Labyrinth Forge Brewing - a Tasting Room Grows in Roseway

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A while back while randomly on Apple Maps I spied something I wasn’t expecting—a brewery in Roseway. That brewery is Labyrinth Forge Brewing and after many years of brewing, selling, and delivering his beer, owner Dylan VanDetta has established a tasting room on his property. And it’s pretty cool.

Labyrinth Forge Brewing’s Origin Story

A little bit about Labyrinth Forge Brewing. Dylan started brewing beer about ten years ago after winning a brew day with a local homebrewer during a fundraiser for a local Montessori school. He hadn’t really done much with beer prior to that, except enjoy Portland’s thriving craft beer scene. The day was a success in that he got bitten by the beer brewing bug. Things progressed, he learned to make beer with the Oregon Brew Crew, having served on the board as treasurer for three years and keeper of the pilot system, as well. Over the years he learned to make better beer, and:

“In early 2016, the Green Dragon Brewers offered him a position on the team. This gave him an opportunity to brew commercially and gave him access to the wealth of knowledge in the other members. This also gave him a behind the scenes view of Rogue.”

Today, Labyrinth Forge Brewing brews a dozen different beers (e.g., IPAs, stouts, ales, Kölsch) and is considered a nano-brewery—smaller than a microbrewery—and operates out of a sturdy detached shed in Dylan’s backyard. Kudos to his partner Stephanie, who offered up her shed to keep Labyrinth Forge going.

The Tasting Room in the Backyard

Labyrinth Forge’s tasting room is just outside the aforementioned shed in Dylan’s backyard. Note that this is not a pub or a restaurant or a bar—it’s a brewery with a tasting room, primarily for to-go sales. You can stop by, taste some beer, chat with Dylan, and take some delicious brews home. My own partner bought some beer from Labyrinth and he liked it a lot.

I asked Dylan why he started this project in his backyard. “Opening the tasting room has been out of necessity,” he explained. ” I originally started the brewery with the ultimate goal of having a tasting room and brewery at a retail location, but that was years in the future. The ultimate goal is still to move into a retail location as soon as possible.”

That part about necessity has to do with this: originally he was going to distribute to bars, taprooms, and restaurants in kegs. COVID caused him to pivot to doing home delivery (free to most of Metro Portland) and that required him to invest in some packaging (like labels, cans, and equipment), which is expensive. The tasting room helps him to keep more of the brewery’s revenue so he can continue to operate.

I asked what the tasting room brings to Roseway in particular. “To my knowledge, this is the only brewery tasting room in Roseway,” he said. “With the pending opening of the Upright taproom on Prescott and 72nd, that will change.”

He continues, “However, I think my space is very unique and my beers are very different from what Alex provides at Upright. I also make beer here, and in fact, I plan to have some unique beers that will only be available via the tasting room or delivery that are made right here.”

What to Expect

So what can you get at the tasting room? First, a pretty awesome, very Portland experience of accessing good beer directly from the source. As for the beer, he currently offers four draft beers (in a pint or 8oz glass) and another eight beers in cans and bottles. When I stopped by late last month, he said that the neighborhood is pretty happy to have him there; the previous evening he was open there were folks lining up to access his offerings at the tasting room.

“The folks who have come have said they had a good time,” he remarked. “I’m hoping to grow a steady customer base as the weather gets better. I will probably close on days where it isn’t so nice out. The space is 100% outdoors.” That’s a positive as we are still figuring out how to navigate through these days of the pandemic.

As the days get longer and weather gets milder, this is going to be a great place to stop by and get some truly locally-brewed beer.

Dylan seems really happy with how everything is panning out with the tasting room. “My favorite thing is meeting my customers and sharing my love of beer with them,” says Dylan. “I cannot get enough of talking about the process with people.”

If you’d like to stop by the tasting room to get to know Labyrinth Forge Brewing’s beer, have a taste and take some home, email Dylan at info@labyrinthforge.com for the location.

Labyrinth Forge Brewing tasting room
Roseway, Portland
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