Culmination Brewing

Super selection of beers. The Phaedrus IPA was sublime. So was the chocolate stout. We went there for the vegan fare from Of Roots and Blooms, which was wonderful. We had the mac ‘n cheese – gluten free – the Thai salad, and the kale chips. Nice seat next to the outdoor area. Very mellow. Also our bartender was so zen. Next time, the vegan chicken salad sandwich. Carina and Nick, the vegan chefs, do a fabulous job. And you know what? Tummy felt great after this vegan dinner.

Stopped by here after the E-​Bike Expo with my hubby & 4yo son. Great atmosphere noted right away. Good variety of beers with nice flavors, very drinkable. I have to give kudos to the chef who not only cooks the food but serves it too! Also brought us some super yummy pickled veggies as a starter. And to top it off he «kid-​a-​fied» the quesadillas for my son! Super cool! If I didn’t live in San Diego this would definitely be a frequented spot for us!

There’s one thing you can bet on — if I’m in town, you’ll find me at Culmination every single damn Sunday. The beer is awesome, the service is great, the space is inviting, and the food on Sunday is THE BEST. The genius minds behind The Cheese Plate PDX on Alberta decided to go all vegan and do a weekly popup here under the name Of Roots & Blooms. I’ve maybe missed two or three weeks since they started this endeavor and every item I’ve ordered has been exceptional. Even things that scare me (Vegan Manhattan Chowder?) simply blow my mind. I’ve never felt so comfortable being adventurous with my ordering! Throw a couple of Euphoric IPAs or one of their creative sour beers in the mix, and now you know why Sunday is my favorite day of the week.

Very impressed with world class brewery! We hung out an extra afternoon waiting for this place to open and it didn’t disappoint. I ended up with the tasting flights of various types of beers and a pint since the hubby had to drive back to Seattle. The vegetarian food they served that day (Vermont inspired) was delicious and this is coming from non-​vegetarians! We left this place with several bottles of their beers. The only uNfortunate thing was that they ran out of the one thing we had our eye on (it was that good)! Definitely worth going back to Portland for but, alas, there are too many breweries in Portland to try.

Excellent Brewery in the Kerns district. Their flights are pretty great and the overall atmosphere is awesome as well. They have some neat outdoor seating so go early to snag some of those seats. Loved their tacos, get the trio combo and you won’t be disappointed.

Service: ½ star
Food: 3 stars (default)
Beer /​Beer Selection: 4 stars
Atmosphere /​Décor: 4 stars
Service: Waited at the bar for a full 10-​minutes before anyone made eye contact or acknowledged that I was taking up a seat! Patrons who sat at the bar after me were greeted and chatted up, ordered, served, and paid before I got a cursory «sorry about the wait». Only thing he did right was comp my drink, but he continued to ignore me for the rest of the night, not asking if I wanted anything else until I was putting on my coat to leave and he apologized for being «so slammed earlier».
Food: Didn’t order any food but what I saw served up looked creative and all comments to the chef (who delivered and cleared the plates) were very positive. The guy is genuinely interested in his work, passionate about his product and eager to talk about it.
Beer /​Beer Selection: 21 taps, but couldn’t tell what was house brew vs guest brew. On a Thursday: 3 were dead, 1 was empty, a sour, a cider, a mead, 2 nitros, and 16-​oz pours for most brews.
Atmosphere /​Décor: Big bar with a dozen semi-​comfortable backed-​stools, half dozen tall tables, three picnic bench tables. Open warehouse with views to «where the magic happens» — not totally my thing but not all seats had that view. Neighborhood pub feel; several locals and regulars, a couple other first-​time patrons; singles, couples, small groups; and a good range of ages and styles. Mild music so conversation was easy.

We had the pleasure of visiting Culmination Brewing when we were in Portland in Oct. 2015. Alas, I am not a beer drinker, but my husband is, and he enjoyed all the beers he tried! Now he constantly compares the beers in CT to the good stuff he had at Culmination — nothing comes close! However, I do love to eat, and the bar-​food was outstanding! Chef Carter does a superb job — in fact, I can remember exactly what we ate (without referring to my travel journal!) I had the special that day — delicious grilled cheese sandwich and tomato bisque, husband had pork tacos. Carter can cook for us any time! Will definitely visit next time we are back in Portland! Who knows, maybe I’ll even start drinking the beer, too!

Phenomenal brewery! Great staff, a lot of knowledge, and amazing absolutely amazing beer.

Unlike my previous organized review, this will be just random observations.
Beer list featured a few formatting/​layout errors.
They were out of the beer I wanted. It was on the website, on the printed taplist, but had been unavailable for a while.
The chalkboard was up on the wall, so easier too see than the old classroom-​style chalkboard on casters. Not as charming, but they made up for that by installing a classy rolling ladder.
A customer cleared a table and heaped all the dirties on the bar next to me, and it took quite some time for the bartender to take them away.
I had to ask for a fork. Later, another person eating at the bar asked for a fork. Strange. Server should anticipate guests’ needs.
Bartender kept forgetting what people were drinking, forgot the names on their tabs. I remembered these things, even though I wasn’t trying to.
Sampler flights don’t come on a tray/​paddle. I actually kinda like that. Those things annoy me.
Servers wore Culmination tee shirts, but not hats. Good. It looks stupid when everybody has matching tee shirts and hats. It’s not applebees.
Decent water dispenser, real glasses.
I never saw a shaker pint. Yay!
A wee bit o’ clutter, could stand to be tidied up a bit.
Bare edison lamps on wires provided decent lighting over bar. Strangely, that’s all the lighting there is.
I miss the classy taster glasses. Now they’re Belmont Station style.
Restrooms aren’t the easiest to find, especially if you’ve been, you know, drinking alcohol.
Prices charged were higher than shown online.
As before, the food was good.
Upgraded from 2 stars to 3. First time was a trainwreck, second visit was pleasant.

