USA, OR: Fracture Brewing becomes Portland’s newest brewery
Vietnam native Ny Lee and her California born husband brewer Darren Provenzano took an unusual path to open Portland, Oregon’s newest brewery. Fracture Brewing assembles itself in the late lamented Burnside Brewing Co. production space with a soft launch of their initial lineup of beers this weekend at Loyal Legion beer hall. The brewery will open not one but two taprooms in Portland later this year, the New School Beer reported on March 9.
Darren and Ny met and married in Saigon while Darren while both were working at 7 Bridges Brewing. Ny was integral to Darren’s success as a brewer as she helped in recipe development, brewing calculations, and bridging the communication gap between cultures. She also became known for her incredible palate and honest feedback, her unbiased criticism keeping Darren humble and open to adjustments and improvements. Having grown up in the hospitality industry, Ny had become a beer drinker at an early age and was setup to be a keen critic of lager and pub culture. “Beer in Vietnam is the preferred social beverage. Before craft beer my personal taste was Tiger and Heineken but now I prefer craft Lagers,” says Ny.
Through a fortuitous meeting with Culmination Brewing founder Tomas Sluiter a path emerged that brought them to Portland.
Darren was already pursuing a successful brewing career that saw him dominate Asia’s version of the Great American Beer Festival SEA Brew competition winning 5 gold medals and mid-size brewery of the year. Sluiter and Darren came into a fast friendship with mutual respect that lead them to begin lining up a brand new brewery. They first brainstormed their partnership while drinking cold Tigers at a short plastic table by the ocean in Danang Vietnam. The original ‘Fracture’ name and brand were conceptualized over the course of years by Ny and Darren.
As the genesis of Fracture Brewing was taking shape in Asia the pandemic hit and the project fell apart. That’s when Sluiter suggested Ny and Darren join him in Portland, OR, a brewing city with the constructive level of competition that Provenzano was craving. Plans to open a standalone Fracture Brewing was put on the backburner.
At the time, Sluiter was consulting for Chefstable Group in addition to operating as CEO of Culmination Brewing in Portland. Chefstable had acquired the physical assets from Burnside Brewing Co. when it closed, and briefly transitioned the pub into a Mikkeller Brewing outpost in an arrangement that eventually ran it’s course. The brewery production space itself had been mothballed for a year, and it took even more time to clean things up and reorganize. The initial plan was for the Craft Beverage Consortium, a project that Sluiter would run with Chefstable that could produce house beers and seltzers for places like Loyal Legion and KEX Hostel, as well as nano brewers or entrepreneurs looking to launch or expand their own brands. Darren was the perfect fit to oversee the brewing, and in the meantime collaborate with Sluiter on the occasional Fracture Brewing beer brewed at Culmination Brewing. But as the pandemic dragged on, Craft Beverage Consortium went into a state of chrysalis, and out emerged was a fresh vision for Fracture.
“The brand ethos is rooted in new growth that comes from adversity and challenges,” says Darren. “It just so happened we landed on the name when the world had turned upside down so I think it’s a pretty relatable meaning. We all faced some of the most challenging times in our life and through the chaos came new growth and opportunity and hopefully are now stronger because of it.”
‘Fracture’ has multiple meanings; it is both the prelude to change and the degradation of nature. Provenzano see’s the beauty and destruction in our landscapes, cultures and relationships, from the creation of fermentation via the life and death cycle of yeast down to the beer that comes out of that process. ”It comes out of the tank it’s in it’s pristine condition, and then it goes into a slow and inevitable decline,” says Darren of beer.
The very zen-like theory harkens back to the philosophy of Vacilando which proposes that change is good and should be embraced; journey is the destination. And when you can accept that then to Fracture is positive. As Darren says, “The brand ethos is rooted in new growth that comes from adversity and challenges. It just so happened we landed on the name when the world had turned upside down so I think it’s a pretty relatable meaning. We all faced some of the most challenging times in our life and through the chaos came new growth and opportunity and hopefully are now stronger because of it.”
Darren is from Southern California where he once wanted to be a winemaker, but he got as far away from that as you can imagine working at as the bar manager for Heart of Darkness in Vietnam before graduating to be a brewer. And Tomas Sluiter has made a career in the ups and downs of the brewing industry consulting on productions from Japan to Montana, learning to brew anything between sake and cider. Aside from beer Tomas, Darren and Ny found common ground is travel and the joy of creation. In collaboration worldwide they get to share knowledge, techniques and culture to create meaningful relationships with friends around the world.
“We want to be a brand for people everywhere,” says Sluiter. “Fracture is the art on old brick walls among glass skyscrapers. Fracture is the road you walk when you embrace the everything.” But if that seems a little too abstract, Sluiter offers another interpretation: “When you’re traveling and meeting someone, having a drink is always the common denominator. ‘Cheers’ in every language means the same. It means you’re with friends being present, being grateful for the moment”
Fitting with the theme, Fracture Brewing is still emerging from the cocoon. The first beers have been inconspicuously peaking out of the brewery as pilot batch house beers for Chefstable bars and restaurants like Loyal Legion, Lardo sandwiches, and Tasty. Each of them is uber clean, crisp, and bright, even the hazy’s. Darren is a fan of the most drinkable styles, food friendly, great in pints rather than snifters, casual yet fun, primarily 6% ABV or below. The styles, techniques, and hops are modern, but timeless, you won’t likely find many big Imperial Stouts or fruit puree stuffed ales in the lineup, though it’s all on the table. Darren, Ny, and Sluiter all have numerous connections with brewers, chefs, distillers, coffee roasters, and creators that they hope will come to collaborate with them in the future.
In the coming weeks the brewery will take shape with Ex Novo Brewing veteran Logan Marks coming onboard as sales manager for both Fracture and Culmination Brewing. They plan to start canning Pilsner, Hazy Pale, West Coast IPA, and a Coffee Cream Stout in the next few weeks and beers will appear around town and at the Portland International Airport at places like a white label brand for the new terminal bar Julliett. But Fracture Brewing won’t just be a house brand, as this Spring and Summer they plan to open not one, but two taprooms in Portland where Ny will be the public face of the brewery. She says “The brand was grown and fostered in my home country where I met Darren so there’s obviously that intimate connection of our partnership and growth together.”
Fracture Brewing will open a low-key casual tasting room with limited hours in the front of the old Burnside brewery at 701 E. Burnside next to Dimo’s Pizza as early as this Spring. The space is being set up to resemble a cozy midwest basement hangout, a casual gathering space decked out with couches, old concert posters, and music from a record player.
The grander Fracture Brewing taproom is set for 1015 SE Stark St. adjacent to the ADX Building where a food cart pod is growing with Mid City Smashburger and Los Plebes Tacos. Located just a few blocks from Revolution Hall, West Coast Grocery Brewing, and the new Ecliptic Brewing Moon Room, this Fracture location will showcase the full brand experience with service headed up with Ny Provenzano herself.
11 March, 2022
