Irrelevant Beer + Goon Burger open new taproom and kitchen
Irrelevant Beer is opening their new taproom with Goon Burger this Friday, February 21st in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Since launching the brewery one year-ago, Irrelevant Beer has been pouring beers out of the dock in their industrial cold brew production and brewing space behind sister brand Relevant Coffee. Until this week, the best place to find Irrelevant Beer was probably still in Portland via Day One Distribution. But starting this weekend Irrelevant Beer relocates into a new custom-built space just around the corner from the brewery and with a far more comfortable setup that catapults it into the top tier of breweries to visit in Vancouver.
Irrelevant Beer is a spinoff of Relevant Coffee, the new brewpub is one of our most anticipated openings of 2025 and one of two in Vancouver with Lightning Storm Brewing to come soon. Founded by Relevant Coffee owner Mitch Montgomery and brewer/cold brew coffee maker Sebastian Lynch who brewed at Trap Door Brewing from 2015-2018. Irrelevant Beer opened in September 2023 with brewmaster Quin Tinling, a veteran of Wayfinder, Pinthouse Brewing, Hopworks, Level Beer, and Westward Whiskey. Located in the same building as Relevant Coffee, the block includes the coffee roaster and the brewery on the Main Street side of the building and the new Irrelevant taproom and Goon Burger on the East 17th side.
The Irrelevant crew has done a great job at tearing out and reconstructing a former cold office studio space and remaking it as a slick and stylish taproom with classy wood and brass and splashes of the stark but colorful mid-century modern-inspired branding by Secret Pizza Design. Right off the bat the covered street seating and signature Irrelevant neon window sign make the location easy to find just a few blocks north of the New Seasons Market. Inside the glass front doors to the taproom the gated steps to a lower level offer an unusual but striking steel platform for the Irrelevant brand with a splashy mural and a drop down
The smallish taproom space is outfitted with around a dozen bar seats and about 6 group tables that can easily accommodate 6 and up to 8. The back draft wall is blinged out with a copper inset tap install with 12 silver plated beer handles, and two additional Lukr faucets for tightly packed side-pull lager pulls straight out of the Czech republic. Irrelevant Beer covers the pacific northwest staples, west coast IPA, hazy single and double, American lager, coffee stouts, and more niche styles like an excellent black bock and Vienna lager helping round things out. In general the Irrelevant Beer is clean but unfiltered and contemporary.
Two cooler doors of packaged beer with to-go or enjoy on premises offerings supplement the selection. Brewmaster Quin Tinling is a known fan of farmhouse and wild ales, look for his Collab with Dwinell Country Ales on “Sterling” a mixed-culture oak barrel fermented and dry-hopped saison. If one is not feeling like a beer, the current cider is another premium offering from Dwinell, their Almira Normandy Cider made from a French apple blend with wine grape muscat that is spontaneously fermented and naturally carbonated in the pet-nat style. For wine drinkers there is the Kind Stranger Alter, a cab Sauvignon, and their mild and juicy Chardonnay, both by the bottle. 12oz cans of Coastap Spritz Rose from Columbia Valley Vineyards make for another zippy alternative. N/A sodas, hop water, and 0% abv Stella and Guinness are also available by the can.
Goon Burger is a separately owned and operated business from former Little Conejo cooks Jake Shaffer and Brian Pouppirt. After perfecting their burgers and fries in the basement of Little Conejo, the Goon Burger concept launched as a long-term pop-up at Vancouver’s Hungry Sasquatch in 2021. And if you google “Goon Burger” the top search result is for their Instagram which lists neither an address or a food menu. Instead Google still lists Goon Burger’s address inside Hungry Sasquatch. Don’t let that fool you, because they are now permanently set-up with their own kitchen in the new Irrelevant space at 1703 Main St. For the past year Goon Burger has been primarily grilling outside the former Irrelevant location. Their team-up extended to the Portland Beer Week 2024 Brewers Burger Brawl at Brujos Brewing where they won peoples choice for their chili burger.
At Irrelevant Beer the Goon’s have a back kitchen with their own counter with a touch-screen menu that notifies you by text when your order is ready at the window. If you like smash burgers and fatty but well made Coney Island-style fried food you will not be disappointed by Goon Burger. The signature Goon Burger is a fast food/diner-style double patty burger with grilled onions and thick cut pickles, melty American cheese, and their signature sauce for $10. The Lucille Burger is basically the same burger served in the classic smash burger technique with a single patty and only $6. I did not try the grilled cheese for only $4, but it can be souped up with chili for just a few dollars more. I also didn’t try the chicken strip basket, but it sounds like a great deal for sharing at just $11. A side of fries is also only $4, I decided to go big or go home and get the Low Roller fries which are topped with house made beefy bean-free chili, then drowned in cheese sauce, and topped with crushed potato chips. Overall the portions are good, the price is cheap, and the food will please a kid or an adult, but if you are looking for more vegetarian options you are out of luck.
This Friday’s opening of the long-awaited Irrelevant Beer / Goon Burger taproom gives the still young new brewery a better setting to showcase their beers and food to a wider audience hungry for a more polished experience.
1703 Main St, Suite B, Vancouver, WA, 98660
Open Wednesday - Sunday from 12-9pm and Monday - Tuesday from 2-8pm.