I love this place the food is top notch. The beers are great. There were 21 taps to choose from last night and they are bottling some crowd favorites.
The service is friendly and informative.
This is a great brewery and one of my favorites.

Came to Portland for Food and Drink, found ourselves at Culmination Brewing for the latter. Great beer list, 21 of their own on tap, all for $ 5 pint. Beertender that night was one of their operations guys, proud of his beer and wanted everyone to sample to their content. Only had time for one, wish I had time for 10. Beers are all top notch, lots of variety and creativity. Go, go on, have a pint!

Great beers, relaxed atmosphere and food that never disappoints! Just blocks from my place, so convenient.

LOVE this place. Great quality and variety, with 13 of their own beers on-​tap and several guest taps, but why bother? Culmination beers have been uniformly great. Nice, fairly small space, but super warm and friendly staff. And the big bonus, the food is GREAT. Again, small menu, but many house-​smoked goodies. Their Smoked Pork Rillette tacos are outstanding and a great value. Smoked Pork, smoked chicken, meat candy. It’s all good. Quickly turning into one of my favorite lunch stops and growler fills.

Have been meaning to come here for a while now and finally got the chance the other day…
It’s easily accessible but tucked back off the main drags a bit so it’s not like one would ride right by it often.
Simple big space with lot of seating, a big black board with beer info, nice big windows and lots of candles. It’s cozy.
They brew right there behind the bar space. Friendly servers! I felt welcomed and appreciated it was pleasantly noticeable compared to some other places that treat you like a bother.
Didn’t eat this time, but the food looked good and we will try some things next time.
Had the strong porter and the 420 stout both were better than I thought they were going to be. Complex and delicious.
Cheers!

Cute little neighborhood brewing company with a solid selection of taps on beer (especially the stouts!). Apparently they do BBQ on the weekends, but we arrived just after they finished up for the day.
It’s a a little small, but is a very welcoming environment. The only meh is the bathroom is a little hard to find, but that doesn’t really reflect on the brewery at all.
Glad we stopped by for a pint!

They finally have the place loaded with taps of their own beers. Everything I’ve had so far has been really solid, especially the variety of IPAs and Saisons.
Will be making a special trip back to try the BBQ they’re serving, it smelled amazing.
Small, but cozy. Warmly lit. Great place to belly up to the bar and have a few beers.
Biggest complaint about the place is that they moved in AFTER I moved out of the neighborhood. I’d have been a regular.

The Portland brewery scene is strong. I had the pleasure to try Culmination Brewing recently. My friend arrived first and discovered a chalkboard sign stating «Closed for Private Event». Despite this they didn’t turn us away.
The bartender let us stay for a drink, which I thought was super super generous and kind. Very Portland-​esque.
The two of us sat at the bar drinking a Saison. It was a tightly compact flavor with crispness on the tongue and a great spicy finish. Delicious.
As we continued to drink our beers, the owners, April and Tomas, spent a few minutes to talk to us. They made us feel very welcome despite the private event. To me that speaks volumes.
Like others have said the atmosphere is spacious and inviting with a great deal of charm.
I plan to make this a frequent spot and try all the various beers on rotation and the food.

one five three
one five three
These are the most important things I remember about this place. You see, it’s the combo to the lock of the men’s restroom, located, seemingly, about forever away from my seat. And the beer. You only need to remember two words; (four, actually) IPA and Saison. Yes… four IPA’s and four Saisons, And a couple of other brews they create. I am from Oregon. I like my beers aggressive, assertive, and full bodied. These had neither. Sorry, you guys are nice, but the beers are so weak. Food menu is minimal, but tasty. Eh. You do realize, I hope, that you have some strong competition. You will not be missed. By me at least.
Drive there, by all means, drive don’t bike.

The atmosphere and setting is charming, the beer is solid, and the hospitality is excellent.
I’d heard of a new, bright, shinning star Portland Brewery — but had no clue where it was located. I had an opportunity to meet a friend there. It was a cool warehouse type space with a generous bar and limited outside seating. The owners were on hand and happy to talk about their venture and backstory.
I enjoyed a Brett IPA. This was a damn’ fine beer, very well balanced and not too hopped up. I love hops, though. I would re-​order and re-​order this one.
The others I sampled were a Sour Golden called Mandarina and their Kolsch is nice — good body and a little creamy mouthfeel.
This is a mixed use building — not sure exactly how I am describing it, but the tenants are other PR businesses and such. There are shared restrooms, which you need a code to access. Additionally, there’s a long, wide hall near the loading dock where they will have some music performances and such. The brewery is small — a five barrel system. They have the ability to produce a lot of specialty brews at one time.
Their food is memorable. We had a chance to try their tacos — perfect nosh to go with a beer. It was a soft taco with pork, cabbage, lettuce, sour cream and accompanying sauces. I loved the habanero dressing.
I look forward to returning and trying some new brews. Keep up the great work and sincere service.

«Vermont BBQ» in PDX.
I work across the street and count myself lucky to have this place to frequent. Carter runs the kitchen– literally a one man band and the food is awesome. Smoked rillettes, chicken, pulled pork, bacon. You name it. To go along with the smoked meats: delicious, small batch beer, all wrapped in a friendly, low key environment where you can post up at the bar and feel like a regular.