More beer for the people

While some Portlanders pride themselves on being born-and-raised in this city, many have moved here from elsewhere, attracted to all that this city has to offer. The name of a new craft brewery opening Friday pays tribute to this Portland trend: Migration Brewing.

“Portland’s such a migratory town,” said Migration Brewing co-owner and Portland State alumnus Colin Rath. “It’s very much a destination. It has one of the worst job economies in the country but people are still flooding here.”

A new addition to the Laurelhurst neighborhood, Migration Brewing will host a soft opening Friday and a grand opening will follow in March. As of Friday, the brewery will be open to the public.

In the first few months, expect to see the four owners at the brewery almost every day. Co-owners Rath, Mike Branes and brothers McKean and Eric Banzer-Lausberg are, as of now, the brewery’s only employees and they’re looking forward to meeting the public.

This brew-happy quartet started putting Migration together one and a half years ago. While working at Lucky Labrador Brewing, Branes started brewing his own beer at home, using the name Dead End Brewing. Rath joined him and the two occasionally threw block parties with local bands at Branes’ Southeast Portland abode. The idea grew from there.

Charlie Frye of Metalcraft Fabrication, LLC, built Migration’s brewing system. It’s the first system he’s put together himself, a fact that the owners mentioned with pride.

Because he’s waiting for some paperwork from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to go through, Branes won’t be able to brew on site for another month. In the meantime, the New Old Lompoc Brewery is letting him use its brewing facilities and Migration’s beer will be served from kegs. The first beer he expects to release is Migration Pale Ale.

As far as beer is concerned, Branes isn’t focusing on a particular style. He prefers to cover a wide array of beers. He and the other owners aren’t keen to follow the hops-heavy trend that Portland craft brewers often subscribe to.

“Mike wants to keep it traditional,” Rath said. “We’re going to try to keep it as mellow beers, unique beers…it’s going to be a wide variety.”

Until Migration starts brewing in-house, they will be hosting beers from local breweries like Lompoc, Lucky Lab, Pelican and Ninkasi. They want to keep the beers relatively local, looking no further than Washington and northern California.

They also plan to source local farms and food producers for their menu, which will consist of soups, salads and sandwiches.

The neighborhood has been receptive so far. The brewery appears to be a welcome addition to an area that includes other bars and breweries like LaurelThirst Public House, Screendoor and The Goodfoot.

Migration isn’t hoping to draw any particular crowd—rather, they hope to bring different crowds together. They envision a pub with a sense of community, filled with people of all ages and from all walks of life.

In a city that drools over the terms “community” and “craft brewing,” Migration should be off to a good start. They look forward to opening up the patio for warmer days in spring and summer.

“Our mentality is organic growth,” McKean Banzer-Lausberg said.

As they approach their grand opening in March, the owners will be feeling their way around the business, making connections in the community and making Migration known.