For two years, Ruse Brewing has been tucked away inside Culmination Brewing. A few of Culmination’s brewers had decided to start their own project, but without a space of their own, they were hanging out with their old crew and brewing on the margins of their previous brewery’s space. Now Ruse’s founders are stretching their wings and opening their own brewpub, right on the Orange MAX line in Southeast Portland.
Housed in the old (and recently remodeled) Iron Fireman Collective building, Ruse now has nearly 6,000 square feet of space with five times the brewing capacity it used to. They’ve already earned a solid reputation among beer drinkers: They collaborated with Culmination to make the first triple IPA I’ve ever been able to drink—the Backseat Freestyle. I’m not generally one for such hoppy beers, but this was well-balanced and not too bitter on the finish. Their Architect Saison, on the other hand, is dry and citrusy, with an oddly peppery finish. It’s light, bubbly, and a little sour, but easy-drinking and probably great for a game night.
While operating out of Culmination, Ruse tended to focus on hop-forward pale ales and wine-barrel-aged farmhouses with fruit. But I can’t wait to see what they can do with the new facility. Brewer and co-founder Devin Benware says they plan to start working on more lagers with the expanded space.
But perhaps more exciting is what Ruse may represent for the art community and for the neighborhood it’s moving into.