Breakside Brewery to open downtown Vancouver, Washington location, Dundee Winery & Taproom, launch Breakside Collective beer club, and house-smoked BBQ program

To succeed or even survive in the craft beer industry you need incredible luck, foresight, or ability to stay nimble and sometimes go all in on risky business moves. Breakside Brewery has proven successful at all of the above, consistently making big moves like the 2020 announcement of new Beaverton and Lake Oswego expansions, or the still percolating Gresham beer park.

On March 1st the 2010 founded, Portland-based Breakside Brewery will begin their next phase of invention with new locations in Oregon wine country, downtown Vancouver, Washington, and forays into BBQ, and an innovative new beer club incentivizing loyal customers.

Breakside Brewery downtown Vancouver, Washinton taproom

By the end of April 2025 Breakside will have their first location outside of Oregon as they take over the space formerly occupied by Locust Cider in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Breakside had been looking at opening a Washington location for some time, and even got very close to securing a spot in Camas. After a tip from a friend about Locust Cider’s closure, the building at 700 Washington Street seemed to be a perfect fit. Location, location, location as they say, this spot is just steps from Esther Short Park and near other cool downtown spots like A Little Vice, Smokin’ Oak, Little Conejo, and the new Irrelevant Beer and Goon Burger taproom.

The Breakside Vancouver taproom is about 2,000 sq. ft., with 60 indoor seats, 10 bar seats, and 20 outdoor seats. It will operate as a full service Breakside similar to their locations in NW Slabtown and the original NE Dekum pub and with clean but similar branding with a colorful wraparound mural above the bar. The drinks will highlight 16 taps of Breakside beer, plus cider, cocktails, and soon Breakside’s own wine label Alit.

One thing that will be a little different in Vancouver, a food menu catering to the lunch crowd with stacked sub sandwiches and quality local bread along with salads and Breakside’s beloved giant pretzel.

Breakside BBQ

Dan Brownhill, Breakside’s Director of Restaurants and Taprooms, is super passionate about barbecue and has been keen to integrate it into the brewery’s food program for some time.

Brownhill finds barbecue compelling as “food that actually brings people through the door, not just something to munch on as an afterthought. BBQ and beer is an incredible pairing. We're certainly not the first brewery to land on that conclusion, but we think there's still room for more great BBQ in Oregon,” says Brownhill. “BBQ is truly a "craft" product. It requires skill, patience, and attention to detail. All the best things take time, and we pride ourselves in putting in the time, paying attention to the details, and ultimately creating something special. I believe that our BBQ program will succeed with the same production approach that we apply to our beers.”

The concept will pilot launch sometime this Spring at Breakside’s Astoria taproom from original general manager Kyle Chriestenson who hails from Kansas City, but won’t be focusing on Kansas-style BBQ. Instead the Breakside BBQ won’t fit into any specific geographic BBQ categor. Yes the brisket will be more Texas-style with a pepper rub, but they also want Pacific seafood on the menu as the Breakside Astoria location pivots away from crab and lobster rolls to smoked salmon sandwich, smoked oysters, and other seasonal meats and specialties smoked over locally sourced wood such as Oregon White Oak, Apple, and Alder. All smoking will be done on-site in Astoria, and later in a food truck at the new Dundee winery. The BBQ menu will also include pulled pork, tri-tip, chicken, smoked mushrooms, mac and cheese with your choice of fresh smoked meat, and Saturday special brisket platters.

Breakside Brews acquires Alit Wines and opens new Willamette Valley taproom

Breakside Brewery has purchased a nearly 1-acre property, and a controlling 51% interest in Alit Wines in Dundee, Oregon. The small scale Willamette Valley winery operates a beautiful but intimate tasting room in a prime location next to the only street light in the little downtown area right on Route 99 at 531 OR-99W, Dundee, OR 97115. The land gives Breakside room to construct a second building on the property to feature their beers, plus cocktails, and a new food concept.

Alit Wines works with Chilean born winemaker Felipe Ramirez of NW Wine Co. to source juice and grapes to craft their own signature wine label. Under the new Breakside ownership little will change in that relationship as they keep the Alit brand alive and consider creating new flavors which will be available not only at the Alit Wine Room but also at all Breakside locations.

Breakside will take possession of Alit on March 1st, and is planning to keep things operating smoothly with the current staff and brand. The first big change will be construction of a semi-permanent year-round outdoor structure that will serve as both a covered and heated patio with a clear tented ceiling, and as the Breakside bar with draft beer and cocktails.

By this summer Breakside also plans to open their own BBQ food truck and be smoking on-site at the winery taproom.

But why a tiny spot in Dundee? The impetus was actually Alit’s unusual wine club which counts Breakside owner Scott Lawrence, and Director of Restaurants and Taprooms, Dan Brownhill, both among the membership since 2017. Unlike most wine and rare beer clubs that operated on an annual commitment to case purchases with sometimes exclusive offerings, the Alit Wine club membership offers wholesale pricing up to 50% off retail.

Breakside Collective and Alit Wine Clubs

Based on Alit’s successful wine club model, Breakside will launch the Breakside Collective club with membership sign-ups beginning March 1st. Breakside compares the club structure to a Costco membership: for an annual fee you get a big discount on beer or wine with no required purchase or minimums, as well as the usual benefits such as exclusive rare releases and discounts on merch and on-site pours. Members will receive an email with a mobile pass they can save to their phone. This pass will be the key to receiving their discount at any Breakside location. And if you buy even a decent amount to-go at Breakside it may be worth the price of admission.

Breakside Collective Membership ($99 annual fee)

• $1 off all pints and glasses of wine at all Breakside locations

• 25% off all cans and bottles to-go

• 25% off all merch

• Access to annual Breakside releases exclusive to members only

Alit Membership ($129 annual fee)

• 50% discount on all bottles of Alit wine (available for pickup at all Breakside locations)

• Exclusive member perks at Dundee tasting room

Combined Breakside Collective and Alit membership ($159 annual fee)

• All perks and discounts listed above from both clubs.

While developing the idea for the Breakside Collective, founder Scott Lawrence reached out to regulars for their feedback. “While we might make less revenue on our regulars when they come in we will be rewarding them for their loyalty,” says Lawrence. “I’m excited about people being able to buy our beers at these prices. For the people that come in 4 times a month it makes total sense. If you come in only a couple times a year it might not make as much sense unless you are buying a lot to drink at home. People are still obviously going to grocery stores and gast stations or wherever they go to buy beer.”

The Breakside Collective ultimately works as an incentive and benefit for customers to remain loyal. The expansion of Breakside locations now in NE Portland, NW Portland, SE Portland, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Astoria, and soon Dundee and Vancouver, WA is primarily about making it easy for consumers to find and support local craft beer.