twist in the road involves their head brewer. When the previous brewer left to pursue another opportunity, Surface needed a replacement. A lot of industry heads spun Exorcist-style when they learned Ben Dobler, a 20-year Widmer veteran, had opted to leave a good job in an established company to roll the dice with Mt. Tabor as head brewer.

"I saw things changing at the CBA," says Dobler, who worked in new product development for most of his last 10 years there. "They wanted me to create inexpensive beers that could be sold at a premium price. The stress was mental, not physical. But the uncertainty of what's happening with the CBA and whether I'd still have a job in a couple of years made me uncomfortable."

Dobler and Surface knew each other from their days at Mountain View High School in Vancouver, classes of '92 and '93, respectively. They had stayed in touch over the years through mutual friends and had occasionally spoken. Would Dobler leave a cush job at Widmer to join a startup working 60 grueling hours a week?

"I had no idea if he'd be interested," Surface says. But we have similar tastes in beer and similar interests outside brewing. He seemed like a natural fit for our program and the expansion I envisioned with the move back to Portland. I figured there was no harm in asking so I sent him a text message."

Dobler, somewhat bored at Widmer, saw potential at Mt. Tabor and thought it represented a stimulating opportunity. "I'm going to brew quality beer my way," he said. "The beer list will reflect my preference for balanced, drinkable, low ABV beers. I'm not a fan of alcohol bombs where patrons have to be carted out after more than a pint."

The Portland location features a 15 bbl brewhouse with three 20 bbl fermenters. They could brew up to 120 barrels a month with the current setup, and expect to produce around 500 barrels this year. The taproom, managed by veteran Nicole Kasten, will be open Friday and Saturday for the time being. Soon enough, Surface expects to add Sunday and Thursday.

Kasten, Surface, Dobler

Growth will happen primarily via draft distribution for now, Surface said. Mt. Tabor beers are distributed by Running Man in Portland and by Stein in Vancouver. They will consider packaging options once draft volume edges closer to capacity. Their space has considerable room for expansion, when the time is right.

The beers on the core list are solid and all are under 7% ABV. But there isn't a single niche or zinger on the list, which seems odd. Normally, you walk into a Portland brewery and see at least one standout, flagship beer. Not here. In the heart of the craziest craft beer market in the country, these guys expect to attract a following with quality and drinkability. We shall see.

Despite the heavy recent focus on Portland, Vancouver has not been entirely abandoned. Surface and partners have leased space in the Felida area and will open a brewpub and pizza joint there by the end of the year, if all goes well. That location, in an underserved residential area not far from Surface's house, should do especially well.

Mt. Tabor's strange, twisting journey continues.

Editor's Note: On October 15, two weeks after this story was published, Ben Dobler and Nicole Kasten announced they are leaving Mt. Tabor Brewing. No reasons were given to the public. Mt. Tabor's strange odyssey continues.

Is Craft Beer Leaving the Brewpub Model Behind?

A (seemingly) long time ago in a (beer) galaxy not far from home, the craft beer revolution was born. There are arguments over the specific place. Some would argue Fritz Maytag's Anchor Steam was the first craft brewery...the counter argument being that Maytag merely retooled an existing brewery to produce something better than what it made before. I don't want to get into a controversy about that and, anyway, the question of who was first isn't on my mind today.

In our galaxy, the brewpub started here

What I am thinking about is the brewpub...and how it was crucial to the development of the craft beer business here (and everywhere). Brewpubs are a big reason we have such a healthy beer culture in Portland today. More on why in a second. There isn't even an argument over who opened the first brewpub in Portland. McMenamin's Hillsdale Brewery and Public House was the first. It opened in 1985. Others soon followed.

Why was the brewpub a crucial cog in the spinning wheel of craft beer? I once held the view that the 21-34 demographic made craft beer a success here in the early days. My logic: They drink a lot of beer and they got interested in craft beer. Fine. Unfortunately, wrong. The craft beer movement did not grow into something formidable simply because young adults drink more beer than their parents. Nope.

Not in Portland, but there's no food here

The fact is, craft beer needed the brewpub to spread its wings. It would most certainly not be what it is today if it had been confined to taverns, bars and tasting rooms. No question about it. In that scenario, it never would have gotten the wide exposure it got through the brewpub. Craft became what it is because the brewpub opened its doors to all ages. That includes the young adult drinkers I mentioned, but it also includes adults of all ages, some who have kids.

From a business standpoint, the brewpub helped craft brewers build their business. It provided a place where people could go to eat a reasonable lunch or dinner and have a quality beer. Most owners will tell you their gross revenue leans in favor of food. The owner of my "home" pub recently told me his revenue is 60-40 food to beer. I suspect that's pretty standard. Of course, there's more profit in beer than in food, so you have to be careful about these numbers.

My point is this: A lot of people come to brewpubs because they are essentially restaurants where you can get good beer. The genius of the brewpub is that it dramatically expanded the available demographic of craft beer consumers. The founders of the craft beer industry in Oregon knew what they were doing when they lobbied to make brewpubs legal. People of all ages came in for the food. The beer flowed...making money for the business in the process. A perfect match.

A tasting flight at The Commons

If I sound like Captain Obvious, hang on. The reason I'm bringing up the brewpub concept is that a growing number of breweries are choosing a different path...a path that doesn't include food. Here's a quick list of nearby breweries that have no food: The Commons, Occidental, Gigantic, Mt. Tabor, Natian (no tasting room, to my knowledge), Upright, and Harvester. These are essentially production breweries that intend to make their money through distribution by keg and (especially) bottle (or can).

I can't help but wonder how this is going to work out. There's growing competition for shelf space in stores and tap space in pubs. Remember, these breweries typically have limited tasting room hours. If you want to try their their beers at the brewery, you better check the calendar and plan ahead. It's hard to imagine all of the players in this sandbox succeeding, even with the ongoing growth of craft beer as a sail.

Sprints (right) launched the specialty sales model

In the end, I suspect the ones that succeed will be the ones that are able to sell a unique product, likely barrel-aged or limited release beer, directly to customers. This model is already being used by Upright and The Commons. Alan Sprints (Hair of the Dog) is the godfather of this model in Portland, having perfected it over many years. He effectively sells limited edition beers directly to customers for high dollar.

The brewpub model is the foundation of craft beer revolution in Portland and beyond. Is it possible that we've moved on? Are these production/specialty breweries the next step in the evolution? Only time will tell. My guess is not everyone trying this is going to be able to pull it off. We shall see.