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News

The Joys of PDX Portland's airport got notice in The Oregonian this week for it's inexpensive beers (airport pricing isn't inflated). But with the new Loyal Legion and two breweries on hand, it's all around great. Read more at The O

Farm-Worker Dangers Moises Sotelo-Casas, owner of a vineyard service company, was arrested last week outside a church in Newberg. He is one of the many farm workers, like those who harvest hops, currently in danger of arrest. Read Moises' story here

Cool Hops Video If you'd like a nicely put-together primer on hop farming and cultivation, KATU has the video for you. Grower Gayle Goschie walks you through the process. See it here

Viking Closes Pub Viking Brewing, formerly Viking Braggot, has closed their Southtowne pub after seven years. Costs of running the full-service restaurant were the reason. The brewery taproom will remain open. More on the news

Pelican in Rockaway Beach Pelican Brewing hasn't made the announcement official, but they are going to open a new outpost in Rockaway Beach, just north of Tillamook. Future Facebook Page here

Oregon #2 Again in Hops The news here is a mixed bag, but according to a new USDA report, Oregon has recaptured second place on hop acreage in the US--though it comes as acreage falls across the industry. Many details from the report

Fourth of July Note

If visiting a brewery figures into your July 4th plans, make sure you check before you go--many Oregon breweries are giving their staff the holiday off and closing for the day. A few are even taking the weekend off. Most breweries post this info on their Instagram feeds, so start there.

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Upcoming Events

Please send us all your upcoming event information at the following email so we can include them in our weekly roundups: events@celebrateoregonbeer.com

PDX Craft Beer Festival Come to Elizabeth Caruthers Park this weekend (July 4-6) to find the broadest selection of local beers, ciders and wine-based cocktails all crafted within the city. More info + tix

MXPDX (Mexico-Portland) One of the most interesting beer events of the summer is coming up soon: MXPDX (July 19). A collaboration by the folks who brought you Hood to Fuji, this cross-cultural collaboration explores the connections between Oregon and Mexico.

"MXPDX is a festival built around the belief that sharing beer, food, and drink can be catalysts for lifelong friendships and better understanding. We believe in person-to-person social interactions as a way to break down barriers and share cultures."

Spotlight:
After Ten Years, Montavilla is in Step With the Times

Montavilla Brew Works opened a decade ago this month. Ten years is a long time for any business; on average, about two-thirds fail before their tenth birthday. But it's also a fascinating window of time in the brewing industry, because ten years ago was right at the moment hazy IPAs and craft breweries were exploding into public consciousness. Yet Montavilla's narrative took a different course. In a world with pastry stouts and fruit sours and milkshake hazy IPAs, Montavilla looked a lot like a brewery from an earlier time. Founders and husband and wife team Michael and Melissa Kora founded a brewery with a small pub that would appeal to the immediate neighborhood with classic styles of beer. Not only did they not jump on the bandwagons of the time, but in the ten years since they were founded, they've never made a hazy.

The irony is that in 2025, a pandemic and a market correction later, focusing on a stable line of beer-flavored beers looks to have been a very smart move. "Old-fashioned" may have been ahead of the curve.

Each Beer Better Than the Last One​
One of the things you learn if you talk to enough brewers is that the good ones have strong opinions. In many cases, they're diametrically opposed to another great brewery across town. When asked why he didn't jump on the hazy train as it blew through town, Michael gave one of those strong opinions.

"Look man, [hazy IPAs] are tough to brew, they're expensive as hell, and they don't last. As a brewer-owned brewery, we looked around and nobody drank them here. I mean, there are five lagers on tap right now."

When they were planning the brewery, the Koras weren't asking what was popular in Massachusetts--they were concerned with the neighborhood around them--Montavilla. (Fun fact, it's not a foreign word, and it's pronounced mont-ah vill-ah. The neighborhood was originally called Mount Tabor Villa Addition. Locals adopted "Montavilla" because the streetcar signs abbreviated the name to “Mt. Ta. Villa.”) It's one of Portland's most diverse neighborhoods, with a younger population not far below the citywide average in income. It's also one of the most intact neighborhoods, with a distinctive feel and many long-time residents. When the Koras founded Montavilla, there were no breweries in the neighborhood (three miles west, the city was saturated with them) and few good-beer options.

Michael has always focused squarely on the blocks within walking distance. His two best sellers are Flam Tap IPA (a reference to his earlier life as a professional drummer) and Plywood Pilsner, named for his neighbor, a lumberyard next door. The Koras wanted regulars, and understood that a neighborhood place thrived by offering a standard line of beers to serve them.

A Whirlwind Decade​
The past decade was possibly the most eventful one since Prohibition. The number of breweries soared, the realm of IPAs--America's native style--expanded, and in the midst of it, a pandemic. "We were robbed of our five-year anniversary," Michael said. That was back in 2020, four months into Covid.

"After Covic, things didn't have to be this complicated--but they are." He paused before ticking off the myriad difficulties that have become normal since Covid. "Our plan was to get through Covid, to start canning, and regroup. Then we could see what happens."

For Montavilla, that meant shifting from a pub-only model to putting beer in cans. As is common in the industry, Kora was wistful about the changes in this decade. "People were excited back then. When we started, draft was nonstop--we had no interest in canning. Back in the day, doing draft-only--it was killer!"

Still, the pub is the heart of the enterprise. At one point during a visit, a regular came in through the side door with his bike. He'd lost his phone. He and Michael exchanged greetings without using names, the way those familiar with each other do. When he speaks about his business, his regulars like the cyclist are topmost in his mind.
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Back to the Future​
​A decade ago, amid the explosion of craft beer, focusing on locals and regular draft beer seemed outdated. Breweries reveled in one-offs they sold in single batches. People were declaring flagship beers dead. A decade later, however, things have changed. People didn't return in the same numbers to brewery taprooms. Having a loyal customer base now looks like a very smart way to support a brewery.

In 2019, Michael said, “I named the brewery after the neighborhood. It’s where I live. People who come in here should feel like this is their place.” For a decade now, he has delivered on that promise and people have responded.

As to the next ten years? "I still don't know if I've figured it out. everybody's asking themselves the same question--what's next?" He paused a long time and then raised his hands in the universal gesture for "who knows?" Well, you can rely on some things. As long as the Koras are brewing beer on Southeast Stark street, you can expect them to be welcoming locals, serving the beers they've grown to love, and refining each one batch by batch.

Keeping Up

For everything Oregon, please visit the Celebrate Oregon website.If you think someone you know might like this newsletter, have them sign up here.

Celebrate Oregon Beer is supported by the Oregon Brewers Guild and Oregon Hop Commission.

Excellent journalism is of the many ways Oregon is so special. In between newsletters, be sure to check out these sites for the latest happenings:

• ​The New School​
• ​The Oregonian​
• ​Astoria Beer Zone​
• ​Brewpublic​
• ​Beervana Blog​

See you again in two weeks!