Ever heard of Back Pedal Brewing? No?

It’s the place with the BrewCycle you see pedaling down Portland streets and the BrewBarge rolling down the Willamette River.

Oh yeah, THAT place.

Greg Passmore hears that. A lot. But the Back Pedal co-owner and head brewer wants you to know something else: That place you may have dismissed as the pub-crawl-by-bike terminus deserves a look on its own merits – an enjoyable little neighborhood brewery tucked away in the Pearl District, offering a solid range of craft beers and a respite from the glitz and chrome of the big-name brewpubs steps away.

“We are a tourist destination, but we’re not that big brand that you’ve heard of,” Passmore said. “But people discover us, then we get recommended, then we kind of become a neighborhood hangout.”

Back Pedal is a short walk from the historic Brewery Blocks, part of the industrial area where Henry Weinhard built his famous brewery in 1864. It was among the many buildings spared and repurposed in the 1980s and ’90s as the Pearl District developed, and its iconic smokestack still graces the skyline.

Today, Back Pedal is among the breweries creating a new chapter in the beer history of the neighborhood, an expanded, modern version of the brewery blocks. Within a half mile, Deschutes Brewery, Backwoods Brewing, Rogue Ales, 10 Barrel Brewing and Von Ebert Brewing have opened in the Pearl.

Though Back Pedal might be the smallest among them, the owners are doing their mightiest to change that. Passmore and his co-owners, siblings Chris and Andrea Lins, have begun an expansion into adjacent retail space that will double the size of Back Pedal, creating a significantly larger taproom on one side, opening to a bigger brewery and the bike dock on the other. A new, larger bar, open-air seating area and a fire pit are all part of the plans.

The growth will help solve one of Back Pedal’s problems: The brewhouse can’t make enough beer. Between taproom traffic, the bikes and barge, the 3.5-barrel operation can’t keep up.

“The bikes are a very successful operation, and they have their own machine to them -- we’ve been trying to do the same with the brewery,” Passmore said. "We’re getting there, but now capacity is our problem. This expansion is all about the brewery … the experience for customers, the amount of beer we can produce, the comfort, the beauty of the place will all improve.”

The taproom has no kitchen and that won’t change, but customers are free to bring food from any of the many restaurants nearby. And if biking or barging isn’t your thing, Back Pedal is also a magnet for board-game and cornhole players alike.

Back Pedal’s roots date back to the creation of the BrewCycle almost a decade ago. The Lins siblings in 2013 opened the BrewStop taphouse and kitchen in the space as a launching point for the cycles. They also opened a second location in 2017 at Riverplace in Southwest Portland that serves as the BrewBarge’s launching point. The Southwest location resurrected the company’s old BrewStop name and has grown to include a public taproom, a large patio and a can shop offering more than 100 beers.

But the big change was in 2015, when the Lins converted the Northwest taproom into Back Pedal Brewing. Passmore, a former tech startup owner with a decade of homebrewing under his belt, eventually joined the ownership team and Chris Lins in the new brewhouse.

Passmore acknowledges the learning curve was steep for the fledgling operation, but some early awards, including a silver at the 2017 Oregon Beer Awards, instilled confidence they were on the right path.

Back Pedal’s beers run the range of styles, generally sessionable with a focus on fruit beers, saisons and IPAs. The recent tap list included three saisons, including the tea and honey Cyclo, and three IPAs, including a session, American and Northeast. A radler and a guava wheat ale rounded out the offerings.

And why the name Back Pedal? Passmore said for him it’s that feeling of cruising down the street on a bike without a care in the world, rolling your pedals backward.

“That’s our vibe, we’re very chill. We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Passmore said. “It’s playful. We take our craft very seriously, but we’re super down to earth and humble about what we do. At the end of the day we’re just making beer.”

Portland Breweries Series: Back Pedal Brewing Posted by The Oregonian on Thursday, July 11, 2019

Back Pedal samplers

Why go: A cool, quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of the Pearl District and its crowded, big-name brewpubs; a solid lineup of craft beer and, for those inclined, the unique experience of peddling Portland streets and the Willamette River and enjoying the city’s beer scene.

What to drink: A solid range of IPAs and farmhouse ales, plus an excellent radler, a low-alcohol combination of beer and citrus juice or soda.

What to eat: Anything you bring in as there’s no kitchen or food offerings.

Details:

- Back Pedal Brewing: 1425 N.W. Flanders St., 971-400-5950; 3-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday; 14 taps, mostly for Back Pedal plus a handful of guest beers, and two ciders; no minors, dogs OK; backpedalbrewing.com

- BrewStop PDX: 1811 S.W. River Drive #400; 3-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m. Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Sunday; eight mostly guest taps with some Back Pedal beers, plus the can shop; no minors, dogs OK.

- For reservations on the BrewBarge or BrewCycle, go to brewgrouppdx.com or call 971-400-5950.

Check out Andre Meunier’s reviews of Back Pedal Brewing’s beers on Untappd and follow him on Instagram @oregonianbeerguy on Instagram.

-- Andre Meunier

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