Natian closing down brewery, will maintain E. Burnside taproom

Natian Brewery, the small central eastside brewery and taproom that started as a nanobrewery in 2009, will shut down brewery operations by the end of 2020 but will maintain its taproom.

Founder, owner and brewer Ian McGuinness started Natian as a hobby while maintaining his day job in quality control for beverage company Portland Bottling Co. For years, he worked there plus brewed and sold his Natian beer. In 2017, he opened the taproom, working in and overseeing that, as well.

But he said Portland Bottling asked him to return full-time as part of some larger projects, so he needs to stop brewing.

Natian announced the closure Thursday on Instagram, saying it wanted to clear up confusion about why this year would be its last Zwickelmania.

Natian – a play on McGuinness’s first name, Ian – brews a wide range of classic styles and throws in some creative twists, as well. He says his approach involves not wanting to make beers only for the Portland palate.

The taproom will continue to sell Natian beers until the shutdown, a date for which hasn’t been announced. After Natian stops brewing, the taproom will serve other breweries’ beer.

GET INSIDER BEER NEWS VIA TEXT: Want to come to the #FakeBrewsIPA release party in February, get a free Oregonian pint glass, and get text alerts from Andre about all things Portland and Oregon beer? Sign up now through this limited promotion. You’ll not only get that #FakeBrews IPA freebie, you’ll also be among the first to know about future new releases, new breweries and new trends across the city and state. And the best part? This is a two-way street. What do you want Andre to look into next? Need beer recommendations? He’s there for you, just sign up here.

Breakside, 10 Barrel big winners at Bend’s Best of Craft Beer awards

Breakside Brewery and 10 Barrel Brewing each won nine medals, including three golds each, and Pfriem Family Brewers won three – all gold – to lead Oregon breweries at the Best of Craft Beer Awards last weekend in Bend.

Baerlic Brewing won three medals, including two golds, and the breweries of the Craft Brew Alliance also won three, with two going to Kona Brewing and one going to Widmer Brothers Brewing. Other Portland breweries to win included Von Ebert Brewing with two medals, and Ex Novo Brewing and Migration Brewing with one each.

Oregon City Brewing won three bronze medals, and Deschutes Brewery won two.

Heliotrope, by Kulshan Brewing of Bellingham, won gold in the American-style India Pale Ale category.

In all, 285 medals were awarded in 95 categories, with 2,237 entries from 43 states and five countries. Breweries could enter 10 beers from each of their locations. The competition saw 170 winning breweries from 33 states, with Oregon submitting the most entries and winning the most medals in its home-state competition.

Baerlic’s Punk Rock Time wins best IPA at Hawthorne Hophouse challenge

Baerlic Brewing’s Punk Rock Time IPA was recently voted best Oregon-brewed IPA during the annual IPA Challenge at Southeast Portland’s Hawthorne Hophouse.

The blind competition is judged by more than 1,000 customers of the taphouse, at 4111 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Starting with 36 IPAs in December, the competition was narrowed down to the final 12 in January.

The 2020 f included past winners Breakside Wanderlust, Barley Brown's Pallet Jack, and Migration Straight Outta Portland. IPAs from Von Ebert, Pfriem, Ecliptic, Sunriver, Ferment, Montavilla, Ex Novo and Level were also entered.

"To think that PRT stood out among those 12 beers in a blind tasting—where the consumer doesn't know the beer or the brewery—makes us really proud,” said Baerlic co-founder Ben Parsons.

-- Andre Meunier

Check out Andre’s beer reviews on Untappd, where he’s andremeunier13, and follow him on Instagram, where he’s @oregonianbeerguy.

More beer coverage: