New Portland Brewery: Breakside

You gotta be kidding me--another brewpub slated to open in Portland? Yup. This one, however, is going into Woodlawn, a woefully under-served neighborhood. From Neighborhood Notes, here's the skinny (hat tip to eagle-eyed Jim Parker):

"I know ‘breakside' can mean a couple of different things—going against the flow, going your own way, or even just going for a break," [owner Scott] Lawrence says. "We kind of mean all of the above. We want to do things a little differently, but ultimately our goal is to create a relaxing neighborhood hangout." Lawrence and his partner (silent, for the time being) have been devout home brewers for years, and after a trip to an Alaskan brewery last year, decided it was time to give up their corporate gigs and turn their passion into a profession.

"I started looking at space all over town," Lawrence says. "I found this spot on Craigslist and biked over." He said he was drawn to the space, and to the neighborhood. He says the burgeoning business district feels very welcoming, that they seem to be supportive of one another. He is also eager to include the residents surrounding them—with some sort of reward for people who walk or ride their bikes there.

We'll have 4 or 5 different drafts on a rotating basis, and we'll keep our customers in the loop when we choose them," he says. "We'll take customer suggestions to come up with new recipes. We want this to feel like it's their place, so we'll listen to what they want."

Let's see if I have this right. Breweries now under way: Alchemy, Coalition, Migration, and now Breakside. Good time to be a beer blogger, eh?

______________
PHOTO: Neighborhood Notes