Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

Breakside Brewery - SE TaproomBreakside Brewery - SE Taproom
Breakside Brewery - SE TaproomBreakside Brewery - SE Taproom
Bar, Beer-to-go

5821 SE International Way
Milwaukie, Oregon, 97222-4633
United States | map
breakside.com

Hours:
Monday - Friday: 3:00pm - 8:00pm(ish)
Saturday: 12:00pm -8:00pm(ish)
Sunday: 12:00pm -8:00pm(ish)
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.44
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
7
pDev:
5.86%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by DuaneKing:
Photo of DuaneKing
Rated by DuaneKing from Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +1.4%

Jun 24, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.99/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
I visited Breakside's Milwaukie brewery when I was in town last weekend. When I was there, they had 23 beers on tap: 9 seasonal, 11 small batch, and 3 specialty. Nice mix of IPAs, lagers, stouts and sours. Several examples of each style, which is cool. I tried a variety of beers, and they were mostly OK, although nothing jumped out at me as particularly great.

The vibe is a cool and welcoming wood-industrial taproom, with a big wood bar and railroad-tie backbar. Their wall has a shit load of medals hanging, suggesting that at least some of their beers must be pretty good. This is also a brewing facility as well as taproom, although there wasn't equipment out for view that I saw.

Lot of people there on a Friday night, including apparently a lot of regulars. Service decent enough up at the bar. It was busy that night and the server was busy but he never let my glass get empty so...
Apr 12, 2022
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.26/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75
Am a big fan of many Breakside beers, and so had been planning to hit the Milwaukie facility for some time.

In terms of vibe, there's nothing particularly special about the location (in the back area of an office complex) or the building itself (a warehouse facility, but with a nice bar and small table area to the right as you walk in the door). Regardless, it's a comfortable enough spot to hang out and have a beer or three.

In terms of the selection and quality level, I was pretty surprised by what I encountered. On this day they had some 27 beers on tap (there's a cold box with a variety of breakside bottles as well), broken down into the core beer selection, seasonal and rotating selections, and then the barrel aged reserve line-up. I got a sample tray of the 5 reserve beers, all of which were very good (the BA stout) to outstanding (the coconut infused, barrel aged sour). To say I was impressed by everything I tried would be an understatement.

In terms of service, it was fine. It mostly consists of a bartender finding out what you want to order, bringing you your glass, and leaving you in peace. If you have a question about a particular beer (or anything else about Breakside), they'll of course answer it, but that's about the extent of the interaction you can expect with the staff here (which was fine. It was all I required, and everyone was nice enough).

Let's see... pint prices were $4.50 for the core beers and seasonals (the IGA was $6.50), and $3.50 for a 10 ounce glass. I'm not sure what the cost of the reserve beers was, as I just got the sample tray (cost for a sample tray is $9, and will get you 6 five ounce pours of the core beers and/or seasonals, or 4 five ounce pours of the reserve beers. I asked if I could pay an extra $2.25 to try all five reserve beers, and they were fine with that.) They also sell/fill growlers (I think they're $15 for a 64 ounce growler) and bottles to go (generally a $50 walk out price for a case of the core beers). Also, there's no kitchen here, but they do sell some snacks. The chips and salsa are $8, for example, and filling your order consists of a staff member handing you a bag of chips and a plastic container of salsa (straight from some local grocery store). Hey, don't come here for the food.

Shrug. What can I say, this place is great!
Jun 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.58 by ZekeMillz from Oregon

Jun 26, 2015
Photo of PotlandOR
Rated by PotlandOR from Oregon

4.75/5  rDev +7%
Bring a snack and taste everything!
Oct 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by fishinduck

Jul 11, 2014
Photo of msubulldog25
Reviewed by msubulldog25 from Oregon

4.26/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
My wife and I have visited several times since the early 2013 opening of Breakside's production brewery and taproom. The location isn't easy to find if you aren't sure what to look for; there's a directory-type sign at the entrance to a small industrial park full of similarly drab concrete buildings. The entrance is a single unmarked door, although a larger garage door may be rolled up when weather cooperates.

Inside is an industrial-feeling, high-ceiling taproom, a little dark and moody with concrete floors and dangling light fixtures - but a small fraction of a much bigger warehouse full of brewing tanks and kegging lines. The taplines (there are 24 of them, many more than at the smaller/cozier brewpub on NE Dekum St) are set against a wall of reclaimed barnwood and rusty corrugated metal. The straight length of bar seats maybe 15, with more seating/standing room nearby at a scattering of wooden barrel tables. A lone TV mounted in one corner next to a chalkboard showing the current beer list.

Expect the unexpected on the taps, as you'll find barrel-aged sours and one-off variants alongside Old World standards and Pacific Northwest mainstays. Pours are in proper pintware, samples are liberally given to the indecisive, growler fills (and pre-ordered kegs) are sold to go. A regular food menu is absent (exceptions: a locally-made chips & salsa combo or landjaeger (cured meat sticks)) so there's no seating for minors, unfortunately; food trucks do occasionally show up, so there may be a more extensive/filling food option, depending on the day.

Service has always been excellent (the aforementioned samples and chatty interactions with bartenders - who often are the brewers working an "extra shift"). The crowd is usually beer-loving regulars from nearby neighborhoods and adjacent office buildings - apparently this has become a hot "after work"/Saturday stop for those in the area. Nice folks, always fun to talk to...

A ways off the beaten path for a visitor to Portland focusing on the downtown core and inner eastside neighborhoods, but certainly worth the effort to venture out a little further for the quality/selection of beers found here. Limited hours, so plan accordingly.
Feb 13, 2014
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom in Milwaukie, OR
Place rating: 4.44 out of 5 with 7 ratings