Steeplejack Brewing Company

What a beautiful place. Inside an old church with the exposed beams and warm stained glass windows making me feel at home. The bar staff was warm and attentive. And to enjoy a Pale Ale on cask, bliss. Food was great too.

Went shortly after they opened, about 4 years ago. Not very good parking situation, but the church was nicely converted to a brewery and there were a few people there when we visited. Beer and food were good and reasonably priced. Planning to return but haven't made it yet. were there in Dec 2021.

Flew into Portland to start a week exploring the Pacific Northwest (mostly Washington), but made a point to stop here before heading north. It did not disappoint. There's just something special about drinking a pint in a 100+ year old church with stained glass windows. The combination of the building and its history/vibe combined with their style of beer fit me to a tee. Compared to a lot of other Portland breweries, their tap list doesn't cover the full trendy spectrum; no big pastry stouts, no fruity kettle sours, but a lot of very well done easy drinking beers. They have a nice selection of hoppy stuff, but also a strong selection of lagers, a lot of English style pub ales, and some farmhouse style that you don't see too often. Any place that regularly uses beer engines to pour beers from the cask instantly has my attention. Our bartender was amazing. She instantly picked up on how excited we were to be there and made sure we got the most out of our visit. When we mentioned we were deciding between 2 or 3 different beers she instantly pulled tasters and talked us through them. As our glasses emptied she then asked if we were into some of the other styles on tap that we had glossed over as soon as we saw the cask selections, and again pulled samples of her recommendations. Could have spent all day there taking it all in. It was a truly religious beer nerd experience.

 

We went to the Steeplejack in the converted old church. This was nicely converted into a pub with nice bar and decor making use of the old wooden church interior and stained glass window. Beer range was good and gets big points from us for the cask ales available. Quality of the beers we had was excellent. Service was uneven - some were friendly, others not so and in a hurry to close an hour early (we were told that it was because it was "slow" and the workers wanted to get out of there but we do not have personal knowledge of the reasons), almost unwilling to serve us even though we got there long before closing time.

Rehabilitated old church on the northeast side of town. U-shaped bar opposite the entrance seats about 18 with booths and converted pews about the remainder of the room. Brewhouse is under the stain glass that used to be the altar. (As it should be). 16 beers on tap. Card only place no single cans to go. Friendly service.

In an old church building, pretty cool vibe. Stainglass windows, heavy wooden pew and other chairs/benches in the same style. Brewery in at the one end under the big windows, then 3 sided bar at the other end and tables throughout. A side room with more coffee house like furniture. Good variety of beers, about 20 beers on tap, mostly traditional styles. 2 beer engines, but no cask beer this day. Beers I drank we great - Bitter, Mild, Red Lager, Export stout. Beer and Food Ordering is through mobile site. The food we had for lunch was good

Too cool of a location, hope my review does it justice. A renovated church really brings the European vibe. Top that with a varied selection of lesser known Euro styles, and they're all well done. Great service, gorgeous atmosphere, superb beer. Definitely worth a stop.

Steeplejack is a very new brewery that I visited with some friends when we were in Portland a couple weeks back. They had 5 of their own beers are on tap on my visit, plus 11 guest beers and a couple ciders. They also have cocktails for those more spiritually-inclined. Their style choices are basic, as one might expect from a new brewery just starting out with a small menu, but they do have some breadth with a mild, an IPA, a kolsch, a tropical stout and a NW IPA. The beers I sampled were pretty good; again, not bad for a new place!

The indoors is huge and very pretty. It's an old church with tons of plaster and woodwork and really is lovely. It's dramatic and impressive inside! There's a small but nice outdoor seating area: picnic tables out on the parking strip which are nice (though right on an arterial). Service was at the table where we were sitting outside, with phone ordering and super quick and delightful service. I dig it!

We had dinner as well, and the food is quite tasty with some elevated pub grub options.