Liberator Brewing Company & HomeBrew Supply

I’ve never encountered a brewpub format quite like this before. As you enter Liberator, a selection of homebrewing supplies is available for retail sale. They’ve got malts, yeasts, bottles, hardware and – equally important – expertise. Another display offers a variety of Frisbee golf discs – apparently a local favorite pastime. Next is the restaurant and bar with the brewery behind glass. Upstairs is a long narrow corridor with a gambrel ceiling affectionately known as the Upper Crust. It is a former art gallery and harbors a litany of games, most especially an elegant shuffleboard table.

Certainly it makes sense to sell beer and brewing supplies from the same business location. But I would not have expected to see as many customers perusing the homebrew supplies on a Saturday night as I did. I found their selection of beer books particularly interesting.

The restaurant/bar area is contemporary and spacious – tall ceilings with lazy ceiling fans, lots of wood, two TVs with their volume off, and a framed portrait of Monty Python near the immaculate 6 bbl brewery. Four house beers are available, plus one on nitro. Guest taps are interesting and varied. I’ve noted Mia and Pia beers at Liberator on several occasions – an otherwise rare selection in the Portland market.

The Liberator staff is down-home friendly and eager to pour a sample. Beer is served in imperial pints and is available to go in growlers and quart bottles. It varies in quality though their two IPAs stand out – one brewed with wheat.

This place is a pub/homebrew-frisbee golf supply with pleasant and laid back ambiance. The small supply area takes up a quarter of the room that contains a nicely crafted bar and seating area with a very comfortable atmosphere...like being at home somehow. They had four of ther beers on tap, as well as 8-10 well selected guest taps. A 6 sampler containing a total of 30oz of beer cost $4. I found the golden, the pale, and the IPA to be quite good...full-flavored, excellently bodied, nicely hopped. The oatmeal stout (on nitro), however, was very disappointing, one of the worst I have had in the PNW. We ordered a hummus and baba ganouj (sp?) appetizer plate that came with kalamata olives, pickled onions, pita, and feta, and enjoyed every last bit of it. The waitstaff was very friendly, attentive, and helpful. Upstairs (the Upper Crust) holds a narrow, tunnel-like space filled with various games like dart boards, a card table, foosball, and a very nice shuffleboard....an inviting hangout. I was pleasantly suprised by this place, and had a very good time there.

Liberator has definately moved on up. Moving to new digs that consits of a dining room, a bar, and a game room upstairs, this new place blows the doors off the dinky, hole-in-the-wall strip mall location it once resided on.

They brew their own beer on the premisses, but thanks to those OLCC nazis here in Oregon, they have had problems getting their brewing process up and running to the levels they had at their old place so the selection of Liberator brew is at two. However, they did have 12 guests taps and they rotate those on a regular basis. So what may have been in on this trip may very well change if I return in few weeks.

Another change with the move was the menu. Old plce food consisted of free peanuts in a basket, chips, and a nukeable snack. Now they have a full menu with an excellent burger.

Service was great, people were great, and the help was great. I would highly recommend a visit here.

BTW, they still sell homebrew supplies!!

This place is a little different. They don't have the best selection or variety of homebrewing supplies, but if you need to pick up some ingredients or a spare part on the way home, its a great place to stop. Everyone there is very helpful. But the best part about the place is that they have a pub there. I don't mean the typical HB shop that lets you sample their beers so that you will buy a kit from them. I mean that there is a real bar with their own brews plus good guest taps at really good prices. There is also a poker table and shuffle board if you get tired of sitting at the bar.