USA, OR: SteepleJack Brewing opens its third location in Hillsboro
As SteepleJack Brewing approaches their 1 year anniversary they have just opened their 3rd location in Hillsboro, not to be confused with the second location which just opened this May in southwest Portland’s Hillsdale area, The New School reported on July 6.
Unlike their original location in a 110+ year old church in northeast Portland’s Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood, or the new SteepleJack Pizza & Beer pub in southwest, the Hillsboro taproom doesn’t come with the same sort of history in a well worn space. SteepleJack Hillsboro is first and foremost a 17k sq. ft. production facility set up to help the brewery meet the demand for their wide range of ales and lagers and hopefully serve as a space to expand beermaking into more packaging and self-distribution. But it offers much more to the suburban office crowd of the areas more generic food and drink options and a sense of sophistication.
In a un-decript business park of offices and warehousing off of Highway 26’s exit to Helvetia Road are the Intel Casper corporate offices as well as those of Parr Lumber and various medical supply, technical, and mechanical offices, as well as the more beer famous ABV Public House and Mainbrew homebrew supply shop. SteepleJack Brewing Hillsboro is hidden in the back, adjacent to a grassy greenspace of protected marshland that separates them from Deep Space Brewing across the way.
Marked by a relatively minimal signage SteepleJack Brewing Hillsboro hides behind a flat gray high ceilinged warehouse with dark tinted windows that belie the beery destination inside. Much like Breakside Brewery’s Milwaukie taproom and production facility, the location and exterior don’t scream beer destination, but like the former this taproom will likely build a devout following even in such an unlikely space.
The experience starts with the 30bbl 4-vessel brand new brewhouse and 8 x 30bbl tanks arranged in the center of the space like a massive church pipe organ. The tanks and equipment are placed in a way to evoke the brewhouse deck as a church pulpit. Spaced open air and without any guard rails or barriers, it’s one of the few local breweries that you can walk right up to without a glass partition of partial wall.
Off to the right of the entrance the bar juts out with a thatched Chalet-style corrugated roof with plates that resemble resemble shards of glass. The draft box plated in the shape of a stained glass window and emblazoned with the SteepleJack logo, and drop down pendant-style lighting gives off an orb like holy glow. Like their other 2 locations, SteepleJack Hillsboro didn’t forget the beer engines with 2 hand drawn pumps for traditional cask conditioned ales and lagers like their 2022 Oregon Beer Awards gold medal winner Alewife dark mild.
Behind the bar is a corner alcove with a quieter family seating area featuring a few arcade games like Game of Thrones and an Oktoberfest drinking games pinball machines, and a tabletop and flatscreen arcade collection featuring 90’s retro classics. Stretching from the west side of the building to the east is a large and open beer hall with overall seating for 135, familiar oak family style tables were made from salvaged from the beams of SteepleJack’s church location in Portland. With window seating to the greenspace in the back of the building and an open gas fireplace that will be a highlight of the hall in the darker days.
Possibly one of the most unique aspects of the Hillsboro taproom is the food served from the brewery’s own custom designed and shiny new food truck. Instead of being placed in the parking lot, the SteepleJack Hillsboro kitchen operates out of a back corner of the warehouse with a pickup window. A menu of Tavern-style pies from executive chef Lawrence Gable is based on the pizzas he designed for SteepleJack’s SW Hillsdale pizza & beer location but served from a food truck here with a different oven. Gable says he actually likes how they come out much better in Hillsboro where the less high intensity oven gives them more of the bready and full body and flavor that he was going for in emulating family friendly shareable but slightly smaller pies for 1-2 people. But beware, the kitchen is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays which limit service to beer and wine, but on Wednesday through Sunday they bake pies and are allowed to serve cocktails and spirits in addition to their regular draft list.
06 July, 2022
