Reverend Nat West (yes, he really is a Reverend) started his Hard Cider journey from a friend’s apple trees with lots of extra apples. What started with 5 gallons of hard cider in his garage has turned into using 200 million of apples per year to create over 20,000 gallon of cider in inventory in a warehouse turned cidery in the Eliot neighborhood.
Urban Winery in Eliot
Teammates both on and off the soccer field, winemakers Kevin Ross and Bob Switzer quickly realized they shared a passion for precision and quality. They use these passions to cooperatively challenge one another in making the best wine possible. Seven Bridges is a small urban winery founded in Portland in 2008.
Ex Novo, a Non Profit Brewery
Ex Novo translates as “from scratch” which describes the non-profit 10 barrel brewery which was built from the ground up on Eliot neighborhood’s bike route to the Broadway Bridge on Flint Street.
A New Brew Lab
The newest addition to Eliot in the brewery category is Labrewatory. Located on Russell just east of Widmer and west of Ex Novo, craft brewers can come to this brewers playground to collaborate and create small batch beers.
Widmer Brothers Brewing
In 1979 home brewing was legalized in Oregon. Kurt and Rob Widmer, having trouble finding a beer that they liked in Portland, decided to embark upon the adventure of making beer for themselves and friends. Five years later, they decided to turn their hobby into a career and cobbled together funds to open their brewery. They scrounged up parts and opened in an industrial space in what now is the Pearl District.
Food and Drink Map
Have you seen the Eliot Neighborhood Food and Drink page? It’s a page, complete with map, that helps you locate a place to grab a bite to eat or get a beverage.
Seven Bridges Winery
Tucked away in the depths of the Lower Albina industrial area is an urban winery. You won’t find rolling hills of grape plants or majestic old oaks, but you will find good wine. Seven Bridges Winery is located among warehouses, storage lots and railroad tracks right here in Eliot Neighborhood.
New Brewery with a Mission
By Stuart Malkin
The tag line of Ex Novo Brewing Company captures the essence of Joel Gregory’s mission — ‘Better Beer for the Greater Good’. The brewery’s mission is to make high-quality craft beer and is committed to donating net proceeds to selected non-profits. The brewery is emphasizing its brews, and as Gregory puts it, “We take beer here seriously.”
Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider
You may recall last September seeing promotional materials for a block party in the southern part of the neighborhood. That same weekend Portland had that unseasonal cold rainy and windy storm. The block party was supposed to be Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider welcome to the neighborhood. Unfortunately it did not happen, but Rev Nat’s is still here.
The cidery and public taproom is located in the newly refurbished “Trade Bindery” building. The bulk of their space is the cidery where apples are turned into bubbly beverages. However, they reserved a small portion for the “public taproom” where you can go and taste a flight of cider, get a pint, or buy a bottle to take with you.
WineUp on Williams
By Nancy Zimmermann Chung
One of the most recent additions to North Williams Avenue, WineUp on Williams opened this fall in Eliot’s historic Rinehart Building. Recently, I stopped by to take advantage of the bar’s “Tightwad Tuesday” deals and to chat with co-owner Wayne Oppenheimer.
Now It’s Bunk
Bunk Bar is the latest rendition from the Bunk family to occupy the space under the Wonder Ballroom. About a year ago a new restaurant named Trigger – billed as “a Bunk Joint” opened up. It was a sit-down restaurant featuring quality Tex-Mex. Over time they changed up the menu a bit, some for the bad, some for the good. In June the Beer Can Chicken was featured in Portland Monthly. Eventually they switched to counter ordering and no longer had wait staff. That pretty much marked the end of Trigger. Now, still a part of the family, the space has become another Bunk Bar.
Eliot Neighborhood 