Debut of The Commons

Like many young adults who are put their childhood on the shelf, reach toward adult status and vary their name to something they feel is more reflective of the person they are trying to be, Beetje Brewery has become The Commons Brewery. They’ve upgraded their accommodations from what was surely becoming a very crowded garage with a 1bbl system to a shiny, yet unpretentious, space with a 7bbl system in SE Portland.

Saturday marked their official opening to the public and it was exactly what I needed, having come from the far-too-crowded-for-me environs of the second to last day of the Holiday Ale Fest. This, this is the kind of place I expected to, and did, see many of my fellow beer geeks. In the course of chatting we made it through a sampling of the seven beers available: Urban Farmhouse Ale and Flemish Kiss from their year round selection, Sticke, a seasonal, and four in the Beetje Series, Fleur de Ferme, Rooibos, Touch of Essex and BBL 1. My favorite of the group, no surprise, was BBL 1, a tart barrel blend.

I was one of their followers who was sad to see the Beetje name officially change, but they’ll always be Beetje to me. Just like I’ll always be known as “Krissy” to a handful of people who are very dear to me.

For those interested in checking it out in person, the tasting room is open Fridays 5:00 – 9:00 pm and Saturdays 4:00 – 9:00 pm. Cash and credit card accepted, minors politely declined.