Crux Fermentation Project Opens the Crux Portland Pub
After eleven years of brewing in Bend, Oregon, Crux Fermentation Project recently opened its second taproom. However, this location does not have sweeping views of the Cascade Mountains. In its place is a bit more rigid industrial look of Southeast Portland from its location in a building that was once the Portland Dairy Co-Operative building.
Crux Portland Pub is the second public space that Crux currently operates. We hear that a third location is on the way, but that one will be in Bend at its production brewery on the Northeast side of town.
Earlier this year, Crux took over the space that was briefly home to Vagabond Brewing, the Salem, Oregon based brewery that shuttered all operations last year. During these past few months, Crux has completed some minor changes to the space and expanded the pub’s outdoor seating. Nothing major, but enough to make it feel much more Crux like. But these updates are not fully completed as the outdoor patio will be expanded even more in the coming weeks!
If you were one of the few to visit Vagabond Brewing during its brief stay in Portland, you’ll notice a few changes in the aesthetics. The 1958 Cessna plane that was hanging from the second-floor space has been removed as has the Greetings From Vagabond mural that faced SE 8th Avenue. Now the interior is full of wood, lots of wood walls and wooden barrels showcasing a bit of Oregon history. The wooden wall panels are made from salvaged onion crates from Adrian, Oregon, a small town in Malheur County.
Founded in 2012 by Larry Sidor, Paul Evers and Dave Wilson, Crux Fermentation Project has become a top craft beer destination in Bend and is now excited to bring its hospitality to Portland. Between its brewpub and its production brewery, Crux brews about 16,000 barrels of beer per year. Eventually, the plan is to also put in place a small brewery in its Portland Pub. But this will be sometime down the road.
More recently the brewer has expanded its offerings to include house made cider, house blended wine and a Straight Bourbon Whiskey made in conjunction with Pursuit Distilling of Enumclaw, Washington.
Inside the new Crux Portland Pub, patrons will find a long bar and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The pub is open to all ages and features a much more extensive menu than what is offered from its small kitchen in Bend.
This food menu, which can be viewed here, features a wide array of options. Its shareables features Crux Sticky Wings, Pretzel Board, Project Board and Mushroom Toast to name a few. Its larger portions include a Jerk Chicken Sandwich, Muffuletta Sandwich, Thai Turkey Burger, Bochi Bochi Fish & Chips and its satisfying Chopped Cheese Sandwich. What’s a Chopped Cheese Sandwich? Well besides being damn tasty, it’s a sandwich made with seasoned chopped ground beef, American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, and burger sauce stuffed in a toasted hoagie rol. This one comes with a side of beer battered fries or chips for $18.
To help wash these splendid food choices down, the Crux Portland Pub has 20 taps ready to deliver its staples alongside some beers that rarely made their way out of Bend.
Crux has even brewed a beer just for its new Portland location. Grade A Portland IPA is a new West Coast IPA brewed to celebrate the opening of its new Portland Pub. This IPA features Mosaic, Citra, and #586 hops for a super tropical and juicy hit to the palate and sits at 7% ABV and 65 IBUs. The Grade A name is a nod to the Dairy Building where its new pub resides!
Also on tap is a Crux Cider and three Crux Wines – Crux Red, Crux White, and Crux Rosé. Currently rounding out the taps is one draft cocktail that will soon expand to hopefully offer three batched cocktails on draft. To find out what’s on tap, visit the Crux Portland Pub Tap List.
If you’ve ever visited the Crux Tasting Room in Bend, one of the great highlights is the pub’s happy hour, better known as the Sundowner. In normal times, the pub’s happy hour varies each day with the sunset. It begins 30 minutes prior to sunset and ends 30 minutes after sunset. But with sunsets now after 9:00pm, its Sundowner is currently offered from 8:00-9:00pm. During the Sundowner, Crux offers $1 off beers and $2 off shareables from its food menu.
The addition of the new Crux Portland Pub will make for a great beer crawl with Mt. Hood Brewing – Tilikum Station, Chuckanut P. Nut Beer Hall, Baerlic Brewing, The BeerMongers and APEX all nearby.
The new Crux Portland Pub has its own identity on social media where it can be followed on Facebook and Instagram at @cruxportlandpub. Or visit its website at cruxfermentation.com/visit-us/portland-pub/. The pub also has its own merchandise that highlights the building’s dairy heritage.
Crux Portland Pub opens daily at 11:00am and closes at 9:00pm Sunday – Thursday and at 10:00pm on Friday and Saturday.
Crux Portland Pub
2715 SE 8th Ave #175
Portland, OR 97202
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About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.