Brewing Journey
Our journey to operating the Cooper Mountain Ale Works Public House began in 2012 with the purchase of our first stainless pot. At only 8 gallons, it punched well above it's weight class for a number of years.
Homebrew
The journey began, as so many often do, with a bit of stainless in a garage. Five gallons at a time, we fell in love with the art, science, and craft of brewing.
First Commercial System
In March of 2014, after a trip to Belgium where Brewmaster Chris fell in love with Belgian beer, we began our journey with a 1BBL brewhouse from Stout Tanks and Kettles in Tigard. Starting with a single plastic conical fermenter, we slowly developed our recipes and techniques. After a year we added a stainless conical fermenter and a brite tank to really up our game. In year 3, we added a second stainless conical, and in year 4 we added the first piece of our eventual 3BBL system with a larger fermenter.
Commercial Pilot System 3BBL
In August of 2019, we embarked on a major upgrade of our entire brewhouse in order to begin an expansion of our footprint beyond the Tap Houses of Tigard and Beaverton. Once again we worked with Stout Tanks and Kettles in to put together a cost effective but capable system. This is one of the largest garage brewing systems in the area.
Production Pub System 10BBL
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic started it's first summer, we entered into an agreement with the owners of Max's Fanno Creek Brew Pub to purchase the brewery system and associated restaurant assets. We spent 2 weeks on minimal renovations (that bar HAD to be moved), and reopened to the public on June 28th.
